Regional

Regional

Prince William Arrives in South Africa for Earthshot Prize Ceremony

Cape Town, South Africa – Britain’s Prince William landed in Cape Town yesterday, kicking off a four-day trip to South Africa focused on his annual Earthshot Prize for environmental innovators. During his visit, Prince William will attend a global wildlife summit and meet with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. This trip marks his first visit to South Africa since 2010. The highlight of his trip will be participating in the Earthshot Prize awards ceremony, where five winners will each receive £1 million to pursue projects addressing climate change and other environmental issues. Key Events During Prince William’s Visit include: – Attend global wildlife summit – Meet with President Cyril Ramaphosa – Participate in Earthshot Prize awards ceremony – Support environmental innovators and address climate change The Earthshot Prize, launched in 2020, aims to inspire solutions to the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. Prince William’s visit underscores the UK’s commitment to environmental cooperation and innovation.

Regional

BOTSWANA’S PRESIDENT MASISI CONCEDES DEFEAT

  By Online Desk In a landmark moment for Botswana’s democracy, President Mokgweetsi Masisi has conceded defeat after his ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) suffered a huge loss in the country’s general elections held this week. The BDP, which has held power since Botswana gained independence in 1966, secured only four parliamentary seats as of today afternoon counts. The opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), led by Duma Boko, emerged victorious. In a concession speech this morning, Masisi acknowledged his party’s defeat, stating, “The party got it wrong big time.” He pledged to ensure a smooth transition of power and urged his supporters to remain calm and rally behind the new government. Masisi also congratulated UDC leader Duma Boko in a phone call, offering guidance and support during the transition period. Duma Boko, a 54-year-old former human rights lawyer, hailed the election outcome as a significant milestone for Botswana’s democracy. “What has happened today takes our democracy to a higher level,” Boko said. “It now means we’ve seen a successful, peaceful, orderly democratic transition.” The UDC’s victory marks the first time in 58 years that the BDP has lost power.

Regional

Kenyan new Deputy President sworn in

Online Desk  Kenya’s new Deputy President Kithure Kindiki was sworn in on Friday after a court lifted orders barring his inauguration following weeks of legal challenges by his predecessor, who was impeached by parliament last month. The Senate voted to remove Rigathi Gachagua, the previous deputy president, from office in October on charges including gross violation of the constitution and stirring ethnic hatred – accusations that he rejects and has dismissed as politically motivated. Kenya’s High Court had put Kindiki’s inauguration on hold after Gachagua and his supporters filed over 30 court challenges to prevent his dismissal and replacement. But the stay order was lifted on Thursday, with judges saying that the deputy president position should not remain vacant according to the constitution. Gachagua’s legal battles extended months of political turbulence in the country, East Africa’s largest economy, that began with nationwide protests against unpopular tax hikes in June.

Regional

Botswana counts votes after pivotal election

  Online Desk People in Botswana are waiting for results of Wednesday’s election which could extend the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP)’s 58-year rule. Earlier in the day, the main opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) leader Duma Boko voiced concerns about the exercise. “We are worried about all these things because they speak to the integrity of the process and they tell you that we’re dealing with an IEC (Independent Electoral Commission) that is hellbent on ensuring that we do not have free, fair and credible elections, but we make do with what we have,” said Boko. Ballot counting began as soon polling closed at 17:00 GMT. But some voting stations stayed open long after the official closing time to allow voters queuing up to cast their ballots. The election will determine the makeup of the diamond-rich southern African country’s parliament, and lawmakers will later choose the president. The ruling party won won 38 of 57 contested seats in the last election in 2019. President Mokgweetsi Masisi, a 63-year-old former high school teacher, is seeking a second and final term. A party needs to win at least 31 parliament seats to be declared as the winner.

International, Regional

WHO reports record 8 million TB cases last year

  Online Desk More than 8 million people were diagnosed with tuberculosis last year, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, the highest number recorded since the U.N. health agency began keeping track. About 1.25 million people died of TB last year, the new report said, adding that TB likely returned to being the world’s top infectious disease killer after being replaced by COVID-19 during the pandemic. The deaths are almost double the number of people killed by HIV in 2023. WHO said TB continues to mostly affect people in Southeast Asia, Africa and the Western Pacific; India, Indonesia, China, the Philippines and Pakistan account for more than half of the world’s cases. “The fact that TB still kills and sickens so many people is an outrage, when we have the tools to prevent it, detect it and treat it,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. TB deaths continue to fall globally, however, and the number of people being newly infected is beginning to stabilize. The agency noted that of the 400,000 people estimated to have drug-resistant TB last year, fewer than half were diagnosed and treated. Tuberculosis is caused by airborne bacteria that mostly affect the lungs. Roughly a quarter of the global population is estimated to have TB, but only about 5-10% of those develop symptoms. Advocacy groups, including Doctors Without Borders, have long called for the U.S. company Cepheid, which produces TB tests used in poorer countries, to make them available for $5 per test to increase availability. Earlier this month, Doctors Without Borders and 150 global health partners sent Cepheid an open letter calling on them to “prioritize people’s lives” and to urgently help make TB testing more widespread globally.

Local, Regional, Top Stories

AFRICA URGED TO MAINSTREAM CLIMATE EXPERTISE IN HEALTH SECTOR

  By Lastword Musekiwa The World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO-AFRO) has called on African health ministries to integrate climate change experts into their departments to effectively address the growing climate-health challenges. Speaking at a high-level ministerial side meeting of the Climate and Health Africa Conference (CHAC 2024) in Harare yesterday, WHO-AFRO Director, Healthier Populations Cluster, Dr. Adelheid Onyango, emphasized the importance of climate expertise in health departments. Dr. Onyango “The health sector needs to identify the talent, the expertise and to get them equipped for us to send our best team forward as a region so that we get the best results as far as climate adaptation is concerned on the continent,” Dr. Onyango said. As the Director of the Universal Health Coverage/Healthier Populations Cluster, Dr. Onyango provides strategic leadership for WHO’s work with governments, development partners, civil society groups, and communities to promote and protect the health and well-being of all population groups in the WHO African Region . The high-level ministerial meeting, organized by WHO-AFRO and Wellcome Trust, aimed to develop strategies ahead of the 29th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) scheduled for next month in Baku, Azerbaijan. Speaking at the same event, Zimbabwe’s Health and Child Care Minister and chairperson of the SADC Health Ministers Committee, Dr. Douglas Mombeshora, implored African health ministers to take the lead in ensuring their governments deliver on climate commitments. Dr. Mombeshora “Commitments are critical to safeguarding the health and well-being of the continent’s population. However, these commitments need to be operationalized and implemented. This calls for political commitment and leadership by Health Ministers to strategically implement with the Finance and Environment sectors in national climate action, capacity building, and the mobilization of resources to implement,” Dr. Mombeshora stressed. CHAC 2024, hosted by the Centre for Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Research (CeSHHAR) Zimbabwe, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Climate, and Wildlife, and the Ministry of Health and Child Care, brings together researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders to address the impacts of climate change on health and well-being in Africa.

Local, Regional, Top Stories

Climate change takes devastating toll on African health, WHO warns

By Lastword Musekiwa The World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO-AFRO) has raised alarm on climate change’s devastating impact on Africans’ health, urging governments to formulate evidence-based policies to combat global warming. WHO-AFRO Healthier Populations Cluster Director Dr. Adelheid Onyango   Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the inaugural Climate and Health Africa Conference (CHAC 2024) in Harare yesterday, WHO-AFRO’s Healthier Populations Cluster Director, Dr. Adelheid Onyango, expressed concerns about the alarming impact of climate change factors on the continent’s health. “We in the health sector are very concerned because there are many factors being driven by climate change that affect diseases and health conditions, which end up being a burden on the health sector,” Dr. Onyango said. “What we are here to talk about is why it is extremely important to first of all tap into the knowledge that is coming out of discussions by scientists and researchers. “Use that information to address the lived and experienced problems that communities have, and to also encourage policymakers to see what the evidence is telling us, so that the policies we put in place, in terms of development – be it in health, agriculture, trade, housing, transport, etc. – all need to be strengthened such that climate change impacts are minimized,” she emphasized. Meanwhile, CHAC 2024 Chairperson, Dr. Fortunate Machingura, is advocating for a multi-faceted approach and increased funding to tackle climate change in Africa. “With climate action, you have to be thinking multisectorality, interdisciplinarity, and it’s not always easy to come up with resources that put together multiple sectors. “Often, departments of government and ministries have their own budgets already allocated to their niche, so bringing one government department and another together to share those little resources to look at the impacts of climate change is quite problematic. So, you need that coordination right at the top of the political tier of decision-making,” Dr. Machingura noted. CHAC 2024 Chairperson Dr. Fortunate Machingura To effectively address climate change, Dr. Machingura said policymakers must work collaboratively with various stakeholders, including governments, NGOs, and universities. The three-day conference, attended by over 400 delegates from 30 African countries, including ministers of health, researchers, healthcare professionals, and funders, aims to promote multisectoral collaboration, climate-informed policy, and health systems strengthening. Africa is vulnerable to the effects of climate change, with tens of millions already feeling the negative health impacts including heat-related illnesses as heatwaves become more frequent and severe, affecting vulnerable populations like pregnant women and children. Climate change is also promoting infectious diseases as it is altering the transmission and distribution of vector-borne diseases like malaria, with temperature, rainfall, and humidity influencing the spread. Water-borne diseases like cholera as flooding and contamination of water sources happen, leading to increased cases of the diseases. It’s clear that climate change is no longer just an environmental issue, but a pressing health concern that requires immediate attention and action.

Local, Regional, Top Stories

Climate and Health Africa Conference unveils stellar lineup of keynote speakers

  By Online Desk The highly anticipated first International Climate and Health Africa Conference has announced its lineup of keynote speakers for the three day event which kicks off in Harare this Tuesday. Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa will deliver the official opening keynote address. President Emmerson Mnangagwa Dr. Fortunate Machingura, Chair of the inaugural International Climate and Health Africa Conference and Lecturer at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (UK), will give opening remarks while Professor Stanley Luchters, Co-Chair of the Conference and Professor at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (UK) and Ghent University (Belgium), will address the conference.                 Dr. Fortunate Machingura Dr. Modi Mwatsama who is Head of Capacity and Field Development – Climate and Health at Wellcome Trust (UK), will share insights on climate and health while Dr. Joseph Waogodo Cabore who is the Director of Programme Management at WHO AFRO (Congo), will discuss WHO’s efforts in climate and health. Dr. Modi Mwatsamwa Dr. Joseph Waogodo Cabore Other key note speakers include Senegalese Health Minister Dr. Ibrahim Sy who will discuss leveraging Africa’s leadership and advocacy for climate change and health; Zimbabwe’s Environment, Climate and Wildlife Minister Dr. Sithembiso Nyoni will also address the conference while Dr. Douglas Mombeshora Zimbabwe’s Minister of Health and Child Care and Chairperson of the SADC Ministerial Committee on Health, will welcome delegates. Dr. Douglas Mombeshora More key speakers include: Dr. Lul Pout Riek, Regional Director, Africa CDC, Southern Africa Regional Coordinating Center (Ethiopia), who will represent the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Dr. Adelheid Onyango, WHO AFRO UHP Director (Congo), who will summarize key action points and the way forward; Dr. Judy Omumbo, Science for Africa Foundation (Kenya), who will share conference summary and reflections; Professor Gueladio Cisse, Adjunct Professor University Peleforo Gon Coulibaly (UPGC) and Senior Scientist at the Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques (CSRS), Côte d’Ivoire, who will present the Harare Climate and Health Africa Declaration. Dr. Lul Pout Riek, Regional Director, Africa CDC, Southern Africa Regional Coordinating Center (Ethiopia), will endorse the declaration on behalf of the African Union. Other notable speakers include: Mr. Samson Chidiya, PEPFAR Climate and Health Cluster, Zimbabwe. Dr. Brad Newsome, Program Director, Division of International Training and Research (DITR), Fogarty International Center, NIH. Dr. Mickey Chopra, Global Solutions Lead for Service Delivery, Health, Nutrition, and Population, World Bank Dr. Martin Muchangi, Director for Population Health and Environment, AMREF Health Africa, Kenya Dr. Patrick Gitonga, Health and Climate Senior Specialist, Green Climate Fund. The conference aims to cultivate resilience in health through unified, equitable strategies for climate adaptation and mitigation in Africa. It marks Africa’s pivotal entry into the global discourse at the intersection of the climate crisis and health.

Business, Local, Regional, Top Stories

Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana sign multi-billion dollar port deal

  By Online Desk  President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his two counterparts, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi and Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi will today preside over the signing of the tripartite agreement on the Techobanine deep water Port in Maputo. The project is budgeted at US$6,5 billion for the construction of the deep-water port in Matutuine district, and a 1 700km railway line linking Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Botswana. Its implementation has been under discussion since around 2011, with stalling having been attributed to lack of funding. Zimbabwean Ambassador to Mozambique Victor Matemadanda said the three leaders will put pen to paper while also discussing the way forward. Ambassador Matemadanda said following tomorrow’s signing and discussions, progress would start on the implementation of the project. Discussions for the railway line and electricity projects are already in progress

Entertainment, Regional

Nollywood actor Mr Ibu dies

Nollywood Actor, John Okafor, Known As Mr Ibu, Dies At 62 Okafor who had been ill since October 2023 was said to have died of cardiac arrest on Saturday, March 2, in Evercare hospital in Lekki, after being moved to the intensive care unit a few days ago. The President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, Emeka Rollas, also confirmed his death. The 62 years old actor had suffered health challenges that led to amputation of his leg last year.-

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