APO International

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group (http://www.AfDB.org) has approved a trade finance transaction guarantee facility to Bank of Africa Tanzania Limited (BOAT) to support Tanzania’s Financial Sector. Leveraging BOAT’s strategic footprint in the East African nation, this instrument will provide support to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and local corporates, to facilitate their import and export trade finance requirements. The facility will also support intra-Africa […]

In a landmark event, the World Health Organization (WHO) organized a ‘historical’ workshop on Health Technology Assessment (HTA) for selected member states in the African region. Held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from December 12th to 14th, 2023, with the theme ‘Health Technology Assessment for Priority Setting to Achieve Universal Health Coverage,’ the workshop aimed at tackling critical issues related to the systematic evaluation of healthcare technology and its role in […]

By Landry Ninteretse, Regional Director, 350Africa.org (www.350.org). World leaders have finally agreed that the world must abandon fossil fuels to avoid catastrophic climate change, after 30 years of intense and painful negotiations. This concession was obtained in the face of the outcry caused by the previous draft (https://apo-opa.co/3RNMWyY) which did not explicitly recognise the need to move away from fossil fuels. The Global Stocktake, although hailed by some as 'historic', does not however […]

Tunisian authorities have sentenced two political opposition activists to prison terms for criticizing the government under a 2022 cybercrime decree, Human Rights Watch said today. Instead of using the decree to address cybercrime, the authorities have used it to detain, charge, or place under investigation at least 20 journalists, lawyers, students, and other critics for their public statements online or in the media. Chaima Issa, a prominent figure of the opposition […]

Responding to the outbreak of fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan’s second city Wad Madani, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Tigere Chagutah, said: “We’re deeply concerned about the plight of civilians in Wad Madani. Amid fear and panic, many thousands of people have fled the city in recent days. We urge the SAF and RSF to protect civilians […]

Shipment of the world’s first WHO-recommended malaria vaccine, RTS, S, procured by UNICEF with the support of Gavi, arrived in Sierra Leone on Friday. The delivery of 550,000 doses worth US $5.5 million will contribute significantly to curb malaria cases among children under five years of age across the country.  Malaria remains the number one killer disease of children under five in Sierra Leone with over 100 deaths for every […]

The World Health Organization (WHO) Ethiopia’s Country Office hosted the Inter country, capacity building workshop for the National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs) of the host Ethiopia, Lesotho, Namibia, Mauritius, Seychelles, and Somalia from the WHO EMRO Region. The NITAG’s capacity building workshop was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 11 to 15 December 2023. The overall objective of the workshop was to strengthen NITAGs members and secretariats of participating […]

The Eswatini National Plant Health Inspection Services (NaPHIS), working in collaboration with the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Secretariat, and other partners – including the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Commerce and Trade, Ministry of Tourism and Environment, Peak Timbers, Nisela Farms, and NamBoard among others - has concluded a seven-month assessment of Eswatini’s phytosanitary system. The third and final consensus workshop took place from 27 November to 1 December. […]

The Health Development Partnership for Africa and the Caribbean (HeDPAC), a new initiative to strengthen South-South health cooperation between Africa and the Caribbean, was launched today. The initiative stems from the recognition that the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic fell most heavily on developing countries, especially on women and children. The pandemic led to the reversal of health gains, including maternal mortality. HeDPAC will focus on strengthening the health workforce […]