Author Archives: APO Group

International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation Releases 2020 Annual Development Effectiveness Report ‘Embracing disruption to build back better’

The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) (www.ITFC-idb.org), member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, released today the fifth edition of its Annual Development Effectiveness Report titled ‘Embracing disruption to build back better’, addressing the overwhelming disruptive impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the world. The report highlights how the pandemic created opportunities […]

Ecobank Group Launches 2021 edition of its Fintech Challenge

The Pan-African Banking Group seeks innovative start-ups to partner and collaborate with; Applications are now open. The pan-African banking group, Ecobank group, is inviting African Fintech entrepreneurs to join the 4th edition of the Ecobank Fintech Challenge. The Fintech Challenge is in line with the Bank’s commitment to championing digitization by giving innovative African start-ups the […]

The State of Globalization in the Middle East and North Africa – Take a Closer Look DHL Global Connectedness Index

The DHL Global Connectedness Index (www.DHL.com/GCI) showed that the rapidly developing Middle East and North Africa region is steadily rising in the rankings of global connectedness. 2020 Key Highlights: Middle East & North Africa (https://bit.ly/2VHyVZl), published on DHL’s Logistics of Things (https://bit.ly/2U6hJvL) last week, takes a closer look, highlighting potential opportunities and threats to the […]

USAID Awards $500,000 to Local Organizations in Africa and Europe to Address Gender-Based Violence

Download logo The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced $500,000 to grantees in North Macedonia, South Africa, Nigeria, Botswana, and Bosnia and Herzegovina for projects that will reduce gender-based violence (GBV). Through the Collective Action to Reduce Gender-Based Violence (CARE-GBV) Small Grants Program, the grantees will build organizational cultures that promote self-care and wellness […]

Coronavirus – Nigeria: COVID-19 – WHO boosts Nigeria’s response to COVID-19, donates 26 ventilators and 3560 pulse oximeters

World Health Organization (WHO) has donated 26 ventilators and 3560 fingertip oxygen pulse oximeters to support Nigeria in being better prepared for the COVID-19 third wave, currently driven by the Delta variant. Handing over the equipment to government through the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire on 05 August in Abuja, the WHO Country Representative […]

Ethiopia: ICRC scales up lifesaving medical support to respond to increased armed violence in several parts of the country

Download logo Hospitals have been receiving and treating an increasing number of wounded people, following armed clashes in different parts of the country. While dealing with the influx of wounded, a number of them have reached out to the ICRC for support. “Many communities have been significantly affected by the ongoing violence, especially in places […]

How rural radio has improved farming for Tanzanian farmers

“I know that I am privileged to listen and follow different programs aired through MVIWATA FM”, says Odilia Jiovin, a farmer from Kilosa District, known for production and marketing of sunflower, coconut, sugarcane, and sisal in the Morogoro region of Tanzania. “I always take the initiative to share the information with my fellow farmers in our community […]

Joint efforts to fight hunger in north-east Nigeria

Download logo Hunger is on the rise worldwide. The combination of conflict, COVID-19, increased food prices and the effects of climate change are decimating livelihoods and people’s access to food. Across the world, high levels of food insecurity are in danger of deteriorating into catastrophic conditions, unless this is urgently addressed. Millions of people are […]

South Sudan: African Union Disappoints on Justice

The African Union Commission’s failure to advance justice for the countless victims of atrocities in South Sudan raises concerns about the regional body’s commitment to accountability, 34 South Sudanese, regional, and international rights organizations said in a letter to the AU Commission released today. The South Sudanese government, after years of delay, announced on January 29, 2021 that […]

Nigeria flags off world breastfeeding week, calls for promotion of exclusive breastfeeding in the country

As the World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) celebration kicks off, the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire has urged Nigerians to become advocates of exclusive breastfeeding and support mothers to practice optimal breastfeeding for the good of the great Nation. The Minister, represented by Dr Salma Anas Kolo at the flag off ceremony in Abuja on […]

Coronavirus – Africa announces the rollout of 400m vaccine doses to the African Union Member States and the Caribbean

Download logo His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa and African Union (AU) COVID-19 Champion, is pleased to announce the start of monthly shipments of vaccines acquired by the AU / African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT) to the AU Member States today. An initiative by the AU Member States to […]

FAO provides cash plus livestock and agriculture packages to cushion vulnerable households from the desert locust invasion

The desert locust invasion in Somalia has significantly affected the country’s food security, with successive generations of swarms destroying vital crops and pastures. Compounding the situation were floods, cyclones, droughts and the emerging socio-economic impact of coronavirus disease 2019. To provide immediate relief as well as sustained access to nutritious food sources for vulnerable households to help them recover […]

Protect exclusive breastfeeding, women call on workplaces to support with facilities

When Abiola Oyebode, 29-year-old mother of two living in Kubwa, Abuja, gave birth to her second child, Precious, in January 2021, she made a vow to herself, despite being a career mother, to feed her daughter with only breastmilk for six months.  “I made that decision based on evidence and experience from my first child […]

Africa Health Conference to focus world’s attention on the healthcare needs of Africa

Healthcare service delivery in Africa and its associated challenges are well documented, with some estimating that fewer than 50% of Africans have access to modern health facilities. The arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 exacerbated the situation for many countries on the continent, resulting in a situation where millions of people are in dire […]

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Issues New Guidelines for Mobile Money Operators in Nigeria (By Ibrahim Moshood)

Introduction The apex regulator of banking activities in Nigeria has released new guidelines to further regulate the services provided by mobile money operators (MMOs) in Nigeria (“the new guidelines”). Since 2015, when the last regulatory changes were made using the old guidelines, mobile money operators have evolved to some extent with the surge in financial […]

Ethiopian Migrants Awaiting Safe Passage Home Fly from Sana’a to Addis Ababa

Download logo The International Organization for Migration (IOM), with the authorities in Sana’a and Government of Ethiopia, successfully transported 79 Ethiopian migrants, including 19 women and 14 children from Sana’a, Yemen to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia today (03/08) in its first Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) flight from Sana’a Yemen since 2019. “IOM stands ready and willing to […]

Press statement on the Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC)’s visit to Ethiopia

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, concluded his six-day visit to Ethiopia yesterday evening, his first official mission since he assumed office in mid-July. While in Ethiopia, the humanitarian chief held constructive meetings with the Federal Government, the Amhara regional president, the African Union, and the humanitarian and diplomatic community. […]

The African Union Commission and TRAFFIC Sign a Memorandum of Understanding to Combat Illegal Wildlife Trade and Support Development

Download logo Protecting Africa’s wildlife from unstainable and illegal harvest and trade and the contribution legal trade and use can provide towards livelihoods and development of Africa’s people is at the heart of a newly signed Memorandum of Understanding between TRAFFIC and the African Union Commission (AUC). Under this agreement, the parties will collaborate to […]

USAID Launches New Activity to Counter Growing Gender-Based Violence in Nigeria

On August 3, 2021, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires, Kathleen FitzGibbon, joined Nigerian Minister for Humanitarian Affairs Sadiya Umar Farouq representing Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, and Minister for Women’s Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, to ceremonially launch a four-year activity from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) that will prevent and respond to gender-based violence (GBV) in […]

Security Alert: Update on Security Situation in Tigray and Sections of Afar and Amhara

Download logo Access to telephone and internet in the Tigray region remains cut.  Availability of basic services, including electricity, is spotty.  Reports of interruptions to essential items, such as food, fuel, and money, persist.  The U.S. Embassy is unable to contact American citizens in the region. The U.S. Embassy continues to closely track developments and to assess […]

Security Alert: Update on Security Situation in Tigray and Sections of Afar and Amhara

Download logo Access to telephone and internet in the Tigray region remains cut.  Availability of basic services, including electricity, is spotty.  Reports of interruptions to essential items, such as food, fuel, and money, persist.  The U.S. Embassy is unable to contact American citizens in the region. The U.S. Embassy continues to closely track developments and to assess […]

Coronavirus – Kenya: COVID-19 Update (03 August 2021)

New cases: 1,085 Sample size: 7,067 Positivity rate: 15.4% Recoveries: 403 Recorded Deaths: 25 Cumulative tests: 2,149,376 Total Confirmed cases: 205,356 Total Recoveries: 190,095 Cumulative Fatalities: 3,995 Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Health, Kenya. Media filesDownload logo