Day: January 21, 2022

Huambo – Angola’s Minister of State for Economic Coordination, Manuel Nunes Júnior, said Friday in Huambo that reforms for macroeconomic stabilisation in Angola had achieved satisfactory results over the last four years.

The minister was speaking during a meeting with businesspeople from Huambo province, on the sidelines of the inauguration of the first regional branch of the Banco de Desenvolvimento de Angola (BDA) outside Luanda, the country’s capital.

According to the Minister of State, until the end of 2017, the country’s economy showed deeply unbalanced indicators, a situation that has been reversed over the last four years, with the implementation of reforms by the government.

He said that these changes had made it possible for Angola to currently have balanced domestic accounts, with positive fiscal balances as opposed to budget deficits.

Nunes Júnior noted that this action by the government had made it possible for public debt to have a sustainable trajectory, as well as regularising the foreign exchange market, with the stabilisation of the national currency (Kwanza).

He also said that there had been significant improvements in all external accounts, with positive effects at the level of net international reserves.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – The minister for Foreign Affairs and Senegalese Abroad, Aissata Tall Sall, said today in Luanda that her country would boost business relations with Angola and establish cooperation in the areas of trade and industry.

Tall Sall, who has been in Luanda since Thursday, said at the end of a visit to the Luanda/Bengo Special Economic Zone (ZEE-LB), that on her return to Senegal she would take a message of cooperation from Angola in the areas of industry and trade.

The official said, on the other hand, that inter-trade relations between African countries were fragile, a factor that in her opinion prevented the industrialisation and development of the African continent.

She said it was curious that only 13 percent of African countries had imports between them, even though Africa was rich in raw materials, had great potential and a vast consumer market. “We need to change this sad picture,” the Senegalese diplomat said.

Speaking to journalists at the end of the visit, she said that the creation of industrial hubs, free trade zones and the African Continental Free Trade Area would boost the continent’s development.

For the visiting official, the main aim of the African countries should be development, so that in the coming years Africa will be able to sustain itself.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda -Angola registered, in the last 24 hours, 654 recovered patients, 546 new cases and 3 deaths.

According to figures published Friday, of those recovered, 298 live in Huíla, 236 in Luanda, 42 in Benguela, 41 in Moxico, 13 in Lunda Sul, 12 in Huambo, 7 in Cuando Cubango, 4 in Bié and 1 in Cunene.

Of the new cases, 333 were registered in Luanda, 39 in Huambo, 31 in Cabinda, 20 in Benguela, 13 in Huila, 6 in Zaire, 5 in Bié, 3 in Cunene, 3 in Moxico, 1 in Cuando Cubango, 1 in Lunda Norte and 1 in Lunda Sul.

They are 300 male and 156 female patients, aged between 36 and 78.

In the last 24 hours, 3,427 samples were processed by RT-PCR, with a daily positivity rate of 13.3%.

Of the deaths, 2 occurred in the province of Benguela, Luanda and Lunda Sul.

Angola has reported 95,676 cases, of which 6,864 are active, 1,884 have died and 86,298 have been recovered. Of the active cases, six are critical, 31 serious, 47 moderate, 37 light and 6 743 asymptomatic.

In the treatment centres, 121 patients are hospitalised, while 88 are serving institutional quarantine.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – The Ambassador and Head of the European Union Delegation to Angola, Jeannette Seppen, has announced the first European Union-Angola Business Forum to be held on 24 March of this year, aimed at boosting business relations between this European bloc and the African country.

Speaking to journalists at the end of an audience granted by the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Private Investment and Export Promotion Agency (AIPEX), António Henriques, the head of European diplomacy said that the meeting would be held in Brussels (Belgium), in a semi-attendance format.

“This business forum is a European Union-Angola co-organisation and is unequivocal proof that the European community believes in the policies, growth and future of Angola, as shown at this event,” said the diplomat.

According to the European Union representative, businesspeople from the 27 countries that make up the European bloc will be present at the meeting, which aims to attract and boost investments in Angola.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Cabinda – Sporting de Cabinda defeated 1-0 Recreativo do Libolo on Friday in a postponed match of the 6th round of the National First Division Football Championship “Girabola 2021/22”.

The winning goal was scored by Glaucio Sayombo in 65 minutes through a penalty kick.

With this score, Sporting de Cabinda maintain the seventh position with 20 points, while Recreativo do Libolo are in ninth position with 19 points.

The championship is led by Petro de Luanda with 38 points.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – Petro de Luanda beat 1º de Agosto by 87-89 on Friday for the 5th round of the National Senior Men’s Basketball Championship in a match played at Vitorino Cunha pavilion marked by the balance between the two greatest Angolan basketball teams.

At halftime the two teams were tied at 40-40.

With this victory, Petro de Luanda lead the championship with eight points.

In other matches of the 5th round, Casa do Pessoal do Porto do Lobito beat Jesus Christ Basketball by 91-82, 1º de Agosto B lost to ASA 77-84, Akyra Academy lost to Desportivo Kwanza 96-97, Petro B lost to Interclube, 65-88 and Clube Amigos de Benguela lost to Interclube B 59-116.

Here are the standings after the fifth round

1 – Petro de Luanda 8 points

2- Interclube 8

3- Inter B 8

4- Vila Clotilde 7

5- ASA 7

6- 1°de Agosto 6

7- JCB 6

8- 1° de Agosto B 5

9- Kwanza 5

10 – Petro B 3

11 – Akira 3

12- CPPL 2

13- CABB 1

Source: Angola Press News Agency

21 January 2021, Addis Ababa – A human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign that aims to immunize over 1.8 million 14-year-old girls in nine regions against HPV is underway. The campaign commenced on 10 January 2022 and will end on 22 January.

Vaccines were administered in schools and health facilities for two cohorts. More than 866,000 14-year-old girls took the first dose of the vaccine while 970,000 took the second dose, having received the first dose in January 2021. Two doses of HPV vaccine are required for full protection against the human papillomavirus which causes cervical cancer.

HPV vaccines, vaccination cards and tally sheets were distributed to the implementing regions by the Ethiopian Pharmaceuticals Supply Agency (EPSA). The Ministry of Health and regional health bureaus have been leading sensitization, social mobilization and communication efforts for the campaign in collaboration with immunization partners.

Prior to the campaign, sensitization workshops were conducted for media professionals, representatives from the education sector, teachers’ associations, immunization partners and public relations officers of health bureaus. Toll-free health hotline call center staff were also oriented on the vaccine to be able to accurately respond to queries. TV spots are being broadcast on national TV, messages are broadcast in regional media outlets and through posters and flyers.

The HPV vaccine was introduced in Ethiopia in December 2018 targeting 14-year-old girls. The Ethiopian Ministry of Health has been leading the vaccine rollout and conduct of the vaccination in collaboration with regional health bureaus and the education sector, key stakeholders, and immunization partners such as WHO and UNICEF. WHO Ethiopia has deployed its central and field staff to support the implementation of the vaccination through direct technical support, supervision and monitoring.

Vaccines for the campaign were acquired and rolled out with support from GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance.

Source: World Health Organization. Africa

Birnin-Kebbi, 21 January, 2022 – I learnt about cervical cancer and people dying from the disease while carrying out my duty as a journalist. I never took time to know my status until October 2021, when an expert reiterated that early detection is key to surviving any form of cancer”, says Adenike Tambe, a health journalist living in Abuja.

Miss Tambe took advantage of the price discount for cancer testing conducted by Medicaid cancer foundation (Non-Governmental Organization) as part of their activities to raise awareness against cancer.

When I heard of the discount, I decided to screen for cervical cancer. My result came out negative, and I received the first dose of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV)vaccine. Women should carry out the test, she said.

Miss Tambe is an example of how awareness creation efforts could spur individuals to take action to protect themselves and the barriers faced by millions of Nigerians in accessing preventive interventions against cancers, especially cervical cancer.

With an estimated 12 075 cervical cancer cases and 7 968 deaths recorded in Nigeria annually, the First Ladies of States, under the auspices of First Ladies Against Cancer (FLAC), has responded to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) call for action in the global plans to eliminate cervical cancer.

The World Health Organization hopes to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem by 2030.

With increasing cases of cervical cancer becoming a thing of worry globally, the wife of the Kebbi State Governor, Dr Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu, has been using her office to call for bold action to ensure that her state achieves the strategy 90-70-90 target.

Dr Shinkafi-Bagudu through her Non-Governmental Organization (Medicaid Cancer Foundation), has been leading advocacy for the inclusion of cancer screening and treatment in the benefits package of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), raising awareness about cancers, including annual cancer walk and leading the advocacy for nationwide vaccination of girls with the HPV vaccine.

She also champions early detection, improving the chances of successful treatment and creating awareness against the deadly disease.

“We saw the rationale behind the call by WHO to eliminate Cervical cancer and align with it. In Kebbi State, with several advocacies and activities, many traditional rulers are now champions of cervical cancer. We supported community-based organizations to carry out over a hundred and fifty outreach events reaching the 21 local government areas in the state. These outreaches reached over 26,000 women in the 12-month”, she said.

To achieve the transformative actions that will accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer, Dr Shinkafi-Bagudu, appealed for the inclusion of HPV vaccination in the national routine immunization schedule.

She said delivering the 2030 objectives will require actions more than platitudes. She called for high-income countries to prioritize access to HPV vaccines for adolescent girls in low and middle-income countries.

Cervical cancer is a preventable and treatable disease. Yet, Nigeria has one of the highest numbers of cases worldwide; cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women in Nigeria.

Towards that end, the WHO provides catalytic support to 3 states in Nigeria, Kebbi, Niger and Ondo state for Cervical cancer screening and treatment. The plan is to screen at least 15000 women in the first phase of the program.

With support from WHO and Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), the first ladies of Kebbi, Niger, and Ondo states are leading the implementation of cervical cancer screening and treatment in the states.

Emphasizing the importance of aligning with the strategy, the WHO Country Representative (WR), Walter Kazadi Mulombo, said the support to the states is part of WHO’s efforts to ensure Nigeria joins the rest of the world on the WHO Global cervical cancer elimination agenda.

In his remark during the 2021 International Cancer week, Dr Kazadi Mulombo commended the government, especially FLAC, for supporting various cervical cancer elimination initiatives in their respective states.

He also assured Nigeria of WHO’s continual support towards eliminating cervical cancer.

“WHO is supporting the Federal Ministry of Health to conduct a national survey on the prevalence and risk factors of NCDs (NCD STEPS Survey) and prevalence of tobacco use.

“This survey will give the latest data on NCDs and their risk factors for evidence-based interventions to curb the modifiable risk factors of cancers, he said.

Source: World Health Organization. Africa

Six journalists from Angola’s state media were attacked by rioters as they were about to cover a taxi drivers’ strike in the capital of Luanda on Jan 10.

The journalists attacked included TV Zimbo reporter Telmo Gama and his cameraman Justino Campos, and TV Palanca reporters Anselmo Nhati and Orlando Luís, cameramen António Luamba and Daniel Lutaka.

TV Zimbo and TV Palanca are both state-controlled, with the latter, alongside Rádio Global and Agência de Produção de Programas de Aúdio e Visual, taken over by the state last August.

One of the journalists quoted by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said they were called sell-outs before rioters charged at them.

“Someone started to shout that we were ‘sell-outs’,” said Campos.

Gama told CPJ that petrol had been splashed on them.

“I wasn’t seriously harmed physically, but I feared for our lives when I realized petrol was thrown at our backs, as we were rushing towards the nearby police station,” he said.

Nhati was quoted by local media in Angola: “We were getting ready to launch the live signal when we were verbally and physically attacked, and almost burnt.”

In an interview with CPJ, Teixeira Cândido, the secretary-general of the Journalists Syndicate an umbrella welfare organization for media practitioners in the country, said state media journalists were being targeted and accused of biased reporting.

CPJ’s Africa programme coordinator, Angela Quintal, said: “As shown by the recent attack on the TV Zimbo and TV Palanca news crews, reporters appear to be scapegoats for some citizens’ perceived anger toward the state.”

General elections are scheduled in Angola for August to elect a president and national assembly. Incumbent João Lourenço was eligible for one more term. CPJ feared as elections approached, journalists were increasingly in danger.

“CPJ is increasingly concerned that the environment for media freedom in Angola is deteriorating as the country approaches elections later this year. The press should be allowed to do its work free from intimidation and risk of assault so that all Angolans can enjoy their right to diversity and plurality of news and information,” said Quintal.

Media reports in Angola said at least 29 protesters were accused of vandalism and damage to property, 15 had been arrested in relation to the attack on the journalists

Source: Nam News Network (NNN)