Day: September 27, 2022

 

Luanda – The Politburo of the Central Committee of MPLA Tuesday condemned demonstrations against the Executive’s actions, focused on “working more and communicating better”.

In its press note, the ruling party in Angola considered counterproductive any demonstrations that contradict the Executive’s immediate action, based on working more and communicating better”.

MPLA Politburo states that the Executive is focused on implementing the Government Programme approved at the polls.

It adds that the implementation has as the main goal to improve the living conditions of the population.

“The MPLA Politburo urges all the Angolan people to strongly repudiate all explicit or veiled actions aimed at altering the sentiment expressed by Angolans at the polls”, reads the note.

Likewise, the MPLA’s BP urges Angolans to oppose what it calls “narratives tainted” with intentions that attack national sovereignty and its holders, territorial integrity, and the constitutional order.

The MPLA reiterates its commitment to continue working with true and honest communication capable of mobilising Angolans in favour of the country’s economic and social development.

In the repudiation note, the MPLA states that “it will never be in line with political parties which do not respect the Constitution and the Law, promote subversion, incite acts of violence and vandalism, refuse to respect the people’s will”.

The document adds that such political parties, without mentioning their names,  have reached “the point of not congratulating the winner, to whom the right is now claimed to invite to walk side by side”.

In the document, the MPLA underlines that as a serious party, with State responsibilities, it will walk with the political parties that defend patriotism and national unity, promote peace and stability.

The Political Bureau, the note goes on, considers serious the insulting speeches and incitement to subversion made by those who in the National Assembly swore before the Angolan people to comply with and enforce the country’s laws.

In the document, the MPLA body appeals to its militants, sympathizers and friends to remain calm and serene, refraining from provocation and letting the competent authorities respond with legal force.

Finally, the MPLA urges the population in general to adopt a citizenship behaviour in which the protection of individual and collective rights is elevated, in order to preserve peace, stability and to discourage acts of disrespect to the authorities.

 

Source: Angola Press News Agency

 

Luanda – United Arab Emirates (UAE) businesspeople expressed interest on Monday in investing in Angola, particularly in the agri-food, tourism and hotels industry.

The intention was expressed at the meeting the Angolan extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador to the Middle East, Albino Malungo, held with the businesspeople on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the International Hunting and Horse Riding Exhibition in Abu Dhabi.

A press release reached ANGOP Tuesday, states that the Angolan ambassador praised the meeting adding that it allowed to share  experience and hold contacts with businesspeople.

Until May 2022, the United Arab Emirates led the top 10 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Angola, with US$351.7 million.

Out of 48 countries, with 234 projects worth US$2.7 billion, the United Kingdom comes second, with US$283.1 million (eight projects underway between 2018 and March 2022).

China comes third with an investment standing at USD 225 million (24 projects underway).

Among other sectors, the UAE invests in Angola in the areas of agriculture, specifically in assembling tractors and tools, as well as assembling telephones.

 

 

Source: Angola Press News Agency

 

Mbanza Kongo – The new governor of the northern Zaire Province, Adriano Mendes de Carvalho, recommended municipal administrators on Tuesday, in Mbanza Kongo City, thrifty management of public funds.

The new governor of Zaire made this recommendation while speaking at the first session of the provincial social concert and hearing council.

 

“We will work with the people and for the people”, pledged the governor, who also announced participative management.

 

Adriano de Carvalho explained that good management is embodied, above all, in the way the manager defines priorities related to the primary needs of the population.

 

He promised to work to facilitate the flow of agricultural production from the countryside to potential markets, in order to leverage the economy of local peasant families.

 

Members of the government, traditional authorities, business people, representatives of the churches and of the defence forces and internal order, as well as academics, leaders of youth organisations, non-governmental organisations, among others took part in this first social concert meeting.

 

 

Source: Angola Press News Agency

As Uganda reports more deaths from the latest Ebola outbreak in the country, medical interns at the hospital handling most of the cases have gone on strike. The interns say they are not being provided with adequate personal protective equipment against the deadly virus, which causes a hemorrhagic fever. Uganda’s health ministry has so far confirmed five deaths and 18 probable fatalities out of 36 cases.

Ugandan Health officials say they are holding talks with striking interns at central Mubende district’s hospital, which is handling most of the country’s spreading Ebola outbreak.

President for the Federation for Uganda Medical Interns, Dr. Musa Lumumba, says there is not enough personal protective gear for the interns at the hospital.

Speaking to VOA by phone, he called on Uganda’s Ministry of Health to urgently address the issue to protect doctors-in-training.

“The issue of not having accommodation, so they stay in communities, which communities have got cases of Ebola,” Lumumba said. Protection of those at the frontline. And those at the frontline are the health care workers.”

Uganda Medical Association President, Dr. Samuel Oledo, told VOA one intern, three staff, and a medical student have been confirmed for exposure to the virus and at least three senior health officers (SHO) are showing symptoms.

“We have 34 interns in Mubende. And we have less than 12 doctors employed on the ground,” Oledo said. “If you have interns and they are pulling out at once, it’s catastrophic. And the justifications are clear, honestly. Results have come out today and one of the SHOs who actually performed surgeries with one of the interns on one case has become positive of Ebola.”

Oledo said they suspect as many as 104 medical students in Mubende hospital have been exposed to the virus.

Uganda’s Ministry of Health has yet to confirm the exposures and infections of students and staff at the hospital.

Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Ainebyoona denied there is a lack of protective equipment there to guard against Ebola.

“All the protective gear to safeguard their life is available,” Ainebyoona said. “But like [with] any other infectious disease, fear will be expected. But we are working to ensure that we engage and counsel. And ensure that there are teams to respond.”

Despite the spreading virus, Uganda’s Health Ministry said the situation is under control but acknowledged that three people suspected of being infected with the virus fled Mubende’s isolation unit on Monday.

Officials say security has been beefed up since to avoid a repeat.

Uganda’s Ebola outbreak was first detected last week in Mubende, a central district, but has since spread to neighboring districts Kyegegwa and Kasanda.

Some schools in Kyegegwa have shut down for two weeks to protect students.

First reports of a possible Ebola outbreak came from Kyegegwa’s Kyaka 11 refugee camp, raising alarm bells of a possible quick spread in the packed camp.

But testing ruled out an outbreak in the camp.

After Mubende’s cases were confirmed, the U.N.’s Refugee Agency UNHCR said it added controlled entry measures at refugee settlements.

“We are stepping up some assistance programs that had been curtailed due to lack of funding since July,” said Matthew Crentsil, the UNHCR Uganda representative. “That is procurement of soap. You would agree with me, this is fundamental in curbing the spread of Ebola.”

Uganda has yet to identify the source of the Ebola outbreak, which is the Sudan strain of the virus.

The Sudan strain is less common than the Zaire strain and has no current, effective vaccine.

Uganda’s last Ebola outbreak in 2019 was the Zaire strain. It last reported a Sudan strain outbreak in 2012.

 

 

Source: Voice Of America

 

 

An experimental Alzheimer’s drug developed by Eisai and Biogen significantly slowed cognitive and functional decline in a large trial of patients in the early stages of the disease, the companies said Tuesday.

The injected drug, lecanemab, slowed progress of the brain-wasting disease by 27% compared with a placebo, meeting the study’s main goal and offering an apparent win for the companies and potentially for patients and their families desperate for an effective treatment.

Eisai said the results from the 1,800-patient trial prove the longstanding theory that removal of sticky deposits of a protein called amyloid beta from the brains of people with early Alzheimer’s can delay advance of the debilitating disease.

“It’s not a huge effect, but it’s a positive effect,” said Ronald Petersen, director of the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center in Rochester, Minnesota, adding that the results were extremely important for Alzheimer’s research.

“This means that treating amyloid is a step in the right direction,” he said.

Results considered a “win”

Wall Street analysts, such as Salim Syed at Mizuho Securities, have said the results would be considered a “win” if lecanemab slowed the rate of decline by about 25%, and that shares of both companies could jump on the news.

Shares of Biogen and Eisai were halted, but shares of Eli Lilly, which is also developing an Alzheimer’s drug, were up 6.7% in after-hours trading.

Lecanemab, like the companies’ previous drug Aduhelm, is an antibody designed to remove those amyloid deposits. Unlike Aduhelm, lecanemab targets forms of amyloid that have not yet clumped together.

The so-called amyloid hypothesis has been challenged by some scientists, particularly after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s controversial approval of Aduhelm in 2021 based on its plaque-clearing ability rather than proof that it helped slow cognitive decline. The decision came after the FDA’s own panel of outside experts had advised against approval.

Aduhelm was the first new Alzheimer’s drug approved in 20 years after a long list of high-profile failures for the industry.

Eisai, leader of the 50-50 partnership’s lecanemab program, is seeking FDA approval under the same accelerated pathway as Aduhelm, with a decision expected in early January. But on Tuesday, the Japanese drugmaker said it would use the new efficacy results to submit lecanemab for traditional FDA review.

The company said it will also seek authorization in Japan and Europe during its current fiscal year, ending March 31.

The Phase III trial evaluated the drug’s ability to reduce cognitive and functional decline based on the Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB), a numerical scale used to quantify the severity of dementia in patients in areas such as memory, orientation, judgment and problem-solving and personal care.

Brain swelling

The rate of ARIA-E, a brain swelling side effect associated with anti-amyloid treatments, was 12.5% in the lecanemab group, versus 1.7% in the placebo group.

While the side effect showed up on imaging, many of these cases were not symptomatic, the companies said. Symptomatic brain swelling was seen in 2.8% of those in the lecanemab group and none of the placebo group, they said.

The trial also tracked the rate of micro hemorrhages in the brain, which occurred at a rate of 17% in the lecanemab group, and 8.7% in the placebo group.

The total incidence of both conditions was 21.3% in the lecanemab group and 9.3% in the placebo group, rates that fell within an expected range, the companies said.

Petersen said the side effect was present, but much less than with Aduhelm, and “certainly tolerable.”

Aduhelm’s approval was a rare bright spot for Alzheimer’s patients, but critics have called for more evidence that amyloid-targeting drugs are worth the cost.

The controversy and reluctance by some payers to cover Aduhelm led Biogen to slash the drug’s price to $28,000 per year from an initial $56,000.

But Medicare, the U.S. government health plan for people 65 and older, this year said it would only pay for Aduhelm if patients were enrolled in a valid clinical trial, which sharply curtailed the medication’s use. Since Alzheimer’s is a disease of aging, an estimated 85% of patients eligible for the drug are covered by the government plan.

The number of Americans living with Alzheimer’s is expected to rise to about 13 million by 2050 from more than 6 million currently, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Globally, that figure could rise to 139 million by 2050 without an effective treatment, according to Alzheimer’s Disease International.

 

Source: Voice Of America