September 18, 2021

College of Theology graduates 92 students

In its first commencement, the Debre Sina Trinity College of Theology of the Orthodox Tewahdo Church of Eritrea graduated 92 students today, 18 September, in General Theology.

The graduation ceremony was attended by His Holiness Abune Qerlos 5th Patriarch of the Orthodox Tewahdo Church of Eritrea, as well as members of the Holy Synod and Archbishops.

Indicating that the College has been established in 2004 and started to provide formal education before four years, Father Silas Berhane, Assistant Dean of the College, said that the College will have a significant contribution to the overall development of the Church.

Abune Qerlos also handed over certificates to the graduates and medals of merit to outstanding students.

Congratulating the graduates, Abune Lukas, General Secretary of the Holy Synod, said that the event was possible owing to the heavy sacrifice paid for Eritrea’s independence.

The representative of the graduates commending for the educational opportunity they were provided, expressed conviction to live up to the expectations.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

September 18, 2021

WhiteHouase.gov: Executive order on imposing sanctions on certain persons with respect to the humanitarian and human rights crises in Ethiopia

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) (NEA), sections 212(f) and 215(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and 1185(a)), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,

I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, find that the situation in and in relation to northern Ethiopia, which has been marked by activities that threaten the peace, security, and stability of Ethiopia and the greater Horn of Africa region — in particular, widespread violence, atrocities, and serious human rights abuse, including those involving ethnic-based violence, rape and other forms of gender-based violence, and obstruction of humanitarian operations — constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat.

The widespread humanitarian crisis precipitated by the violent conflict in northern Ethiopia has left millions of people in need of humanitarian assistance and has placed an entire region on the brink of famine. While maintaining pressure on those persons responsible for the crisis, the United States will seek to ensure that appropriate personal remittances to non-blocked persons and humanitarian assistance to at-risk populations can flow to Ethiopia and the greater Horn of Africa region through legitimate and transparent channels, including governments, international organizations, and non-profit organizations. The United States supports ongoing international efforts to promote a negotiated ceasefire and political resolution of this crisis, to ensure the withdrawal of Eritrean forces from Ethiopia, and to promote the unity, territorial integrity, and stability of Ethiopia.

Accordingly, I hereby order:

Section 1. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to impose any of the sanctions described in section 2(a) of this order on any foreign person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State:

(a) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to have directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in, any of the following:

(i) actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, or stability of Ethiopia, or that have the purpose or effect of expanding or extending the crisis in northern Ethiopia or obstructing a ceasefire or a peace process;

(ii) corruption or serious human rights abuse in or with respect to northern Ethiopia;

(iii) the obstruction of the delivery or distribution of, or access to, humanitarian assistance in or with respect to northern Ethiopia, including attacks on humanitarian aid personnel or humanitarian projects;

(iv) the targeting of civilians through the commission of acts of violence in or with respect to northern Ethiopia, including involving abduction, forced displacement, or attacks on schools, hospitals, religious sites, or locations where civilians are seeking refuge, or any conduct that would constitute a violation of international humanitarian law;

(v) planning, directing, or committing attacks in or with respect to northern Ethiopia against United Nations or associated personnel or African Union or associated personnel;

(vi) actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions in Ethiopia; or

(vii) actions or policies that undermine the territorial integrity of Ethiopia;

(b) to be a military or security force that operates or has operated in northern Ethiopia on or after November 1, 2020;

(c) to be an entity, including any government entity or a political party, that has engaged in, or whose members have engaged in, activities that have contributed to the crisis in northern Ethiopia or have obstructed a ceasefire or peace process to resolve such crisis;

(d) to be a political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of the Government of Ethiopia, the Government of Eritrea or its ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, the Amhara regional government, or the Amhara regional or irregular forces;

(e) to be a spouse or adult child of any sanctioned person;

(f) to be or have been a leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors of any of the following, where the leader, official, senior executive officer, or director is responsible for or complicit in, or who has directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in, any activity contributing to the crisis in northern Ethiopia:

(i) an entity, including a government entity or a military or security force, operating in northern Ethiopia during the tenure of the leader, official, senior executive officer, or director;

(ii) an entity that has, or whose members have, engaged in any activity contributing to the crisis in northern Ethiopia or obstructing a ceasefire or a peace process to resolve such crisis during the tenure of the leader, official, senior executive officer, or director; or

(iii) the Government of Ethiopia, the Government of Eritrea or its ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, the Amhara regional government, or the Amhara regional or irregular forces, on or after November 1, 2020;

(g) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, any sanctioned person; or

(h) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any sanctioned person.

Sec. 2. (a) When the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, has determined that a foreign person meets any of the criteria described in section 1(a)-(h) of this order, the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to select, in consultation with the Secretary of State, one or more of the sanctions set forth in subsections (a)(i)(A)-(E) or (a)(ii)(A)-(B) of this section to impose on that foreign person:

(i) the Secretary of the Treasury shall take the following actions as necessary to implement the selected sanctions:

(A) block all property and interests in property of the sanctioned person that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person, and provide that such property and interests in property may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in;

(B) prohibit any United States person from investing in or purchasing significant amounts of equity or debt instruments of the sanctioned person;

(D) prohibit any transactions in foreign exchange that are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and in which the sanctioned person has any interest; or

(E) impose on the leader, official, senior executive officer, or director of the sanctioned person, or on persons performing similar functions and with similar authorities as such leader, official, senior executive officer, or director, any of the sanctions described in subsections (a)(i)(A)-(D) of this section that are applicable.

(ii) the heads of the relevant executive departments and agencies, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall take the following actions as necessary and appropriate to implement the sanctions selected by the Secretary of the Treasury:

(A) actions required to deny any specific license, grant, or any other specific permission or authority under any statute or regulation that requires the prior review and approval of the United States Government as a condition for the export or reexport of goods or technology to the sanctioned person; or

(B) actions required to deny a visa to and exclude from the United States any noncitizen whom the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, determines is a leader, official, senior executive officer, or director, or a shareholder with a controlling interest in, the sanctioned person.

(b) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted before the date of this order. No entity shall be blocked pursuant to this order solely because it is owned in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, by one or more sanctioned persons, unless the entity is itself a sanctioned person and the sanctions in section 2(a)(i)(A) of this order are imposed on the entity.

Sec. 3. The prohibitions in section 2(a) of this order include:

(a) the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order; and

(b) the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.

Sec. 4. (a) The unrestricted immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the United States of noncitizens determined to meet one or more of the criteria in section l of this order, and for whom the sanctions described in section 2(a)(i)(A) or section 2(a)(ii)(B) of this order have been selected, would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, and the entry of such persons into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, is hereby suspended, except when the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security, as appropriate, determines that the person’s entry would not be contrary to the interests of the United States, including when the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security, as appropriate, so determines, based on a recommendation of the Attorney General, that the person’s entry would further important United States law enforcement objectives.

(b) The Secretary of State shall implement this order as it applies to visas pursuant to such procedures as the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, may establish.

(c) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall implement this order as it applies to the entry of noncitizens pursuant to such procedures as the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, may establish.

(d) Such persons shall be treated by this section in the same manner as persons covered by section 1 of Proclamation 8693 of July 24, 2011 (Suspension of Entry of Aliens Subject to United Nations Security Council Travel Bans and International Emergency Economic Powers Act Sanctions).

Sec. 5. (a) Any transaction that evades or avoids, has the purpose of evading or avoiding, causes a violation of, or attempts to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.

(b) Any conspiracy formed to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.

Sec. 6. I hereby determine that the making of donations of the types of articles specified in section 203(b)(2) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(2)) by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order would seriously impair my ability to deal with the national emergency declared in this order, and I hereby prohibit such donations as provided by section 2 of this order.

Sec. 7. For the purposes of this order:

(a) the term “entity” means a partnership, association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group, subgroup, or other organization;

(b) the term “Government of Ethiopia” means the Government of Ethiopia, any political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including the National Bank of Ethiopia, and any person owned, controlled, or directed by, or acting for or on behalf of, the Government of Ethiopia;

(c) the term “Government of Eritrea” means the Government of Eritrea, any political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including the Bank of Eritrea, and any person owned, controlled, or directed by, or acting for or on behalf of, the Government of Eritrea;

(d) the term “noncitizen” means any person who is not a citizen or noncitizen national of the United States;

(e) the term “person” means an individual or entity;

(f) the term “sanctioned person” means a foreign person that the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, has determined meets any of the criteria described in section 1 of this order and has selected, in consultation with the Secretary of State, one or more of the sanctions set forth in section 2(a) of this order to impose on that foreign person; and

(g) the term “United States person” means any United States citizen, lawful permanent resident, entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States (including foreign branches), or any person in the United States.

Sec. 8. For those persons whose property and interests in property are blocked or affected by this order who might have a constitutional presence in the United States, I find that because of the ability to transfer funds and other assets instantaneously, prior notice to such persons of measures to be taken pursuant to this order would render those measures ineffectual. I therefore determine that for these measures to be effective in addressing the national emergency declared in this order, there need be no prior notice of a listing or determination made pursuant to section 1 of this order.

Sec. 9. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this order. The Secretary of the Treasury may, consistent with applicable law, redelegate any of these functions within the Department of the Treasury. All executive departments and agencies of the United States shall take all appropriate measures within their authority to implement this order.

Sec. 10. Nothing in this order shall prohibit transactions for the conduct of the official business of the Federal Government by employees, grantees, and contractors thereof.

Sec. 11. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is authorized to submit recurring and final reports to the Congress on the national emergency declared in this order, consistent with section 401(c) of the NEA (50 U.S.C. 1641(c)) and section 204(c) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1703(c)).

Sec. 12. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

Source: Dehai Eritrea Online

September 18, 2021

‘Hard Work is What We Need and I Trust that Most Eritrean Farmers have that Quality,’ Farmer Mahder Mantay

Meet Mr. Mahder Manta, a recipient of the Minimum Integrated Household Agricultural Package (MIHAP) introduced by the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) in 2015. Mr. Mahder, a farmer, lives in Elabered sub-zone, Anseba Region. His desire to change and work hard on his farm has enabled him to be recognized as one of the exemplary farmers in his area. This is an interview he conducted with Filmawit Measho from the Public Relations Division at the MoA.

• How did it all begin, Mr. Mah¬der?

To begin with, I started work¬ing as an employee at agricultural farms in Hagaz, Adi Berbere, and Alebu. The experience I gained there and seeing what people can do and produce if they work hard gave me the inspiration to want to have something of my own. By 1998, I tried to dig a well and shared a water pump with a neighbor of mine before the Min¬istry of Agriculture gave me a generator. That was all before the third offensive during the border war in 2000, and just like every¬one else, I left home to defend my country. This put a hold on my agricultural activities for quite some time.

In 2015, I became one of the beneficiaries of MIHAP; I was given 25 chickens, two beehives, fruit seedlings, and vegetable crops. I now have half a hectare of land where I grow Alfalfa and elephant grass for animal feed, guava trees, and orange trees. I also crop-rotate all kinds of veg-etables and my land is suitable for any type of plant.

• Any reason why the land is suitable for any type of plant? What can you tell us about the importance of good land man¬agement in agriculture?

Well, initially the land was not fertile, but then we were given training on the benefits and prep-aration of compost by the Min¬istry. Immediately, I dug up two holes and started to prepare it for a trial in making compost. Then I started treating my land with it. I was so surprised by the re-sults; my land started to regenerate and give me more harvest. After that, I even stopped using artificial fer¬tilizers. I use only compost for my crops. I trust that having the right land management is vital in agriculture. I would pre¬fer to have a small agricul¬tural area and work to expand it through work and experience. I honestly don’t believe that there is bad land; I just think that farm¬ers have to know what the crops need and pay attention to what is missing and what is required for the land to yield good products. Having this theory has allowed me to have good harvest, better than those who own much larger farms.

• Mr. Mahder, what are the ben¬efits you got out of MIHAP?

In the past, we used to go to the Western low lands and Semenawi Bahri to look for job opportu-nities. We wouldn’t even have time to spend the night at home. Nonetheless, after what the MoA has offered us, everything is easier for us, farmers, since we are provided with everything we need. Now, I don’t have to travel long looking for job opportuni¬ties; I have everything I need right in front of me. My family gets milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, eggs, meat, crops, vegetables, and fruits right from our own farm. I also make money by selling my products to the public. My wife, along with other women farmers, was trained about the benefits of sweet potato and we have planted some for trial and are expecting good harvest soon. Besides, hav¬ing understood the benefits of dairy products, I have exchanged my oxen for a cow and raised the number of my cows to four, which has enabled me to pay my debt.

• Any challeng¬es you faced in the process?

I believe if you have love and under¬standing with your family, chal¬lenges can be dealt with. My wife and kids are always by my side, and we get a lot of advice and help from the Ministry of Agriculture. The only challenge we have now is a sustainable water sources. We have a check dam but the rain has not been helpful. And at times, we don’t find a market for our sur¬plus products. Nevertheless, I am thankful.

• Any message you would like to convey?

I am very blessed to be one of the farmers to be part of the MIHAP. I never thought that I would be where I am today. I believe if we keep on going like this, we will provide our prod¬ucts not only for our subzone but for the whole country. Hard work is what we need and I trust that most Eritrean farmers have that quality. I see a bright future for all of us. Also, I applaud the Ministry of Agriculture for all the work it does and the oppor¬tunities and assistance it is giving farmers. Thank you.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

September 18, 2021

Elabered Sub-Zone on Development Track

There is a general consensus that basic social services are the building blocks for human development. Indeed, they are now accepted as fundamental human rights. The lack of access to basic services is measured by the human cost: the lives lost, children out of school, and people without access to safe water and sanitation because they lack basic social services. The Government of Eritrea has pursued a cautious path to avoid this problem and invested heavily in remote areas. As a result, the rural-urban development gap has gotten very narrow over the years. Today, we will take you to Elabered sub-zone and look at the development initiatives.

Elabered sub-zone is one of the eleven sub-zones in Anseba region. It is bordered by the sub-zones of Gheleb in the north, Adi-tekelezan in the East, Logo Anseba in the West, and Hagaz in the South. It is inhabited by around 37 thousand people in 14 administrative areas. Elabered sub-zone covers an area of 63,590 hectares, of which around six thousand hectares are suitable for agriculture. Though the topography of the sub-zone features mountainous areas, it is endowed with fertile farmlands and there are places where intensive agriculture is practiced along the river banks, the Elabered Estate being a primary example. Agriculture is the main practice of the people and mainstay of their socio-economic structure, while a small portion of the people in the sub-zone is engaged in trade and other activities.

Farmers grow a variety of crops, cereals, fruits, and vegetables. Elabered and its vicinity are one of the top vegetable-producing areas in the country. The product is supplied to surrounding markets and Asmara. This season, farmers of the sub-zone are expecting a bumper harvest thanks to the good rainfall.

Mr. Seltene Gaim, Head of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) branch in the sub-zone, said that agriculture experts from the MoA carry out regular extension activities to enhance the production capacity of farmers. Some of the commonly seen problems among farmers were the practice of mono-cropping, unwise use of pesticides and herbicides, planting the same vegetable in one season which leads to market oversupply and eventually cheap price for the product which exposes the farmers to unnecessary post-harvest losses. The farmers are now advised to apply compost fertilizer because the artificial fertilizer could increase the salinity of the farms in the long run.

Mr. Meharena Tekleab, Administrator of the sub-zone, says it is evident that education is important in reducing poverty and enhancing the overall quality of living. In Elabered sub-zone, there are 41 schools that range from primary to secondary level. In the previous academic year, around ten thousand students were enrolled in all of these schools. A new school for Down syndrome students has also been opened last year. According to documents from the Ministry of Education (MoE) branch in the sub-zone, this year alone, more than 500 inhabitants attended a crush program as part of the campaign to eradicate illiteracy and support the students who were unable to start education at proper school age.

The participation of females is increasing compared to the previous years. This year, females comprised 42 percent of the enrolled students. The Ministry of Education branch in the sub-zone works closely with all related stakeholders to tackle problems related to enrollment of female students by raising awareness on the importance of education in boosting social and economic development.

Similar considerations apply to access to health care. There are four health stations and one community hospital in the sub-zone. Mr. Alazar Haile, Medical Director of the Ministry of Health (MoH) in the sub-zone, indicated that there are areas where additional health facilities are needed, the quality of health service delivered is being improved from time to time. All of these health institutions were built over the last independence years and this locality was one of the areas that were deprived of basic social services.

The remote areas are reached by barefoot medics and through outreach campaigns. Elabered sub-zone is one of the areas where the malaria disease was very common due to its location in the lowland area. The MoH has been able to control the prevalence of this disease by training the barefoot medics and unremitting awareness-raising campaigns.

Access to clean water was a big challenge in the sub-zone for some years. Currently, 13 of the 14 administrative areas have access to clean water supply which are powered by generators and solar energy, and some are operated by hand pumps. Various water-conserving schemes have been implemented and the overall water scarcity problem has been solved. Continuous work is also being carried out to clear up the water reservoirs filled with sediments. Due to its location along the Asmara – Keren route, the transportation services to and from the subzone are very good. The villages around are connected through dirt roads and the local inhabitants in collaboration with the administration often engage in renovation activities whenever they get flood eroded. Electricity is available in all six administrative areas and the town itself and work are underway to expand to the local villages that are yet to be connected to the national grid. Telecommunication service is largely available except in small pockets. The expansion is underway to reach inaccessible areas. The famous Debresina Monastery which was once the site of the first Holy Communion prepared in the Eritrean Orthodox Church, by the 4th-century bishop Aba Salama, is found in this sub-zone. The monastery is also a site of a pilgrimage each year in June.

Elabered sub-zone has a very strategic location and with the growing access to the necessary services, it could be a hub for agriculture and tourism of the Anseba region.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

September 18, 2021

South Africa’s top court rejects Zuma’s bid to overturn sentence

South Africa’s top court has ruled that former President Jacob Zuma had failed in his bid to have his 15-month jail sentence for failing to attend a corruption inquiry overturned.

The sentence was handed down in June after Zuma failed to testify at an inquiry probing corruption during his nine-year rule, seen as a test of post-apartheid South Africa’s ability to enforce the rule of law, particularly against powerful politicians.

In a majority decision on Friday, the Constitutional Court rejected his arguments.

“The application for rescission is dismissed,” Justice Sisi Khampepe said as she read the majority decision, which included an order for Zuma to pay costs.

It was the latest legal setback for the 79-year-old anti-apartheid veteran from the ruling African National Congress, whose presidency between 2009 and 2018 was marred by widespread allegations of corruption and malfeasance. He denies wrongdoing.

“Obviously the foundation is disappointed with this judgment,” Mzwanele Manyi, spokesman for the JG Zuma Foundation, said in response.

Zuma’s jailing on July 7, after handing himself over to police at the last minute, led to violent riots, looting, and vandalism in South Africa, killing more than 300 people and costing businesses billions of South African rand.

His successor Cyril Ramaphosa described the unrest as an orchestrated attempt to destabilize the country and pledged to crack down on alleged instigators.

The violence was also fuelled by simmering frustration among largely Black communities still living in squalid conditions long after the ANC swept to power in South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994.

A former senior intelligence operative with the ANC’s then banned military wing uMkhonto we Sizwe before rising to the highest office, Zuma says he is the victim of a political witchhunt and that acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo is biased.

Zondo served as chairman of the graft inquiry.

The department of correctional services placed Zuma on medical parole earlier this month after surgery following his hospitalization in August. That decision is being challenged by the opposition Democratic Alliance.

Zuma faces 16 counts of fraud, corruption, and racketeering related to the 1999 purchase of fighter jets, patrol boats, and equipment from five European arms firms when he was deputy president.

He is accused of taking bribes from one of the firms, French defense giant Thales, which has been charged with corruption and money laundering.

Source: Nam News Network (NNN)

September 18, 2021

Malawi Trial Shows New Typhoid Vaccine Effective in Children

Malawi plans a nationwide rollout of the newest typhoid vaccine after a two-year study, the first in Africa, found it safe and effective in children as young as 9 months. Previously available vaccines were found not effective in children younger than 2 years and even then only provided short-term protection.

Typhoid is an increasing public health threat in Malawi and across sub-Saharan Africa with an estimated 1.2 million cases and 19,000 deaths each year.

Typhoid is a treatable bacterial infection that has become a serious threat in many low- and middle-income countries.

In Malawi, the study on the efficacy of the Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine or TCV involved about 28,000 children aged between 9 months and 15 years from three townships in the commercial capital, Blantyre.

The University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health, the Blantyre Malaria Project, and the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust conducted the study.

Professor Melita Gordon, principal investigator for the study at the Malawi-Liverpool Wellcome Trust, says the results, released this week, show an efficacy rate of more than 80% in protecting children against the disease.

“The previous vaccines were only 50% effective, and they were never even tested very well in the very youngest children. They were never even usable in the youngest children. So, the fact that this new conjugate vaccine works in pre-school children, right down to 9 months is a really big deal and important to be able to tackle typhoid across the board in all the children who suffer with it,” she said.

Gordon also said the vaccine efficacy data provides hope that sub-Saharan Africa can be rid of the multidrug-resistant strain of typhoid that arrived from Asia about a decade ago.

“In Malawi, the incidents are something [around] four or five hundred cases per 100,000 per year. Now anything over 200 is considered high incidence, so we are a very high-incidence country. There have been studies in Burkina Faso, in Ghana, in Kenya; we know that many other African countries have an equivalent burden of the disease,” Gordon said.

Dr. Queen Dube, chief of health services in Malawi’s Health Ministry, says rollout should begin soon.

“The exciting news is that we had applied to GAVI that supports us on the vaccination front to add this to the list of vaccines we are administering in the country and GAVI approved our application. And we are looking at introducing this typhoid vaccine and rolling it out next year,” Dube said.

However, some fear the new typhoid vaccine would face hesitancy and resistance from people, as has been the case with COVID-19 vaccines, and which led to the incineration of about 20,000 expired doses in Malawi in May.

But Dube said this won’t happen with typhoid vaccine because COVID-19 was a new disease.

“We have had typhoid for decades and decades, so people know what typhoid is. Nobody will wake up in the morning saying, oh no, typhoid was manufactured in a laboratory. And so, chances that you will end up with misinformation are on the lower side compared with a new disease which swept across the globe, killing so many people brought a lot of fear and a allowed a lot of false theories,” she said.

Still, Dube said Malawi’s government plans to launch a massive sensitization campaign to teach people about the new typhoid vaccine to a reemergence of the myths and misinformation that engulfed the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

Source: Voice of America

September 18, 2021

WHO: Rich Countries’ Chokehold on COVID Vaccines Prolongs Pandemic in Africa

The World Health Organization is warning that COVID-19 vaccine export bans and hoarding by wealthy countries will prolong the pandemic in Africa, preventing recovery from the disease in the rest of the world.

While more than 60% of the U.S., European Union, and British populations have been vaccinated, only 2% of COVID vaccine shots have been given in Africa.

The COVAX facility has slashed its planned COVID-19 vaccine deliveries to Africa by 25% this year. WHO Africa regional director Matshidiso Moeti says the 470 million doses now expected to arrive by the end of December are enough to vaccinate just 17% of Africans on the continent.

“Export bans and vaccine hoarding still have a chokehold on the lifeline of vaccine supplies to Africa.… Even if all planned shipments via COVAX and the African Union arrive, Africa still needs almost 500 million more doses to reach the yearend goal. At this rate, the continent may only reach the 40% target by the end of March next year,” Moeti said.

The WHO reports more than 8 million cases of COVID-19 in Africa, including more than 200,000 deaths. Forty-four African countries have reported the alpha variant and 32 countries have reported the more virulent and contagious delta variant.

Moeti warns of further waves of infection and loss of life in this pandemic. Given the short supply of vaccines, she urges strict adherence to preventive measures, such as mask wearing and social distancing.

She reiterates WHO’s call for a halt to booster shots in wealthy nations, except for those with compromised immune systems and at risk of severe illness and death.

“I have said many times that it is in everyone’s interest to make sure the most at-risk groups in every country are protected. As it stands, the huge gaps in vaccine equity are not closing anywhere near fast enough. The quickest way to end this pandemic, is for countries with reserves to release their doses so that other countries can buy them,” she said.

Moeti said African countries with low vaccination rates are breeding grounds for vaccine-resistant variants. She warned this could end up sending the world back to square 1, with the pandemic continuing to ravage communities worldwide if vaccine inequity is allowed to persist.

Source: Voice of America