Author: Herneisha Collins

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reviewed its efforts to help Nigeria end the Human Immunodeficiency Virus as a public health threat by 2030. The US also introduced its plans for an integrated health services delivery initiative. It made this known during its 3rd Biannual Program Performance Review and Stakeholder Engagement Meeting from October 17 to 19, 2023. The meeting was part of the US CDC’s commitment to regularly review and adapt programming to meet the needs of the HIV response in Nigeria. According to a press release on Thursday, the meetings provided partners and stakeholders…

Belarmino Chitangueleca, the executive director at the National Agency of Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG), said the country hoped to maintain its goal even as it looks to stabilise declining output from mature fields. Mr Chitangueleca told Reuters in an interview that Angola would announce the winning bidders for its latest onshore licensing round by March. Africa’s second-largest crude oil exporter has seen output decline steadily since hitting a peak of two million bpd in 2008. It is looking to diversify more into gas. Mr Chitangueleca said the country could set up a second LNG train, which processes and converts…

Nigeria’s government proposed the sum of N26.01 trillion for the 2024 fiscal year, the Federal Executive Council said it was working towards ensuring that the January to December budget circle is maintained and that the 2024 budget is passed and signed before December 31, 2023. The Minister of Budget and Planning, Atiku Bagudu disclosed this at the end of the Council meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu. Compared to the 2023 budget which is N21.83 trillion, the proposed budget is the largest yet in Nigeria’s history. While a larger budget can potentially stimulate economic growth and address pressing issues,…

A non-governmental organization, the Africa Youth Growth Foundation, AYGR, yesterday, disclosed 1.4 million Nigerians are killed by diseases traceable to inadequate handwash facilities. The Executive Director, AYGR, Dr Arome Salifu, said this during a visit to Government Day Secondary School, GDSS, Bwari, Abuja, in commemoration of the Global Handwashing Day with the theme ‘Clean Hands are Within Reach’. Arome while quoting the World Health Organization, WHO also noted that unsafe hand hygiene is responsible for 394,000 deaths from diarrhoea and 356,000 deaths from ARIs. He also explained that the aim to engage the students, particularly in Bwari Area Council, with…

The face of healthcare delivery in northern Ghana has changed thanks to the efforts of a Qualicum Beach doctor and the non-profit organization she founded 14 years ago. Ghana Medical Help (GMH) connects hospitals with life-saving equipment and supplies across an area where two million people live, many in extreme poverty. Dr. Kelly Hadfield travelled to the west African country for the first time 14 years ago as an undergraduate medical student and saw that people were dying from preventable causes. After spending time in the capital of Accra, she moved on to a district hospital in a northern town…

Hamas-linked financiers from Sudan and Algeria are among 10 new individuals and entities identified by the United States and subject to sanctions imposed by the Department of Treasury, the U.S. announced Wednesday. Abdelbasit Hamza Elhassan Mohamed Khair, known as Hamza, has assisted Hamas through a network of large companies in Sudan, the U.S. said. “The network used by Hamza to launder money and generate revenue for Hamas includes Sudan-based Al Rowad Real Estate Development,” said the U.S. statement, referring to a firm previously identified in 2022. “Hamza also has longstanding ties to terrorism financing, including historic ties to al-Qaida and…

International development organisation Sightsavers is calling on global leaders to end the geographical inequity of eye health services. Everyone, including remote and rural communities, women and girls, people with disabilities, should have access to the services they need. Yet the availability of eye health services and products like glasses varies across and within countries. They are often easily accessible in urban areas but less so in other places and for marginalised groups. Globally, 1.1 billion people have an untreated or preventable visual impairment1. Many regions also have low numbers of ophthalmologists, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa which ranges from between one…

The U.S. government has donated an 11-meter Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat (RHIB) to the Nigeria Navy Special Boat Service as part of a longstanding security partnership. The RHIB will support the Nigeria Navy Special Boat Service rapid response in Nigeria’s territorial waters. Delivering remarks at the Boat Transfer Ceremony hosted by the Nigerian Navy at the Joint Maritime Security Training Center in Lagos, U.S. Consul General Will Stevens highlighted the strong maritime partnership the United States and Nigeria have promoting peace, stability, and security in Africa. “The donation of the Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat from the U.S. government to the…

Although the number has increased dramatically, there has to be an even greater acceleration. There are already over 3000 installations. More than 160,000 mini-grids are reportedly needed, according to one estimate (World Bank, 2023), to satisfy access demands. “Kenya features prominently in the region, having deployed a significant share of Africa’s mini-grids,” this is according to the Renewable Energy and Jobs Annual Review 2023, by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), an intergovernmental organization that supports countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future. The EU-funded Green Mini-Grid (GMG) Facility Programme in Kenya, which consists of 33 locations and…

Banana plant stems are mostly useless following harvest of the fruit. It takes time and work to remove the stem from the ground. Then the farmers have to crush the plant waste to small pieces to spread around crops. But is there a better way to deal with the plant waste? A company in Uganda says yes. The business is collecting banana stems to process the plant tissue and make products. The idea is both new and sustainable in the East African country where banana plants are very important. Uganda has the highest rate of banana use in the world.…