In this issue
Africa urged to produce its own vaccines
Africa’s Vaccine Manufacturing Virtual Conference, convened on 12th April, the continent’s leaders, including Heads of State, health and business sector representatives, were in one accord in urging the continent to produce its own vaccines, as this will lead to health and economic security.During Africa’s Vaccine Manufacturin
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that access to essential medicines and vaccines is a national and continental security issue. In Africa’s bid to achieve universal healthcare for its people, there is need to take local manufacturing of essential medicines and vaccines as a critical part of Africa's developmental goals.
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65th NEPAD Steering Committee Meeting: Delivering Results for Africa
The 65th meeting of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Steering Committee was convened virtually on 29th April, with a focus on NEPAD’s delivery. The meeting was officially opened by the Co-chair of the Steering Committee, Ms Diyana Gitera, Rwanda’s AUDA-NEPAD and APRM Advisor in the Office of the President.
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Development of AIP Water Investment Scorecard Kicks-Off
The Development of the AIP Water Investment Scorecard, which will assist in mobilising water and sanitation investments in Africa through political commitment at the highest level in Africa, was formally initiated during an online event hosted on 29 April 2021.
The event was hosted by H.E. Jakaya Kikwete, Chair of Global Water Partnership Southern Africa and Africa Coordination and Dr Ibrahim Mayaki, CEO of the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD, and attended by leaders from the African Ministers’ Council on Water, World Bank, African Development Bank, Development Bank of Southern Africa, and the Global Centre on Adaptation who expressed intent to collaborate on the process.
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The AUDA-NEPAD Pandemic Resilience Accelerator has kicked off its first pilot cohort of 5 HGS
The Pandemic Resilience Accelerator for African Health-Related Businesses was founded by the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), a pan-African institution at the forefront of policy harmonization, in partnership with JICA, the official development assistance agency of the Government of Japan, and with support from Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a global management consulting firm.
This initiative aims to accelerate African home-grown solutions (HGS) that are improving pandemic resilience. It provides hands-on, tailored acceleration support to growth and mature stage African health-related businesses that are improving healthcare capacity or reducing reliance on external medical supply chains.
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Vodacom Group partners with AUDA NEPAD for major vaccine roll-out
Vodacom Group and the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) are offering the mVacciNation digital toolbox - a mobile technology platform that manages vaccination appointments and stock availability - in African Union member states to accelerate the Covid-19 vaccine roll-out.
In South Africa, the National Department of Health has used mVacciNation to register health workers on its Covid-19 Electronic Vaccine Data System (EVDS), and nearly 279,000 vaccinations have been administered to date.
mVaccination has also been successfully deployed in Mozambique, Tanzania and Nigeria to manage infant inoculations.
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Businesses innovating for landscape Restoration
From boosting agricultural yields to creating jobs and fighting climate change, there are multiple benefits to making degraded land healthy again. Landscape restoration creates environmental and economic benefits by revitalizing ecosystems and rural communities. Across the world, companies with a wide range of business models are creating businesses and generating incomes and profits [making money] from planting trees and transforming agriculture. These restoration businesses are proving that restoring degraded forests and agricultural lands is not only good for the planet but a good business opportunity as well. And entrepreneurs are the secret solution.
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Southern Africa TB and Health Systems Support Project Desk Review Report 2020
Africa harbours the world’s largest mineral reserves of platinum, gold, diamonds, chromite, manganese, and vanadium. The continent is endowed with 30% of the world’s mineral reserves, which accounts for over 50% of exports. As an important sector, mining contributes to the creation of employment for many of the continent’s citizens and in the advent of regional integration, the sector facilitates labour migration among countries. The African Union (AU) adopted the African Mining Vision (AMV) as a policy framework for mineral-based development in Africa to guide countries on effectively and sustainably embracing the growth of the sector.
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Partners for action
Opening new cooperation perspectives: The Republic of IndonesiaOn the 19th of February 2021, HE Dr Ibrahim Mayaki CEO of the AUDA-NEPAD, met with HE Mr Salman Al Farisi Ambassador of the republic of Indonesia to South Africa. The two parties agreed to open avenues of cooperation with a South-South win-win perspective.
During the same meeting, the Indonesian Government expressed its willingness to support the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) process and the opportunities it brings to the continent. In the same vein, the CEO of AUDA-NEPAD highlighted the new role of the agency and its focus on helping to capacitate small businesses and the informal market to benefit from the AfCFTA. The agency supports the AfCFTA Secretariat towards unlocking the potential that this market presents, not only to Africa but to the rest of world.