Category: Business

JOHANNESBURG —

Coal provides more than 75% of South Africa’s energy supply, but in the wake of global warming, pressure is mounting for that to change. Protests were seen across the country last week and now a proposed Chinese-backed coal power plant may be scrapped.

It’s what keeps the lights on and industries running.

But South Africa’s coal energy sector is facing mounting pressure at home and abroad to end its use of coal for good.

Frustrated with regular blackouts and the effects of pollution, citizens of the mineral-rich country rallied last week, demanding cleaner, more reliable and affordable alternatives.

Urika Pais was among the protesters from Soweto.

“Electricity has always been a problem in our community. So, community members went forward and they fought for electricity. But when the electricity came, it came at a very high price. We know that solar power is a better solution and it will be cheaper,” said Pais.

South Africa is among the world’s top 15 largest emitters of carbon dioxide. Its reliance on coal stems from having vast quantities of the resource underground.

This week, though, South Africa’s government told the United Nations it is setting more ambitious climate targets.

While environmentalists welcomed the commitment, they say change to the energy sector is not happening fast enough.

Nicole Loser is an attorney with the Centre for Environmental Rights.

“We have to drastically reduce our emissions and reduce our reliance on coal by about 80% within the next 10 years, less than 10 years. We aren’t seeing those changes happening fast enough. We also know that we need to essentially double our renewable energy build our plants — that also is not happening,” said Loser.

As the rest of the world races to tackle climate change, analysts say pressure from business and foreign governments can force a faster green transition in South Africa.

Chris Yelland is an energy analyst with EE Business Intelligence.

“If we do not reduce our dependence on coal, we will be punished by our trading partners who will set up cross-border tariff. And ultimately, South Africa relies on trade with the rest of the world,” he said.

China announced last week that it would no longer fund foreign coal projects. That means a Chinese-backed coal project slated to power a new industrial complex in South Africa’s northern province of Limpopo may not materialize.

Analysts like Chris Yelland say China’s decision will have long-term ramifications.

“China was seen to be perhaps the last outpost of finance that could be available for new coal. And there is nobody else to pick up this ball to finance this new coal-fired power. So, I think the days of new coal in South Africa are over,” he said.

The prospect of canceling coal is a major victory for protesters who want to see South Africa embrace renewables on a larger scale.

Source: Voice Of America

Australia is under growing international pressure to commit to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, but the policy is fiercely dividing its center-right government.

Australia is one of the world’s major exporters of coal and gas. Coal is mined in every state. Most exports go to countries in Asia, including China, Japan and South Korea.

In 2020, exports were worth about $39 billion. Trade has almost doubled in the past decade. But China’s informal import restrictions on Australian coal saw the value of exports fall sharply, although prices have started to recover. Coal also generates about 70% of Australia’s electricity. Coal-fired power makes it the most carbon polluting nation per capita in the world.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is planning to eventually shift his country’s reliance on coal and gas in favor of clean energy technologies, a shift from his time as a treasurer in 2017. In support of the mining industry, then-treasurer Morrison brought a piece of coal to Parliament to argue the need to continue producing coal in a famous scene.

“This is coal,” he said. “Don’t be afraid. Don’t be scared. It’s coal that has delivered prosperity to Australian businesses and has ensured that Australian industry has been able to remain competitive on a global market.”

Clean energy is still an issue that deeply divides his center-right governing coalition.

Some members of the National Party — the junior alliance partner — are adamant that Australia’s coal industry is too valuable to lose and insist it will thrive for decades. Many regional communities depend on it. There is also disagreement about committing to a target of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. The prime minister said he wants to achieve net zero emissions “as soon as possible” but has not outlined any measures to do so.

But government lawmaker Trent Zimmerman said Australia must join the global push to reduce emissions.

“We need both the target and the plan that matches it,” Zimmerman said. “It is very hard to divorce the two and obviously much of the international community has moved in that direction. In fact, eighty percent of global emissions or thereabouts are covered by pledges that relate to reaching net-zero. So, it is important for Australia that we are part of that because it is the right thing to do.”

Morrison has said he is yet to decide whether he will attend the Glasgow Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, in November. He told a newspaper that he wanted to oversee Australia’s eventual emergence from COVID-19 lockdowns. His critics insist he is “too embarrassed” by his government’s climate change policies to attend the summit in the Scottish capital.

Opinion polls by the Australia Institute, an independent public policy think tank based in Canberra, have shown that most Australians want stronger measures to curb emissions. A United Nations climate change report recently warned that global warming will inflict more severe and frequent droughts, storms, heatwaves and bushfires in Australia.

However, those surveys reported by the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper also revealed support for the coal industry. Less than half of Australians believe that coal power should be phased out within a decade. Australia’s addiction to fossil fuels might be hard to give up, according to the survey.

Source: Voice of America

NEW DELHI —

Thousands of farmers in India blocked highways and rail tracks on Monday to give renewed momentum to their months-long demand for scrapping agricultural laws that have triggered the country’s longest farm protest and presented a political challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The nationwide protest, or “bharat bandh,” was held on the first anniversary of the passage of the laws that the government says will modernize the agricultural sector, but which farmers fear will spell an existential threat to their livelihoods.

The legislation allows farmers to do business outside government-run wholesale markets where they have sold their crops for decades at guaranteed prices.

But farmers fear that opening up sales of farm produce to the corporate sector will end an era of assured prices for crops like rice and wheat. They say farmers in states such as Bihar where the system has been scrapped are already in distress and get a lower price for their crop.

Defiant farmers have camped on highways on the outskirts of New Delhi since November amid the persisting stalemate — the government has often said it is open to a dialogue but will not repeal the laws.

On Monday, thousands of farmers waving flags converged outside key roads leading to the Indian capital choking traffic. A farmer from Haryana, Sunil Kumar, who was among the protestors, said the stir demonstrated the farmers’ determination to continue their struggle has not ended.

Life was also disrupted in the northern states of Punjab and Haryana, lush rice and wheat growing states, that have been at the forefront of the protest.

The farmers stir also reverberated in the south of the country — they held protests in the southern cities of Chennai and Bengaluru and Kerala state. In some places they squatted on rail tracks.

Ahead of Monday’s protest, Rakesh Tikait, one of the farm leaders spearheading the stir, said that they are ready to protest for ten years, but will not allow the “black legislation” to be passed.

Several opposition parties including the Congress Party have supported the farmers’ demands. In a tweet, senior leader Rahul Gandhi called the government “exploitative” and extended support to farmers using hashtag #Istandwithfarmers.

The government maintains the laws will improve farm incomes and agricultural productivity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called them a “watershed moment” for Indian agriculture when they were passed last year.

India’s agriculture has not kept pace with its economy shrinking to just 15% of gross domestic product over the decades. But nearly two thirds of the country, or some 800 million people, depend on agriculture for their livelihood as the country has not been able to generate enough non-farm-based jobs.

“The protest is a reflection of the compound anger they carry at the neglect of agriculture, especially farmers’ incomes which have become so low over the decades,” says agriculture economist Devinder Sharma. “The government believes that facilitating corporate entry would pull agriculture out of the crisis but that will not help because a majority of the farmers are small.”

The bulk of Indian farmers own plots of less than one hectare and fear that the laws will make them vulnerable to corporates that will drive down prices and force them to sell their land.

With the stalemate showing no signs of a resolution, the political impact of the farmers stir will be tested early next year when elections in India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, are held.

Farmers from the state that adjoins New Delhi are among those who have been at the forefront of the ten-month old agitation. They held a mammoth rally earlier this month and say they will step up protests across the state ahead of the polls to show that the government is pursuing what they call anti-farmer policies

Source: Voice of America

Manama, Finance and National Economy Minister Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa held a meeting with Head of Citibank Group for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Elissar Farah Antonios and Citi Country Officer & Corporate Banking Head – Citi Bahrain, Michel Sawaya.

During the meeting which was attended by the Economic Development Board (EDB) Chief Executive Officer Khalid Humaidan, the minister commended years-long cooperation between the Kingdom of Bahrain and Citibank, which ranks among the pioneering international financial institutions.

He stressed keenness on supporting vital sectors to consolidate their contributions to national development, lauding the role of the financial and banking sector in bolstering the national economy and attracting investments.

The minister stressed the importance of further consolidating partnership and cooperation with international financial and banking institutions to exchange expertise and keep abreast of fintech strides in support of the national economic growth.

The meeting also focused on the latest global economic developments and issues of common interest.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Telecommunications networks funded and built by China are taking over Africa’s cyberspace, a dependence that analysts suggest puts Beijing in a position to exert political influence in some of the continent’s countries.

Bulelani Jili, a doctoral candidate at Harvard University’s Department of African and African American Studies, told VOA Mandarin in a phone interview that “Huawei is working and partnering with many governments across the continent, and it is those governments that are using quality technology to undermine democratic values.” 

Huawei, the world’s leading seller of 5G technology and smartphones, is seen by the U.S. and other countries as “beholden to the Chinese government, which could use the company” for spying, an accusation Huawei denies, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a think tank in Washington, reported in May that worldwide, “the majority of [Huawei’s] deals (57%) are in countries that are middle-income and partly free or not free.”

The CSIS report added that Huawei’s cloud infrastructure and e-government services are handling sensitive data, services that “could provide Chinese authorities with intelligence and even coercive leverage.”

The “intelligence and even coercive leverage” language stems from China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law, which stipulated that any organization and Chinese citizen should “support, assist and cooperate with the state intelligence work.” The law does not limit these activities to China.

Goals and needs

The African Union has set the goal of connecting every individual, business and government on the continent by 2030, an expansion that is supported by the World Bank Group.

Africa needs 1,000 megawatts (MW) of new facility capacity or about 700 new data center facilities to meet growing demand in the continent, according to the Africa Data Centers Association.

The scale of need for data centers to meet population growth “is astoundingly significant,” Guy Zibi, principal analyst at Xalam Analytics, who is tracking the African data center boom, told the website DataCenterKnowledge.

On June 22, the West African nation of Senegal opened a national data center just outside Dakar, the capital. Financed by the Export-Import Bank of China, the center was built with equipment and technical backing from Huawei. Senegal’s status declined from free to partly free in the Freedom in the World 2020  report from Freedom House.

In July 2020, Cameroon completed a government data center on the outskirts of Yaounde, the capital. It was funded by the Export-Import Bank of China, built by the Beijing-controlled China Shenyang International Economic & Technical Cooperation Corporation and equipped with Huawei gear. Freedom House in 2020 rated Cameroon as not free.

In April 2019, Kenya and Huawei signed a deal for a data center, a smart city and surveillance project, according to DataCenterDynamics. The site also reported Huawei was working with the government of Zambia on a $75 million data center. Freedom House rated Kenya as partly free in 2020.

Huawei’s e-government services include elections, document digitization, national ID systems and tax services, according to the CSIS report.

While the digitization of government records may allow greater surveillance, it can also mean more effective tax collection and less corruption, according to a March 2021 post on a tech site of the Brookings Institution a Washington think tank.

“As the continent recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, its leaders face a choice between harnessing emerging technology to improve government effectiveness, increase transparency and foster inclusion, or as a tool of repression, division and conflict,” said the TechStream post.

China’s expansion

China has a history of financing and supplying telecom and information and computer technology (ICT) throughout Africa, according to an April 2021 report from the Atlantic Council’s African Center.

Over the past two decades, Huawei has built about 50% of Africa’s 3G networks and 70% of its 4G networks, according to the report.

The expansion began in 1999, when China launched its Go Out policy, which pushed Chinese companies to invest abroad and strengthen China’s global business presence.

By 2018, China had expanded to at least 40 African nations, according to Africa Times.

Cobus van Staden, a senior China-Africa researcher at the Johannesburg-based think tank South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), outlined why Chinese firms succeed in Africa.

“First is that the continent has very high demand for digital connectivity, at all levels, from network building to consumer handset sales,” he told VOA in an email.

Second, Chinese companies have easy access to large banks closely tied to Beijing. This, according to van Staden, means Chinese companies have the funding to roll out infrastructure quickly in a variety of environments.

Iginio Gagliardone, an associate professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, has done extensive research on the rise of China’s presence in Africa and is the author of China, Africa and the Future of the Internet.

He told VOA Mandarin that the relationship Chinese companies have with state-affiliated banks means the companies can lower their prices and maintain a competitive advantage over other bidders.

“The Export-Import Bank [of China] has been able to offer large loans, as part of deals with African governments, with the condition that these loans will be used to deploy technology using a Chinese company,” he said in a phone interview with VOA Mandarin.

Chinese state banks provide such generous financing to Huawei’s customers that most commercial banks cannot match the terms, “making Huawei equipment cheaper to deploy at any price,” according to a 2020 report by the Center for American Progress, a Washington think tank.

A third factor, according to van Staden, is that there has been relatively little attention paid to Africa as an emerging tech market. “There aren’t many credible competitors to Chinese companies on the scene,” he added.

Known player

Because Chinese enterprises are known players in Africa’s telecommunications infrastructure, countries transitioning to 5G often remain with the companies they know, according to analysts.

“Although the Trump administration’s policies successfully curbed Chinese expansion in Western countries, they did not address the growing presence of Chinese technology infrastructure on the African continent,” according to the Atlantic Council’s report. “In African markets, a lack of local champions and infrastructure financing and construction capacity constraints have created a dependence on Chinese-financed projects.”

Van Staden said that the dependence raises the question of possible political influence.

“Research has shown that Chinese companies are responsive to local regulations and governance. In both authoritarian and democratic countries, Chinese contractors have tended to follow local laws and to provide the systems these governments wanted, be these open and inclusive, or centrally controlled,” he said.

“There isn’t proof that China is ‘exporting’ its own domestic system or pressuring countries to emulate it,” he continued. “The issue is less that China is using data networks to influence local politics, and more that its position as a network provider is just one aspect of a much broader trade and investment presence. China’s role as a major trade, financing and development partner to many African countries naturally makes these countries less willing to cross any of Beijing’s ‘red lines.’ ”

Source: Voice of America

WASHINGTON – According to local press reports, Kenya has opted out of banning imported Chinese fish, a prohibition that had been considered to protect the local industry, because the African nation is facing a fish shortage.

Kenya’s Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya, quoted in the Daily Nation, said, “The challenge we have in the country is insufficient local fish to satisfy the market, and hence you cannot ban imports that fill that gap that we are facing. You only ban when you raise the capacity to produce locally.”

The AfricaNews website reported previously that Kenya’s agriculture committee had said it would ban fish imports from China, pointing to the availability of fish in local lakes and rivers and offshore.

The site also reported that local markets, facing a shortage of locally caught fish, had been selling imported Chinese fish and that the imported fish cost less.

Concern that inexpensive imported Chinese fish were undercutting the Kenyan fish industry was first raised in 2018, when President Uhuru Kenyatta said Kenyan government officials should figure out how to limit the imports, according to AfricaNews.

A report compiled by the Global Fishing Watch tracker between May and August showed some 230 fishing vessels off Kenya, many of them foreign owned, according to AfricaNews.

The site reported that most of the foreign-owned ships came from countries such as Italy and China.

China is “the world’s largest producer and consumer of seafood, and critics say its fleets engage in aggressive tactics as the nation tries to feed its 1.4 billion people,” VOA has reported. “Chinese ships have been accused of illegal and unreported fishing in many parts of the world – charges that China denies.”

Kenya has more than 600 kilometers of coastline on the Indian Ocean, and it claims 22 kilometers of territorial waters, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Beyond that, Kenya, like many other nations, claims an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 370 kilometers.

An EEZ is reserved to a coastal country under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). According to UNCLOS, the coastal country retains “special rights to exploration and use of marine resources, but the water’s surface remains international territory.”

Kenya’s “marine fisheries can be classified into two subsectors: the coastal artisanal fishery, and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) fishery,” according to the U.N.’s FAO website. “A basic feature of the coastal fishery is the largely subsistence and artisanal nature of the fishers who operate small craft propelled by wind sails and manual paddles. The EEZ fishery, on the other hand, is characterized by distant-water fishing vessels which exploit target species mainly with purse-seines and long-lines.”

China has the world’s largest distant-water fishing fleet, which it says it will cap at 3,000 vessels, according to VOA reporting. But a U.S. Coast Guard report says an additional fleet of 3,000 ships of the People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia “actively carries out aggressive behavior on the high seas and in sovereign waters of other nations” in pursuit of China’s maritime interests.

A British research center estimates China’s total fleet size is nearly 17,000 vessels when Chinese ships that fly the flags of other nations are included.

The U.S. Coast Guard report, citing a U.N. statistic, says 93% of the world’s marine fish stocks are fully exploited, overexploited or significantly depleted. 

Source: Voice of America

NAIROBI – The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has kicked off the Prosper Africa Build Together initiative by requesting $80 million from Congress to build trade and investment between the U.S. and Africa.

Dana Banks, U.S. senior director for Africa at the National Security Council, said Wednesday in an online news briefing that the U.S. was ready to do business with the continent.

“The campaign is a targeted effort to elevate and energize the United States commitment to trade and investment with countries across the African continent under the Biden and Harris administration,” Banks said. “And our goal is to substantially increase two-way trade and investment between the United States and Africa by connecting U.S. and African businesses and investors with tangible deal opportunities.”

It’s not the first time the U.S. government has engaged Africa on trade.

— In 2000, President Bill Clinton signed the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the deal that provided African countries with unilateral, duty-free exports for 6,500 products to the U.S. AGOA still exists and is extended until 2025.

— According to the Brookings Institution, South Africa got $917 million in 2019 by exporting automobile and agricultural products to the U.S.

— A separate study done by the University of South Africa in 2017 found that the U.S. imported 10 percent of its wine from South Africa, worth $59 million.

— And the U.S. government is now negotiating a free trade agreement with Kenya.

More growth, jobs

Banks said America wants to participate in Africa’s growth.

“Africa’s increasing integration into the global markets, demographic boom and the thriving culture of entrepreneurship present a remarkable opportunity for us to strengthen those economic ties and promote new opportunities for both U.S. and African businesses to fuel economic growth and job creation and greater U.S. participation in Africa’s future,” she said.

Gerrishon Ikiara, an international economic affairs lecturer at the University of Nairobi, said the initiative would help strengthen the relations between the U.S. and Africa.

“The U.S. wants to tap that both for economic reasons, political and international relations reasons, because it is known all over the world that trade links also help to build political and diplomatic links. … This is key for both the U.S. and Africa as of now,” Ikiara said. “The U.S. is also knowing more about African products, African culture, with many migrant workers from Africa working in the U.S.”

However, some critics say the trade and investment plan could undermine the African Continental Free Trade Area, which was established in 2019. That agreement promotes the free movement of goods and people across the continent.

Source: Voice of America

The World Bank said on Friday it had temporarily paused payments to operations in Mali following a military coup, while the man expected to become the new prime minister warned sanctions would only complicate the country’s crisis.

The World Bank’s actions added to pressure on Mali’s military leadership after chief security ally France announced on Thursday it was suspending joint operations with Malian troops in order to press for a return to civilian rule.

The military’s overthrow of Mali’s transitional president last week, its second coup in nine months, has drawn international condemnation and raised fears the political crisis will weaken regional efforts to fight Islamist militants.

‘Temporarily paused’

The World Bank, whose International Development Association (IDA) is financing projects to the tune of $1.5 billion in Mali, confirmed the suspension of payments in a statement to Reuters.

“In accordance with the World Bank policy applicable to similar situations, it has temporarily paused disbursements on its operations in Mali, as it closely monitors and assesses the situation,” it said.

Assimi Goita, the colonel who led both coups, was declared president last Friday after having served as vice president under Bah Ndaw, who had been leading the transition since September. Ndaw and his prime minister resigned while in military custody last week.

Goita is widely expected in the coming days to name as prime minister Choguel Maiga, the leader of the M5-RFP opposition coalition that spearheaded protests against former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita before his overthrow last August.

At a rally in the capital, Bamako, on Friday to mark the one-year anniversary of the start of the protests against Keita, Maiga was alternately firm and conciliatory toward foreign partners.

“We will respect international engagements that aren’t contrary to the fundamental interests of the Malian people,” he said to thousands of supporters in the city’s Independence Square.

“Sanctions and threats will only complicate the situation,” he said.

French troops

France, the former colonial power, has more than 5,000 troops waging counterinsurgency operations against Islamist militants in Mali and the wider Sahel, an arid region of West Africa just south of the Sahara.

It hopes to use its leverage to press Goita to respect the 18-month timetable agreed to at the start of the transition by organizing a presidential election next February.

The African Union and a West African regional bloc responded to the coup by suspending Mali’s membership but did not impose further sanctions.

Source: Voice of America

Addis Ababa – With COVID-19 vaccine supplies to Africa slowing down, the continent is working to boost its own manufacturing capacities for vaccines, medicines and vital health technologies.

Mrs Biruk Abate Halallo, Health Attaché at Ethiopia’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations Offices in Geneva, is the driving force behind a resolution on the local manufacturing of medicines, medical technologies and vaccines that is being presented at the World Health Assembly, WHO’s leading decision-making body, this week.

What is the resolution for?

Africa suffers more than its fair share of communicable and non-communicable diseases. Over 90% of the world’s malaria deaths and 70% of all people living with HIV/AIDS are in Africa. More access to good medicines could significantly reduce this needless human toll.

Ninety-five per cent of all medicines used in Africa are imported and the continent accounts for just 3% of all medicine production globally. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed Africa’s vulnerabilities in ensuring access to vital drugs, vaccines and health technologies and more and more African governments view the supply of safe, effective and affordable medicines and vaccines as a national security issue.

Boosting local production will save lives, boost public health and strengthen African economies, including supporting local jobs. It should also trigger the sharing of crucial technologies.

The full title of the resolution presented at the World Health Assembly this week is ‘Strengthening Local Production of Medicines and Other Health Technologies to Improve Access.’

It covers strengthening local production, promoting technology transfers and innovation and considering the agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and intellectual property rights through the lens of boosting local production.

The resolution was co-sponsored by more than 100 WHO Member States, including 54 African countries.

What are the next steps?

WHO Member States and WHO must push on with the recommendations in the resolution.

Member States should align their national and regional policies and strategies around local production. This will help economies of all sizes build synergies, share the workload and avoid costly duplication.

African market integration and trade facilitation is crucial and African countries must make better use of regional economic integration platforms such as the Economic Community of West African States, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and The new African Continental Free Trade Agreement offer great opportunities.

More integration will help lead to the manufacturing of products that are in high demand in the region, will expand access to more markets and make local production sustainable.

Countries should formulate education policies that foster research and development in pharmaceuticals as well as encouraging thousands more people to gain skills to thrive in the industry. Countries must strengthen and harmonize their regulatory systems to ensure all medical products are of the highest quality and that local manufacturers adhere to international standards.

WHO should strengthen its role in providing leadership and direction in promoting the strategic use of quality and sustainable local production of medicines and other health technologies. It must keep up the technical support to Member States, as well as in developing policies, capacities and aiding partnership building and international collaboration.

To fully implement this resolution we need strong political commitment from WHO Member States. We need more public and private partnerships. Support from WHO and other partners is key and we may need additional resources and investment in infrastructure to get going.

What is Ethiopia doing to boost manufacturing at home?

There are 12 medicine manufacturers and 38 medical supply and device manufacturers working in Ethiopia and that are licensed by the Ethiopian Food and Drug Administration.

Building on this is a priority and with technical and financial support from WHO, we have developed a National Strategy and Plan of Action for Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Development. This was the first country-level adaptation of the vision of the African Union’s Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa which aims to catalyse local African pharmaceutical production.

Rolling out the strategy brings together key government ministries, regulatory agencies and other stakeholders and partners. It is run by a Steering Committee that is co-chaired by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry for Trade and Industry.

As part of this we are strengthening our regulatory capacity by reforming the National Regulatory Authority and have set up a new institute to support the pharmaceutical industry.

We are also supporting and encouraging domestic and international investment through shaping a conducive business environment. This includes offering incentives to encourage local manufacturing and setting up the Kilinto Pharmaceutical Industrial Park.

We’re also working to improve policy coherence, product diversification, human capital development and capacity building across the pharmaceutical sector.

How do you boost demand to sustain local manufacturing?

The key drivers of pharmaceutical demand in Ethiopia are population growth, economic growth, rising health coverage and efforts to address more and different diseases.

With over 112 million people and an annual population growth rate of 2.3%, Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populous nation. It has the fastest growing economy in the region, with growth averaging 9.4% a year from 2010 to 2020. As the spendable income of the population rises, so too does the demand for basic health services, including medicines.

The expansion of Ethiopia’s primary health care sector in the last 15 years has been hailed as a model in sub-Saharan Africa. Since 2003 we have worked to reach more communities and the percentage of women receiving antenatal care by a skilled provider increased from 27% in 2000 to 74% in 2019. Births in health facilities rose from 5% to 48% in that period.

Ethiopia has also introduced a community health insurance scheme in 75% of our districts. This has helped ensure communities engage with health services, which in turn drives demand for medicine’s and medical supplies.

Moreover, Ethiopia is undergoing an epidemiological transition from communicable diseases to non-communicable disease and injuries, and efforts to address all types of public health problems is changing the demand for medicines and health technologies.

For Additional Information or to Request Interviews, Please contact:

Alemtsehay Zergaw Gebremichael Communications Officer WHO Ethiopia Email: gebremichaela@who.int

Collins Boakye-Agyemang Communications and marketing officer Tel: + 242 06 520 65 65 (WhatsApp) Email: boakyeagyemangc@who.int

 

 

Source: World Health Organization