Africa Educates Her Campaign with Sofonie Dala. Day 12

Africa Educates Her Campaign is live in Angola

Around 90% of the world’s schoolchildren were confined to their homes in April, and if history is any indication, many girls won’t return to school once lockdowns are lifted.  As a result, the coronavirus pandemic could threaten decades of progress for gender equality and girls' education.

For this and other reasons, we are running Africa Educates Her Campaign in order to bring girls back to school. 

Our today's guest is an 8 years old girl, her name is Ruth and she will share with us her experiences during lock-downs and how coronavirus has affected her life. 

This little girl confessed that the coronavirus pandemic has delayed her life, she can't go to school, she doesn't see her teacher and her classmates for a long time. She's very sad about this situation.

To continue learning, she reviews all old homework assignments and reads books. 

She recommends that the governors should put in the schools water buckets with soap for students to wash their hands, create sanitary conditions and social distance.

Many girls might not return to school 

For many households, lockdowns have seen incomes and savings disappear, meaning they will simply not be able to pay school fees — and where they can, boys may be prioritized.

“By trying to mitigate the risk of families falling into extreme poverty ... we hope to help mitigate the risk of those families keeping their children, especially their girls, out of school once they reopen.”

Covid-19: Angola with 59 new infections, 38 recovered

Angola has reported 59 new infections, three deaths and 38 recovered patients in the last 24 hours.

The statistics were released Friday by the Secretary of State for Public Health, Franco Mufinda.

Speaking at the daily covid-19 update session, the official said the cases were reported in the provinces of Benguela (02),  Zaire (01) and 56 in the country’s capital, Luanda.

 

The country has 3,848 positive cases, with 147 deaths, 1,443 recovered and 2,358 active.

Angola owes USD 20.1 bln to China

 Angola's debt to China is estimated at USD 20.1 billion, and is the country's largest creditor, said Finance Minister Vera Daves Friday.

MINISTER OF FINANCE VERA DAVES

Angola: Covid-19 Impact Reduces Oil Activity

 The reduction in drilling activity, whose financial losses have yet to be quantified, is one of the consequences of the impact of Covid-19 on the oil sector in Angola.

The fact was announced Wednesday in Luanda by the spokesman for the Association of Exploration and Production Companies of Angola (ACEPA), Andre Kostelnik, at the end of a meeting with the President of the Republic, João Lourenço.

The director general of Exxon Mobil in Angola also noted that "the situation had prevented other investment opportunities," reiterating that at this time the impact of the pandemic on the crude industry could not yet be quantified.

According to Andre Kostelnik, the future of oil activity in Angola is not far from the global situation in that segment and the resumption of its exploration will happen as the economy grows globally.

The manager said it was "committed to continue working together, as in the past, in order to find solutions and, as a result, bring more investment to Angola in the future.

President Lourenço's meeting with representatives of oil companies operating in Angola also addressed the emerging challenges that the Covid-19 pandemic is creating for the population.

The meeting was attended by the Ministry for Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, Diamantino Azevedo, and the chairman of the board of Sonangol,

The companies Total, Chevron, Esso, ENI, BP, Exxon Mobil and Somoil are members of the Angola Exploration and Production Companies Association (ACEPA).

Oil production in Angola

Last August Angola recorded production of around 1.2 million barrels of oil per day, up 24,000 against July, according to the monthly report from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

As a result, the country maintained its position as the second largest producer in Sub Saharan Africa, behind Nigeria, with over 1.4 million barrels per day.

The oil sector accounts for more than half of Angola's total exports and about 80 percent of tax revenues.

From 2019 to 2025, as part of the General Strategy for the Allocation of Oil Concessions, 49 oil concessions will be in public tender for exploration, research, development and production.