Monitoring and Evaluating for Social Impact

This webinar will expand on lessons learned from the first M&E webinar and take a look at M&E through a social impact lens. Students will learn why M&E matters for commitment makers, how to navigate the different phases of the project cycle, and how to apply M&E basic concepts to their Commitments to Action.

Key Themes
• Monitoring & Evaluation: What It Is and Why It Matters
• Myth Busting: Debunking the Misconceptions Around M&E
• The Four Phases of the Project Cycle

ISTANBUL-LUANDA ROUTE OPENS NEXT OCTOBER

Luanda - Turkish Airlines' operations on the Istanbul-Luanda route will officially open in October this year, Transport Minister Ricardo de Abreu announced in Ankara on Wednesday.

The operator intends, initially, to carry out weekly flights on the Istanbul-Luanda route, aiming at boosting cooperation between the two states and peoples.

According to the minister, who was speaking to the press on the sidelines of the Angola/Turkey Business Forum, the initiative is part of a memorandum to be signed between Turkish Airlines and Angolan Airline (TAAG), on a code-sharing basis.

The Angolan official said that this sharing will make it possible for passengers, from Luanda, to have access in a single mode or single ticket to the connection to Istanbul or to the Turkish Arlines route network and vice-versa, benefiting from a connection to the Angolan capital.

"We think that it is a very positive agreement for the two countries and for the two airlines, but, above all, because it is the first step for us to open the paths of this strategic cooperation announced here by the two Presidents," he expressed.

In relation to ticket costs, the Minister said that it is up to his ministry only to ensure the existence of a high level of competitiveness for the country.

 

Indonesia’s Sinabung volcano spews ash, hot clouds

MEDAN, Indonesia (AP) — A rumbling volcano on Indonesia’s Sumatra island on Wednesday shot billowing columns of ash and hot clouds down its slopes.

The ash released by Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra province reached more than 4,500 meters (14,760 feet) into the atmosphere, and an avalanche of searing gas clouds blew 1 kilometers (0.62 mile) to the east and southeast, Indonesia’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center said.

 

There were no casualties from the afternoon eruption, said Armen Putra, an official at the Sinabung monitoring post, and an alert has been maintained at the second-highest level.

 

The 2,600-meter (8,530-foot) mountain has been rumbling since last year and villagers were advised to stay 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) from the crater’s mouth. They’ve been warned about lava while authorities were closely monitoring sensors that picked up increasing activity in recent weeks.

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Floods make thousands homeless in Bangladesh Rohingya camps

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Days of heavy rainfall have pounded Rohingya refugee camps in southern Bangladesh, destroying dwellings and sending thousands of people to live with extended families or in communal shelters.

In the 24 hours until Wednesday afternoon, more than 30 centimeters (11.8 inches) of rain fell on the camps in Cox’s Bazar district hosting more than 800,000 Rohingya, the U.N. refugee agency said. That’s nearly half the average July rainfall in one day, and more heavy downpours are expected in the next few days and the monsoon season stretches over the next three months.

“The situation is further compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. There is currently a strict national lockdown in response to rising cases across the country,” the agency said.

It said six people died in the camps earlier this week — five people in a landslide caused by the rains and a child swept away by floodwaters.

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Africa outlook ‘encouraging’ amid dose shortage

NAIROBI, Kenya — The World Health Organization’s Africa director says the continent of 1.3 billion people is entering an “encouraging phase after a bleak June” as supplies of COVID-19 vaccines increase.

But Matshidiso Moeti told reporters on Thursday that just 10% of the doses needed to vaccinate 30% of Africa’s population by the end of 2021 have arrived. Some 82 million doses have gotten to Africa so far, while some 820 million are needed.

And the year-end vaccination target is just half the 60% population coverage that African health officials seek to achieve so-called herd immunity. The African continent is far behind on vaccinations as richer countries keep doses for their citizens.

Less than 2% of Africa’s population has been fully vaccinated, and the more infectious delta variant is driving a deadly resurgence of cases. The WHO says nearly 4 million vaccine doses arrived in Africa last week from the global COVAX facility, compared to less than 250,000 in all of June.

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