Ladies Without Plastic - Green Menstruation. Environmental challenge by Sofonie Dala, Angola. Webisode 5

 Our Africa Educates her Campaign season 5 is on going. 

Green Menstruation - Day 5

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, 

Welcome to the fifth day of our environmental challenge Women Without Plastic - Key to reduce our carbon footprints! 

This initiative will help limit the ecological damage caused by disposable pads being thrown into rivers and on the streets in rural areas where there is no municipal trash collection.

Our guests for today are mothers who prefer to use washable pads. Please meet Suzana and Isabel.

Interview with Suzana

Hi, which of these two pads do you prefer?

I prefer this one, made of cloth.

Why?

Because I'm allergic and that disposable pad causes me an infection. But as I am already used to the normal washable pad, I feel more comfortable with this.

In addition, the disposable absorbent contains many chemicals, these chemicals could cause different reactions to each user depending on the person's blood.

Some people react well and feel comfortable using disposable pads, with other people it happens the opposite.

I recommend women to use the washable pad, because we grew up using reusable pads.

Very well said. In addition to what you said, these waste menstrual products also cause ecological damage to our planet such as global warming.

Interview with Isabel

Madam Isabel good evening!

Good evening thanks.

Can you tell us which of these pads you prefer?

I prefer to use this fabric one.

Why?

Because with this fabric I feel more comfortable.

Have you ever used this disposable absorbent?

this one I don't use. I don't like it.

Don't you like this?

No.

OK. Thanks

We have underprivileged girls and young women are struggling with their menstruation cycles. Many are too poor to afford hygiene products each month. There is also the environmental factor of non-reusable pads being thrown into the rivers and land.

Reusable pads will have a long operational use, therefore it will cut down on discarded disposable pads as non-recyclable, and hazardous, waste in the community. Moreover, It will have a cost-saving effect for local young women and girls by eliminating the monthly expense of sanitary pads and tampons. 

Libya election body rejects Gadhafi son’s presidential bid

 Libya’s electoral commission on Wednesday announced its rejection of the candidacy of Seif al-Islam Kadhafi, a son of slain dictator Moamer Kadhafi, to run in next month’s presidential election.

Wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, Seif al-Islam, who registered to run on November 14, was among 25 candidates whose bids have been rejected, the HNEC commission said in a statement.

It said it rejected the 25 on legal grounds as well as based on information from officials including the public prosecutor, a police chief and the head of the passports and citizenship department.

In a surprise announcement, Seif, whose whereabouts had been kept secret for several months, became the first heavyweight candidate to sign up for the election race.

He had been sentenced to death by a Tripoli court in 2017 for crimes committed during the revolt that toppled his father. He was later pardoned by a rival administration in eastern Libya.

In July, he emerged from years in the shadows and told The New York Times he was planning a political comeback.

In a rare interview, Seif said he wanted to “restore the lost unity” of Libya after a decade of chaos.

Libya’s electoral commission said Tuesday that a total of 98 candidates, including two women, had registered to run in the presidential election scheduled for December 24.

The polls come as Libya seeks to turn a page on a decade of violence that has rocked the oil-rich nation since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed Kadhafi in 2011.

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‘I don’t have any image in Ghana now because of Sputnik V saga’ – Agyeman-Manu

 The Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, has expressed his utmost disappointment over how he was treated in relation to the botched procurement of the Sputnik V vaccines.

According to him, his personality was shredded into tatters over the deal.

Mr. Agyeman-Manu made this known on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday, November 24, 2021, during the debate on the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy.

He insisted that he was lambasted for trying to get vaccines quickly to help vaccinate Ghanaians against the COVID-19 disease.

“Mr. Speaker, I am so amazed. When I was rushing to get some vaccines to do vaccinations quickly to meet our development targets, I was found culpable of not coming to Parliament and I was lambasted to the extent that now I don’t have any image in this country,” he said.

The controversy began when a Norwegian newspaper, VG, reported that the government of Ghana was using the services of middlemen to procure 3.4 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik-V vaccines.

But this was at a higher cost of $19 other than the original factory price of $10.

This prompted calls for the abrogation of the procurement contract.

The Minister had earlier claimed that the state had not made any payments for the vaccine.

The Health Committee in Parliament had also said the government was not being ripped off in the deal with its chairman, Dr. Nana Ayew Afriyie saying that the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the procurement of the Sputnik V vaccines require the use of middlemen whose activities will lead to an increase in the original price.

Dr. Afriyie also said no consignment has been received.

But a parliamentary committee set up to probe the deal indicated that the $2,850,000 representing 50 percent of the $5,700,000 owed to Sheikh Maktoum for the supply of 300,000 doses of Sputnik V vaccine was actually paid to him, although only 20,000 doses were delivered.

The contract, according to Ghana’s Health Minister, was abrogated by Sheikh Ahmed after failure to meet his obligation and the money refunded to Ghana.

The parliamentary committee set up to probe the deal released damning findings, including the fact that the Health Ministry did not receive Cabinet approval for the deal.

The health Ministry also breached the constitution by not seeking parliamentary approval for the agreement.

In addition, the Public Procurement Authority did not seek approval from its Board before signing the Agreements.

The Minister for Finance was tasked to take steps to recover the money already paid to Sheikh Al Maktoum.

The committee, however, did not outline explicit sanctions for the Health Minister.

These findings were contained in a 29-page report.

In the aftermath of the revelations, there were calls for Mr. Agyeman-Manu to resign as Health Minister.

The consensus from Civil Society Organisations and observers were that the Minister had no excuse and justification for the procurement infractions.

The main opposition party, the National Democratic Congress, was also adamant that the Minister resigns. They even wanted the Finance Minister to shoulder some of the blame.

The hashtag #AgyemanManuMustGo trended on social media, with Ghanaians demanding the Minister leaves his portfolio because of his role in the deal.

They rubbished the Minister’s defense when he appeared before the parliamentary committee probing the deal on July 19, where he notably said he was desperate and confused when he oversaw the deal for the vaccines.

This came as Ghana contended with its inability to secure vaccines to meet its target to vaccinate 20 million people.

Mr. Agyeman-Manu received some backing from members of the government and legislators.

The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, for example, said Ghanaians were being unsympathetic.

He said this because he felt, Mr. Agyeman-Manu, was doing his best to secure vaccines for the country.

The Deputy Majority Leader and the Chairman of the committee that probed the botched deal, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, further said it would not be necessary to take punitive action against the Health Minister.

Though the Attorney General is on record to have advised against the deal, Mr. Afenyo-Markin felt the urgency of the situation did not permit the Minister to use the right channels.

In President Akufo-Addo’s only public comments on the Health Minister in the wake of the controversy, he laughed, saying Mr. Agyeman-Manu had endured a lot at his ministry.

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Turkish lira nose-dives 15% as president defies critics

 The Turkish lira nose-dived 15% on Tuesday after President Tayyip Erdogan defended a controversial plan to cut interest rates to boost the economy.

The currency hit a record low of just over 13 lira to the dollar, before recovering slightly, marking 11 straight days of falls.

Mr Erdogan has pushed Turkey’s central bank to make three rate cuts since September, the most recent last week.

But this has been blamed for driving up inflation which is now at 20%.

Investors are losing confidence and the lira has shed some 45% of its value this year, making it the world’s worst performing currency.

Despite this, Mr Erdogan vowed to stick to his policies on Monday, arguing that high interest rates would not lower inflation – an unorthodox view he has repeated for years.

• Turkish lira falls 15% after bank governor sacked

“I reject policies that will contract our country, weaken it, condemn our people to unemployment, hunger and poverty,” he said after a cabinet meeting.

“We see the game played by those over the currency, interest and price hikes… and show our will to proceed with our own game plan,” he added.

The president and his allies argue that lower interest rates will boost Turkish exports, investment and jobs. But many economists say the rate cuts are reckless.

President Erdogan thinks raising interest rates causes inflation, and that the way to combat rising prices is to make money cheaper.

It is, to say the least, an unconventional view. Orthodox thinking is the opposite: that raising rates encourages saving, reduces expenditure and as a result slows price increases.

The president is determined that it’s his way or the highway. In March, he sacked the Bank’s governor, Naci Agbal – who had been hiking interest rates aggressively. Two of his deputy governors soon followed.

Now Mr Erdogan is in control. Last week saw the latest in a series of rate cuts, the trigger for an ever-deeper decline in the value of the lira.

Yesterday, he said the country was embroiled in a battle for its “economic independence”.

It is also involved in what looks like a rather hazardous economic experiment.

Former central bank deputy governor Semih Tumen, who was dismissed by the president last month amid a leadership shake-up, called for a return to policies which protect the lira’s value.

“This irrational experiment which has no chance of success must be abandoned immediately and we must return to quality policies which protect the Turkish lira’s value and the prosperity of the Turkish people,” he said on Twitter.

Opinion polls suggest Mr Erdogan’s AK Party is losing support because of the situation, and opposition politicians have appealed for early elections.

IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES

However, he has the backing of his party and other allies in Turkey’s parliament.

Tuesday’s slide was the lira’s worst since the height of a currency crisis in 2018 that led to a sharp recession, and brought on three years of weak economic growth and double-digit inflation.

Though the lira recovered half of its losses by 2pm UK time on Tuesday, the last 11 days have been its worst run since 1999.

‘Breaking point’

Analysts say emergency rate hikes will be needed soon to avert a deeper economic crisis.

French investment bank Societe Generale predicts rates will rise to about 19% by the end of the first quarter of 2022. Currently the country’s benchmark rate is 15%.

Ilan Solot, global market strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman, said Mr Erdogan was likely to wait until a “breaking point” before reversing course.

“Right now locals seem content to keep their dollars in the local system. If they start to move money elsewhere, to Germany, to Austria, it’s another story,” Mr Solot told the Reuters news agency.

“At that point we are talking capital controls. There are not enough dollar reserves, not enough dollars in the system to handle that. Then we will have a conversation about a real currency crisis,” he added.

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Funding to close school attainment gap revamped

 The funding system aimed at closing the attainment gap between poorer and richer pupils is to be changed so that money is distributed more widely.

Some of the budget was previously targeted at nine councils which have high levels of deprivation.

Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said the change reflected the impact of Covid across the country.

The Scottish Conservatives said little progress had been made on attainment despite years of investment.

Changes in the funding system were also criticised by Scottish Labour as a “betrayal of the most vulnerable children”.

• School attainment gap remains wide, warns watchdog
• Scottish schools spending highest per pupil

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has described improving education and closing the attainment gap as her “defining mission”.

Since 2015 almost £1bn has been spent, but a report from Audit Scotland earlier this year found inequalities remained “wide” and had worsened during the Covid pandemic.

Last year £215m was distributed with the biggest portion (£147m) allocated directly as “Pupil Equity Funding” to head teachers in every local authority.

Schools have spent the money on employing extra staff as well as purchasing equipment or supporting services like breakfast clubs.

But some of the money, totalling £43m, was targeted at nine “challenge authorities” with the highest concentrations of deprivation – Clackmannanshire, Dundee, East Ayrshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire.

‘Enhanced’ role for councils

Ms Somerville told MSPs that this money would in future be shared by all 32 of the country’s councils, with allocation depending on the number of low income families who lived there.

She said: “I fully recognise the impact of the pandemic and poverty on pupils in every local authority area in Scotland – reaching those impacted by poverty in urban and rural communities alike.

“Therefore, all local authority areas – not just the nine challenge authorities funded under the challenge to date – will have an enhanced leadership and support role to play.”

Ms Somerville said a further £200m would be spent on closing the attainment gap next year, and the investment over the five year parliamentary term would be around £1bn, up from £750m in the previous parliament.

One of the criticisms from the Audit Scotland report was that some of these so-called “challenge councils” were in fact performing worse and not better when it came to closing the attainment gap, despite getting extra money for just that.

The government hasn’t given it as the reason for its change of approach, but it does mean that particular problem goes away, in optics at least. It’s decided instead to spread the money further, in the hope that it will reach more of those who need it.

What’s staying from the previous system? A show of confidence in teachers. A special fund that’s given directly to head teachers, based on the number of children who qualify for free school meals, is staying for another year.

The Scottish Conservatives accused the SNP of “rehashing the same failing initiatives”.

Education spokesman Oliver Mundell said: “Nicola Sturgeon has broken her promise to close the attainment gap in the last parliament and nothing the SNP have set out show any real ambition to do so in this one.”

He said “throwing money” at the system was bound to fail without a “credible plan to restore standards in our education system”.

For Scottish Labour, Michael Marra said the changes to the funding system would inflict “callous cuts” in the poorest communities.

“This policy decimates education funding for the poorest children in the nine poorest local authorities in Scotland,” he said.

“These children have suffered most in the pandemic, they have seen their life chances weakened.”

‘It’s alright to ask for help’

Beckie Cunningham and Michaela Simpson know too well the constant financial demands of educating their children – but are determined it will not stand in the way of their success.

“When it comes to trips, books, fundraisers – sometimes you do really want to help but sometimes you feel well I can’t really help that much but you do as much as you can, says Beckie, 25, from Edinburgh. “Even if it’s not moneywise, even if it’s just input or helping”

Michaela, 32, also from Edinburgh, says she wants her children to know “it’s alright to ask for help” to achieve their ambitions.

“I want them to have that mental ability to say to themselves ‘I want to better my life.’ I would love them to go to university, college and have a career,” she said.

John Dickie, from the Child Poverty Action Group said support work in schools should be coupled with action to tackle poverty at home.

“That’s why we need to see investment in the Scottish child payment, for example, immediately doubling that payment as a matter of real urgency,” he said.

“But we also need to see investment and action to support schools to work with children, young people and parents to identify all the barriers that they face at school.”

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