Covid-19: Angola reports 5 new cases and 5 recovered

Luanda - Angola announced this Sunday the registration of 5 new cases and the recovery of 5 patients in the last 24 hours.

Among the new cases, two were diagnosed in Luanda, two in Zaire and one in Uige. Four are male and one female, aged between 17 and 85.

In the last 24 hours, the laboratories processed 1,823 samples by RT-PCR, with a daily positivity rate of 0.6 per cent.

Among the recovered patients, three reside in Lunda Sul, one in Luanda and one in Huila.

Angola has 65,144 positive cases, of which 1,733 have died, 63,197 have recovered and 214 are active. Of the active cases, 1 is critical, 2 severe, 10 moderate, 12 mild and 189 are asymptomatic.

At treatment centres, 25 patients are hospitalised, while 55 citizens are serving institutional quarantine and 81 contacts of positive cases are under medical surveillance.

Emirates entity visits Angola Pavilion at Expo Dubai

Luanda - The Deputy Director for African Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates (MOFAIC), Aisha Al Muhairy, visited today the Angola Pavilion at the "Expo 2020 Dubai".

After visiting other African pavilions at this largest exhibition fair in the world, the MOFAIC official and her team met with the Commissioner-General of Angola for Expo 2020 Dubai, Albina Assis Africano.

The visitor had the opportunity to know the Angolan exhibition at the fair, showing delighted with the dance of the Traditional Group, Kina Ku Moxi and the architectural scenery created.

According to a note to which ANGOP had access, today, the Angola pavilion occupies an area of 2,300 square meters, at Expo 2020 Dubai, and receives, on average, at least 4,000 visitors/day.

Angola to have SDG evaluation model

Luanda - Angola Thursday in Luanda began the process of identifying the country's needs, with analysis of strategic planning applicable to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) model, to be developed within six months.

This process, led by the Ministry of Economy and Planning, with the support of the United Nations System in Angola, is a participative and interactive simulation framework to assist in the transition to the alignment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of Agenda 2030, with the National Strategic Plans of Angola.

The strategic planning applicable to the implementation of the SDGs model, launched today at the first workshop on the subject, will be a document that will bring together what stakeholders declare in the framework of new policies around business models, health, jobs and social protection.

According to the National Director of studies and planning at the Ministry of Economy and Planning, Luís Epalanga, the model is interactive and will allow us to assess the degree of implementation of various public policies, draw scenarios and assess how certain sectors are responding to levels of investment.

"For example, we will be able to assess how the agriculture sector is responding to the levels of investment being made and, through this, see how the interaction between the various sectors is being reflected in the country's development," he stressed.

Angolan government promotes campaign on gender equality

Luanda - The Angolan government this Thursday, in Luanda, launched a campaign to promote women rights and gender equality, called “Novembro Laranja: Promoting women rights and gender equality.

The campaign is a joint initiative between the Government and the United Nations (UN), within the scope of the international day for the elimination of violence against women, celebrated on 25 November.

According to data, the Ministry of Social Action, Family and Women Promotion (MASFAMU) registered during this year, throughout the country, at least 2,929 cases of domestic violence, through family counseling centers and rooms.

At the launch of the campaign, the minister of Social Action, Family and Women Promotion, Faustina Alves, explained that the reduction in cases of violence registered in the country involves raising the population's awareness of moral principles and values.

In his turn, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Teté António, said that, in addition to the Government, it is everyone's responsibility to combat violence against women, as it is humanity's greatest contradiction.

“Men are born from women and we often die at the hands of women because they end up being our mothers. It is necessary that this fight is not just for women, but also for men”, he explained.

Government holds public consultation for projects to combat drought

Ondjiva - The Ministry of Energy and Water on Wednesday (01), in Cunene province, held the public consultation act of the structuring projects to combat drought in Curoca and Cahama municipalities.

The referred study is part of the Emergency Programme to Fight Drought in Cunene province, described in lots 7, 8 and 9.

The act will take place in Oncócua commune, Curoca municipal headquarters, 340 kilometres from Ondjiva city, under the guidance of the Minister of Energy and Water, João Baptista Borges.

It aims to make public and private entities, local civil society organisations, as well as people interested in the referred municipalities, aware of the projects under development and collect their impressions and recommendations in order to ensure the best solutions for the region.

The solutions to be presented include the construction of a dam on the Caculuvar River in the Cova do Leão section, 17 metres high with capacity to store 25 million m³ of water.

Also part of the programme is the construction of water supply systems for the Cahama and Otchinjau Communes from the Cova do Leão catchment.

GHS ensuring victims of teenage pregnancy return to school after delivery

Pognaa Rosemary Bangzie, the Upper West Regional Focal Person on Adolescent Health Services, has indicated that the Regional Health Directorate has put in place measures to curb teenage pregnancy in the to encourage victims to return to school after delivery.

She said girls below 20 formed 11.9 per cent of recorded pregnancies in the region in 2020, which was a little lower than the 13.5 per cent and 13.8 per cent in 2019 and 2018 respectively.

Pognaa Bangzie said this in a presentation on behalf of the Upper Regional Director of Health Services, Dr. Damien Punguyire to the Upper West Regional Youth Parliament in Wa.

The Parliament had invited the Health Director to give a report on the measures put in place by his outfit towards getting teenage mothers back to school.

“When girls become pregnant during this period, they become ill prepared mentally and emotionally to give birth, some may resort to unsafe abortion practices that may be harmful to their health.

“They may drop out from school resulting in lack of skills for future employment and therefore pushed to the perpetual cycle of poverty”, Pognaa Bangzie explained.

She added that some of the victims of teenage pregnancy were forced into early marriage, which was inimical to their holistic development.

Pognaa Bangzie said as part of efforts by the GHS to curb the menace, they were collaborating with other stakeholders including Plan International Ghana to execute some interventions at the community level.

She identified such interventions to include; formation of 30 in-school adolescent health clubs in 30 basic schools in seven districts and municipalities and 10 out-of-school clubs in five districts in the region with high cases of teenage pregnancy including the Wa West District.

According to her, the GHS was also implementing the “Safety Net” programme in five districts with high cases of teenage pregnancy to help reduce the issue of child marriage and to promote girl child education in the region.

Mr Amankona Ampofo, the Upper West Regional Director of the National Youth Authority, noted that education played a crucial role in protecting women’s rights, preventing gender-based violence and empowering the girl child through information and self-confidence.

He reiterated the need to bridge the inequalities gap between boys saying, “The challenge of getting our teenage mothers back to school, to me, is a collective responsibility”.

Mr Sidick Marizuk, the Majority Leader of the Parliament said the high rate of teenage pregnancy was a source of worry and that it robbed the girl child of her right to education and personal development.

He stressed the importance of girl child education to the development of the nation and emphasized the need for concerted effort to end the canker of teenage pregnancy.

Representatives from the Ghana Police Service, Ghana National Fire Service and the Network for Young Women Empowerment also gave solidarity messages on the motion under consideration.

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Wakanda One City’s Business District is designed to look like a jungle – Arikana

The City of Wakanda One scheduled to be built in the Cape Coast area of Ghana will take a giant step forward this week with the arrival in Ghana of a 160-member-strong African Diaspora investment delegation led by Dr. Arikana Chihombori Quao.

In an exclusive interview on Diaspora Weekly on DNT, Arikana intimated that “the architects are coming up with some crazy, interesting, exceptionally creative ideas. My favorite one – if they had their wishes – is that the business district would look like a jungle.”

Former AU Ambassador to the united States Dr. Chihombori Quao is the founder and CEO of the African Diaspora Development Institute (ADDI), an ambitious organization formed to be “the bridge between Africa and the African Diaspora.”

Consequently, the ADDI mission is “to mobilize the African Diaspora to participate in the development of Africa.

Chihombori Quao’s passion for a truly self-sufficient Africa was the driving force behind her vocal criticism of continued dominance by the former colonial powers in the current affairs of Africa.

But unlike many vociferous pan Africanists, Chihombori Quao has put her money where her proverbial mouth is, and along with 160 members of the African Diaspora, is “descending upon Ghana for the groundbreaking ceremony of the building of Wakanda One City.”

The delegation arrives on December 3rd and departs on December 13th to embark on an activity-packed ten-day visit. Among the many objectives of the mission are to highlight investment opportunities in Ghana and introduce them to the African Diaspora and Friends of Africa; to encourage collaboration between African Diaspora, Friends of Africa and African Businesses; to encourage African Diaspora and Friends of Africa to support Women and Youth programs through partnerships; and to develop a more comprehensive action plan based upon results of the Expo.

Stay tuned to DNT as we provide running coverage of the mission.

 

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