Breastfeeding: Angolan mothers and their babies. By Sofonie Dala, Angola

Breastfeeding is baby's first vaccine!

Breastfeeding is an essential action in the fight against child malnutrition in all its forms and is one of the best strategies to prevent infant mortality, especially of newborns. 

 In Angola poor and unemployed mothers are the ones who breastfeed their babies the most and tend to breastfeed them until they are 2 years old. While business and financially empowered mothers are forced to wean their babies very early due to their jobs and businesses.

Luiza and Suzana are sisters, both are mothers of 5 children and are breastfeeding their babies. The two mothers are living below the poverty line. They go through many difficulties to sustain, feed their children and attend hospitals with quality assistance.

As a result, Luiza has already lost two children due to lack of financial resources to buy medical prescriptions.

The two mothers never took the pleasure of buying supplements and powdered milk in pharmacies to feed their babies. They always breastfeed their children until they are two years old.

Breast milk is the ideal food for babies because it meets all their nutritional needs, promotes sensory and cognitive development, and protects the child from infectious diseases and chronic illnesses. At the same time, exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life reduces infant mortality rates from common childhood illnesses such as diarrhea or pneumonia and promotes faster recovery from illness. It also helps mothers build a healthy and strong bond with their baby, reduces the effects of postpartum depression, protects against breast and ovarian cancer, and reduces women’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes after pregnancy. 

Breastfeeding is one of the most effective methods to ensure health, survival and full development of children. However, less than half of the world’s babies are exclusively breastfed for their first six months of life. This figure is even more impressive in Angola, where less than 40% of babies under six months are exclusively breastfed, according to data from UNICEF. 

This is very concerning and threatens the health and nutritional status of our babies, as it is in the causal pathway to malnutrition and infant mortality. In addition, studies indicate that neonatal mortality increases dramatically by 33% when breastfeeding is delayed between two and 23 hours after birth, and by 119% when breastfeeding is initiated later, after the first 24 hours of life.

Visit our AfroNutri Channel: AfroNutri- Online (afronutri-online-angola.blogspot.com)

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Jeff Zients to be Biden’s new White House chief of staff

 Jeff Zients, who led US President Joe Biden’s Covid task force, is expected to be named the next White House chief of staff. The current chief of staff, Ron Klain, is to step down after the State Of The Union address on 7 February, the New York Times has reported. US media reported that an announcement was expected on Monday. Mr Zients refused to comment on the reports when approached by the BBC’s US partner CBS News.

The role is considered to be one of the most important at the White House. The chief of staff is responsible for driving the president’s policy agenda and hiring staff. Mr Zients left his role as the Covid policy coordinator last April but had since returned to assist with the November midterm elections.

He worked across various administrations including as an economic advisor to Barack Obama in 2009. In the private sector, he attempted to take over ownership of the Washington Nationals but was unsuccessful.

Mr Zients was credited for his work as Covid coordinator as he lead the nationwide vaccination campaign, but faced criticism that the administration did not do enough to boost testing.

His return to the White House comes at a crucial moment for the US president as his staff begin to turn their attention to a potential re-election campaign in 2024.

President Biden is also facing a special counsel investigation into the handling of classified documents found at his private office and at his home in Delaware. Some Democrats had hoped Mr Biden may have chosen a woman for the role, the Washington Post reported.

Mr Klain was the longest serving chief of staff of any Democratic president. He worked as one of Mr Biden’s top aides for years – in both the Senate and when Mr Biden was vice-president.

He also worked as an adviser and speechwriter on Mr Biden’s unsuccessful 1988 and 2008 White House campaigns and was a senior aide to Barack Obama.

Former US president Donald Trump had four chiefs of staff in four years.

By Antoinette Radford

BBC

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Pakistan power cut: Major cities without electricity after grid breakdown

 Pakistan suffered a huge power cut early on Monday following a breakdown in its national grid, leaving millions of people without electricity. Power was out in all the country’s major centres, including the biggest city Karachi, the capital Islamabad, as well as Lahore and Peshawar.

Power minister Khurram Dastagir said the grid failure followed a “frequency variation” in southern Pakistan. He insisted this was “not a major crisis” and power would be back soon.

Pakistan often suffers from power cuts, which are blamed on mismanagement and a lack of investment in infrastructure. The last major blackout in October took hours to restore.

In a statement. the energy ministry said that at about 07:30 local time (02:30 GMT) the grid “experienced a loss of frequency, that caused a major breakdown”, adding that “swift work” was taking place to revive the system.

Some grids in the country had already been restored, Mr Dastagir said. He told Reuters news agency that power would be restored by 2200 local time.

He told Geo TV that parts of the electricity were turned off overnight because the demand for energy during winter was less than in summer, when much of the country experiences very high temperatures and people use air conditioning and fans.

“In winter, the demand for electricity reduces nationwide, hence, as an economic measure, we temporarily close down our power generation systems at night,” he said.

When they were turned on in the morning, “frequency variation and voltage fluctuation” were observed in southern Pakistan “somewhere between Dadu and Jamshoro” and subsequently “power generating units shut down one by one”, he told the TV channel.

It meant that across the country, traffic lights went down, fans stopped and lights went off.

Rapid transit trains in Lahore – the driverless Orange Line metro – were suspended because of the power cut, transport officials said.

Volunteers at the Edhi social welfare programme work in a control room in Karachi amid the power cut

Many in Pakistan are used to dealing with fluctuating power supplies and load shedding – where electricity to some areas is temporarily reduced in order to prevent the failure of the entire system – is common.

Businesses, industries and homes often have their own generators which kick in when the electricity is cut. Airports operated normally on Monday because they have their own standby power systems, a spokesman for the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority said.

Officials at Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, told the BBC that hardly any department had been affected by the power cut because generators have been used to provide electricity to every department, including the emergency wards and intensive care units.

However, while hospitals and larger industries may have bigger generators, other smaller organisations or private homes will not necessarily have enough power to last for many days.

Earlier this month the government ordered all malls and markets to shut by 20:30 and restaurants by 22:00 under a new energy saving plan.

The cabinet said that this was expected to save the country around 62bn Pakistani rupees ($270m; £220m). Federal departments have been told to reduce their electricity usage by 30%.

Pakistan generates most of its power using imported fossil fuels.

As global energy prices have increased in the last year, further pressure has been put on the country’s finances and its foreign reserves which it needs to pay for energy imports.

By Caroline Davies in Islamabad & Tom Spender

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Russia orders Estonian ambassador to leave country

 The Estonian ambassador in Russia has been ordered to leave the country by 7 February. The Russian Foreign Ministry released a statement on Monday, accusing Estonia of “total Russophobia.” It is the first ambassador Russia has expelled since invading Ukraine in February last year. Estonia recently ordered the Russian Embassy in Tallinn to reduce its diplomats from 17 to eight by the end of January.

Ambassador Margus Laidre has been appointed to the Russian Federation since 2018, and has previously held the role in the UK and Finland. He was working from the Estonian Embassy in Moscow, and will now be replaced with a chargé d’affaires – a diplomat of a lower rank acting in place of an ambassador.

The statement from Russia said: “In recent years, the Estonian leadership has purposefully destroyed the entire range of relations with Russia. Total Russophobia, the cultivation of hostility towards our country have been elevated by Tallinn to the rank of state policy.

“Now Estonia has taken a new unfriendly step to radically reduce the number of personnel of the Russian embassy in Tallinn, confirming the line towards the collapse of relations between our countries. As a response, the Russian side decided to downgrade the diplomatic representative in both countries to charge d’affaires.”

The press release added that Laidre was summoned to the ministry on Monday where he was asked to leave the country. The statement ended by stating that the development of the two countries’ relationship now lies with Estonia. Estonia had ordered the reduction in staff numbers at the Russian Embassy in January so it matched the number of staff in the Estonian Embassy in Moscow.

In a statement on 11 January, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said: “Now we are setting a limit to the number of Russian diplomats working in Estonia in order to achieve parity. Today’s step is in correlation with the low point of our relations in general.”

By Imogen James

BBC

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US VP says no freedom without abortion rights; On Roe anniversary

 Nationwide marches mark Roe v Wade’s anniversary, the first since the Supreme Court struck down US federal abortion protections.

Vice President Kamala Harris has warned that abortion rights are under attack across the United States in a speech to mark the 50th anniversary of the Roe v Wade ruling.

Harris said the now-defunct Supreme Court ruling, which codified federal abortion protections but was struck down by conservative justices last year, had enshrined the “fundamental constitutional right of a woman to make decisions of her own body, not the government”.

“America is the land of the free and the home of the brave. But let us ask: Can we truly be free if a woman cannot make decisions about her own body?” the vice president said on Sunday from Tallahassee, Florida.

“Can we truly be free if a doctor cannot care for her patients? Can we truly be free if families cannot make intimate decisions about the course of their own lives?”

Prior to the speech, the White House announced its latest efforts to shore up support for abortion rights, saying it was “in consultation” with the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Homeland Security “to consider new guidance to support patients, providers, and pharmacies who wish to legally access, prescribe, or provide” abortion medication and to consider new ways to “ensure that patients can access legal reproductive care”.

The Food and Drug Administration also announced this month that so-called abortion pills would become more widely available at pharmacies and through the mail.

Still, the administration of US President Joe Biden has been relatively limited in its ability to respond to the overturning of Roe v Wade without the passage of federal legislation. Such an effort is all but sure to fail amid opposition from Republicans, who control the House of Representatives and who last year introduced a bill that bans abortions nationwide at 15 weeks from conception, with few exceptions.

“Since the Supreme Court’s decision, Americans, time and time again, have made their voices heard: Women should be able to make these deeply personal decisions free from political interference,” Biden said in a statement on Sunday.

“Yet, Republicans in Congress and across the country continue to push for a national abortion ban, to criminalise doctors and nurses, and to make contraception harder to access. It’s dangerous, extreme, and out of touch.”

Meanwhile, the Women’s March movement, which formed in the wake of the election victory of former President Donald Trump, called for a so-called “Bigger than Roe” nationwide mobilisation on Sunday, with a flagship march planned in Madison, Wisconsin, and other gatherings planned in cities across the country.

The mobilisation comes after anti-abortion advocates held their annual “March for Life” rally on Friday in Washington, DC, with organisers hailing the overturning of Roe v Wade and calling for further restrictions on abortion.

The repeal of Roe v Wade has brought the fight over abortion access to state legislatures and courts.

Some states have moved to shore up protections through new laws or ballot measures, with voters in California, Michigan, and Vermont moving to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitutions during the 2022 midterm elections.

Others have enacted sweeping restrictions on abortion, with the Guttmacher Institute identifying 12 states as of Sunday where abortion is banned except in rare exceptions.

Other restrictions have been held up due to court challenges, with an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation identifying active litigation against abortion restrictions in 14 states. About half of US states currently have some form of abortion bans in place.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Harris would be speaking in Florida because it is emblematic of battles playing out across the country.

Florida currently has a ban on abortions after 15 weeks of conception, a period before many women know they’re pregnant. However, its restrictions are less stringent than those of its neighbouring states, making it an important resource for women in the region.

Still, abortion rights advocates fear more restrictions could be considered by the Republican-controlled state legislature and Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.

The governor is expected to seek the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election, a race where abortion rights are all but assured to loom large.

“So we are fighting back,” Harris said on Sunday. “The right of every woman in every state in this country to make decisions about her body is on the line. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: How dare they.”

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

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People will be paid to use less electricity on Monday

 Up to a million households in England, Scotland and Wales will be paid to use less electricity on Monday evening as part of a scheme to avoid blackouts.

National Grid said the scheme, which has only been used in tests so far, would run between 17:00 and 18:00 GMT. Those who have signed up will get discounts on their bills if they do things like delay using their oven or washing machine.

The cold snap has seen energy use rise as more people turn on the heating. National Grid will decide this afternoon whether it will need to run the scheme again tomorrow.

The grid operator had also asked for three coal-fired generators to be put on standby in case supplies ran low, but it has now stood them down.

The operator, which had called the move “precautionary”, said that if the situation changed again the plants could be warmed up quickly.

According to National Grid, the first thing you should do is check whether your supplier. You’ll get a notification that it starts today. People in England, Scotland and Wales who have a smart meter are eligible.

Customers will receive a discount if they reduce their electricity use between the times set by National Grid. On Monday the scheme will run between 17:00 and 18:00 GMT. You can save by doing things like delaying using your oven, washing machine or charging your electric vehicle.

National Grid says savings can range from a few pounds to as much as £20 depending on the amount of energy used. This week’s cold snap is expected to lead to high power demand, while wind power is forecast to be lower than usual. It is also uncertain whether the UK will be able to import the power it needs via undersea cables from Europe.

To try to reduce demand, National Grid has activated its Demand Flexibility Service, which allows some households to receive discounts if they cut their use of electricity, by, for example, delaying the use of a tumble-dryer or washing machine. The scheme is available to homes with smart meters and whose energy supplier is signed up to it.

According to National Grid’s electricity system operator, 26 suppliers have joined the scheme, including British Gas, EoN, Octopus Energy and EDF, and more than a million households and businesses have now signed up to take part. The scheme was introduced last year and is scheduled to run until March.

On Sunday, National Grid ordered three UK coal plants to begin warming up in case they were needed to generate electricity on Monday. Power station operator Drax was asked to prepare two coal-fired units and EDF was warming up its West Burton plant.

National Grid – which has now stood the plants down – had said “people should not be worried” by the move and electricity supplies were not at risk. “These are precautionary measures to maintain the buffer of spare capacity we need,” it said.

A similar request to warm up coal plants was made in December last year, although in the event they were not used. Last summer, the UK government asked Drax to extend the life of its coal-fired generators due to fears over the security of energy supplies following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Drax plants had been due to close in September, but the company agreed to keep them online until March 2023. National Grid’s boss said last year that blackouts would be a last resort this winter if energy supplies run low. John Pettigrew said National Grid’s “base case” assumption was the UK would have enough supplies to meet heating and lighting demand.

By Nick Edser

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Women Hold The Key To Private Sector Growth – Western Regional Minister

 Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, Western Regional Minister, has reiterated the government’s resolve to assist women to play a pivotal role in the socio-economic development of the country, especially in the private sector.

He said between 2017 and 2022, the government had increased job creation in the formal sector from 320,000 to 720,000.

Mr Darko-Mensah said women were key in delivering the mandate of making sure that the private sector was more vibrant.
The Western Regional Minister disclosed this to Ghana News Agency in an interview in Takoradi after the recognition of 30 distinguished women in various sectors of the formal economy in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis by the Western Regional Coordinating Council (WRCC).

He said government would continue to tap talents of women and support them to move the country forward.
Mr.Darko-Mensah said women constituted 52 per cent of the population hence, “we can’t ignore women and work with half strength and half talents of our population. ”

The Regional Minister, who doubles as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Takoradi, said the WRCC would continue to recognize the contribution of women and empower them to be more active in the governance system of the country.

Source: GNA

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Somali forces end deadly siege by al-Shabab militants

 Somali commandos stormed the municipal government building in the capital, Mogadishu, on Sunday to end a five-hour siege by al-Shabab militants during which five civilians were killed, state media and officials said.

The attack began with a car bomb explosion at the entrance of the building in the Hamarweyne district before militants pretending to be soldiers raided the compound.

The information ministry said security forces rescued all government staff from the building and shot dead six militants involved in the assault.

Media outlets affiliated with al-Shabab quoted a spokesperson for the group as saying that “34 apostates” were killed in the attack. Al-Shabab refers to the government as “apostate”, which in turn calls the group “Khawarij”, meaning ultra-extremists.

Mogadishu mayor Yussuf Hussein Jim’ale was out of the country at the time of the attack.

In 2019, an al-Shabab suicide attack on the same building killed then Mogadishu mayor Abdirahman Omar Osman.

The government said the latest “senseless” al-Shabab violence was proof that “it is necessary to completely eliminate” the group from the country, according to the state-run Sonna news agency.

Analysts say al-Shabab has demonstrated its ability to strike back at government targets with deadly force despite losing a large swathe of territory to the national army and allied clan militias in recent months.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said last Tuesday that the government was “about to conclude the first phase” of an offensive against al-Shabab that started in August and that it “will soon launch the second phase”.

Source: BBC

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Former Zambia striker Philemon Mulala, killed in dog attack, mourned by nation

 Former Zambia international Philemon Mulala, who died following an attack by his own dogs in Lichtenburg, South Africa, is being mourned by the country’s football community.

Zambia has been in mourning since the news of Mulala’s death was confirmed on Monday, with the 60-year-old mauled to death by his three dogs in the garden of his residence in the North West province at approximately 3pm local time on Saturday.

Mulala was discovered by his wife and later declared dead on the scene, as relayed by police spokesperson Captain Sam Tselanyane, in a statement as seen by ESPN.

“She did not bother to go and check what was wrong [when the dogs were barking] as their house is situated on a busy street and the dogs frequently barked at pedestrians and vehicles passing by,” Tselanyane began.

“After the electricity was restored [after loadshedding], she went inside looking for her husband, but could not find him.

“Upon continuing with her search, the woman saw her husband lying motionless outside in the garden,” he concluded. “She then went outside, only to find that the husband was bitten by their dogs.”

The three animals were subsequently removed from the premises by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

“It’s such a tragic end,” FAZ Spokesman Sydney Mungala told ESPN. “Many who watched him, especially fans of Mufulira Wanderers, have been pouring out their grief.

“Many remember him from the national team days, where he won Zambia’s first major post-independence silverware,” he added. “[Since retiring] he had ventured into business in South Africa.”

A versatile wideman, Mulala was a prominent member of the celebrated Chipolopolo generation of the 1980s — nicknamed KK11 after Zambia’s founding father president Kenneth Kaunda.

The team won the East and Central Africa Challenge (CECAFA) Cup under the late Colonel Brightwell Banda in 1984, Zambia’s first-ever silverware.

Mulala scored twice in the semifinal victory over Kenya, and nicknamed Shombo — translating as Hard Worker — he also enjoyed domestic success with local heavyweights Mufulira Wanderers in the mid-80s, where he was a teammate of Zambian greats Kalusha Bwalya, Efford Chabala and Ashios Melu.

“We remain with wonderful memories that the late Philemon honoured us with on the pitch”, FAZ General Secretary Adrian Kashala said in a statement to ESPN.

“There is a lot that today’s players can learn from the deceased’s generation.”

He subsequently moved to South Africa to represent Cape Town Spurs and Dynamos FC.

Source: espn

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