Day: September 20, 2021

NAIROBI– Senior Kenyan government officials received a batch of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine doses from China, as the East African nation ramps up inoculations for high-risk populations against the virus, saying, they would reinvigorate the pandemic fight in the country.

“The vaccines we are receiving today are testament to the cordial relations that exist between our two countries and extend beyond health care, to include trade and other sectors of development,” said Susan Mochache, principal secretary of the Ministry of Health, who was among the officials welcoming the arrival of the vaccine doses donated by China, at the main airport in the capital, Nairobi.

Kenya’s medicine regulatory agency has already approved China’s Sinopharm vaccine, alongside vaccines developed by Moderna, Johnson&Johnson, Pfizer and AstraZeneca, as the country is accelerating its inoculation process.

Mochache said, the arrival of the Sinopharm vaccine marks a significant milestone in Kenya’s quest to contain the pandemic and hasten a return to normalcy.

The two-dose Sinopharm vaccine, which can be administered within a 28-day gap and can be stored in temperatures ranging from 2-8 degrees Celsius, is ideal for Kenya’s cold chain capacity, Mochache said.

Zhang Yijun, minister counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, said, the vaccine donation reaffirms the vitality of bilateral cooperation between Nairobi and Beijing.

The vaccines that have arrived and are arriving “are a testament of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between our two countries and the profound traditional friendship between our two peoples,” said Zhang.

China has donated ventilators, face masks and personal protective equipment to Kenya, and shared with the country, knowledge about pandemic control and prevention.

Kenyan health experts earlier expressed confidence in China’s Sinopharm vaccine, saying that, its widespread access will help suppress the coronavirus, relieve pressure on the public health system and boost economic recovery.

Willis Akhwale, chair of the COVID-19 vaccine task force at the Ministry of Health, said, the approval of Sinopharm by his country’s medicine regulatory agency was a vote of confidence in its efficacy.

The Chinese vaccines have also been deployed in Rwanda, which received 200,000 Sinopharm doses on Aug 19, and Zimbabwe, which received a batch of Sinovac vaccine doses purchased from China on July 8.

South Africa’s Health Products Regulatory Authority approved the use of the Sinovac vaccine on July 3, with state officials, labour unions, as well as, political and civil society leaders expressing confidence in its potency.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

The U.S. Department of Justice says it will use money from assets seized from Equatorial Guinea Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, which the DOJ alleges Obiang obtained through corruption.

Of that amount, $19.25 million will go to the United Nations to buy COVID-19 vaccines, and $6.35 million will pay for medicine and medical supplies for Equatorial Guinea.

In a news release, the DOJ said Obiang used his position as minister of Agriculture and Forestry in 2011 “to amass more than $300 million worth of assets through corruption and money laundering, in violation of both U.S. and Equatoguinean law.”

According to a 2014 settlement agreement, Obiang was required to sell a $30 million mansion in Malibu, California, a Ferrari automobile, and “various items of Michael Jackson memorabilia,” DOJ said.

“As provided in the agreement, $10.3 million of these settlement funds were to be forfeited to the United States, and the remaining settlement funds would be distributed to a charity or other organization for the benefit of the people of Equatorial Guinea,” the DOJ news release said.

Obiang has also been convicted in France for purchasing luxury properties with illegal funds. He was given a suspended three-year sentence and fined $35 million.

Equatorial Guinea is rich in oil, but most of its 1.4 million citizens live in poverty.

Source: Voice of America

About 15 soldiers and several civilians have died in two attacks in English-speaking western areas of Cameroon in the grip of a breakaway campaign, the Defense Ministry said Monday.

Heavily armed “terrorists” ambushed a convoy of elite rapid intervention forces at Bamessing in the Northwest region on September 16, the ministry statement said.

“Using IED (improvised explosive devices) and an anti-tank rocket launcher, the insurgents immobilized the vehicles (in the convoy) before opening heavy fire on the latter,” it added.

Another IED hit a military convoy at Kumbo in the same region on September 12.

The ministry estimated the total death toll at “about 15 soldiers and several civilians.”

Western Cameroon is in the grip of a four-year conflict triggered by militants demanding independence for two predominantly English-speaking regions in the francophone-majority state.

More than 3,500 people have been killed and over 700,000 have fled their homes.

Rights groups say abuses have been committed by both separatists and the armed forces.

The Defense Ministry noted “the existence of links and exchanges of sophisticated weaponry” between “secessionist terrorists” and “other terrorist entities operating beyond the borders,” including fundamentalist groups.

Source: Voice of America