May 28, 2022 – Djibouti News Gazette

May 28, 2022

Le sommet mondial pour la réduction des risques de catastrophe débute à Bali, en Indonésie, afin de renforcer la résilience mondiale face aux catastrophes

BADUNG, Indonésie, 28 mai 2022 /PRNewswire/ — L’Indonésie et le Bureau des Nations Unies pour la réduction des risques de catastrophes (UNDRR) accueillent la septième session de la Plate-forme mondiale pour la réduction des risques de catastrophes (PM2022) à Bali, en Indonésie, du 23 au 28 mai 2022, comme l’a indiqué le ministère des Communications et de l’Informatique de la République d’Indonésie.

President Joko Widodo (right) with UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed

Il s’agit de la première plateforme mondiale depuis le début de la pandémie de COVID-19. C’est également la première fois qu’elle se tient dans la région asiatique.

La Plateforme mondiale est le principal forum mondial multipartite qui évalue et examine les progrès réalisés dans la mise en œuvre du Cadre de Sendai pour la réduction des risques de catastrophe (2015-2030).

L’événement de cette année est un forum important car il donne l’occasion à tous les pays de faire le point sur les progrès accomplis et d’accélérer la mise en œuvre du cadre de Sendai dans le contexte de la pandémie de COVID-19.

Dans son discours d’ouverture, S.E. le président indonésien Joko Widodo a rappelé la nécessité pour toutes les nations de faire face aux risques de catastrophe sans négliger le développement durable. « Aujourd’hui, à la Plateforme mondiale pour la réduction des risques de catastrophe, l’Indonésie propose au monde un concept de résilience durable comme solution pour atténuer toutes les formes de catastrophes, y compris les pandémies », a déclaré le président Widodo.

La vice-secrétaire générale des Nations unies, S.E. Amina J. Mohammed, a souligné l’urgence d’agir rapidement pour renforcer la résilience mondiale aux catastrophes. Le rapport phare de l’ONU sur l’évaluation mondiale, qui a été publié le mois dernier, a tiré la sonnette d’alarme sur le fait que l’humanité était dans une « spirale d’autodestruction », avec le potentiel d’atteindre 560, ou une moyenne de 1,5 catastrophe de moyenne ou grande échelle par jour, d’ici 2030 sans une révision radicale de la façon dont le risque est géré et financé. Ce constat est particulièrement pertinent pour la région Asie-Pacifique, où les catastrophes coûtent en moyenne 1,6 % du PIB par an, soit plus que dans toute autre partie du monde.

« Au cours des trois prochains jours, nous aurons une occasion unique d’examiner les meilleures options politiques pour passer du risque à la résilience et de prendre des mesures importantes pour que la reprise après le COVID-19 nous remette sur la voie d’un avenir sûr et durable », a déclaré Amina Mohammed.

Deux dialogues de haut niveau sur l’accélération de la mise en œuvre mondiale du cadre de Sendai et des objectifs de développement durable ainsi qu’une table ronde ministérielle sur le défi posé par l’urgence climatique figure parmi les principaux points à l’ordre du jour de la première journée de la plate-forme mondiale.

Environ 7 000 délégués représentant des organisations gouvernementales et non gouvernementales de plus de 185 pays membres et observateurs participent à cette conférence.

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1827371/antarafoto_pembukaaan_gpdrr_250522_wpa_4.jpg

May 28, 2022

President Uhuru Kenyatta to champion climate change in Africa

Earlier this week, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta landed the role of global champion for the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme (AAAP), a programme ran by the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) and the Africa Development Bank (AfDB).

This comes after Kenya hosted the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Day late last year at the University of Nairobi where a report on the state and trends in adaptation in Africa 2021 was also launched.

GCA regional director Prof. Anthony Nyong noted that the launch would include a series of action-forcing events towards a sustainable momentum for accelerating adaptation action in the African continent.

Speaking during a bilateral meeting held at State House Nairobi, Global Centre on Adaptation Chief Executive Dr. Patrick Verkooijen congratulated President Kenyatta on his new role exuding confidence for a climate resilient continent in the coming days.

Kenyatta is expected to mobilise the global community to honour their numerous commitments of addressing climate change.

AAAP aims to ensure that the global clan adheres to its commitment of banding together climate finance to about 25 billion dollars over a period of five years to speed up the climate adaptation action across Africa.

The funds will go a long way in building a climate-resilient continent and addressing the food crisis by introducing Climate-Smart Digital Technologies, consequently increasing productivity.

The programme has furthermore championed African youths’ skills development to equip them with the necessary expertise to prepare them for green jobs and entrepreneurial fortuities. Part of the interventions under the umbrella of the AAAP include YouthADAPT Challenge that has identified 10 climate-smart enterprises that are the forefront of addressing climate change through adaptation practices.

The 10 enterprises are being supported through mentorship and will receive funding to a tune of USD 100,000. The programme is being implemented in Africa by the sustainability consulting farm KCIC Consulting Ltd, an enterprise support organization that was identified by GCA and AfDB to spearhead the challenge in Africa.

Among the 10 climate-smart enterprises include Maima General Dealers Limited based in Zambia which produces environmentally friendly hydroponic millet fodders for smallholder farmers; Kimplanter Seedling and Nurseries Limited in Kenya which specialises on propagation of seedlings of drought-resistant crops to help farmers improve productivity; and Irri Hub Ke Limited in Kenya which majors on providing climate-smart irrigation solutions coupled with marketing and agronomical services to both small scale and large-scale farmers.

In the list there is also Soupah Farm en-Market Limited from Nigeria which deals with changing how food is grown and distributed by using smart-growing hydroponics technology that involves growing foods vertically; Simkay Green Global Ventures in Nigeria which has centered on sustainably tackling post-harvest wastage and off-season shortages mainly among tomato farmers; and Bleaglee Waste Management Limited from Cameroon, a company that provides sustainable solutions to the issues of flooding and water contamination caused by poor waste disposal.

Mumita Holdings Limited from Cameroon which deals with economically adaptable scientific and technological innovations to upgrade and enhance the agricultural ecosystem is also in the list. Others are Salubata Technological Innovations Limited from Nigeria which deals with making modular, customisable footwear from recycled plastic waste; Sustainable Builders, Zambia which focuses on strategies that deal with challenges facing smallholder agricultural supply chains to give farmers a more diverse range of production options; and Global Farms and Trading Company Limited in Ghana which majors on production of poultry products and quality grains mainly maize, rice and soya beans to smallholder farmers.

The 10 enterprises were identified after more than 2,000 applications were received from over 40 countries in Africa.

KCIC Consulting Ltd conducted a vigorous evaluation that narrowed down to 20 enterprises which went through a pitching competition where a panel of expert of judges selected the top 10 enterprises.

Through the business mentorship, training and funding received from GCA and AfDB, the enterprises are expected to scale up their operations in order to increase their scale and impact across the continent.

Africa has the lowest greenhouse gas emissions of about two to three percent, pitching in the least to global warming. Despite this, Africa is still at a higher risk when it comes to effects resulting from climate change than other continents. This has been fueled by the nominal socioeconomic growth that poses serious risks to economies across the continent.

Drought resulting from climate change in a country like Kenya, is already a considerable threat to the livelihoods of its citizens and needs immediate attention regarding the fact that many African nations have been victims of the same.

As a result, most African countries have purposed to recover from these climate change impacts by majorly focusing on setting up structures for enacting their climate action commitments.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

May 28, 2022

Africa risks stagflation due to Covid, Russia-Ukraine conflict: AfDB

Africa risks sliding into stagflation – a cycle of slow growth and high inflation – as it battles the lingering effects of the Covid pandemic and rising fuel and food prices caused by the Ukraine conflict, the African Development Bank (AfDB) said.

Despite experiencing relatively low death rates compared to more developed regions, Africa was dealt a heavy economic blow by the COVID-19 pandemic.

While 2021 saw a continent-wide rebound, with gross domestic product (GDP) growth estimated at 6.9% after a pandemic-induced contraction of 1.6% the previous year, the Bank projects real GDP growth to slow to 4.1% this year.

“The deceleration in growth highlights the severity of the impact of the Russia–Ukraine conflict on Africa’s economy,” the AfDB wrote in its 2022 African Economic Outlook.

“If the conflict persists, Africa’s growth is likely to stagnate at around 4 percent in 2023.”

Inflation is meanwhile expected to accelerate to 13.5% this year, from 13% in 2021, due to a sharp rise in energy and food prices linked to the war in Ukraine.

The AfDB estimates around 30 million Africans were pushed into extreme poverty and 22 million lost their jobs last year alone as a result of the pandemic.

Vulnerable populations, particularly in urban areas, will bear the brunt of rising prices, the report said, adding that economic disruptions stemming from the war could tip nearly 4 million more into extreme poverty this year and next.

“In the absence of measures to cushion the impact, this could stoke social tension across the continent,” the report stated. “But in many African countries, fiscal space remains constrained by the effects of the pandemic.”

The AfDB forecasts Africa’s debt-to-GDP ratio to stabilise at around 70%, down slightly from 71.4% in 2020, due to last year’s growth recovery and debt relief measures, but will remain above pre-pandemic levels.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

May 28, 2022

Children Among 31 Killed in Church Fair Stampede in Nigeria

ABUJA, NIGERIA — A stampede Saturday at a church charity event in southern Nigeria left 31 people dead and seven injured, police told The Associated Press, a shocking development at a program that aimed to offer hope to the needy. One witness said the dead included a pregnant woman and many children.

The stampede at the event organized by the Kings Assembly Pentecostal Church in Rivers state involved people who came to the church’s annual “Shop for Free” charity program, according to Grace Iringe-Koko, a police spokeswoman.

Such events are common in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, where more than 80 million people live in poverty, according to government statistics.

Saturday’s charity program was supposed to begin at 9 a.m. but dozens arrived as early as 5 a.m. to secure their place in line, Iringe-Koko said. Somehow the locked gate was broken open, creating a stampede, she said.

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency said first responders were able to bring the bodies of those trampled to death to the morgue. Security forces cordoned off the area.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the dead and offering any assistance they could to emergency workers. Doctors and emergency workers treated some of the injured as they lay in the open field. Videos from the scene showed the clothing, shoes and other items meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who identified himself only as Daniel said many children were among the dead. Five children were from one mother, he told the AP, adding that a pregnant woman also died.

Some church members were attacked and injured by relatives of the victims after the stampede, according to witness Christopher Eze. The church declined to comment.

The police spokeswoman said the seven injured were “responding to treatment.”

The “Shop for Free” event was suspended while authorities investigated how the stampede occurred.

Nigeria has reported similar stampedes in the past.

Twenty-four people died at an overcrowded church gathering in the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, while at least 16 people were killed in 2014 when a crowd got out of control during a screening for government jobs in the nation’s capital, Abuja.

Source: Voice of America