United Kingdom on Thursday said it would be investing up to 20 million Pounds in the African Union’s new ‘Africa anti-COVID-19 fund’ to slow down the spread of coronavirus and save lives. The British High Commission in Nigeria said in a statement that the funding was announced by UK International Development Secretary, Anne-Marie Trevelyan. According to the statement, this makes the UK the largest national donor to the fund which was announced by Cyril Ramaphosa,...
United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for global solidarity with Africa, warning that the coronavirus pandemic threatens the continent’s progress. “It will aggravate long-standing inequalities and heighten hunger, malnutrition and vulnerability to disease,’’ Guterres said in a video message. According to him, already, demand for Africa’s commodities, tourism and remittances are declining. “The opening of the trade zone had been pushed back and millions could be pushed into extreme poverty,’’ Guterres said. The...
Sanofi, the French pharmaceutical giant, says the United States would get its COVID-19 vaccine first before other countries if it succeeds in developing it. Paul Hudson, Sanofi’s Chief Executive Officer, told Bloomberg news that the US was the first in line to fund Sanofi’s vaccine research. “The US government has the right to the largest pre-order because it’s invested in taking the risk. I have been campaigning in Europe to say the US will get...
The Nigerian pharmacists under the umbrella of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) had accused the Federal Government and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control for not doing the right thing over the search for cures of COVID-19 in Nigeria. The Secretary-General of the PSN, Emeka Duru, on Wednesday in an interview with Punch stated the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development had several relevant drugs waiting to be developed....
There’ve been several reminders in recent weeks about the pledge African leaders made to dedicate 15% of their budgets to healthcare back in April 2001 at an African Union meeting. The pledge is known as the Abuja Declaration (pdf). The reason for those stories or social media posts is that few of these countries have come close to matching that reasonable target and we’re all in the middle of a health crisis. As Quartz Africa covered last week, many...
Ventures Platform, a Pan – African early-stage fund has given 21,000 dollars to seven startups, following the #COVID19InnovationChallenge virtual Demo Day, to support those currently providing solutions and platforms to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the country. A statement issued on Friday by Miss Joy Mabia, Communication Lead, Ventures Platform, stated that each startup received 3,000 dollars from the organisation and its partners. Mabia listed some of the beneficiaries as GLOEPID, Wellvis Health’s COVID...
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) market capitalisation on Tuesday inched lower by N152 billion, amid sell pressure in 27 stocks. Specifically, the market capitalisation which opened at N11.945 trillion lost N152 billion or 1.27 per cent to close at N11.794 trillion. Also, the All-Share Index (ASI) dipped 290.49 points or 1.27 per cent to close at 22,629.92 compared with 22,920.41 on Monday. The downturn was impacted by losses recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks,...
Sen. Ita Enang, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, has said that the Federal Government was planning to legalise Modular Refineries in the country. Enang made this known when he featured on a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum on Thursday in Abuja. He said that his office had, over a period of time, engaged some artisanal (illegal) oil refiners in the Niger Delta region and had seen the need...
The Enugu State Agricultural Development Programme (ENADEP), Programme Manager Dr. Matthias Onu has lamented over the inadequate number of extension workers in the state. Dr. Onu in an interview on Tuesday stated, “Inadequate extension workers affect ENADEP from achieving its objective of developing and promoting agriculture especially in the rural communities”. He further said, “For an effective and efficient delivery and accomplishment of the programme, about 365 extension workers is needed but presently the state...
The world’s leading smartphone manufacturer, Samsung on Tuesday launched its latest flagship Galaxy S20 smartphone range with 5G chips and a new camera system capable of up to 100x zoom. The mobile phone giant unveiled the devices at an event in San Francisco and screened live in Abuja, Nigeria on Tuesday night. The company said it is hoping that fast screens, an overhauled camera system and a spread of sizes will be enough to lift...
