The African Development Bank hosted virtual consultations with African government ministers, representatives of the African Union, government officials, and academics to gather views on the implementation of the Bank’s Skills for Employability and Productivity in Africa Action Plan for 2022-2025.
The first session on 12 April focused on countries in East and Southern Africa. The second, on April 13, targeted countries in Central, North, and West Africa. The Bank is seeking regional member countries’ endorsement of the Action Plan and inputs on how the plan can support investment in higher education, in science and technology, as well as in technical and vocational education and training – also known as TVET.
“It’s another milestone in the Bank’s partnership with our regional member countries to forge partnership in equipping Africa’s labor force with in-demand skills … African youth have the potential to become the world’s largest resource for productive and innovative labor, if they are equipped with quality and relevant skills,” said Beth Dunford, Bank Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development.
AfDB hosts consultations with governments to promote its blueprint to equip Africa’s workforce with in-demand skills
stc, Nokia and MediaTek first to switch on 5G 3 Component Carrier Aggregation in Middle East and Africa
stc, Nokia and MediaTek announced that they have successfully verified 3 Component Carrier Aggregation (3CC-CA) in a 5G Standalone (SA) network in the city of Makkah for the first time in the Middle East and Africa. Carrier Aggregation (CA) allows mobile operators to reach higher throughputs by combining FDD and TDD spectrum and efficiently utilize their spectrum assets to enhance the 5G user experience. CA will allow stc to deliver leading 5G services to its customers, as well as achieve a faster time to market for new 5G use cases.
The companies used the combination of one FDD carrier (20MHz) and two TDD carriers to create 180MHz of spectrum using FDD-TDD CA technology. Nokia used its commercial AirScale Baseband, massive MIMO and RRH products, powered by its Reefshark chipset on stc’s live network. MediaTek provided its 5G mobile platform featuring its Release-16 ready, M80 modem. CA will also improve the overall 5G experience as well as reduce the battery consumption of user devices in stc’s network.
CA combines spectrum from different frequency bands to enhance coverage and network capacity, providing higher data rates, increased coverage and superior indoor performance by allowing service providers to make optimal use of 5G spectrum. It also enables service providers to bring down the cost of deploying 5G networks while enhancing customer experience.
UN pledges continued support following Hargeisa market fire
On a visit to Hargeisa today, a senior United Nations official pledged the world body’s support for efforts to rebuild the Waheen marketplace which was recently destroyed in a blaze.
“I am here primarily to reassure our partners in the government of Somaliland, civil society, the business community and all those affected, that the UN is here, and we are in this together,” the UN Resident Coordinator for Somalia, Adam Abdelmoula, said while visiting the ruins of the marketplace.
Located in central Hargeisa and spread out over five square kilometers, the Waheen marketplace was the largest market in Somaliland. It played a vital role in the local economy, with an estimated 5,000 businesses present, drawing sellers and shoppers from the city and surrounding communities. It is estimated that the market provided income for 17,000 merchants and workers and, taking their families into account, a total of around 136,000 people are directly affected.
Amidst the destruction, the UN official was shaken by what he saw and heard.
“For the first time, I can say that I’m very unhappy being in in Hargeisa. I have never said this before. It looks like a war zone; what you see behind me is a devastated city. Hargeisa used to be a center of vibrancy and trade. It used to be a big hub. I recall over 20 years ago, even we in the UN system used to come from Nairobi to shop for some of the electronics from Hargeisa – and to see all of that which has been built by this resilient people for over 30 years ago go up in the smoke overnight is truly heartbreaking,” said Mr. Abdelmoula, who also serves as the UN Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative to Somalia and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia.
United States pledges $600 Million to combat global environmental threats
The United States pledged $600.8 million over the next four years to support the eighth replenishment of the Global Environment Facility (GEF-8). This is the United States’ largest GEF pledge ever. This pledge aligns with continuing U.S. priorities and supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to addressing climate change, conserving global carbon sinks and other critical ecosystems, and restoring the health of our ocean. The United States joined 28 other donors in collectively pledging more than $5 billion to support GEF-8, a nearly 30 percent increase over GEF-7.
The U.S. pledge will help protect tropical rainforests and other critical carbon sinks; address ocean plastics pollution; combat wildlife trafficking and illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing; and reduce hazardous transboundary pollutants such as PCBs and mercury that can affect Americans’ health. In its Fiscal Year 2023 Budget, the Administration has requested $150.2 million for the GEF, as the first of four planned installments for the U.S. contribution to GEF-8.
The GEF is one of the world’s largest dedicated funders of projects and programs to improve the global environment. The United States supported the establishment of the GEF in 1991 and has contributed to all seven replenishments. Since its launch in 1991, the GEF has provided nearly $22 billion in grants and mobilized another $119 billion in co-financing to safeguard the global environment. The GEF is the world’s primary multilateral source of biodiversity finance and is the only multilateral environmental fund whose mandate is to achieve global environmental benefits across a diverse set of focal areas that also includes chemicals and waste, climate change mitigation, land degradation (including desertification and deforestation), and international waters. The GEF Partnership spans 184 member governments, 18 implementing agencies, more than 500 civil society organizations, international bodies and funds, and businesses from every major sector.
