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COVID vaccines to be rolled out in two weeks’ time

High gov’t officials will be the first to get vaccine

High government officials are said to be the first to take COVID-19 vaccine in Ethiopia to be a role model for the rest of the society when the Ministry of Health plans to start the vaccination in two weeks’ time.The country will receive the vaccine made by AstraZeneca – a British–Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and Biopharmaceutical Company with its headquarters in Cambridge, England.

On Sunday March 7, 2021, the Ministry Of Health has received its 2.2 million doses of the first international deliveries of COVID-19 vaccine through the COVAX Facilityfrom the 7.6 million doses of vaccine. The vaccine was shipped by Ethiopian airlines. The Ministry Of Health is preparing to receive its entire first quota of 7.6 million doses until the end of April. Even though the quota was said to be nine million doses as reports shows, the number has decreased to 7.6 million doses, however, as Seharela Abdulahi, state minister of health told to Capital, based on the availability of the COVAX facility there could be a reduction of the number but it is still not confirmed.

As Seharela stated, high ranking government officials will be the first to take the vaccine to be role models to the society, that is, “to clear up the rumors on the vaccine.”Theother front runners set to receive the jab are: Health workers, transporters, people with underlying health conditions like lung or heart disease conditions, diabetes or conditions that affect their immune system and elders more than 65 years of age.  Plus, as she stated organizers of the coming election will also be on the forefront to receive the jab.

As she said the vaccination will be start in two weeks, and the ministry has completed all of its preparation including share of regions based on their cases.

On matters financing, the financial sources are set to include local and international donors, multilateral agencies, and the private sector that are merging their efforts alongside the government to combat the pandemic at its tracks. AsSeharela expressed to capital,theHealth Ministry on Tuesday stated thatthe country will need 13 billion birr ($328 million) for vaccines and related expenses, which will be covered by the government and international donations.

According to Eyob Tekalegn, Minister of Finance, the government has completed its resource mobilization which could help the vaccination of 30 percent of the population. Furthermore, the ministry has also given all of its support to the Ministry of Health to receive the first batch of the vaccine.

The government on its end is keen to vaccinate at least 20 percent of its population until the end of this year, 2021.

Ethiopia has so far reported 162,954 infections with 2,394 deaths. Over the recent times number of new cases seems to be rising which is of great concern to the country in terms of dishing out the vaccine on time.

Furthermore, the Government in its efforts to rally out the pandemic is actively engaged in a unique global alliance representing more than two-thirds of the world. The alliance includes the World Health Organization (WHO), the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), the Gates Foundation, and 191 countries to raise financial support for accelerated research and development, production, and globally-equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. Ethiopia is also part of COVAX AMC, a grouping of 92 low and middle income countries, seeking financial assistance to procure COVID-19 vaccines, accessories and help in delivery.

Initiatives led by the World Health Organization (WHO) for equitable global access to the COVID-19 vaccines, to ensure that developing nations get vaccines equitably in terms both of access and cost show that it has allocated a total of 337 million doses of vaccines for poorer countries so far and will aim to deliver these in the first half of 2021. More than 180 countries are involved in COVAX, among them, 92 are low- and middle-income countries.

On a continental scale, On January 19 2021, the Africa CDC, through the Africa Medical Supplies Platform (AMSP), announced the commencement of a COVID-19 vaccines pre-order program for all African Union member states.The African CDC said the African Import-Export Bank will facilitate payments by providing advance procurement commitment guarantees of up to $2 billion to the manufacturers on behalf of member states.

For AZ/SII indicative distribution, delivery has begun as of late February, subject to WHO Emergency Use Listing Procedure /EUL/, manufacturing supply capacity and completion of pre-requisites, as outlined in the related caveats section. This is in line with the Facility targets to reach at least 3% population coverage in all countries in the first half of the year, enough to protect the most vulnerable groups such as health care workers.

 

 

 

Keste Damena introduces memory foam

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Keste Damena Foam introduced its new product, Memory Foam which is free from chemicals called filler.
Memory foam is often combined with materials that regulate the temperature of the human body to form to your exact shape. The consolidation of these materials usually results in a cool and supportive place to sleep. It is typically a dense, yet comfortable feeling for a sleeper. As stated during the launching ceremony on Friday March 5, the memory foam is simple to hold and takes 48 hours to form its position.
The basic kind is made out of a polymer known as polyurethane. This is a material that is commonly found in most sofas, mattresses, car seats and spray foam. The product has 5 years guarantee.
Rainbow Foam and Plastic Industry is a private Limited company that produces polyurethane foam in Addis Ababa.
It was founded and established in 1996 by the late Abeselom Yehdego.

ALTERNATIVE MONETARY SYSTEMS

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That the current global monetary system is inherently deficient and needs a complete overhauling is no more in doubt, at least amongst critical thinkers. However, the empty suits or banksters for short, who have been instrumental in dismantling the productive segment of the global economy, in favor of rent seeking crony capitalism, might not agree. After all, it is they who created ‘fiat currency and ‘Fractional Reserve Banking’, which are at the root of, not only polarizing globalization, but also ecosystem destruction. The ongoing globalization that is promoted as if it were manna from heaven is on track to deliver the most polarized world humanity has ever seen. Thanks to the criminal enterprises of fiat money and fractional reserve banking, the 1% will soon own two thirds of global wealth!
The phony system of fiat money (money that is backed by nothing except the perpetual lies of states), which has removed even the slightest semblance of responsibility from the whole monetary equation, is probably on its last leg. A number of the core principles of ‘sound money’ are violated when ‘money’ is issued privately without any real backing. All the currencies we use in our daily lives are not backed by anything, except the words of the states and their accomplices, the notorious banksters. And we all know what that means! No wonder prudent people still hang on to precious metals, like gold, silver, etc. to preserve the value of their hard earned wealth, however meager that might be. These metals tend to hold their values or even appreciate over time vis-à-vis paper currencies. Other forms of investments (like real estate) are also used to hedge the continuous value-losing propositions of fiat currencies. The current vigorous initiative to replace paper currencies with crypto-currencies stem from this protracted problem of continuous printing of valueless papers. Inflation is one of the byproducts of the current global monetary system. Governments use inflation as a tool to bring down their (usually local) debts, but the effect on the unsuspecting sheeple has always been disastrous. When inflation becomes intolerable, riots and more, tend to be the order of the day!
Another of the foundational problems of modern finance is ‘Fractional Reserve Banking’. In a nutshell, it is pure scam, a fraud of grandiose proportion. As we never tire of repeating; ‘Fractional Reserve Banking’ is the biggest non-violent crime of the millennium, according to our holy book of honest money. The reason for this assertion is quite simple. When a bank creates money out of thin air and disburses this phony money as credit/debt into the larger economy (with interests), this very action dilutes the real money earned by labor, mental or physical (think those on salaries and wages, informal sector, etc.). It is this fraudulent act that is significantly contributing to the extreme polarization of the modern world system. By and large, the modern day wealth of the parasitic oligarchs is derived from this gimmick, not from actual tangible work! Amazon has never made a profit in its entire existence, but has managed to disrupt whole sectors of an economy. The US Mail loses about $1.50 for every package it delivers on behalf of Amazon. On the other hand, Amazon is expanding without bound (literally), and it is not because of organic growth. It is growing because it is allowed to leverage the easy money regime of global finance, so that it can buy out competitors, (potential and actual). Soon, it will end up becoming a monster that monopolizes all and sundry. May be then it might be interested in real moneymaking operations; ditto many of the giant tech firms (Tesla, Uber, Twitter, etc.)! Even the poorer countries of the world system have become quite adept at this financial contraption. Just look at our mini oligarchs, so-called ‘investors’. How did they come up with so much money without (hardly) ever lifting a finger? Billions and billions of birr is systemically transferred from the present and future earnings of the working stiff, (including genuine entrepreneurs) to the current cronies connected to TPTB (The Power That Be). State created oligarchs are now the movers and shakers of Ethiopia’s highly speculative and consumption-oriented modern sector. Henry Ford once said; if people only knew how banks create money, there will be a revolution tomorrow’!
The sheeple sweats and bleeds to secure its meager livelihood. What it earns is hard earned money. By continuously creating money out of thin air, banks are stealthy appropriating the real earnings of the sheeple. They might not acknowledge it yet, but they are digging their own graves, so to speak. What is holding back the masses from pouncing on banksters is the usual ‘bread and circus’ game. Even in those ‘rich’ countries, the number of people living below the poverty line has been on the increase since the 1970s. Of course, there are all sorts of statistics and lies to camouflage/hide the reality that obtains on the ground. By delivering ‘free’ food and plenty of ‘entertainment’, the sheeple is kept at bay. One would think the parasitic elites of our world system would take notice and try to ameliorate the situation. No, no, no! What they are actually doing is; they are doubling down on their old gimmickry. Don’t be surprised if major wars break out soon, after all, ‘all wars are bankers wars’!
Critical thinkers are proposing different systems of honest money to be used across the board. But dominant interests, including banksters, are fighting tooth and nail to thwart off any proposed change to the existing system. After all, current banking is ‘rent seeking’ par excellence! Many alternatives to the existing monetary system have been proposed throughout the years and decades. One is community issued money. Another is a system of money where credit is created only by the state, under very stringent conditions, like the ‘gold standard’, etc. Multiple currencies, even in a somewhat closed community, (a city, state, etc.,) have also been contemplated. Gladly, there are a number of people in the world who are actively engaged in trying to change the foundational principles of the existing system, with a view to replacing them with a more equitable and resilient alternatives. There are many pilot projects under experimentation in many countries of the world system!
Here is a word of wisdom from an old entrepreneur: “A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.” Henry Ford. Good Day!

Water bottlers raise bottleneck concerns

Water bottlers have put forth a recommendation of coming up with a proposal to the Ministry of Finance (MoF) in order to protect the industry from the recently implemented African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
On the discussion organized by Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Association on the bottled water industry under the motto of ‘sub sector platform on opportunities and challenges of bottled water manufacturing industry in Ethiopia’ Maleri Wedajehun, presented a paper on challenges and opportunities on the sector and the present participants expressed their concerns over the opening up of the market under the AfCFTA citing that it will damage their business and jobs that they created.
Participants said that there are 85 bottlers existing in the country besides 10 new entrants but they argued that a single company from another African country might present a capacity that can cover or overshadow their capacity.
Getnet Belay, President of Ethiopian Bottled Water, Soft drink, Fruits and Vegetable Processing /Manufacturing Industries Association (EBSFMIA), expressed his concern that the opening up of the market may damage the sector because bottlers in other neighboring countries have huge capacity that will dominate the market.
Maleri explained that market saturation, tax, bargaining power of buyers, substitute products, environmental issues, and other issues are the challenge for the sector. He added that the opening up of Ethiopian trade for other actors like CFTA and World Trade Organization may be an additional challenge for Ethiopian bottlers.
Representative who comes from MoF said that the market liberalization is implemented on 90 percent of goods and services under CFTA. The balance percentage will be opened in 13 years period in different rates except the 3 percent that any country preferred to close fully from other actors.
“Currently, we are listing excluded lists of products and services under the 10 percent scheme. So far we don’t know whether the water sector is excluded or not, but the tariff imposed on any given product would have similar response from other countries. Due to that the CFTA would give an additional market opportunity for the country that has ample capacity to ready on the incoming competition,” he said.
He reminded that except few countries, the African economy is similar with Ethiopia and that the country’s industries are supposed to compete, “But you know in this sector you can come up with a proposal to consider the bottling water sector on sensitive lists in order to protect it,” he expounded.
The presenter and participants have also claimed that the excise tax should be nil since the sector is not part of the motive of the indirect levy.
The excise tax that was revised last year has imposed a 10 percent levy on water sales that was 15 percent on the draft. However, since then the bottlers have frequently argued that the water industry is supposed to be considered as one of the development goal and food items and should therefore be encouraged rather than the imposition of the stated tax.
While MoF rejects the claim and holds that the tax is imposed on users and not bottlers citing that it is one of the income instruments that help to support the development projects carried out by the government.