The conference on climate change and development in Africa was held for the 8th time at the African Union from August 28 to 30, 2019 in a bid to develop a common African position and concern about the upcoming UN climate action summit during September 23, 2019 in New York.
It will attract policy makers, representatives from civil society organizations academia and development partners from the member states of the African Union (AU) to attend the eighth Conference on Climate Change and Development with the theme: ‘Stepping up climate action for a resilient Africa – a race we can and must win’.
Many African countries have submitted ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions to Climate Action – NDCs – that shows their strong commitments to tackle climate change, said Frehiwot Woldehanna, State Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy.
He also underscored Ethiopia’s effort for clean energy and a pioneer country to submit its NDC and sign the Paris Agreement in addition to co chairing one of the nine action areas, which is the energy transition with Denmark.
Africa contributes the least to global emissions but is already suffering the most adverse impacts from climate change. The Continent contributes under 6 percent of carbon emissions, which is only 0.8 tons per year, which is below the global mean of 5 tons. However the continent suffers more.
To slow down the impact of climate change, identifying the need for an estimated USD 3.5 – 4 trillion of investment by 2030 To support African countries adapt to climate change, AfDB has committed to ensuring that at least 40 percent of its project approvals are tagged as climate finance by 2020, with equal proportions for adaptation and mitigation. The bank also seeks to mainstream climate change and green growth initiatives into all investments by next year.
Africa Union develops common position for climate change summit
Turkey’s Acibadem reaches out to Ethiopian patients
Istanbul, Turkey
The Turkish giant hospital Acibadem Healthcare Group is working to treat more Ethiopian patients who want to travel abroad for medical services. The group can treat cancer, heart problems, vitro fertilization, organ trans¬plantation (liver, kidney, bone marrow) and spine problems.
The group which has made an agreement with Ethiopian Airlines to transport patients to Istanbul with a fair price package has also made a contact with Ethiopian hospitals to work together.
Currently nearly 50 Ethiopian patients go to Istanbul to get medical service at Acibadem every year.
Imane Yuce, Communication Specialist of international marketing at the hospital told Capital “some disease or organ failure do need a specialized hospital to treat them. We have seen that many Ethiopian people need the service we provide and some go to Thailand and we need to be part of these services. The great advantage for this is both Turkish Airline and Ethiopian Airlines have a direct flight from Addis to Istanbul which is very easy to get the patients and we are working on it but it is not in the level that we are expected and we will do much more to enhance it.”
The hospital which has a university in Istanbul is also considering to give scholarships for some Ethiopian students in medical health care education.
Acibadem currently operates 21 hospitals and 16 clinics in four countries. Centers of Excellence throughout the network include 11 Cancer Centers (surgical, radiotherapy, chemotherapy), 16 Heart Care Centers (pediatric and adult cardiology and cardiac surgery), 13 In Vitro Fertilization Centers (Infertility – IVF), 10 Organ Trans¬plantation Centers (liver, kidney, bone marrow), nine Spine Centers, one Sports Medicine Center and six Robotic Surgery the group is operating with 23,000 employees. Comprising 21 hospitals and 16 medical centers, Acibadem has become the world’s second largest Healthcare Chain with this agreement under the auspices of IHH Healthcare Berhad.
Acibadem Healthcare Group grew by 32% and made a turnover of TL 4.3 billion in 2018.
The group has hospitals across Europe as well, serving patients in Iraq, Bulgaria, Macedonia and the Netherlands. Moreover, the group seeks to increase the volume of health tourism.
Addis set to host African Innovation Week
IBA Ethiopia Center for Innovation officially launched African Innovation Week 2019.
African Innovation Week (AIW) is a pan-African initiative creating innovation platforms determined to move Africa towards an inclusive and prosperous continent led by advancement in technology and science. AIW 2019 creates a platform to bridge the gap between innovation, investment and jobs among Africans and the rest of the world; building the continent’s future leaders. It will create a platform to gather innovative African, Norwegian and other international startups where they can share their experiences and connect with potential investors, executive bodies, policymakers and game-changers to work together for sustainable and inclusive development.
“Sixty percent of Africa’s population is under 25. The 10 youngest countries by median age are all in Africa. Unless we embrace this fact and start investing in youth, the statistic will remain a huge bulge that we let go to waste,” said Hailemariam Desalegn, Former Prime Minister of Ethiopia and Patron of IBA Ethiopia Center for Innovation. “We have young people that are already recognized for their innovations that bring on positive change in the daily lives of people in their community. But it is important to understand that there is still a missing link in which investors can be encouraged to support these innovations,” added the former Prime Minister.
Hundreds of young innovators from all over Africa and Nordic countries will be taking part at the African Innovation Week 2019. The Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MInT) of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is undertaking the selection process of young innovators in Ethiopia. State Minister of Innovation and Technology, Ahmedin Mohammed, underlined that his Ministry is closely working with IBA Ethiopia to ensure that young Ethiopians with great innovations are included in this continental event.
“The ministry is working to create a national innovation ecosystem combining incubation, acceleration, access to funding and post incubation. Getting the innovators and investors at the same platform in at the African Innovation Week goes a long way in achieving agendas of job creation, wealth creation and technology capacity building.” added the State Minister.
One of the objectives of the AIW is to create a functional platform for African policy makers, researchers, academics, the private sector and international stakeholders that engage in fostering innovation and inclusive sustainable development in Africa. The event will also be a platform to showcase innovative startups that make a significant impact in lives of hundreds of millions of Africans with innovation and job creation.
Representing the African Union Commission Chairperson, Ambassador Rosette Katungye said that the AUC is helping to organize the African Innovation Week because they believe it has potential to boost job opportunities for continent’s youth.
AIW 2019 will also create a platform for Norwegian technology, in particular the energy and telecom sector, to transfer its expertise and position itself in emerging African markets. Providing input to African policy makers to formulate pro-innovation policies that facilitate the ground for Norwegian and other western investors.
The event which will take place from October 28th – November 2nd, 2019, is being organized by IBA Ethiopia in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Innovation & Technology of Ethiopia and the African Union Commission. AIW 2019 is supported by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Addis Ababa, Oslo International Hub, ENNC – Ethiopian Norwegian Chamber of Commerce and other partners.
