Category: Africa

Source: APO

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As part of its commitment to strengthening preparedness, early detection, and rapid response to public health emergencies under the National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS), the Government of Tanzania is enhancing national emergency response capacity through Emergency Medical Team (EMT) and Emergency Medical Team Coordination Cell (EMTCC) training taking place in Morogoro from 8–12 June 2026. 

Led by the Ministry of Health with support from the Pandemic Fund and the World Health Organization (WHO), the training is helping operationalize Tanzania’s emergency preparedness and response priorities by equipping health workers and emergency responders with the skills needed to deploy and coordinate effective responses during outbreaks, disasters, and other public health emergencies. 

The five-day training brings together 50 participants from Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar, including clinicians, EMT coordinators, and partners. It combines the WHO EMT 10-Step approach for operational readiness with EMTCC training focused on coordination, leadership, and information management. 

Using a simulated Ebola outbreak scenario, participants are strengthening practical skills in emergency deployment, coordination, infection prevention and control, and rapid decision-making. The training builds on EMT induction training conducted in Zanzibar earlier this year and supports Tanzania’s efforts to establish a fully operational national EMT system aligned with WHO standards. 

Speaking during the training, Dr. Erasto Sylvanus from the Ministry of Health emphasized the importance of translating preparedness plans into action. 

“This training moves us from theory to practice. It strengthens our ability to deploy well-organized teams and coordinate them effectively during emergencies. Our goal is to ensure that Tanzania has a fully operational EMT system that can respond quickly and save lives.” 

The training comes at a critical time as countries in the region continue to face disease outbreaks and other public health threats. By strengthening emergency coordination mechanisms and rapid deployment systems, Tanzania is reinforcing its ability to detect, contain, and respond to emergencies before they escalate. 

Dr. Janeth Masuma from WHO highlighted the broader impact of the initiative. “Strengthening EMT and EMTCC capacities in line with WHO global standards enables Tanzania to respond more effectively to emergencies while also contributing to regional surge capacity. This investment not only improves national readiness but ensures faster, safer, and more coordinated care for affected populations.” 

The training is expected to produce key operational tools, including national EMT frameworks, deployment plans, standard operating procedures, and strengthened coordination structures, contributing to a more resilient emergency response system and advancing implementation of Tanzania’s National Action Plan for Health Security.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization – United Republic of Tanzania.

Source: APO – Report:

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Her Excellency Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of State, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of the Permanent Committee for Human Rights in the United Arab Emirates with the Interministerial Delegation for Human Rights of the Kingdom of Morocco, establishing a joint framework to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the field of human rights.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed from the Moroccan side by Mohamed El Habib Belkouch, Interministerial Delegate for Human Rights of the Kingdom of Morocco.

Her Excellency Al Kaabi said: “The signing of this Memorandum of Understanding reflects the shared commitment of the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Morocco to further strengthen cooperation in the field of human rights. It provides an important framework for exchanging expertise and best practices, enhancing institutional capacities, and enriching dialogue on human rights issues.”

The signing reflects the continued development of UAE–Morocco relations across political, economic, media and cultural fields, guided by the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President, and His Majesty King Mohammed VI of the Kingdom of Morocco.

Both the UAE and Morocco have made significant progress in promoting and protecting human rights at the national, regional and international levels. Their active contributions in international fora and within multilateral action reflect a shared commitment to constructive engagement on human rights issues.

The signing ceremony was also attended by His Excellency Al Asri Saeed Al Dhaheri, Ambassador of the UAE to the Kingdom of Morocco.

Through the Memorandum of Understanding, the two sides look forward to developing cooperation in areas including capacity-building, the exchange of expertise, the dissemination of knowledge, and the promotion of a culture of human rights.

– on behalf of United Arab Emirates, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Source: APO – Report:

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Speaking during the opening session of the seventh(7th) Cabinet Meeting of 2026, President Boakai stressed the critical role of agriculture in transforming Liberia’s economy, creating jobs, and reducing the country’s dependence on imported food. 

The meeting was held at the Tea-House of the Executive Mansion under the theme: Leveraing Agriculture for Growth and Improved Livelihood.”

The President noted that without the needed support to farmers and agriculture in general in order to increase production and contribute meaningfully to national development, Liberia will continue to face challenges in the sector despite vast opportunities for expanding domestic food production through improved access to land, modern farming techniques, equipment, and technical expertise. 

“Agriculture remains one of the most important sectors of our economy,” the President noted, adding, “Our objective must be to ensure that farmers receive the support they need to increase production and contribute meaningfully to national development.”

President Boakai called on the Ministry of Agriculture to provide regular updates on crop production nationwide, particularly staple food, rice and other commodities such as other food crops, while ensuring that farmers across the country benefit from sustained technical guidance and extension services.

The President emphasized that agriculture should be viewed as a national undertaking involving all Liberians, stressing that individuals with access to land can contribute significantly to food production when provided with the appropriate support and knowledge.

Further, he highlighted the importance of strengthening agricultural extension programs and training technicians capable of working directly with farming communities to improve productivity and promote modern farming practices.

According to the President, government investments in agricultural machinery, technical training, planning, and extension services will be essential to unlocking Liberia’s agricultural potential and achieving long-term food self-sufficiency.

In addition to his focus on agriculture, President Boakai renewed his Administration’s efforts aimed at maintaining Liberia’s eligibility for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), emphasizing the need for continued compliance with governance and development benchmarks reflected in the MCC Scorecard.

The President urged Cabinet members and public institutions to remain focused on reforms that strengthen democratic governance, transparency, accountability, and economic freedom as key indicators used to assess countries’ eligibility for MCC partnership programs.

He stressed that understanding and maintaining strong performance on the MCC Scorecard is not only necessary for qualification but also critical to sustaining investor confidence and advancing Liberia’s broader development objectives.

President Boakai vowed his Administration’s determination to pursue policies that promote economic growth, strengthen public institutions, and improve the livelihoods of Liberians, calling for collective commitment across government to deliver tangible results for the Liberian people.

The President concluded by lauding Cabinet members for their continued service and dedication to the nation’s development agenda, urging sustained collaboration in implementing programs that improve the lives of citizens throughout the country.

– on behalf of Republic of Liberia: Executive Mansion.

Source: APO

From 29 June to 1 July 2026, Dakar will host the first-ever Yidan Prize Conference in Africa, themed “Unleashing Africa’s potential: the role of education in a new era of development.” Held under the auspices of the Ministry of National Education of Senegal, the Conference is co-convened by the Yidan Prize Foundation, Associates in Research and Education for Development (ARED) (https://ARED-EDU.org), and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA). Over 200 delegates, including ministers, researchers, practitioners, and funders from across Africa and beyond, will gather to showcase innovative research and practice in education. The Conference will announce major commitments to advance education in Africa.

A gathering to accelerate Africa’s education agenda

The 2026 Yidan Prize Conference builds on the growing momentum in strengthening learning, skills development, and systems transformation across Africa. Education ministers from Senegal, the conference host country, The Gambia, and Ghana, along with a representative of the education ministers of Côte d’Ivoire and Mauritania, and the Chief Minister of Sierra Leone, will open the Conference and share their insights on leading change in education for development.

The Honorable Moustapha Mamba Guirassy, Minister of National Education, Senegal, said, “We are pleased to host the 2026 Yidan Prize Conference. It is an opportunity to celebrate a champion for Senegal — Mamadou Amadou Ly. It also brings together institutions that can support our growth into the education hub we envision — here in Africa and in Senegal.”

Albert Nsengiyumva, Executive Secretary of ADEA, said, “This Conference builds on previous conversations and dialogues to advance Africa’s education priorities. Including the 2024 Africa Foundational Learning Exchange, the 2025 ADEA Triennale on Education and Training, and the forthcoming 2026 edition of the Africa Foundational Learning Exchange. It provides the platform to strengthen collaboration and exchange among countries, across institutions and regions, and to advance African-led solutions to shared challenges facing education.”

Language as a bridge to learning and inclusion

A key focus of the Conference will be foundational multilingual education, recognizing language as a powerful bridge to learning, identity, and dignity. Sessions will highlight how the use of national languages can promote learner engagement, build confidence, and create pathways to further education, employment, and civic participation.

Countries such as Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania have been advancing multilingual education at the systems level, supported by ARED. Mamadou Amadou Ly, Executive Director of ARED and 2025 Yidan Prize for Education Development Laureate, said, “For over 25 years, ARED has worked alongside teachers, communities, governments, and development partners to integrate national languages into education systems. At the 2026 Yidan Prize Conference, we look forward to sharing lessons and demonstrating how foundational multilingual learning can drive meaningful and lasting change.”

Education at the heart of a new era of development

The Conference will highlight the central role of education in driving sustainable development across Africa. “Education transformation is a shared endeavor that depends on our willingness to learn from one another across sectors and borders. The Yidan Prize Foundation serves as a platform to spotlight changemakers and impactful innovations and connect people and ideas globally. This Conference will showcase Africa as a driving force for its development and share its education innovations with the world,” said Dr Charles CHEN Yidan, founder of the Yidan Prize.

Supporting organizations of the Conference include Echidna Giving, the Global Partnership for Education, Imaginable Futures, International Education Funders Group, Mastercard Foundation, and UNESCO International Institute of Educational Planning.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Associates in Research and Education for Development (ARED).

Note to editors: 
Download images of the press conference here (https://apo-opa.co/43BcEMa)

Source: APO

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The deadly Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is continuing to spread with a spike in child infections an increasingly likely scenario in the days ahead, UN agencies said on Friday.

“Every day, cases are being identified in new health zones. And that reflects really the scale of this outbreak, a scale that is much bigger than what is being detected and the high mobility of the population in this part of the DRC,” said Dr Olivier le Polain, unit head epidemiology and analytics for response at the World Health Organization (WHO).

In the approximately three weeks since the fast-moving outbreak was confirmed, the DRC health authorities have reported 676 cases and 136 deaths from the rare and deadly Bundibugyo species of Ebola virus.

Infections have been identified in a zone spanning from Aru in the north of Ituri province to Miti Murhesa in South Kivu, some 1,000 kilometres. “And we have 34 health zones affected as of yesterday, so, those health zones [with Ebola] continue to expand, with new areas in North Kivu which also reported [cases] yesterday,” Dr le Polain told journalists in Geneva, via video from Beni.

Those leading the response stressed that many youngsters in the region are malnourished and unvaccinated against preventable illness. This means that they are extremely vulnerable to disease in the resource-rich region where a humanitarian crisis is already playing out, caused by decades of fighting between government forces and armed militia.

Households the new target

To date, most infections have been among adults going about their daily lives, “but as the outbreak evolves, we must be prepared for increasing household transmission which means we may see more children affected in the days ahead”, warned Dr Douglas Noble, UNICEF Global Lead for Public Health Emergencies and Global Incident Manager for Ebola. 

“The point is, these are already very vulnerable children, so the capacity for this community to absorb any additional stressors was already stretched to breaking point,” he said, noting that more than half of children under five in Ituri province are “chronically malnourished”. More than one in five are also “zero dose” children, meaning that they have never had their first dose of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine. 

Estimating the number of children who may be affected is problematic because sufficient surveillance tracking data is not yet available.

Nonetheless, past Ebola outbreaks in DRC have shown that children “made up a significant share of cases and an even greater share of deaths, with the youngest facing the highest fatality rates and many left orphaned or separated from caregivers”, Dr Noble explained.

As part of its six-month response to help 3.7 million people, the agency has dispatched eight transport flights with more than 100 tonnes of emergency humanitarian supplies to DRC, with support from the European Union.

The emergency cargo includes personal protective equipment for frontline health workers, medicines, hygiene materials and medical supplies to confront the virus in affected communities.

‘Schools can stay open’

Although Ebola can be lethal, it transmits very differently from COVID and commonly via body fluids, so children who can go to school should continue to do so, the UNICEF official stressed. “There’s no reason for a school to close. Infection prevention and control measures do have to be taken and there does have to be education within the school, amongst the teachers and the staff and amongst the children.”

Unlike for Ebola-Zaire strains of the disease, there are currently no approved Bundibugyo virus-specific therapeutics or vaccines. This highlights the need for greater support for surveillance efforts to contain transmission, said Dr le Polain. “We’re now at just over 70 per cent in terms of the contacts that are being appropriately traced. That’s a huge improvement from where we were about a week or two ago, but it’s still too low to ensure appropriate control.”

Improving local testing capacity is another key factor in overcoming the health threat as the full scale of the outbreak is “not yet clear”, the WHO official explained. He noted that in Beni a testing laboratory processed 500 tests on Thursday alone. “That will really help get clarity about the scale of the outbreak in Beni as well,” he added.

For its part, UNICEF has also deployed more than 1,600 community health workers and mobilisers, and 24 decontamination teams, already reaching more than 160,000 households.

“We can spare children the worst of this outbreak. Fast detection, strong paediatric care, monitoring of contacts and communities that are informed and engaged can help bring this outbreak under control,” said Dr Noble. “What we now need are the resources, humanitarian access and the trusted communities to succeed.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN News.