MIL Africa Engine

Source: APO

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The Deputy Minister for Finance, Hon. Thomas Nyarko-Ampem, has inaugurated a new Governing Board for the Venture Capital Trust Fund (VCTF).

He noted that the Trust Fund was established to address a critical gap in the country’s financial architecture and remains a strategic investment for national development.

He then urged the board to identify the right businesses and innovative ideas that can drive economic growth and help develop the country.

Board Chairman, Dr. Daniel K. Seddoh, expressed appreciation to government for the opportunity to serve and pledged that the team will work to fulfil its mandate in line with the Trust Fund’s strategic objectives.

Members of the Venture Capital Trust Fund Board:

1. Dr. Daniel K. Seddoh – Chairperson

2. Mr. Michael Abbey – Administrator of the Trust Fund / Member

3. Ms. Emmanueler Ewurabena Quaye – Ministry of Finance Representative / Member

4. Ms. Alimatu Issahak – Ministry of Private Sector Development Representative / Member

5. Mr. Kisseih Antonio – Ghana Securities Industry Association Representative / Member

6. Mr. Victor Yaw Asante – Ghana Association of Bankers Representative / Member

7. Mr. Henry Bukari – Ghana Insurers Association Representative / Member

8. Ms. Evelyn Mawuse Amesame – Formal Sector Representative / Member

9. Nana Okokodurfo Ogyeabo Kwamena Hamma Ababio VII – Informal Sector Representative / Member

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Finance – Republic of Ghana.

Source: APO

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The Deputy Minister for Finance, Hon. Thomas Nyarko-Ampem, has inaugurated a new Governing Board for the Ghana Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending Ltd. (GIRSAL).

He congratulated the board members and reminded them of GIRSAL’s strategic role in transforming the agricultural sector.

He also urged them to remain committed to delivering results, as agriculture remains central to government’s development agenda.

The Board Chairperson, Prof. Richard Jinks Bani, thanked President John Dramani Mahama for the nomination and assured the Minister that the board will work to make agriculture more inclusive.

He noted that the members are prepared to serve with integrity and deliver on their mandate.

Members of the GIRSAL Board:

1. Prof. Richard Jinks Bani – Chairperson

2. Mr. Nicholas Afrifa – Chief Executive Officer

3. Dr. Kwesi Korboe – Member

4. Ms. Alberta Akosa – Member

5. Mr. Agbesi Kwadzo Dzakpasu – Member

6. Mr. William Wilson Asbleke – Member

7. Ms. Faustina Effah-Boadi – Member

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Finance – Republic of Ghana.

Source: APO

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The Deputy Minister for Finance, Hon. Thomas Nyarko-Ampem, has inaugurated a new Governing Board for the Ghana Amalgamated Trust PLC (GAT), expressing confidence that the members will deliver on their mandate, given their collective experience and expertise.

He further underscored government’s commitment to protecting the banking sector, stressing that this administration has chosen to invest in saving banks rather than spending over 30 billion cedis to collapse them.

Board Chairperson Dr. Kwabena Donkor pledged the board will work to create a financially sustainable banking sector, ensuring profitability and delivering dividends.

Members of the Ghana Amalgamated Trust PLC Board:

• Dr. Kwabena Donkor – Chairperson
• Mr. Abraham Tetteh – Managing Director
• Hon. Joseph Appiah Boateng, MP – Member
• Mr. Benjamin Dabrah – Member
• Mr. Benjamin Komla Kpodo – Member
• Mr. Kotobridja Francis Ploughman – Member
• Hon. Nicholas Amankwah, MP – Member

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Finance – Republic of Ghana.

Source: APO – Report:

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The Federal Ministry of Health, in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Food Programme (WFP), officially launched the Joint UN Initiative for the Prevention of Wasting (JUNIPr) in Ethiopia. The initiative aims to accelerate national efforts to prevent child wasting—a severe and life-threatening form of malnutrition that affects more than 11% of Ethiopian children under five.

The four-day Co-Creation Workshop, taking place in Adama Town from 17–20 July 2025, marks the first step in a five-year multisectoral initiative to design, test, and scale evidence-based interventions to prevent wasting in children aged 0 to 18 months. JUNIPr is supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and is being piloted in Ethiopia, Mali, and Bangladesh.

JUNIPr builds on the Global Action Plan on Child Wasting and the newly released 2023 WHO Guidelines, focusing on:

• Evidence generation through robust research led by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI);
• Development of locally tailored intervention packages grounded in the realities of Ethiopian communities.
• Systems strengthening across health, food, water/sanitation (WASH), social protection and other sectors.
• Policy influence at national and global levels to ensure that wasting prevention becomes a public health priority.

UNICEF and WFP representatives also emphasised the importance of coordinated multisectoral efforts to prevent malnutrition. 

Over 40 participants are attending the workshop, including representatives from regional health bureaus, multiple line ministries, academic institutions, UN agencies, NGOs, and technical experts across key sectors. The workshop includes in-depth discussions, problem analysis, policy mapping, and breakout sessions to begin shaping a comprehensive prevention package.

The next stage will include in-depth context analysis, data review, and a second national workshop in early 2026 to finalize the intervention package. Ethiopia’s experience will serve as a model for other countries seeking to address wasting through a systems-based, collaborative approach.

– on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO) – Ethiopia.

Source: APO – Report:

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In the remote southeastern corner of Mauritania, more than 60 000 Malian refugees displaced by conflict are rebuilding their lives. Until recently, a medical emergency in the Mberra refugee camp meant a race against time. 

With the nearest hospital in Bassiknou, over 60 kilometres away, and no available ambulance, pregnant women and critically-ill patients were forced to make the journey on motorcycles and donkey carts, often with tragic results.

That changed early this year when Mauritania’s Ministry of Health, with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, deployed a fully equipped ambulance to Mberra camp. Staffed by trained personnel, the ambulance is enabling timely referrals, especially for obstetric emergencies and trauma cases.

“Before, we feared the worst. Now we feel safe,” says Mariata, a 32-year-old refugee mother of three who was safely transported to Bassiknou Health Centre during a high-risk pregnancy.

Frontline health workers also report a dramatic shift. “We felt powerless during emergencies,” says Ibrahim, a nurse at the camp’s health centre. “Now, we can act quickly and decisively. Patients are reaching care in time, and outcomes are improving.”

In the first few months, the ambulance facilitated a host of emergency referrals, improving survival rates and reinforcing community trust in the health system. It complements broader WHO support to strengthen health services in the camp, including capacity-building for staff, improved supply chains and disease surveillance.

This intervention is part of WHO’s ongoing efforts to reinforce emergency preparedness and resilient health systems in fragile and humanitarian settings, saving lives, preserving dignity and advancing health for all.

“We are committed to ensuring that, even in fragile settings such as this one, everyone can count on lifesaving health services,” says Dr Charlotte Ndiaye, WHO Representative in Mauritania. “Every life saved is a reminder of what timely response and partnership can achieve.”

– on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO) – Mauritania.

Source: APO – Report:

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To strengthen preparedness and response to public health emergencies of international concern, South Sudan signed off and launched the One Health Strategic Plan and the 2nd National Action Plan for Health Security (2025-2030).The two plans are synergistic, build on evidence from the 2024 Joint External Evaluation and integrate human, animal, and environmental health to address public health threats, including zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and response to natural and man-made disasters.

The documents were launched and signed off by Dr Martin Elia Lomuro, Minister of Cabinet Affairs in a high-level event in Juba, alongside his counterparts from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, Ministry of Wildlife Conservation and Tourism, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry with participation of key health development partners.

The launch of the One Health Strategic Plan and the 2nd National Action Plan for Health Security (2025-2030) will foster the multisectoral coordination, administrative and technical collaboration among animal, human and environmental health sectors to address potential zoonotic diseases and other one health threats.

In his remarks during the sign off event, Dr Lomuro said “the One Health Strategic Plan and the 2nd National Action Plan for Health Security will enhance preparedness and response to public health threats, safeguarding and improving the health for the communities, livestock, wildlife, and environment”. Dr Lomuro congratulated the Ministry of Health and the One-Health Department for making South Sudan proud in being the sixth country to complete the National Action Plan for Health Security in the Africa Region.

Honorable Sarah Cleto Rial, the Minister of Health appreciated the support received by her Ministry to deliver such strategic plans. She further emphasized that these documents are the governments’ one-stop centre that will guide effective coordination in building the country preparedness, investments in prevention, detection and management of public health threats.

Dr Humphrey Karamagi, WHO Representative for South Sudan congratulated the government of South Sudan for completing the National Action Planning for Health Security at such a time when the newly adopted International Health Regulations (IHR) amendments will come into force. Dr Karamagi also recognized the Ministry of Health for the leadership and compliance with the global health security agenda and the newly amended International Health Regulations, which WHO secretariat considers as essential to preparedness and response to public health emergencies.

Dr Humprey Karamagi concluded his remarks by emphasizing that “the Strategic Planning is completed, and this event has flagged us off to implementation”. All line ministries, departments and agencies represented at this national event, from henceforth pledged to own these plans and embark on implementation of all the priority interventions in the two plans.

With the generous contribution of the World Bank, World Health Organization (WHO) provided the technical support to the one-health secretariat at Ministry of Health, which was the center of all operations and processes that generated the two strategic plans.

The national launching event ended by laying out the way forwards given as a) Convening the NAPHS Resource Mapping Forum in no later than 2 months; b) Drafting of the Annual NAPHS Operational Planning by October 2025; c) Development of the NAPHS implementation tracker by December 2025; and d) Convening Quarterly NAPHS implementation review meetings as fora for progress monitoring and accountability.

– on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO) – South Sudan.