MIL Africa Engine

Source: APO

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The President of the Republic of Liberia, His Excellency Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr., has by proclamation declared Sunday, July 26, 2026 as Independence Day and is to be observed on Monday, July 27, 2026 throughout the Republic as a national holiday.

According to a Foreign Ministry release, the proclamation calls on all citizens and foreign residents within the territorial confines of Liberia to observe the Day as such; the release further orders government offices and business houses closed during the observance from 6:00 ante meridian to 6:00 post meridian.

 The proclamation requests all citizens, in solemn cooperation with all prelates, priests, deacons, evangelists, imams and elders as well as other members of the Sacerdotal order, regardless of religious creed, to gather together in their respective places of worship in each city, town, village, home, especially in the city of Buchanan, Grand Bassa County on their day of worship just preceding 27th July 2026 and turn to God in Thanksgiving.

According to the proclamation, the official festive celebration in observance of the Day will be observed in the City of Buchanan, Grand Bassa County under the theme: “Strengthening National Identity Through Liberian-led Historical Leadership.”

The Presidential proclamation also requests citizens of Liberia to offer thanks and praises to God for His blessings showered upon us in past and present times and beseech Him for His continuing goodness and beneficence towards all peoples and nations of the earth, especially, the people of the Republic of Liberia.

 The Proclamation states that it is in grateful recognition of the blessings and miraculous deliverances which the Almighty God has extended to us as a Nation and People, although we have been most unworthy of them, to give thanks, adoration and praise unto Him for saving the State and to commemorate the brave and timely decision of the forbearers on July 26, 1847.

The Proclamation is in consonance with the “Patriotic and Culture Observances Law” title 26, Liberia Code of Law of 1956, which set aside the 26th  day of July of each year as a national holiday to be known as Independence Day and appropriately celebrated as such.    

The Proclamation further recounted that after due deliberation on the future of the “ Settlement” facing colonial challenges and threats, the founding fathers did publish to the world that historic and immortal instrument known as the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, by which the Commonwealth of Liberia became, and was presented to the comity of nations, as a free, sovereign and independent State thereby warding off encroachment from any colonial power and becoming the first independent African Republic.

 “In His infinite goodness and mercy, God has blessed and prospered the work of the minds, hearts, and hands of all the people of the Republic of Liberia from July 1847 when this nation was declared a free, sovereign and independence state; and from thenceforth, through the years of our national existence, manifold and varied have been the experiences of the nation and its people, who through it all have been able to forge their way by dint of perseverance, devotion and courage.”, the proclamation declares. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Liberia.

Source: APO

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The African Union (AU) Commission, through the African Union Border Programme (AUBP), and the German Federal Foreign Office congratulate the Republics of Zambia and Zimbabwe on the successful completion of the first phase of the Lake Kariba boundary demarcation exercise.

The installation of floating boundary buoys on Lake Kariba marks the first operational demarcation of an international boundary on a lake in Africa, representing a historic milestone in the implementation of the African Union Border Programme and a significant contribution to peaceful border governance on the continent.

Implemented through the strong cooperation of the Governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe, with technical support from the African Union Commission and financial support by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the initiative demonstrates how clearly defined international boundaries promote peace, prevent conflicts, enhance legal certainty, improve navigation and fisheries management, reduce accidental border crossings, and strengthen cooperation in the management of shared natural resources.

The African Union Border Programme continues to support Member States in the delimitation and demarcation of boundaries while promoting cross-border cooperation as a catalyst for peace, regional integration and sustainable development. The Lake Kariba initiative is a practical demonstration of this mandate and exemplifies the AU’s vision of transforming borders from barriers into bridges.

The AU Commission and Germany commend the Governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe, the Surveyors General, the Joint Technical Teams, the Zambezi River Authority, the International Organization for Migration and all stakeholders whose dedication made this achievement possible.

As the boundary reaffirmation programme progresses towards completion, the AU Commission and Germany reaffirm their shared commitment to supporting AU Member States in strengthening peaceful border governance, preventing conflicts, fostering regional integration and advancing the aspirations of Agenda 2063.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Union (AU).

Source: APO

Young people across Liberia are gaining greater access and undertsanding of the country’s National Youth Policy (2025–2029) following the completion of regional dialogues aimed at strengthening youth understanding, ownership and participation in its implementation.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports, in collaboration with UN Women, UNFPA and OHCHR, completed the regional dialogues from 13 to 20 July 2026 in Monrovia, Buchanan, Gbarnga and Zwedru, with funding from the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund (PBF).

Young people constitute approximately 75 per cent of Liberia’s population and are central to the country’s peacebuilding, governance, economic development and social cohesion. In October 2025, the Government of Liberia launched the revised National Youth Policy and Costed Implementation Plan (2025–2029), establishing a framework to advance youth empowerment, inclusion, participation and leadership.

However, awareness and understanding of the Policy remain limited among many young people, particularly young women, youth with disabilities, rural youth and other marginalized groups.

The regional dialogues sought to close this gap by bringing the Policy directly to young people and creating opportunities for them to discuss what its commitments mean for their lives and communities.

Youth leaders, youth-led organizations, young women’s groups, organizations of persons with disabilities, students, civil society representatives, local authorities and other stakeholders explored the Policy’s priorities and identified practical actions for implementation at county level.

Accessibility was central to the process. Simplified versions of the National Youth Policy, including Braille formats, were made available to help ensure that young people with disabilities can access and engage with the Policy.

UN Women also led discussions on the Policy’s Communication and Dissemination Strategy, equipping young people with practical tools to amplify its messages through social media, WhatsApp, radio, community outreach, flyers and posters. Participants discussed how youth groups can use their own platforms and networks to increase awareness and encourage wider participation.

The dialogues also provided spaces for participants to define the roles of government institutions, youth structures, civil society organizations and partners, while developing county-level actions around implementation, monitoring and accountability. 

One of the national delegates expressed their appreciation for the intentional and inclusive approach to disseminating the National Youth Policy and noted that it’s not like any previous policy implementation approaches they’ve witnessed.   

The initiative forms part of the Youth Promotion Initiative: Accelerating Digital Opportunities for Youth Civic Participation as a Lever for Building and Sustaining Peace in Liberia, a joint programme implemented by UN Women, UNFPA and OHCHR with funding from the UN Peacebuilding Fund.

By making the National Youth Policy more accessible and creating opportunities for young people to shape its implementation, the initiative is helping translate national commitments into meaningful participation and action at community level.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN Women – Africa.

Source: APO

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In response to the emerging needs for the sustained Cholera outbreak in South Sudan, WHO has received 19 metric tons of emergency supplies to replenish the fast-depleting stockpile of medical countermeasures needed in the response. These medical supplies enhance operational readiness and surge capacity. The shipment includes cholera response kits to support early detection and treatment, Inter-Agency Emergency Health Kits, as well as tents to expand temporary isolation capacity.

These supplies are expected to serve approximately 134,000 people in cholera-affected areas. The shipment, valued at US$120,000 and weighing approximately 19 metric tons. Procured with support from the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, the supplies will enable rapid deployment to outbreak affected locations. They will also strengthen timely disease detection (as they have selected laboratory reagents and rapid diagnostic test kits), isolation for infectious diseases containment, and effective case management. Most importantly, these supplies will help ensure that affected and hard-to-reach communities receive timely access to lifesaving healthcare, contributing to the reduction of preventable illness and deaths.

South Sudan continues to face a complex humanitarian and public health situation driven by protracted crises, population displacement, acute food insecurity, recurrent flooding, and limited access to essential health services. Beyond depleting the emergencies stockpiles, draining the energeias out of the emergency responders, the multiple emergencies have increased community vulnerability to infectious diseases and other public health emergencies.

The World Health Organization, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and health partners, is currently responding to multiple disease outbreaks and public health threats, including Anthrax, cholera, circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (due to two independent and active emergence groups), hepatitis E, measles, and mpox, while also strengthening preparedness and readiness for Ebola virus disease and other emerging health emergencies.

Dr. Humphrey Karamagi commended the support provided by FCDO and ECHO, noting that “reducing the burden of disease and preventing avoidable illness and deaths requires a coordinated, multisectoral approach. The supplied commodities will enhance the safety and security of rapid response teams, ensure timely protection of personnel during response operations, and strengthen the availability of essential medicines and supplies to meet the increasing demands of outbreaks and other public health emergencies”. He further expressed sincere appreciation for the timely and continued support, highlighting that “the contributions from FCDO and ECHO demonstrate a strong commitment to protecting the health and well-being of vulnerable communities across South Sudan.” With this kind of Support, WHO country office for South Sudan, is truly enabled to support all the emergency response NGOs and partners, effectively bringing meaning to the health cluster coordination mechanism that remains active in the country.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of WHO Regional Office for Africa.

Source: APO

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The African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) has finalised a loan of up to $15 million to the Biologicals and Vaccines Institute of South Africa Ltd (Biovac) (https://apo-opa.co/3RQJKp2) to support a new multi-vaccine manufacturing facility in Cape Town that will significantly expand Africa’s domestic capacity to produce vaccines.

The financing forms part of an expansion programme that will raise Biovac’s total annual manufacturing capacity up to 500 million doses. Once complete, Biovac is expected to become Africa’s first end-to-end producer of oral cholera vaccine and South Africa’s first locally produced inactivated polio vaccine, and the first on the continent to produce inactivated polio vaccine through technology-transfer partnerships with Sanofi, the International Vaccine Institute, Biological E Limited, EuBiologics, and Bharat Biotech. For more than two decades, Biovac has been South Africa’s primary vaccine supplier,

Africa currently imports more than 99 percent of the vaccines it uses, even though the continent carries a disproportionate share of the world’s vaccine-preventable disease burden. In response, the African Union aims to produce 60 percent of the continent’s vaccines locally by 2040. (https://apo-opa.co/4c0qcoV) Beyond vaccines, the project is projected to create around 340 full-time jobs, with an estimated 43 percent of these roles going to women and 30 percent going to youths. Biovac, which already employs more than 300 staff — half of them women — will also expand training in vaccine manufacturing, quality control, and regulatory science in partnership with local universities and other regional training institutions.

“This investment in Biovac is about much more than expanding vaccine production capacity. It is about building Africa’s health sovereignty, strengthening regional value chains, and creating industrial capabilities that will enable the continent to respond more effectively to future health emergencies,” said Solomon Quaynor, the Bank Group’s Vice President for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialisation. “By supporting Africa’s first end-to-end oral cholera vaccine manufacturing facility and the continent’s first local production of inactivated polio vaccine, we are helping transform Africa from a consumer of imported vaccines into a producer of critical health solutions.”

“We welcome the African Development Bank as a partner in this landmark project and are proud that an institution so central to Africa’s development sees in Biovac the same opportunity we see, a chance to fundamentally shift the continent’s relationship with its own health security,” said Biovac Chief Executive Officer Morena Makhoana. “The project will shift the narrative from majority-imported vaccines to majority-exported vaccines. This is part of changing that reality permanently. This is what Africa’s health sovereignty looks like in practice, and we are honoured to be building it.” 

The Bank Group’s support for Biovac aligns with its broader commitment to developing Africa’s pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing ecosystem, creating quality jobs, fostering innovation, and advancing African Union targets.

“This project allows one of Africa’s most experienced manufacturers to scale up exactly where the need is greatest: vaccines that protect children from cholera, polio, pneumonia and meningitis,” said Kennedy Mbekeani, the Bank Group’s Director General for Southern Africa, and Country Manager for South Africa.

The expansion project is also designed to plug directly into the continent’s emerging vaccine-financing architecture, including Gavi’s African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator (AVMA), (https://apo-opa.co/4c1QFT4) a $1.2 billion mechanism that rewards African manufacturers with milestone payments once they reach WHO prequalification, plus a per-dose top-up on vaccines supplied through UNICEF tenders.

Biovac’s new facility is expected to be completed by 2028 and will initially produce vaccines for cholera (oral) and subsequently for polio (IPV), pneumonia (PCV), and meningitis (MenX).

The Bank joins a syndicate of development finance institutions backing the project. The syndicate is led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and supported by a long-term quasi-equity facility from the Human Development Accelerator (HDX) programme, a European Union-backed initiative implemented by the European Investment Bank in partnership with the Gates Foundation. The package is complemented by grant funding and support from other global health partners for technology transfers that will bring new vaccines into Biovac’s portfolio.

Biovac is a South African biopharmaceutical company established in 2003 in partnership with the South African government to develop local vaccine manufacturing capability. Based in Cape Town, it currently manufactures and supplies much-needed routine paediatric vaccines and has delivered more than 450 million vaccine doses to countries across Southern Africa, including COVID-19 vaccines.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

Media contacts: 
Emeka Anuforo
Communication and External Relations Department
media@afdb.org

Nicolette Pesev
Head: Corporate Brand
media@biovac.co.za

About the African Development Bank Group:
The African Development Bank Group is Africa’s premier development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). On the ground in 41 African countries with an external office in Japan, the Bank contributes to the economic development and the social progress of its 54 regional member states. For more information: www.AfDB.org 

Source: APO

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The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today warned that food assistance for more than 130,000 refugees in Burundi – most of them fleeing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) – risks drawing down unless urgent funding is received.

Families who crossed the border in search of safety, food and shelter now face the prospect of losing the very assistance they depend on to survive. WFP urgently needs USD 35 million to sustain food and nutrition support for refugees through August 2027. Without new resources, lifesaving food distributions will end entirely from October 2026.

“Refugee families have already escaped from violence with little more than what they could carry. They came to Burundi looking for safety and something to eat, but now even that lifeline is at risk,” said Arduino Mangoni, WFP’s Acting Country Director in Burundi. “For people who cannot safely return home and have few ways to support themselves, WFP food assistance is not optional, it is what keeps families alive.”

Funding shortfalls have already forced WFP to reduce food rations, eroding refugees’ health and nutrition. If assistance stops, the impact would be immediate and severe. Families already living on reduced rations would face deeper hunger, worsening malnutrition and impossible choices between food, shelter, health care and protection. With no reliable income, limited opportunities to work and nowhere else to turn, many refugees could be pushed into negative coping strategies, while pressure on camps and surrounding host communities could rise.

As renewed violence flared in eastern DRC in late 2025, more than 100,000 people were forced to flee into neighbouring Burundi, adding to the existing refugee population in the country and more than doubling the number of refugees WFP supports. While some refugees have returned voluntarily to DRC, persistent conflict and regional instability continue to drive needs and could trigger further displacement if the situation deteriorates.

“We urgently appeal to donors and the international community to act now,” Mangoni said. “A break in food assistance would come at the worst possible moment for families who have already lost so much. Timely funding will allow WFP to keep food moving, protect the most vulnerable and help prevent a humanitarian emergency from deepening in a region already under strain.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Food Programme (WFP).