Addis Ababa: U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Senior Bureau Official for Global Health Security and Diplomacy for Health Diplomacy, Ambassador John Nkengasong announced the approval of the 111 million USD Country Operational Plan 2023 (COP23).
According to the US Embassy in Addis Ababa, the financial support has come through the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program to support Ethiopia’s continued response to end HIV/AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
Ethiopian Minister of Health Dr. Mekdes Daba, along with The US Ambassador to Ethiopia Ervin Massinga, attended the virtual event and gave remarks.
The COP23 Year 2 plan represents ongoing cooperation between PEPFAR and the Ministry of Health to develop joint programming to support the needs of people living with HIV in Ethiopia, it was learned.
The approval announced by Ambassador Nkengasong ensures a continuation of this programming, which will ensure Ethiopia is on track to achieve epidemic control by 2030.
PEPFAR, with the
Ministry of Health and various stakeholders, has designed a plan focused on closing gaps in HIV prevention, care, and treatment for key populations and addressing geographic disparities.
The plan will prioritize improving HIV services in conflict-affected areas, enhancing case-finding strategies, and reaching vulnerable populations such as children, adolescents, and gender-based violence survivors.
Over the past 21 years, PEPFAR has invested approximately 3 billion USD to support the HIV/AIDS response in Ethiopia, the embassy said.
PEPFAR’s investments have helped strengthen the health system through workforce development, improved infrastructure to support HIV services, and supported the establishment of referral laboratories and a national health information system to address HIV.
Source: Ethiopian News Agency
Professor De-Graft Owusu-Manu, President of Green Communities International, said developing countries including Ghana, must take environmental sustainability issues seriously.
By doing so, the countries would directly and indirectly be resolving climate issues, preserving the planet and natural resources such as water and air.
‘Building a sustainable future and cultivating sustainable ways of living will reduce pollution and protect habitats of plants,’ he said.
Speaking at the media launch of the first International Conference on Environment, Social Governance and Sustainable Development Agenda of Africa (ICESDA) in Kumasi, Prof Owusu-Manu said developing countries could achieve these through strong and effective collaboration between academia and industry.
He cited Rwanda and Cote d’Ivoire as countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, which were confronting sustainability issues hands-on in the right direction, adding that Ghana needed to emulate.
He said Ghana could conform to the Environment, Social and Gover
nance (ESG) factors to explicitly measure sustainability performance to ensure responsible investments and commit to a social impact agenda.
‘While businesses are making profits, they should take care of the people working in the business to thrive as well as protecting the planet through actions; our actions and inactions should not destroy the planet,’ he emphasized.
Prof. Owusu-Manu, who is the Chairman of the Conference dubbed ‘ICESDA 2024’ scheduled to take place on 26th-29th March 2024 in Kumasi, explained that the programme would offer participants the opportunity to showcase their sustainable lifestyles, contributions and pathways in addressing the Sustainable Development Goals.
The programme would be held on the theme ‘Enhancing Environment, Social, Governance and Sustainability for Africa’s Development’.
The conference would bring teams from across the globe to discuss actionable insights on how to engage stakeholders in resolving issues for sustainable solutions in their business value chain.
Topics to be discussed would bother on sustainable innovations in the built environment ecosystem, social entrepreneurship and indigenous knowledge management.
Other topics would include food security and climate-smart agricultural technologies (precision agriculture and greenhouse agriculture), urban mobility, sustainable innovations in marine plastics, and textile and microfibre technology.
Dr. Christian Mensah Sewordor, Co-Chairman of ICESDA 2024, called on stakeholders to act through research to protect ecosystems and enhance sustainability.
Source: Ghana News Agency