I-Verify, an app-based health products tracker, provides regulators as well as public users with real-time visibility into movement of health commodities and products from manufacturer to the point of issue. The Ethiopia Food and Drug Authority of Ethiopia already uses the app to detect and authenticate health commodities.
The application used to verify the authenticity of a product at any point in the supply chain by anyone and enables to track and trace health commodities from manufacturer to point of issue – throughout the health import process and supply chain. It’s also used to report unauthorized, defected, and counterfeit products in the market.
During the year 2020/21, USAID-funded Digital Health Activity (DHA) reported that it has supported the optimization of the i-Verify application to detect counterfeit products including fake COVID-19 vaccine.
The World Health Organization (WHO) South Sudan Country Office held a consultative meeting with the senior management of the Ministry of Health on 6 November 2021. The aim of the meeting was to align WHO workplans for 2022-2023 biennium with country priorities.
WHO plans in two-year cycles (biennium) with the current biennial plan 2020-2021 ending on 31 December 2021.
The meeting was officiated by Dr Fabian Ndenzako, the WHO Representative a.i. for South Sudan and Dr Paul Samson Baba, Acting Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health. In attendance were Directors General and other top officials from the Ministry of Health as well as WHO Country office technical staff.
During his opening remarks, Dr Ndenzako underscored the need for enhanced teamwork and effective coordination between the Ministry and health stakeholders including WHO to improve the health security for all people in South Sudan.
“WHO is here to support the Ministry of Health, and this consultation meeting provides an opportunity to reflect on how WHO and the Ministry of Health can work together more effectively to improve the health outcomes of the people in South Sudan.” Said Dr Ndenzako.
According to Dr Paul Samson Baba, Acting Undersecretary at the Ministry of Health, the technical support, and guidance that WHO has been providing has led to the country registering some positive health outcomes including responding to numerous emergencies with public health consequences and in a fragile, conflict-affected, and compounded with severe food insecurity, floods, and disease outbreaks.
The Omicron variant is reaching more countries in Africa and weekly COVID-19 cases in the continent surged by 93%. However, there are signs of hope as preliminary data indicates that hospitalizations across South Africa remain low.
Africa recorded more than 107 000 cases in the week ending on 5 December, up from around 55 000. Five countries accounted for 86% of the cases reported over the past week and all the sub-regions in the continent – up from one the previous week – reported increases in new cases. Southern Africa recorded the highest increase with a 140% hike mainly driven by an uptick in South Africa.
Research is being intensified to determine whether Omicron is fuelling the surge in cases seen in Africa. Emerging data from South Africa indicates that Omicron may cause less severe illness. Data which looked at hospitalizations across South Africa between 14 November and 4 December found that ICU occupancy was only 6.3 % – which is very low compared with the same period when the country was facing the peak linked to the Delta variant in July. Data from the same two-week period from one of the health districts most impacted by Omicron found that out of more than 1200 admissions, 98 were receiving supplemental oxygen and only four were on ventilation. This is very preliminary data with a small sample size and most of the people admitted to the health facilities were under the age of 40. As the clinical profile of patients changes, the impact of Omicron may change.
Africa currently accounts for 46% of the nearly 1000 Omicron cases reported by 57 countries across different regions of the world. So far, 10 African countries have reported cases. Despite the widespread global presence of Omicron, more than 70 countries have imposed travel bans that are mainly targeting southern African countries – some of which have yet to report any Omicron case.
“With Omicron now present in nearly 60 countries globally, travel bans that mainly target African countries are hard to justify,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa. “Through the diligent surveillance efforts of African scientists, the new variant of concern was first detected on this continent, but it’s unclear if transmission was taking place silently in other regions. We call for science-based public health measures to counter the spread of COVID-19. The travel restrictions come at the height of the end-of-year tourist season, ravaging Africa’s economies, with a knock-on impact that is potentially devastating to the health of Africans.”
To ramp up the response to the Omicron variant and the rise in cases, WHO is supporting countries to improve genomic surveillance to track the virus and detect other potential variants of concern. In South Africa, a regional genomic sequencing laboratory is supporting 14 southern Africa countries and has significantly scaled up sequencing. In the first half of 2021, southern African countries sequenced only 5500 samples. They are now sequencing as many every month.
An 83% surge in new COVID-19 cases during the past week in Africa, driven by the Delta and the Omicron variants, is causing fewer deaths than previous surges—but more waves could be building as updated forecasts warn that the continent may not reach 70% vaccine coverage until August 2024, a new World Health Organization (WHO) pandemic assessment finds.
Africa recorded more than 196 000 new cases for the week ending on 12 December, up from around 107 000 in the previous week, bringing the total cumulative number of recorded cases during the pandemic to 8.9 million. The number of new COVID-19 cases is currently doubling every five days, the shortest reported this year. While the speed of the spread is fast, deaths remain low and even dropped by 19% last week compared with the previous week.
There were a little over 3000 deaths reported during the first three weeks of the current pandemic wave, which is Africa’s fourth. About half as many cases were reported in the same time frame during the third wave which was fuelled by the Delta variant.
This upsurge in new cases coupled with low hospitalizations is particularly marked in South Africa which has experienced a 66% rise in new cases during the past seven days compared with the previous seven days. While hospitalizations have increased by 67% in the past seven days, the bed occupancy rate for Intensive Care Units remains low at 7.5%, with 14% of the hospitalized patients receiving supplemental oxygen. Though the deaths also remain low, this data should be interpreted with caution as the pattern may change in the coming weeks.
“We are cautiously optimistic that deaths and severe illness will remain low in the current wave, but slow vaccine rollout in Africa means both will be much higher than they should be,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “We’ve known for quite some time now that new variants like Beta, Delta or Omicron could regularly emerge to spark new outbreaks globally, but vaccine-deprived regions like Africa will be especially vulnerable.”
Moms who had COVID-19 when they gave birth may help stimulate their infant's burgeoning immunity against the virus by breastfeeding, a small study hints.
It's well known that breast milk contains certain maternal antibodies that can help protect infants from infections as their own immune systems develop.
Studies indicate that's true of SARS-CoV-2, as well: Breast milk from moms who had COVID-19, or have been vaccinated against it, contains antibodies against the virus.
Antibodies passed from mom to baby — both in the womb and via breastfeeding — offer what's called "passive" immune protection, where a mother's antibodies stand guard while the baby's immune system develops.
Ethiopia was open to possible donations of vaccines, Lia added, and said the country was not doing any procurement of doses independently but only through the COVAX facility.
COVAX is co-led by the GAVI alliance which secures vaccines for poor countries, the World Health Organization, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and the U.N. Children’s Fund.
African countries are trying to obtain COVID-19 vaccine supplies for their 1.3 billion people even as rich nations elsewhere in the world race ahead with mass immunization campaigns. Only a handful of nations on the continent have begun administering vaccines.
On Tuesday, Lia did not specify which vaccines Ethiopia will be receiving through COVAX.
“We are not getting any specific vaccine we are getting them based on the availability of the COVAX facility,”
The health ministry said on Tuesday the country will need 13 billion Ethiopian birr ($328 million) for vaccines and related expenses, the state-run Ethiopian News Agency said, which will be covered by the government and international donations.
To read the full article click on this link Ethiopia Covid-19 Vaccines
ADDIS ABABA, May 27 (Xinhua) — The Ethiopian government on Monday disclosed that Ethiopia’s Chinese-built Kilinto Industrial Park (KIP) has boosted the country’s ambition to lure experienced international pharmaceutical companies across the globe.
The Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) on Monday revealed the signing of investment agreements with 10 international companies that have “shown great interest” to set up their industrial plants inside the premises of KIP.
EIC stressed that the industrial park, once fully finalized, will power the East African country’s potential to attract more foreign companies in the pharmaceutical sector.
“The Kilinto Industrial Park is now on the verge of completion, and once completed it will host more than 1,000 pharmaceutical companies,” EIC Deputy Commissioner Temesgen Telahun was quoted as saying by Ethiopia’s state media Fana Broadcasting Corporate (FBC) on Monday.
Lying on 270-hectares of land on the outskirts of Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, the Kilinto Industrial Park is under construction by Chinese construction giant, Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group Co., Ltd. (CTCEGCL), at a cost of 204 million U.S. dollars.
The industrial park, which is fully financed by the World Bank, features 18-km of asphalt road, provision of basic social services, green spaces, warehouses, business centers and car parking space, according to the Ethiopian Industry Parks Development Corporation (IPDC).
IPDC officials had recently disclosed the Ethiopian government’s plan to commission the Kilinto industrial park for interested and experienced pharmaceutical companies as of June this year.
Adenan Bere, Communications Director at the IPDC, told Xinhua recently that the East African country expects the KIP, which is under construction exclusively for pharmaceutical firms, to lure world-class companies with a view to help Ethiopia’s economy through the export of pharmaceutical products as well as import-substitution.
Bere also noted that in addition to attracting foreign firms to penetrate Ethiopia’s emerging pharmaceutical sector, the IPDC is also working with local financial institutions to support local firms to invest in the industrial park.
As the Ethiopian government in recent years embarked on attracting foreign firms in the pharmaceutical sector, Chinese firms are becoming among the major foreign firms in exerting their capital and technology in the sector.
In June last year, Chinese pharmaceutical giant, Sansheng Pharmaceuticals Plc, had inaugurated its production plant in Ethiopia amid Ethiopia’s higher demand for import substitution in medicines.
Sansheng Pharmaceuticals Plc commenced its first phase of production in June 2018 inside the premises of the Eastern Industry Zone on the outskirt of Ethiopia’s capital.
The Ethiopian government, which has been expressing its concern over the minimal share of local medical drugs production for the country’s domestic use, also stressed the benefits of the Chinese pharmaceutical firm in saving large amount of hard currency through import substitution.
Demeke Mekonnen, Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia, said during the plant’s inauguration ceremony that despite the Ethiopian government’s various measures to support the pharmaceutical sector, the “sector has not yet evolved into where we projected it to be — both in terms of its investment portfolio, production capacity, technology acquisition and the creation of employment opportunities.”
He also noted that the sector is still dominated by heavy importation of pharmaceutical products from abroad, which currently represents about 85 percent of the annual 500 million U.S. dollar local market.
“Your investment to Ethiopia could not have come at a more opportune moment,” Mekonnen said.
Ethiopia is currently constructing or has commissioned 15 industrial parks as part of a plan to turn the country into a light manufacturing hub in Africa by 2020.
Chinese companies, which are the leading partners of the Ethiopian government in the construction of industrial parks across the country, are also actively engaging their capital and technologies by investing inside the newly built industrial parks.
Ethiopia had licensed around 1,294 Chinese investment projects during the previous 2017/18 Ethiopian Fiscal Year that ended July 7, constituting around 25 percent of all Foreign Direct Investment to the east African country.
Up to half of the population in Africa lacks access to essential medicines and health services, according to a WHO report “The World Medicines Situation”. The reasons for this span from lack of policies on medicines selection and use to the high price of medicines, lack of sustainable healthcare financing or reliable supply systems.
One of the possible solutions to the problem is to develop local manufacturing capacity and ensure that quality medicines produced nationally are more affordable than imported medicines.
The Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, on 14 July 2015, launched an ambitious 10-year national strategy and plan of action to develop local pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity in order to increase access to locally manufactured, quality-assured medicines. The launch occurred on the side-lines of the 3rd Conference on Financing for Development.
“Access to essential medicines is an integral component of universal health coverage,” said WHO Director-General, Margaret Chan. “I invite all development partners to join WHO in supporting the implementation of this strategic plan over the next 10 years.”
By 2020, the strategy aims to meet 50 percent of the local needs for essential medicines through local manufacturing.
It provides a long-term vision and a plan for the pharmaceutical industry that combines the objectives of industrial development policy and health policy, so the sector can develop, the economy can grow and people can access quality-assured affordable medicines. This 10 year strategy was developed by the Ethiopian Ministries of Health and Trade in collaboration with WHO.
The Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia, at the launch of the national strategy, emphasized that “This national strategy and plan of action will contribute significantly to the country’s economic growth and social development,” and called on all partners present and beyond to strengthen partnerships to support the Ethiopian efforts to significantly reduce poverty and become a middle income country by 2025.”
Ethiopia’s increased investments in expanding effective health coverage – grown to 95 % in 2013-14 – have already improved health indicators in the population, reducing child mortality and HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, and have resulted in growing demand for health commodities. At the same time, better performance in industrial and economic policies has spurred foreign and local investments in the pharmaceutical sector.
We are really sorry to inform you that Ethio Health Exhibition and Congress, which was scheduled from 26 – 28 March, 2020 is postponed due to escalating Health concerns relating to the spread of Corona Virus disease (COVID – 2019).
We are really sorry to inform you that Ethio Health Exhibition and Congress, which was scheduled from 26 – 28 March, 2020 is postponed due to escalating Health concerns relating to the spread of Corona Virus disease (COVID – 2019).
While we prepared and fully intending to run the event, we get informed from majority of our international exhibitors that they could not join the event in the scheduled date. Obviously, this was not anticipated due to no cases of Coronavirus in Ethiopia before days, but we faced with a situation where we have no choice. So we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that it may occur to you. we will keep you updated and we will announce the new dates of the event in the near soon.
