Africa Business News

Oxford University says a British trial of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine on children has been paused while regulators assess its possible link to blood clots.The university in a statement says whilst there are no safety concerns in the paediatric clinical trial, they await additional information from the MHRA on its review of rare cases of thrombosis/thrombocytopaenia that have been reported in adults, before giving any further vaccinations in the trial.The WHO and the European Medicines Agency will reveal their findings later this week.The European Medicines Agency says it has not yet reached a conclusion and the review is currently ongoing.EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides later said that the agency was expected to make its decision late Wednesday, adding that she was in close contact with the EMA.

The IMF says accelerated vaccinations and a flood of government spending, especially in the United States, has boosted the outlook for the global economy, but more must be done to prevent permanent scars.The International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook now sees world growth of 6.0 per cent this year after the contraction of 3.3 per cent in 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic.IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath says rapid government responses prevented a much worse outcome, a collapse that could have been at least three times as large.The United States, which deployed another $1.9 trillion last month, is expected to grow by 6.4 per cent while China’s economy, one of few that grew last year, will expand 8.4 per cent in 2021.She however stressed that the health crisis remains the critical factor in the economic recovery and the slow rollout of vaccinations to many developing countries fuel risks not just of a worsening Covid-19 outbreak.

Tanzania's new president has announced that bans placed on a number of media outlets by her predecessor who died last month are now to be lifted.She says media rules, regulations and penalties should be transparent so that everyone knows what to expect should they do wrong and the punishment is proportionate.President Samia says the government must not be seen to curtail media freedoms.But some say this does not go far enough.

Two United Nations agencies say about a third of the entire population of the Democratic Republic of Congo is facing acute hunger and have appealed for urgent additional funding to deal with the crisis.The World Food Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization say it’s never been this bad with more than 27 million Congolese now urgently in need of food.They describe the scale of the crisis as staggering and say DR Congo should be able to feed its population and export a surplus.They added that the situation is dire in the central Kasai provinces where there's also been conflict.The UN agencies say the Covid-19 pandemic and an economic downturn have made the situation even worse.

The latest round of talks between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam has ended with no progress made.Egypt’s foreign ministry says the talks failed after Ethiopia rejected a Sudanese proposal to include international mediators in talks.Spokesman Ahmed Hafez said Ethiopia rejected the United States, European Union, the United Nations and the African Union playing a role in overseeing the negotiations.Egypt’s foreign ministry in a statement says this position reveals once again Ethiopia’s lack of political will to negotiate in good faith.Sudan’s foreign minister says Ethiopia’s unilateral moves over the dam were a clear violation of international law.

South Africa’s Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has assured South Africans that the government is working to improve efficiency in its vaccination rollout.He says in preparation for the mass vaccination campaign, they have undertaken a deep study of the Sisonke Protocol to draw lessons from the programme and enhance the efficiency of future operations. He says they have also continued to engage stakeholders across all sectors to sensitise ourselves to the needs of various communities.He says they are working on a strategy that will help meet the government’s targets, as far as the rollout is concerned.Dr Zweli Mkhize says upon completion of the ratification process, they will announce the details of the revised vaccination programme to the public and call on the first group of eligible citizens to register on the Electronic Vaccination System.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has warned that Nigeria is heading for the brink, urging that there is an urgent need to pull it back.He says despite huge human and material resources the country is heading for the brinks and there is an urgent need to pull it back from this catastrophe.Nigeria has recently witnessed increasing insecurity, leading to the killing of security agents and innocent citizens by bandits.Mohammed, says the manifestations of the general state of insecurity in the country, especially with secessionist narrative, crass politicisation of ethnic and religious differences need to be addressed urgently.Mohammed added that the correct starting point towards addressing the problems is building an elite consensus on the security, unity, indissolubility and peaceful existence of Nigeria.

The Federal Government says an additional 100,000 doses of the Oxford/Astrazeneca vaccine has been received from India.Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha says the vaccines, donated by the government of India to Nigeria, will help boost the number of Nigerians be vaccinated by about 50,000.Mr Mustapha also announced that President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the transitioning of the PTF to the Presidential Steering Committee on Covid-19, effective from April 1, 2021.

Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao has expressed confidence that the Nigerian Air Force will oust the terrorists and other criminal elements in Nigeria in no distant time.Air Marshal Amao reiterated the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigerian Air Force towards ensuring that insurgency and armed banditry are put to an end.The Chief of Air Staff commended the 013 Quick Response Force and Air Component of Operation GAMA AIKI as well as the gallant officers, airmen, and airwomen urging them to remain resolute in the fight against insurgency and banditry.He told them not to relent in their dedication and hard work towards achieving the mandate of protection of lives and properties of Nigerians.The NAF boss stated that efforts are ongoing to recover the crashed NAF Alpha Jet Aircraft which was declared missing on 31st March 2021.

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of DIG Usman Alkali Baba as acting Inspector General of Police.The president had on the 4th of February, extended the tenure of Mohammed Adamu as the Inspector General of Police for three months out of which the erstwhile police boss spent two months and three days.The Minister of Police Affairs, Maigari Dingyadi says Baba’s appointment was carefully made after the president considered issues of professionalism, competence, and numerous years of service.The president urged DIG Usman Alkali Baba to ensure that policing reform policies are fully prioritized to engender peace across the country.