Latest news with #AddisAbaba
Zawya
2 hours ago
- Business
- Zawya
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) peace fund undertakes African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) coordination and benchmarking visit to the African Union Commission
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) undertook a coordination and benchmarking mission to the African Union Commission (AUC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 30 June to 4 July 2025. The visit is part of ongoing efforts to deepen collaboration in the implementation of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA IV) and to strengthen institutional synergies with the African Union (AU) and relevant stakeholders. The mission brought together key personnel from the ECOWAS Peace Fund and the Directorate of Financial Reporting and Grants, who engaged with counterparts at the African Union Commission, the African Union Peace Fund (AUPF), the APSA Support Programme Management Team and other relevant stakeholders. The mission sought to achieve several strategic objectives, notably the reinforcement of coordination frameworks between ECOWAS and the AU in line with APSA IV goals, as well as the advancement of data-driven approaches to peace and security programming. Particular attention was given to the effective use of the African Monitoring and Evaluation Reporting Tool (AMERT), with discussions focusing on aligning its functionalities to ensure seamless data sharing, monitoring, and evaluation among various stakeholders. Furthermore, the delegation engaged with counterparts at the AU Peace Fund and the Compliance and Risk Management Units to benchmark operational models in areas such as data management, visibility, fund mobilization, disbursement, and compliance. These engagements aimed to identify areas for mutual learning, propose technical roadmaps for platform interoperability and explore opportunities for capacity building in the effective use of digital tools for monitoring and reporting. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Arab News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Ethiopia arrests 82 suspected members of Daesh group
NAIROBI: More than 80 suspected members of Daesh have been arrested across Ethiopia, state media said, claiming they intended to carry out a 'terror mission.' The 82 individuals were trained in neighboring Somali Puntland region, according to state outlet Fana Media Corporation, which cited a statement from the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS). Ethiopia shares a long border with Somalia, which for months has been experiencing a resurgence of attacks by the militant Al-Shabab group. Fana said late Tuesday the suspected Daesh group members were 'identified and arrested,' but did not give any further details. The suspects 'had been recruited for a terror mission,' Fana said, noting the arrests took place in several regions across the country, including capital Addis Ababa. Somalia and Ethiopia have had tense relations for months after Addis Ababa announced an agreement with the breakaway Somaliland region last year, angering Mogadishu and raising fears of regional destabilization. Relations between Somalia and Ethiopia have since normalized. Ethiopia is part of the African Union Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) combating the Al-Shabab group in Somalia. The AUSSOM mission faces funding difficulties, even as fears of the groups resurgence are stoked by attacks in the Horn of Africa nation.
Zawya
2 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Ethiopian Airlines launches passenger service to Abu Dhabi
Ethiopian Airlines has launched a new daily passenger service connecting Addis Ababa to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE. The flight marks a milestone in Ethiopian Airlines' efforts to strengthen its presence in the Middle East and Gulf region. The new route was celebrated at the Ethiopian Skylight Hotel in Addis Ababa, attended by senior Ethiopian government officials, UAE Embassy representatives, and Ethiopian Airlines executives. The airline currently operates over 100 weekly passenger flights to 13 destinations across the Middle East and Gulf. With the addition of Abu Dhabi, Ethiopian now operates flights to/from four airports in three cities in the UAE: Dubai, Dubai International Airport DXB & Al Maktoum International Airport DWC (cargo), Sharjah, and now Abu Dhabi, the futuristic Zayed International Airport. This new route is part of a landmark joint venture agreement between Ethiopian Airlines and Etihad Airways, designed to foster closer cooperation between the two carriers. Mesfin Tasew, Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, stated: 'The launch of our new service to Abu Dhabi reflects Ethiopian Airlines' strategic commitment to connecting Africa with the world. Through our collaboration with Etihad Airways, we are creating more opportunities for trade, investment, and tourism between our nations while offering our passengers expanded choice and convenience. This partnership is a powerful example of what can be achieved when two national carriers come together to unlock mutual growth.' Copyright 2024 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Zawya
3 days ago
- Health
- Zawya
Ethiopia moves toward smarter health and nutrition supply chain management
A national dissemination workshop held on May 27, 2025, in Addis Ababa brought together government officials, health experts, and development partners to review the findings of a comprehensive assessment of Ethiopia's electronic Logistics Management Information System (eLMIS), known as Dagu. The system is designed to enhance visibility and improve efficiency throughout the country's health supply chain. Opening the event, the World Health Organization (WHO) Ethiopia Dr Patrick Okumu Abok, Team Lead, Health Emergencies Programme, commended the collaborative efforts that led to the successful completion of the nationwide assessment, which covered 251 public health facilities. The study evaluated the functionality, maturity, utilization, and impact of the Dagu system on health and nutrition commodity availability, inventory management, and decision-making processes. The event and the nationwide assessment were funded by the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), reaffirming the EU's longstanding commitment to supporting Ethiopia's health system strengthening and digital transformation. 'This event marks a significant milestone in our collective effort to build a more resilient, data-driven supply chain for Ethiopia,' said Dr Patrick. 'Dagu is helping health facilities deliver essential medicines, nutrition commodities and health supplies more reliably—and the data proves it.' According to the assessment findings, 63.7% of health facilities currently operate functional Dagu systems. These facilities demonstrated improved pharmaceutical availability—with an average availability rate of 88.3% for tracer medicines—highlighting Dagu's positive contribution to medicine access across the health system. Despite the progress, the assessment also highlighted several challenges, including infrastructure limitations, intermittent internet access, limited management engagement, and human resource constraints, particularly in areas such as training and staff retention. The study identified that facilities with trained pharmacy heads and reliable internet access were significantly more likely to operate functional Dagu systems. The Ministry of Health emphasised the government's continued commitment to scaling up digital health innovations, such as Dagu, to achieve better health outcomes. 'This assessment reinforces what we've known—Dagu has the potential to transform our supply chain. But it also reminds us that sustainability requires more than just systems; it requires leadership, accountability, and integration,' said Teshome Deres, senior advisor for the state minister of the Ministry of Health. 'We are committed to working with our partners to ensure Dagu reaches its full potential across all health programs.' The workshop emphasized the importance of transforming these insights into action. Recommendations put forth include: Strengthening infrastructure and digital connectivity at health facilities Institutionalizing routine performance monitoring Enhancing interoperability with other national health systems like DHIS2 and ERP Introducing legal frameworks to support mandatory system use Expanding Dagu's coverage to all health programs, including those currently underrepresented such as EPI and nutrition The event was supported in partnership with the Ministry of Health, Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Supply Service (EPSS), and the Dagu Task Force, with the support from Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), ECHO, Results for Development (R4D), and WHO. With a strong political commitment and coordinated implementation, Ethiopia's journey toward a more efficient and equitable health supply chain continues—powered by innovation, data, and partnerships. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO) - Ethiopia.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Science
- The Guardian
‘It's always been some white dude': how Ethiopia became the world leader in uncovering the story of humankind
When Berhane Asfaw was in California beginning his graduate studies into the origins of humanity, he realised all the fossils he was examining had come, like himself, from Ethiopia. They had been shipped to the US to be researched and pieced together. Back then, in the early 1980s, the only Ethiopians working on archaeological digs in their own country were labourers, employed by foreigners. 'Because everything discovered in Ethiopia was exported, there was no chance for Ethiopians to study the items and develop expertise,' says Berhane, who returned home in the late 1980s as his country's first palaeoanthropologist – a scientist who studies human evolution. 'You can't train people if everything is taken to France, the US or Britain,' the 70-year-old says. With his American colleagues, Berhane clawed together funding to establish a laboratory at the National Museum of Ethiopia to clean fossils clogged with rock-hard bits of sediment, a painstaking process that can take years. The laboratory could also produce perfect replicas of specimens for foreign researchers to take home. 'Once we had the lab organised, there was no need to export fossils. We could do everything in-house,' says Berhane. Housed in an unremarkable grey office block in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, his lab is now home to the world's most extensive collection of the remains of modern humans' ancestors: about 1,600 fossils representing 13 of more than 20 confirmed species of early humans. They are stored in a series of bullet-proof safes. The oldest is of an ape-like creature called Ardipithecus kadabba that lived 6m years ago. The most recent, at 160,000-years-old, represents Homo sapiens, or modern humans, who evolved in east Africa before colonising the rest of the world. The discoveries led to Ethiopia being viewed as the cradle of mankind. 'The range is absolutely staggering. Ethiopia is the only place on Earth where you can find fossils stretching that far back to the present, without any gaps in the record,' says Berhane in his office. It is crammed with books, piles of papers and copies of hominin skulls; in one corner sits the huge, fossilised remains of a 400,000-year-old pair of buffalo horns. 'The history of all humanity is housed in this place,' he says. On the third floor of the building, a palaeontologist, Yared Assefa, lays several hominin fossils out on a conference table. They include 'Lucy', a 40% complete, 3.2m-year-old skeleton of a female hominin, whose discovery in Ethiopia's arid Afar region in 1974 was a global sensation. At the time, the Australopithecus afarensis skeleton represented the oldest human ancestor to be discovered by fossil hunters, and significantly advanced our understanding of humanity's evolutionary trajectory. Today, her 47 bones are neatly arranged in a series of wooden drawers. In the cavernous basement are kept the non-human fossils. The vast rows of filing cabinets contain everything from 3m-year-old chimpanzee teeth to fossilised frogs. The giant jaws and tusks of prehistoric elephants and hippos sit on low-slung trolleys. One of the earliest stone tools used by humans' ancestors lies in one drawer. It is 2.6m years old and was used for chopping. 'This is an amazing piece,' says a geologist, Gemechis Getaneh, holding it in his palm. 'All the technology we have today comes from this stone.' This vast collection has nurtured a generation of world-leading Ethiopian scholars. Their research has been crucial to shining a light on humanity's origins. Berhane, for example, is co-leader of the Middle Awash Project in the Afar region, which since the 1990s has discovered eight early humans, including one who lived 6m years ago. Sign up to Global Dispatch Get a different world view with a roundup of the best news, features and pictures, curated by our global development team after newsletter promotion In 2000, Zeresenay Alemseged, now a professor at the University of Chicago but who started out as a young geologist at the laboratory, unearthed 'Selam', the almost complete skeleton of a child who lived 3.3m years ago and the most complete remains of a human ancestor yet found. The early career of Yohannes Haile-Selassie, who heads the Institute for Human Origins at Arizona State University, also began here. While still a university student, Yohannes discovered two early hominins that pushed understanding of humanity's origins back beyond 5m years ago, challenging many assumptions about evolution. Yohannes lays out his fossil haul from a recent field trip on a table. He says the prominence of local scholars in the continent's paleoanthropological research is unique to Ethiopia. 'When you look at other African countries with rich fossil records – like Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa – you don't see the same level of participation, it's always some white dude,' says Yohannes. 'So Ethiopia takes the lead, and that is a great source of pride for us. The discoveries from the Middle Awash have literally rewritten the history of humanity.' Ethiopia's fossil riches stem from a geographic quirk. Its arid northern and southern regions were once full of rivers, lakes and forests – an environment of abundance, perfect for evolution. These areas sit in the Rift Valley, a great fissure where tectonic activity heaves layers of prehistoric sediment upwards. If they get lucky, fossil hunters can spot and collect specimens on the surface. If no one happens to be there when the fossils appear, they will weather away into dust. There are now more than 30 Ethiopian palaeoanthropologists at institutions around the world, says Yohannes. He is setting up an online master's course in the discipline and related subjects at five universities, in which Arizona State University professors will teach Ethiopian students. It is due to start next year. 'As palaeoanthropologists who live and work abroad, it is our personal responsibility to think about the next generation,' he says. 'We want to double, triple, the number of scholars.'
