• Doses delivered to G20 countries per capita are 15 times higher than doses delivered per capita to sub-Saharan African countries
• Wealthy countries with more supplies than they need have generously pledged to donate these doses to low- and middle-income countries via COVAX but these promised doses are moving too slowly

G20 countries have received 15 times more COVID-19 vaccine doses per capita than countries in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new analysis.

The analysis, conducted by science analytics company Airfinity, exposes the severity of vaccine inequity between high-income and low-income countries, especially in Africa.

It found that doses delivered to G20 countries per capita are 15 times higher than doses delivered per capita to sub-Saharan African countries, 15 times higher than doses delivered per capita to low-income countries and 3 times higher than doses delivered per capita in all other countries combined.

“Vaccine inequity is not just holding the poorest …

• Stanbic Bank, Stanbic Kenya Foundation and the German Development Cooperation have signed a deal to help MSMEs
• The partners say the Ksh 62million project seeks to support Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to respond, restore and rebound from the effects of the pandemic

Kenya’s Stanbic Bank, Stanbic Kenya Foundation and the German Development Cooperation have entered into a partnership aimed at accelerating business recovery and growth of small enterprises post the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic.

In a statement, the partners say the Ksh 62million project seeks to support Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to respond, restore and rebound from the effects of the pandemic.

The partnership is under the Employment and Skills for Development in Africa (E4D) Programme commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ and Stanbic Kenya Foundation.

The business recovery interventions under the partnership will be provided …

• EIB has committed EUR 95 million to support companies that were most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Rwanda
• Bank of Kigali and KCB Bank Rwanda have been picked to manage the funds

The European Investment Bank has announced that it will support companies that were most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Rwanda, to a tune of EUR 95 million.

In a statement, the bank said it had picked Bank of Kigali (BK) and KCB Bank Rwanda to manage the funds, as well as provide new credit lines for Rwandan companies.

Commenting on the development, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Uzziel Ndagijimana welcomed EIB’s latest private sector engagement in Rwanda and the launch of its EUR 175 million East Africa COVID-19 Response Facility in the country.

Rwanda becomes the first country in East Africa to benefit from the new streamlined financing programme that will provide long term …

• Bar and restaurant operators in Kenya have pledged to abide by the protocols to limit the spread of Covid-19
• They have also offered to have their establishments become vaccination centres following the reopening of their establishments 

Bar and restaurant operators in Kenya have pledged to abide by the protocols to limit the spread of Covid-19 and offered to have their establishments become vaccination centres following the reopening.

The operators’ associations have also asked revellers to abide by the rules to avoid a resurgence of infections that would force the Government to come up with the restrictions that have hampered operations since March 2020.

“The hospitality sector has gone through one of the darkest periods in the history of Kenya,” said Frank Mbogo, the chairman of the Nairobi branch of the Pubs, Entertainment and Restaurants Association of Kenya.

The operators said the lifting of the curfew by President Uhuru Kenyatta and …

• The eight agreements cover broad areas of cooperation between Kenya and Malawi including politics, diplomacy, defence, fisheries and aquaculture among others 
• Kenyatta said collaboration and consolidation of ties between the two countries would guarantee socioeconomic growth of their citizens
• Previously, Kenyan industrialists have said they are seeking trade linkages that will allow them to establish joint ventures with Malawians

Kenya and Malawi have entered into new bilateral relations by signing eight new agreements designed to strengthen socioeconomic bonds between the two nations.

The agreements were signed on October 22 at State House, Nairobi at the end of bilateral talks between Kenyan and Malawian delegations led by President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Southern Africa counterpart Lazarus Chakwera.

The eight agreements covered broad areas of cooperation between Kenya and Malawi in politics, diplomacy, defence, fisheries and aquaculture as well as cooperative development. Others are technical cooperation in health and tourism. (midwaymoving.com…

• The Foundation has announced a commitment of up to $120 million to accelerate access to the investigational antiviral drug molnupiravir 
• The Foundation said the funding will be allocated based on consultations with partners

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announced a commitment of up to $120 million to accelerate access to the investigational antiviral drug molnupiravir for lower-income countries as part of its COVID-19 response effort.

In a statement, the Foundation said the funding will be allocated based on consultations with partners, and will support the range of activities required to develop and manufacture generic versions of the drug, which is being developed by Merck & Co in collaboration with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.

The commitment builds on the foundation’s ongoing efforts, including $1.9 billion in funding, since the start of the pandemic to increase access to COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, and tests by supporting R&D, regulatory work, at-risk manufacturing, and product …