Browsing: Zambia

Dr. Amanda Nang’andu Malungo, a Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeon has shattered the glass ceiling to become the first female plastic surgeon in Zambia following her successful double qualification; Masters in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and the Smile Train- COSECSA Fellowship program.

Dr. Nang’andu has chosen to dedicate her career to treating cleft lip and cleft palate, a congenital malformation in which patients experience difficulty breathing, eating, speaking and hearing, some of whom die before their first birthday.

Many patients living with untreated cleft lip and/or palate are stigmatized and isolated. Dr. Nang’andu attained her Fellowship from the University of Nairobi in Kenya after receiving full scholarship from Smile Train, the world’s largest cleft charity.

“I was Introduced to clefts during undergraduate training and got involved in active cleft surgery during my specialist training.  I was particularly touched by a young woman who was abandoned by her husband and family …

China Development Bank

The Zambian government announced an agreement with the China Development Bank (CDB) to defer a loan repayment that fell due in October 2020.  The terms of the deal include a halt on interest payment for six months, with payment of interest expected to resume in April 2021. The principal due was also postponed and will be rescheduled over the entire loan period. Chinese lenders are not known for their flexibility which is why the deal comes as a welcome shock.

I’m glad to learn that China Development Bank has reached a debt deferral agreement with Zambia. This fully shows that in addition to official creditors, other Chinese financial institutions are also actively resolving the debt issue of Zambia and other African countries.

Wu Peng, Director-General, Department of African Affairs, MFA, China on Twitter

 

The government did not, however, disclose the size of the debt or the …

Zambia – Tanzania relations

It’s no secret that Zambia’s economic situation has gone from bad to worse over the years. In mid-2018 the country’s debt reached 9.4 billion USD and has become worse as we stand in 2020, in just a period of 2 years (Ofstad & Tjønneland, 2019).

In May 2020, the Tanzania-Zambia borders were closed due to the pandemic, however, the reopening of trade between the two countries seems to be normalized as nations are now gung-ho in pushing cross border trade.

Zambia’s Economic Snapshot

source: tradingeconomics.com

The graph above shows Zambia’s development from the year 1990 to the year 2019. The country’s economy improved from the year 2011 to the year 2018, as one can see the national GDP output increasing as a result of its healthy inflation rate. In 2019 the country’s economy took a dive and started to falter given that it’s inflation rate …

Mozambique, Angola, Namibia, Ethiopia, Zambia, Rwanda, Uganda, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.

These are the African countries set to be allowed to enter the EU territory as the borders reopen in July, according to a draft list of the countries obtained and reported by euronews.

As the European Union gets ready to reopen its borders, officials in Brussels are debating behind closed doors, the draft of two lists; one with those countries that will be accepted, and one for those which will not, as the territory struggle to meet their previously announced July 1st goal.

The euronews sources also reported that officials “could not reach an agreement”, that talks would continue and that the deadline to open the borders may very well be extended beyond July 1st, suggesting agreements will not be forthcoming in time.

Also read: Air passengers travel confidence key to salvaging African airlines

Notably, Brazil, Qatar, …

On Sunday, May 10th, statistics from the WorldOmeter showed that New York state had recorded 41 fatalities in 24 hours, down from a high of almost two thousand deaths in Mid April. This was a significant drop in deaths with total US fatalities dropping to below a thousand.

This is a similar drop being recorded all over the world with record low levels being recorded in European hotspots of Italy, France, Spain, and United Kingdown with figures almost going to double digits. It is expected that the effects of the disease might not be felt in a few months.

However, as global figures decline, the same can not be said of Africa which has since a significant rise, blatant disobeying containment measures, and rise of unscientific measures to curb the disease. According to Africa CDC, the AU backed entity, there are 63,293 confirmed cases spread across the continent with 2,290 …

African Green Resources (AGR) in Zambia launched an $81 million financing programme on Sunday, whereby the company and its partner are slated to provide farm supplies and technology to farmers in exchange for grain

According to information from Reuters, the company chairperson Zuneid Yousuf said in a statement that, AGR plans to invest $150 million in the country, for projects including a 50-megawatt solar farm and irrigation dam, AGR will target 120 commercial farmers and 250,000 small and middle farmers with the new programme to boost food security in Zambia and the surrounding region.

However, the scheme—will cover 60,000 tonnes of fertiliser for wheat and soya farming worth $55 million and $26 million for projects such as the expansion of grain storage silos.

Hence, the scheme will be financed through regional and global banks, with the money repaid from the produce the programme yields

This scheme could be one of …

1. The United States, one of Africa’s strongest development partners—will provide Zambia with a $389 million grant (one-year bilateral grant) aimed towards AIDS relief.

According to information revealed by Reuters, Zambia ministry of health revealed, the grant will be starting from October after Congressional approval.

Further, the grant under the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) follows a meeting on Zambia which was held last week in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Zambia and U.S relations towards eliminating HIV/AIDS kick-started in 2004, whereby since the U.S. government through PEPFAR has partnered with the government of Zambia via the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the National HIV/AIDS council in coordinating a national HIV response.

The ministry statement revealed that “The meeting reviewed key policies, strategies and activities to be undertaken towards the goal of achieving epidemic control of HIV,”

However, Zambia’s Health Minister Chitalu Chilufya said the meeting marked a milestone in …

Barclays Bank Kenya has successfully changed its name to Absa Bank Kenya marking an end to centuries of the domination of the banking sector by British banks. This follows the acquisition of Barclays Plc operations in Africa in 2017 by Absa Bank of South Africa in restructuring by the London-based lender.

These are some of the changes experienced in several countries across Africa as the Absa brand cements its presence in the continent, a market that was firmly held by Barclays brand for almost a century. Similar changes have happened in Ghana, Botswana, Seychelles and Tanzania.

With these changes, the bank is knocking doors in one of the biggest global lenders, the Multi Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) with an aim of creating a broader investment base for individual banks in several African countries.

Different Central Banks in the region require commercial banks to have a minimal investment base to enable …

With more than 14 million people in Southern Africa facing acute hunger, non-governmental organisations are calling on the AU Heads of State to address the issue threatening lives in the region.

The NGOs comprising of Oxfam, CARE, Plan International and World Vision are also calling for the implementation of agricultural policies that will enable people to feed themselves in line with the AU’s Malabo Declaration’s commitment of investing 10 per cent of national budgets in agriculture.

In addition, Southern African leaders are being urged to increase investments in early warnings and early action systems on natural hazards and promote agroecological approaches to transition towards more just and sustainable food systems.

14.4 million people facing acute hunger

Severe food insecurity rates across 9 southern African countries are 140 per cent higher now than in 2018 primarily because people are being hit by weather extremes driven by climate change.

Across the Southern …

Zambia’s economy is expected to grow by 3 per cent, according to nation’s President Edgar Lungu who said on Thursday that, the nation’s economic growth will be slightly off the previous forecast of 3.2 per cent.

According to Reuters, President Lungu revealed the growth projection when he was meeting diplomats, and commented on the fiscal deficit which was expected to shrink from 6.5 per cent in 2019 to 5.5 per cent in 2020, while inflation would remain within the range of 6 to 8 per cent.

However, in October 2019, Bloomberg reported that Zambia’s inflation rate remained at a three year high in October and economic growth slowed, complicating the central bank’s task.

Further, annual consumer inflation accelerated to 10.7 per cent from 10.5 per cent in September 2019, whereby Zambia Statistics Agency noted to be the fastest rate of price growth since October 2016.

The economy of Africa’s second-biggest …