Companies Boost Mask Production

Apr 17 , 2020


[ssba-buttons]

Companies in Hawassa Industrial Park doubled face mask production capacity to 20,000 pieces a day. Over the past couple of weeks, the garment and textile industries in the Park have moved to produce face masks to contribute their share to the national COVID 19 containment efforts, according to Fitsum Ketema, manager of the Park. The companies started making the masks with a production capacity of 10,000 masks a day. They also planned to increase daily production to 50,000 pieces. The newly announced state of emergency decree made wearing a face mask in public places mandatory. Failure to comply with this requirement subjects offenders with up to three years imprisonment and a 200,000 Br fine.


Radar

US Renews National Emergency, Sanctions on Ethiopia

The United States has extended the national emergency and sanctions on Ethiopia for another year under the African Growth & Opportunity Act (AGOA). Signed by President Donald J. Trump, the measure was first declared on September 17, 2021, through an executive order citing the conflict in northern region of the country as an "unusual and extraordinary" threat to U.S. national security and foreign policy. The extension, effective until September 17, 2026, keeps in place restrictions targeti...


Radar

Rockefeller Pitches Clean Cooking to Curb School Meal Emissions

A recent study has revealed the staggering environmental toll of school feeding programs. A single school serving 400 students can burn through the equivalent of 56 hectares of forest each year to fuel cooking. The Rockefeller Foundation flagged the health risks too, with most cooks, predominantly women, breathing smoke levels ten times higher than the World Health Organisation's safe limit. "If every school meal transitioned to clean cooking with electricity and solar, the emissions saved wo...


Radar

Sun-Powered Grid Brings Light to Qunbi District

A new 600KW solar mini-grid in East Hararge'sQunbi district has connected 2,200 households to electricity, marking a milestone in the recent rural electrification push. Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU) laid seven kilometres of medium-voltage and 10 kilometres of low-voltage lines, installing four transformers to reach communities long cut off from power. Customers cover only meter and installation costs before accessing the service. The project is part of the national strategy to expand energ...