COVID-19 Jab Campaign Hits 20m Mark

Mar 5 , 2022


Over 21 million people had been vaccinated against COVID-19 as of last week. Health professionals have administered close to 26 million doses of COVID-19 jabs since the Ministry of Health kicked off its vaccination campaign last April. The figures are approximately 20pc of the population, a target the Ministry had set for the end of 2021, though much of the inoculations came a couple of months late. Some 192,000 people have also received booster shots, according to the Ministry. Next week will mark two years since the first COVID-19 cases was recorded in Ethiopia. Nearly 470,000 people have contracted the virus during the period, with around 7,500 losing their lives to the pandemic. Infection rates have plummeted over the past few months. Less than one percent of diagnostic tests conducted last week registered positive results.


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Parliament Nods for Cabinet Appointments

Federal legislators have approved five cabinet-level positions last week with a member of Parliament (MP) voted against and two abstentions were counted. Gedion Timotheos (PhD) leads the charge as the new minister of Foreign Affairs, filling in Taye Asqeselassie's shoes, where he stayed briefly before becoming the country's president. With law degrees from Addis Abeba and Central European universities, Gedion was previously Attorney General and Minister of Justice. Joining him in the redev...


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Abyssinia Group Eyes Expansion with IFC Funding

Abyssinia Group of Industries (AGI), a leading East African steel producer, is poised for significant expansion owing to a proposed investment from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) which is considering a financing package of up to 50 million dollars, including parallel loans in local currency. Headquartered in Kenya, AGI operates two steel plants in Ethiopia, six in Kenya, and has mining activities in Uganda. AGI currently produces 660,000 metric tons of steel annually and employs...


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Fitch Acknowledges Easing Financial Pressures, Enhanced Macroeconomic Stability

Fitch Ratings has upgraded Ethiopia's Long-Term Local-Currency Issuer Default Rating (LTLC IDR) to 'CCC+' from 'CCC-', citing easing financing pressures, improved macroeconomic stability, and increased confidence that local-currency obligations will not be part of the ongoing debt restructuring. This positive development comes as the government implements key reforms and secures renewed concessional external financing. The ratings agency has taken note of the introduction of a market-based ex...


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