Gates Foundation Launches Livestock Medicine Supply


Al-Impex Import & Export has begun distributing livestock medicine supplied by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Al-Impex Import & Export, which is the correspondent for Zoetis, the US-based company, started the distribution of medicine by being a local partner of the Foundation. The two launched the initiative on September 20, 2019. Zoetis launched African Livestock Productivity & Health Advancement Initiative in May 2017 to establish sustainable veterinary diagnostic networks and animal health infrastructure in Uganda, Nigeria, followed by Tanzania and Ethiopia in 2018. Funded by a 14.4-million-dollar grant from the Foundation and co-founded by Zoetis, the initiative aims to improve livestock health and positively impact farmers livelihood in Sub-Saharan Africa. The grant will enable Zoetis to develop veterinary laboratory networks and outreach services to increase the availability of local medicine and services, implement disease diagnostics and strengthen local veterinary expertise. Sub-Saharan Africa has some of the largest livestock populations in the world. Nigeria has 144 million chickens and 131 million ruminants. Ethiopia has 57 million cattle, Uganda has 3.2 million and Tanzania has 107 million livestock.


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Sovereign Fund Reviews Mid-Year Performance of Line Companies, Calls for Strategic Improvements

Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH) launched its mid-year performance review for its portfolio companies, displaying mixed results for the first half of the fiscal year. Ethiopian Sugar Industry Group (ESIG) reached 95.3pc of its sales goal, selling 64,190tn of sugar for 6.1 billion Br—a 132pc year-on-year growth—despite capacity and supply issues. The Ethiopian Petroleum Supply Enterprise (EPSE) met 92pc and 97pc of its purchase and sales targets, respectively, stating it has benefitt...


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Digital Pay Uptake Booms Among SMEs, Visa Study Finds

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ILO Tackles Agricultural Wage Gap

The International Labour Organization (ILO) launched the Setting Adequate Wages in Agriculture (SAW-A) Project last week, with support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation & Development (BMZ), seeking to promote fair wage policies, enhance collective bargaining, and support the establishment of minimum wage mechanisms to improve the livelihoods of agricultural workers. The sector employs over 80pc of Ethiopia's workforce, making it the country's largest employment sec...