Health Ministry Hands Over Mandate


Health Ministry Hands Over Mandate

The Ministry of Health has handed over the mandate to review the credentials of students set to take a medical certification examination later this month to the Higher Education Relevance & Quality Agency (HERQA). Officials of the two institutions had been at loggerheads over the readiness of new graduates for the last few months. Around 20,000 medical students are set to take the examination on August 16, 2021. "We've identified violations such as the registration of students who don't meet entrance points or hold ineligible certifications," said Terekegn Geresu, communications director at the Agency. He added that some higher education institutions provide medical courses without a license while others enroll ineligible students. HERQA, under Andualem Admassie (PhD), former CEO of Ethio telecom, reports that eight percent of the over 4,300 examinees it has reviewed were found to have invalid educational qualifications. They will not be permitted to sit for the examination.

[ssba-buttons]

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...