Yirgalem Hospital Inaugurates New Oxygen Production Plant

A new oxygen production plant has been inaugurated at Yirgalem Hospital Medical College in Sidama Regional State. The launch was attended by the regional state's chief administrator Desta Ledamo and Health Minister Mekdes Daba (PhD). Desta noted that a new kidney dialysis centre will soon be opened as well. Mekdes stated that the Ministry is working to increase the number of oxygen production facilities from the current 10 to 34 nationwide. The Yirgalem plant cost 86 million Br to build and has the capacity to produce 60 cubic metres of oxygen per hour or 1,440 cubic metres per day. This pr...

Corridor Develops with Parking, Recklessness Concerns, Research Finds

Research involving 400 respondents across four first-round corridor development routes revealed major challenges to the initiative. The study, conducted by Shaka Analytics and ETC Institute in collaboration with the Addis Abeba City Transport Bureau, examined the impact of the program on transportation patterns, transit accessibility, and parking availability. The routes—Arat Kilo to Bole Deldey, Embassy of England to Arat Kilo, Mexico roundabout to Wello Sefer, and Piassa to Arat Kilo—were found to have a dramatic decline in available parking spaces with 70pc of respondents reporting a...

Digitalisation Spreads to the Court System

Ethio telecom and the Amhara Regional State Supreme Court have agreed to implement a Smart Court project in Bahir Dar to modernize court operations using digital technology. This agreement includes building a modern network infrastructure, implementing cloud services, creating a modular data centre, establishing a network operations control centre, and connecting the region's courts with a secure digital network. The project is designed to facilitate secure digital information exchange between courts and improve the standard of judicial services. Users will be able to access these services...

Awash Insurance Taps M-PESA for Digital Payment Solutions

Safaricom M-PESA has entered a strategic partnership with Awash Insurance to integrate its services into the M-PESA payment platform. This collaboration would present customers with secure, efficient, and convenient mobile payment options for insurance-related transactions. Awash Insurance will now be able to receive payments like premium payments and other insurance-related transactions directly through M-PESA. It is believed that it will enhance the speed, security, and accessibility of payment and increase the adoption of mobile finance services in the country. Elsa Muzollini, CEO of...

Convergence Initiative Seeks to Integrate Climate Action into Food Systems

Authorities are pursuing the integration of climate action into food systems and nutrition strategies through a national workshop held last week at Skylight Hotel on Africa Ave. The workshop gathered government ministers, development partners, private sector representatives, academics, and civil society members, seeking to incorporate climate impacts into solutions for Ethiopian Food Systems Transformation & Nutrition (EFSTN) with the overall aim of strengthening the country's implementation capabilities. This workshop is part of the Convergence Initiative, which is championed by the go...

Parliament Enacts Sweeping Property Tax, Dividing Lawmakers Over Fairness, Economic Impact

Authority Enacts EV Charging Stations Directive

A new directive setting technical standards, licensing requirements, and safety measures for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations has been approved. Created by the Petroleum & Energy Authority (PEA), it aims to ensure the quality of energy supply and the safety of charging stations and accelerate the adoption of EVs. The directive outlines service provision regulations, including technical and safety standards as well as electricity tariff criteria. It divides public charging stations into two categories: those connected to the power grid and those operating independently. Licensed c...