United States Joins Locust Outbreak Fight

Feb 22 , 2020


[ssba-buttons]

The United States has pledged eight million dollars in funding to help control the outbreak of desert locusts in East Africa. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was in Addis Abeba this week for a three-day visit, announced the pledge at a joint press conference he gave with Gedu Andargachew, minister of Foreign Affairs at Sheraton Addis Hotel. "I'm pleased to announce the United States is providing eight million dollars in additional funding to support regional locust control operations in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia," said Pompeo. The outbreak is the worst to strike Ethiopia and Somalia for 25 years and the worst infestation that Kenya has experienced in 70 years. To fight the outbreak, the Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO)has requested a total of 76 million dollars in support of which, it has mobilised 15.4 million.


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...