Month: July 2020

Every Citizen To Become Beneficiary Of Social Health Security Scheme In 10 Years

Ministry of Health has announced a plan to enable every citizen to benefit from the social health security scheme in the coming 10 years.

The Ministry held discussions with stakeholders on its 10-year master plan.

While presenting the 10-year master, the Health Minister, Dr. Lia Tadesse it demands a great deal of effort to address the growing demand of the community in the health sector.

“The imbalance in the health infrastructure, service inequality, and prevalence of non-communicable diseases continue to be a bottleneck to the sector,” Dr. Lia said adding “the master plan is crucial to address such issues.”

The master plan aims to increase the life expectancy of citizens from 65 to 70 years and reduce infant mortality ratio from 30 to 12 and reduce death rates from non-communicable diseases.

She said the government aspires to realize full coverage of social health insurance in the country in 10 years as of the current budget year.

Dr. Lia also added efforts will be undertaken to increase the existing coverage of the community-based health insurance coverage from 49 to 100 pct in 10 years.

Source : FBC

#GERD facts: the benefits of the GERD

  • Increased electricity generation capacity to meet industrial and domestic energy demands.
  • Expanded economic activities in the fishery, recreation, and tourism sectors enhancing better employment opportunities.
  • Accelerated structural transformation of Ethiopia’s economy thereby providing the opportunity to reduce people living in extreme poverty.
  • Enhanced opportunities for economic integration.
  • Improved electric energy access to Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, and Somalia.
  • Enhanced foreign currency earnings through the export of electricity.

#GERD facts: The Commencement of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Project

  • Lifting its population out of poverty is a question of survival for Ethiopia. A nation of one hundred ten million people must use its endowments of its people, its geography and its natural resources mainly water, to achieve its development objectives. The Nile is the major water resource, for Ethiopia constituting about 70% of annual surface water. For Ethiopia accessing and utilizing its water resources is not a matter of choice, but an imperative of continued existence.

 

  • Ethiopia is constructing the GERD, based on the internationally accepted principle of equitable and reasonable utilization of shared water resources and causing of no significant harm for purposes of alleviation of poverty and attainment of socio-economic development through the generation of sustainable energy and also to promote regional integration through power trade. The GERD offers a unique and timely opportunity for cooperation among African countries.

ILO Global Summit on COVID-19 and the World of Work – Building a better future of work

The International Labour Organization is holding a virtual Global Summit to address the impact of COVID-19 on the world of work.

H.E. Ms. Sahle-Work Zewde took part in the summit and emphasized the importance of multilateralism and international cooperation in her statement on #COVID19 and the world of work.

You can follow the virtual summit here: https://global-summit.ilo.org/fr/event/leaders-day

Source: ILO

Blue Nile

#GERD facts : the importance of the Nile to the people of Ethiopia

  • The Nile is Ethiopia’s major water resource covering 70% of its annual surface water. More than 40% of the population lives depend directly on the Nile Basin which covers one-third of Ethiopia’s territory. Two-third of  Ethiopia’s hydroelectric power potential is also in the Nile Basin.
  • Electricity coverage in Ethiopia is less than  40%.  In addition, energy demand is increasing by 32% each year.
  • We are not able to modernize our agricultural sector where most of our population relies on. Therefore, the utilization of the waters of the Nile River is indispensable to eradicate poverty which is threatening our survival.
  • Because the Nile is a transboundary water resource, we strongly believe, its utilization shall be based on the principles of cooperation, equitable, and reasonable utilization and not causing significant harm.
  • We believe that this is also a shared interest of all Riparian countries. We all need to overcome the problem of abject poverty, which is a serious challenge for the livelihoods of our people.
  • Ethiopia will stand by its firm and consistent principle for the equitable and reasonable utilization of the Nile waters and causing no significant harm to each other.

Ethiopia among Forbes’ post-Covid ‘Rising Stars in Travel’

Report says: Out of the 54 nations that make up Africa, one could make the argument that Ethiopia has the most fascinating historic background

ETHIOPIA HAS been included among Forbes ‘Rising Stars in Travel‘, which feature seven countries that have potential to become major tourist destinations in a post-Covid world. The other countries listed were Slovenia, Tunisia, Iran, Myanmar (Burma), Georgia and The Phiippines.

“As the global tourism industry struggles in the midst of this unprecedented downturn, many nations around the world are preparing for a boom in international visitors once travel is more feasible – for some countries, this could be their first opportunity to establish themselves as a prominent regional force for tourism,” travel writer Jared Ranahan said.

Visitors to this unique country will find a truly diverse scope of natural beauty – the western edges of Ethiopia are home to lush rainforest, which quickly gives way to the towering peaks of the Ethiopian Highlands as one ventures east.

“While the following countries have yet to become world-class destinations, the ingredients are all there – pristine natural beauty, historic ruins, and fascinating cultural experiences can be encountered in abundance across all seven of these highly underrated nations.”

For Ethiopia, the report said: “Out of the 54 nations that make up Africa, one could make the argument that Ethiopia has the most fascinating historic background – it was the second civilization on earth to adopt Christianity, the only African nation to defeat a European power in battle and resist colonialism during the Scramble for Africa, and it’s believed that our earliest human ancestors first came from this fertile region.”

Diverse

“Visitors to this unique country will find a truly diverse scope of natural beauty – the western edges of Ethiopia are home to lush rainforest, which quickly gives way to the towering peaks of the Ethiopian Highlands as one ventures east.

SIGHT TO BEHOLD: The report put the African nation ahead of six others

“If the rich history and spectacular natural sites don’t propel this nation to stardom, the national cuisine surely will – eating injera by hand is a cultural experience that everybody should take part in at least once in their life.”

In related news, Tourism Ethiopia said it has started spraying disinfectant on major tourist sites as part of efforts to slowly reopen tourist sites for visitors and contain the spread of Covid-19.

“The more we deter the spread of the virus on tourist sites, the more we are ready to welcome visitors sooner,” the tourism body said.