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Global changemakers including Eliud Kipchoge, David Beckham, Pierre Aubameyang, Yemi Alade, Eliud Kipchoge, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie came together with youth voices from across the globe to demand urgent action to end malaria, as they delivered the Zero Malaria Starts with Me – Draw The Line Against Malaria campaign petition to world leaders at the Kigali Summit on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases in Kigali, Rwanda.

Global leaders, led by African Heads of State have made the first in a series of significant pledges to accelerate progress against malaria and NTDs, with commitments totaling to more than $4 billion, including funding from governments, international organisations, philanthropists, and the private sector.

Presented at the Summit by acclaimed Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the campaign petition is a rallying cry to wipe out the disease that now kills a child every minute and is the culmination of the multi-award-winning Draw The Line creative campaign, created and executed by dentsu who are activating mass media as a catalyst for global change.

Through this campaign, youth from all over the world were invited to visit zeromalaria.org and send a message to leaders through a unique piece of crowdsourced artwork – a striking visual representation of the Zero Malaria Starts with Me youth commitment to end one of humanity’s oldest and deadliest diseases within a generation.

David Beckham, Malaria No More UK Leadership Council founding member, says: “I have supported the fight against malaria for many years and am proud to be a part of this amazing campaign, alongside many inspiring artists, athletes and champions from across Africa. This is a year of big opportunity and there is a way of curing this disease. World leaders have the power and responsibility to make change and create a safer, healthier, fairer world for all.”

Held on the side-lines of the 26^th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), the Kigali Summit is a milestone moment in the malaria fight, and one where game-changing political decisions are needed to save hundreds of thousands of lives, predominantly children, under renewed threat due to the perfect storm of economic, pandemic and political pressures.

Decisionmakers have the opportunity to put renewed momentum behind this fight, by building on the commitment to halve malaria across the Commonwealth by 2023, and by galvanising the record funds needed ahead of the Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment in New York this Autumn, totalling US$18 billion to get progress back on track.

World Health Organization Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says: “The World Health Organization welcomes a new host of scientists, youth, and champions to join the malaria fight at a crucial time when progress against the disease is lagging. Draw The Line provides a platform for Africa’s most powerful narrators to change this trajectory, disrupt political apathy, and lead the fight to end this treatable and preventable disease which kills a child nearly every minute.”

Interim CEO of the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, Dr Corine Karema, commented: “The RBM Partnership to End Malaria welcomes the incredible commitments that will be made at today’s Summit and urges further action. The message from African youth is loud and clear – global leaders are responsible for ensuring we end malaria within a generation. Only by working together can we truly unlock the potential of countries to build a healthier, safer, and stronger world.”

With close to three-quarters of Africans aged under 35, youth are vital and powerful agents of change. The ground-breaking Draw The Line campaign, first launched in early 2021, is the first global malaria campaign targeted at young people. Dentsu International are renewing their commitment to malaria at the Kigali Summit, unlocking $5 million worth of pro bono media support to help accelerate progress by inspiring action and commitment, and delivering an urgent appeal to leaders to improve the lives and futures of millions of people. 

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Chief Storyteller at the Summit, says: “Malaria has been a frequent and terrible scourge in my life and in the lives of so many people. It doesn’t have to be. Malaria is preventable and has no place in our world today, shackling the health and futures of the next generation. I ask leaders at the Kigali Summit to please be bold and make zero malaria and neglected tropical diseases their legacy.”

Alongside the high-level delivery of the petition, the fast-paced Draw The Line Against Malaria film, backed by the RBM Partnership to End Malaria and fronted by a stellar cast of young people, activists, scientists, and stars, was screened at the Summit to highlight that the fight against malaria is one that we can win with the right arsenal of tools, strong funding commitments, and renewed political will.

“We are faced with the greatest human challenge of our time, as we race towards achieving the UN SDGs by 2030. We believe that global media will be a core contributor towards creating change on this scale and we intend to be a leader in creating this purposeful progress,” says Roxanne Boyes, Strategy Director, and Regional Sustainability Lead for dentsu Africa.

The Zero Malaria Starts with Me – Draw The Line Against Malaria campaign now turns its focus to the Global Fund Replenishment summit in New York in September, in support of the African Union’s (AU) Catalytic Framework to end AIDS, TB, and Eliminate Malaria in Africa by 2030, and ALMA’s Malaria Youth Army.

Merck Foundation (https://Merck-Foundation.com), the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany released the Sixth Episode of their TV program – ‘Our Africa by Merck Foundation’ at 2 pm on Sunday, the 19th of June 2022 on GHOne, Ghana, repeated at 1:30 pm on Monday; the 20th of June. The rest of the 15 episodes will be aired on GHOne TV Ghana every Sunday at 2 pm and repeated every Monday at 1:30 pm.

The TV program is also being broadcasted on KTN, Kenya and NTV, Uganda, and also posted on all social media channels of Merck Foundation and of KTN, NTV & GHOne TV.

The Sixth episode addressed a sensitive issue to the African communities: Ending Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). The past episodes of the show have addressed diabetes prevention and early detection, breaking infertility stigma, supporting girl education and the importance of promoting a Healthy Lifestyle respectively. The TV program has been receiving phenomenal reviews from viewers of these channels as well as social media followers across Africa and beyond.

Binance (www.Binance.com), the world’s leading blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider, today announced that it has kicked off an exclusive, multi-year NFT partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the greatest footballers to ever play the game. Through this partnership, Binance will launch a global campaign aiming to give Ronaldo’s fans an introduction to Web3 with a compelling entry point into the world of NFTs.

Over the course of the agreement, Cristiano Ronaldo and Binance will create a series of collections for sale exclusively on the Binance NFT platform. The first collection will be released later this year and will feature designs created in collaboration with Ronaldo.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the world’s best footballers, and has transcended sport to become an icon in multiple industries. He has amassed one of the world’s most dedicated fan bases through his authenticity, talent, and charity work,” said Binance Founder and CEO “CZ” (Changpeng Zhao). “We are thrilled to provide his fans with exclusive engagement opportunities to connect with Ronaldo and own a piece of iconic sports history.”

“My relationship with the fans is very important to me, so the idea of bringing unprecedented experiences and access through this NFT platform is something that I wanted to be a part of,” said Ronaldo. “I know the fans are going to enjoy the collection as much as I do.

IBL Group, the largest conglomerate in Mauritius, is the lead investor of a consortium that
has signed an agreement to acquire a significant minority stake in Naivas International
(Mauritius), with private equity firm Amethis exiting its investment. Naivas International
owns 100% of the shares of Naivas Limited, a leading supermarket chain in Kenya. IBL’s
partners in the consortium are Proparco, a subsidiary of Agence Française de
Développement (AFD) and DEG, a subsidiary of German KfW Group. This agreement is
subject to regulatory approvals.
The investment in Naivas International is the biggest investment in IBL’s history. IBL also
has significant expertise in the retail sector, operating the leading supermarket chain in
Mauritius, Winners.
“This is an exciting partnership by our shareholders that will drive us to the next phase
of growth. We appreciate the immense knowledge and capacity in the retail industry that
IBL brings to the table”, said David Kimani, Managing Director of Naivas. He further
added, “This transaction is testament to the hard work by Naivas’ management and
shareholders of having put in place strong governance and controls, enabling the
business to grow sustainably to become one of the leading retailers in the region.”
“I am proud that our partnership with the shareholders of Naivas International marks IBL
Group’s first investment as part of our expansion in East Africa. This is a symbolic move
for us. This family business created in 1990 is an example of success story that has
continued to grow despite the pandemic thanks to its strong business model. With 84
outlets in 20 cities and towns across Kenya, it has put modern grocery retail within
everyone’s reach. Naivas also contributes to the Kenyan economy, notably by employing
over 8,000 people. IBL Group has expertise in the retail sector with our chain supermarket
Winners – a flagship of the Mauritian economy.” said Arnaud Lagesse, IBL Group CEO.
Andreas von Paleske, Head of Strategy at Naivas commented, “Amethis invested in Naivas
International in 2020, and their strength in partnering with family-owned businesses has led
to a demonstrable step-up in governance and growth. Amethis sale of its stake in Naivas
International represents the successful culmination of their partnership with the business.
We are now thrilled to embark on the next phase this journey and welcome an exciting
partnership with IBL.”
Frank-Astère Ndiyo Butoyi, Investment Director at Amethis, added “We are proud to have
been in the Kenyan retail landscape and supported a very successful Kenyan business who
understands best the Kenyan consumer. As we exit our investment, we wish IBL and the

Naivas International team the best for the future”.

By Jeff Kizilah

It is estimated that 3000 pediatric cases per year in Kenya is based on population of 49.7million.

Speaking during the Heart to Heart run organised yearly held in Nairobi Dr. Dan Gikonyo ,the founder of H2HF, say the foundation has initiatives and programs throughout the calander year to train teachers on prevention of rheumatic heart diseases and lifestyle diseases.

This help to identify children with heart ailments in their schools promptly basis,he adds

The congenital heart diseases affects children from all classes.

However, each year over 10,000 babies are born with congenital heart defects.

Gikonyo said the only way to address the issue, is by upgrading cardiac services and increase of medical personnel at various hospitals.

EIB Global Report: The Impact (https://bit.ly/3n3Oq89) details the results and numbers behind development activities outside the European Union and discusses the many challenges facing the economy and societies worldwide, including climate change, the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic; EIB Global Report: The Story (https://bit.ly/3QOXoDU) illustrates the foundations of the European Investment Bank’s (www.EIB.org) new development arm and discusses ways to fill investment gaps in areas such as gender equality, innovation, vaccines and green energy.

The world is beset by crises that are reshaping societies, economies, healthcare systems, transport and workplaces. Many parts of our lives are changing. The greatest challenges, such as COVID-19, climate change, poverty and equality, will require larger investments and more partnerships as this decade progresses. No single institution can meet the world’s needs for innovation and cooperation.

There is a lot of work to be done. Africa needs to increase spending on climate action by several hundred billion a year. The continent is running far behind other parts of the world in COVID-19 vaccinations. In renewable energy in homes and clean drinking water, developing countries are struggling to make big leaps. Hundreds of millions of people in Asia, Latin America and Africa have no power in their homes and no easy access to good water. The EIB Group brought green electricity to 2.6 million households outside of the European Union in 2021 and improved water for 4 million. We helped provide nearly 800 million doses of vaccines against COVID-19 and other diseases. But we need to work together to do much more.

UN humanitarians issued an alert on Tuesday over the deteriorating situation for millions of mainly women and children in northeast Nigeria who continue to be affected by protracted armed conflict, just as the country enters the lean season.

Well over eight million people are in need of assistance in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) states, and an estimated 600,000 face emergency levels of food insecurity because of extremist violence centred around the Lake Chad region, that’s now in its 12th year.

Boko Haram still a threat

Although previously dominant Boko Haram militia have been significantly weakened since the group’s leader was killed over a year ago, it continues to carry out indiscriminate attacks, said the UN’s top relief officialOpens in new window in Nigeria, Matthias Schmale. Another extremist offshoot, ISWAP, is also dangerous, although it had also suffered setbacks, he noted.

As in previous years, a staggering one million people are also beyond the reach of international aid teams, said Mr. Schmale, who is the acting UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria.

More than 80 per cent of those in need are women and children, who also face “abductions, rape and abuse”, while indiscriminate attacks in Borno state make it the most “unstable place to be”, he added.

John Hamilton, CEO of independent exploration and production company, Panoro Energy, will be attending and participating at African Energy Week (AEW) (https://AECWeek.com) 2022, Africa’s premier event for the oil and gas sector, which will take place from 18 – 21 October in Cape Town. Representing one of the international majors driving upstream developments across Africa’s leading hydrocarbon producing countries including Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, South Africa and Tunisia, the presence and participation of Hamilton at AEW 2022 will be crucial for the discussion on African oil and gas market challenges and opportunities and the role independents such as Panoro Energy can play in boosting the continent’s hydrocarbon energy developments.

Having spent over 25 years of his career in energy and upstream oil and gas financing, Hamilton will drive AEW 2022 dialogues around how Africa can address inadequate investments across the entire oil and gas value chain, boosting exploration and production. Insights from Hamilton will be vital at AEW 2022 as stakeholders look at developing a blueprint of how the continent can navigate through energy transition and investment-related challenges.

Moreover, with the COVID-19 pandemic posing further challenges to making energy poverty history, Hamilton’s experience regarding African energy makes him an ideal participant regarding high-level discussions and meetings on how Africa can maximize the exploitation of its 125.3 billion barrels of crude oil and 620 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves to address energy poverty, access and affordability issues.

Hamilton has led Panoro Energy in a series of exploration, production and asset acquisitions across Africa. Under the leadership of Hamilton, Panoro Energy has recently secured an extension of exploration and production contract for Block G with the Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons of Equatorial Guinea, was awarded an exploration license offshore Gabon in 2021 and expanded its portfolio with the acquisition of high-quality oil producing assets offshore Equatorial Guinea and Gabon from Tullow Oil.