Day: June 8, 2023

Angolan minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources Carmen Neto Thursday in Luanda defended a multiple and inclusive approach, aimed to ensure balances between the exploitation and conservation of the seas and oceans.

Delivering her speech at an opening ceremony of the workshop on the implementation of the Marine Spatial Planning Plan, the minister stressed the importance of focusing on quality perspective of performance of each area, operating with environmental protection standards.

The minister considered crucial sharing knowledge about the sea for the development of common strategies, capable of ensuring the protection of ocean resources, and challenges States to permanently define global governance solutions, guaranteeing a sustainable blue economy.

Carmen Neto highlighted that the Marine Spatial Planning Plan determines that the area is a productive, healthy, preserved, safe and conflict-free space, managed in an integrated and sustainable way.

According to her, the identification of protected marine areas is one of the main strategies for the conservation of marine biodiversity in Angola, and the plan will allow the country to achieve, in the best way, the goal of 30% for the preservation of marine areas.

Carmen Neto said the sector is working on the elaboration of the Management Manual to guarantee an effective and cohesive implementation of the plan.

On the other hand, she considered the commitment to ecological tourism to be fundamental, as it is an important economic activity for the conservation of marine

biodiversity and for the promotion of sustainable socio-economic development in Angola.

The Presidential Decree nº 88/23, of March 30th, which approves the Marine Space Planning Plan (POEM), contributes to the social and economic development of the

country in the coming years.

POEM defines a series of objectives related to the management, conservation, benefit sharing, research and scientific investigation, stakeholder engagement, awareness and monitoring of marine resources.

The National Strategy for the Sea of Angola 2030 (ENMA) is meant to contribute to the improvement of social well-being, through the economic enhancement of the maritime

space, its resources and natural values, in an integrated and sustainable manner.

Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)

Three Cameroonian women, Sally Mboumien, Esther Omam, and Marthe Wandou have been awarded the German Prize for Africa Award 2023 for their outstanding contributions in promoting peace and the protection of the rights of women and children in Cameroon.

Sally Mboumien, a teacher and feminist, and Esther Omam, Executive Director of the NGO, Reach Out and a finalist for the prestigious World Women Building Peace Award from the United States Institute of Peace who hail from the Southwest and Northwest regions have been coordinating efforts towards promoting peace to end the Anglophone crisis.

The third is a lawyer and activist Marthe Wandou who in 1998 founded the NGO Action Locale pour un développement participatif et autogéré (Aldepa) in the Far North region which aimed at encouraging parents to send their children to school, especially the girl child.

In 2021, she received the Alternative Nobel Prize for her commitment to gender equality for more than 20 years.

They will officially receive their prizes in Berlin, Germany come September 2023.

According to the Secretary General of the German Foundation for Africa, Sabine Odhiambo, the prizes were awarded to these women to raise awareness of the English-speaking crisis and the conflict caused by Boko Haram in Cameroon.

” One of the reasons why we place particular emphasis on the situation in Cameroon is because many people in Germany do not know what is happening there. These conflicts have been much neglected by Germany, and I think this is the opportunity for us to make our share of contribution to these women. It is difficult for us to understand what they are going through… It is really touching to hear these inspiring stories, to see how these women are still working for peace in their country, “she explained.

The laureates reacted saying “I feel like a child, I’m happy and I say to myself: yes! The work of women has been rewarded. It’s a victory for us, women peacebuilders”, Sally Mboumien, teacher and feminist stated.

“This prize represents the efforts of the women of the National Convention for Peace in Cameroon. It is a victory”, Esther Omam, Executive Director of the NGO Reach.

The German Prize for Africa has been awarded since 1993 by the German Africa Foundation to exceptional African personalities, in recognition of their special commitment to the fields of democracy, peace, human rights, sustainable development, research, art, and culture or social issues in Africa.

The prize was awarded in 2022 to Zimbabwean scientists Sikhulile Moyo and South African Tulio de Oliveira, the first to discover the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

The Director of the National Agency for Information and Communication Technologies, ANTIC has said more than 33,000 domain names in “cm” have been recorded to this day.

He announced the figures on June 7, 2023, during the 3rd edition of the National DNS Forum (Domain Name System) that was held in the city of Bertoua, East Region of Cameroon.

The forum of discussion unfolded under the theme “DNS and digital sovereignty of Cameroon”.

The third edition of the forum, ANTIC sought to engage representatives of public and private administrations of the East Region in insightful exchanges with internet and DNS experts.

According to the Director General of ANTIC, Pr Ebot Ebot Enaw, this figure makes Cameroon’s internet domain name one of the most sought-after in our continent and they seek to make the session more practical

” This edition of the forum is more practical, mindful of the fact that it comes at a time when subscribers of electronic communication services are increasingly expressing concerns with regard to the poor quality of service offered by internet service providers.” He said.

He also added that “it is with this framework that internet access and Service Providers have been invited to this forum, to better inform participants about existing offers as well as exchange with experts in the domain on how service quality could be streamed”

He further explained that to overcome the said challenges, the Domain Name System, DNS, which serves as a phone book of the internet, was created.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

Some 782 deaths are reported in every 100 000 births in Cameroon, and nearly half of the cases are maternal deaths (45%), linked to bleeding.

These figures were revealed by the Minister of Public Health, Dr Manaouda Malachie on Wednesday, June 7 2023 in a press conference he granted at the Emergency Management Unit of the Ministry of Public Health in Yaoundé in prelude to the World Blood Donor Day. This day will be observed on June 14, 2023, under the theme “Give blood, give plasma, share life, share often.”

The Minister revealed that three children aged 6-59 months who survive, suffer from anemia and urgently need blood transfusion. This case of blood need, adds to cases of accidents and chronic anemia thus the need to donate blood.

According to the minister, it is this gesture of generosity, solidarity, citizenship, and selflessness that will save millions of lives. He used the opportunity to thank all those who voluntarily and regularly participated in the process of blood donation which is important in saving lives.

The health boss also reminded the National Blood Transfusion Centre (CTNS) of its role in ensuring a secure, efficient, and perennial blood transfusion system that will be able to supply quality blood and blood transfusion services to needy patients.

A total of 147, 034 blood bags were collected in 2022, the minister revealed. A net progress as compared to 2021, but not enough to satisfy the yearly demand for blood in Cameroon which is estimated at 400 000 bags of blood.

Mr. Manaouda Malachie personally took the engagement of donating blood to pave the way. He also called on Cameroonians aged 18-60 and in good health to participate in the blood donation process so as to increase the quantity of blood bags to be collected this year.

Source: Cameroon News Agency