Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis to attend the EU General Affairs Council

Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs for European Affairs, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, will participate tomorrow, Monday, February 6, in the EU General Affairs Council, to be convened in Brussels.

The discussion will focus on the preparation of the special European Council of 9-10 February 2023, whose agenda includes the migration-refugee issue, the war in Ukraine, and the economy.

Ministers will also discuss the state of play of the EU-UK relations, while the Swedish Presidency will present its priorities for the duration of its term of office.

 

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic

Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias to visit Central and South America

Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias to visit Brazil (Brasília, February 6, 2023), Uruguay (Montevideo, February 7, 2023), Argentina (Buenos Aires, February 8, 2023), Paraguay (Asunción, February 9, 2023), Panama (Panama City, February 10, 2023) and Jamaica (Kingston, February 10, 2023)
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias will embark on a tour of six countries in Central and South America from 6 to 10 February 2023.

In particular, during his visit to Brazil, the first by a Greek Foreign Minister in many decades, Nikos Dendias will meet with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Luiz Lecker Vieira.

In addition, the Minister will visit the country’s Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate where he will meet with parliamentary officials.

On February 7, Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias will visit Uruguay, on the first-ever visit by a Greek Foreign Minister.

In the context of this visit, the Minister is scheduled to be received by the Vice-President of the Republic, Beatriz Argimon. The Greek Foreign Minister will also meet with his counterpart Francisco Bustillo Bonasso. During his stay in Uruguay, the Minister will visit the “Maria Tsakos” Cultural Foundation and the Hellenic Community offices.

On February 8, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias will visit Argentina, on the first-ever visit by a Greek Foreign Minister.

While in Buenos Aires, the Minister will meet with His Eminence, Metropolitan of Buenos Aires, and Exarch of South America, Iosif, and then with representatives of the Federation of Greek Communities and Diaspora associations.

Afterwards, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will be received by the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Cecilia Moreau. The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Eduardo Félix Valdés, and the President of the Greece-Argentina Friendship parliamentary group, Liliana Paponet, will attend this meeting, as well.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias will then hold a meeting with his counterpart Santiago Andrés Cafiero.

The Foreign Minister is scheduled to be received by the President of the country, Alberto Fernández.

On February 9, the Minister will visit Paraguay, on the first visit of a Greek Foreign Minister to the country.

In Paraguay, the Minister will meet with his counterpart Julio Cesar Arriola.

Afterwards, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will address a speech at the Diplomatic Academy of Paraguay themed “Greece’s foreign policy in its neighborhood and beyond: links with Latin America, the case of Paraguay”.

On February 10, Mr. Dendias will travel to Panama, where he will initially meet with the Honorary Consul of Greece as well as with members of the Greek Diaspora and church community.

The Minister will subsequently meet with the Foreign Minister of Panama, Janaina Tewaney.

In addition, he will meet with members of the maritime community and will be given a tour of the Panama Canal Museum by the Director of the Museum, Nikos Liakopoulos.

On the same day, the Greek Foreign Minister’s tour will conclude with a visit to Jamaica, the first-ever by a Greek Foreign Minister.

During his stay in Jamaica, Mr. Dendias will meet with his counterpart, Kamina Johnson Smith, and will then meet with officials from the International Seabed Authority.

In the course of Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias’ tour of the above six countries, he is scheduled to sign with his counterparts Memoranda of Understanding on bilateral cooperation in various fields.

Talks will focus on further strengthening Greece’s cooperation with these countries in a wide range of areas, including the economy, investment, and culture.

In addition, discussions are expected to cover Greece’s cooperation with these countries, both bilaterally and within international organisations, to address common challenges, based on the shared commitment to International Law, including the International Law of the Sea.

 

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic

Grogne des commerçants de Jabe

Sommés de payer 4000 BIF pour chaque stand à la fin de ce mois de janvier, les commerçants du marché de Jabe en mairie de Bujumbura se plaignent. Cet argent serait destiné à assurer la salubrité. Pour N.H, cette somme est exorbitante car elle s’ajoute au loyer (10.000 BIF/kiosque/mois) et aux frais de la société de gardiennage (2500 BIF/mois). Pour eux, ils souffraient déjà du manque de clients dans ce marché, du coup cette dépense de plus vient empirer la situation.

Ils demandent qu’il y ait une stratégie pour que le marché ait la fréquentation qu’il avait avant sa réhabilitation. Une vendeuse de légumes propose qu’un parking de bus soit érigé tout près du marché. « Sinon, nous n’allons pas nous en sortir avec toutes ces dépenses. »

Le commissaire du marché de Jabe, Théogène Nyandwi, explique que la société Green network a été mandatée par la mairie de Bujumbura pour nettoyer les marchés de la municipalité. Il est demandé aux commerçants de Jabe de payer 1000 BIF par semaine. « La société a donc travaillé durant tout le mois de janvier et ils doivent payer la totalité. Nous allons reprendre le système de paiement hebdomadaire dès ce mois de février », fait-il savoir. D’après lui, sur 1000 stands disponibles, entre 600 et 650 sont fonctionnels.

Source: Radio television Burundi

Midterm Review of the Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 in Sub-Saharan Africa

Year 2023 is marked as the mid- point in implementing the Sendai Framework 2015 – 2030 as well as the Paris Agreement, Urban Agenda, and other related agreements, conventions, and agendas. This paper outlines the preliminary reflections from the Midterm Review Sendai Framework (MTR SF) process in SubSaharan Africa on the progress made in the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (Sendai Framework). It maps out the achievements, challenges, opportunities, and recommendations as a reflection from 11 African States and Regional Economic Communities as well as the African Union Commission.

The Sendai Framework has been implemented in Africa since 2015, within a context where response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to the Ebola crisis, and to the more frequently occurring droughts and floods have mostly kept the continent in a disaster response mode. Expenditures in disaster response, as well as the economic consequences of epidemics, droughts and floods have considerably reduced the States’ capacities to invest in prevention. Despite many challenges, there has been overall moderate progress in advancing the disaster risk reduction (DRR) agenda in sub-Saharan Africa.

The eleven States surveyed mention that while they have made notable achievements in risk reduction since the adoption of the Sendai Framework in 2015, their efforts have mainly focused on risk governance and on emergency preparedness and response due to the overall context of disaster frequency in Africa. As a result, the African continent is off track at this mid-term point to fully reach the Outcome and Goal of the Sendai Framework by 2030.

The main achievements commonly reported since 2015 through the eleven States surveyed include:

  • A better understanding of risk, with enhanced capacities developed for risk assessment, especially for food security and health.
  • Governance mechanisms for DRR such as national legislation, DRR strategy and plans of action aligned to the Sendai Framework were developed, and disaster risk management structures were put in place.
  • Investments in reducing underlying risk factors were made in various development sectors, although not consciously planned with a DRR vision.
  • Emergency preparedness and response was reinforced due to the development of preparedness and response plans, and trained responders. Early warning for floods and droughts also saw progress thanks to better equipped hydrometeorological services.

Source: UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

UNHCR Ethiopia Quarterly Fact Sheet (October – December 2022)

Ethiopia is the third largest refugee-hosting country in Africa, generously sheltering over 880,000 refugees, mainly from South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan. The majority are women and children who need special care and attention.

UNHCR is a key partner in the government-led inter-agency response to IDPs, leading the Protection and co-leading the Camp Coordination & Camp Management (CCCM) Clusters. UNHCR is also active in the Shelter/NFI & Logistics and Health Clusters.

UNHCR is supporting Ethiopians affected by conflict and the worst drought in 40 years, severely impacting lives and livelihoods. It’s also helping the government and communities to build resilience against natural hazards such as recurrent drought & flooding.

Working with Partners

Together with its main government counterpart, the Refugees and Returnees Service (RRS), UNHCR coordinates the response to the refugee situation in the country, extending protection, providing assistance and promoting sustainable solutions to their plight. UNHCR works closely with 80 partners in the refugee response and is part of the Humanitarian Country Team, where refugee programmes are discussed strategically to ensure their needs are adequately presented and addressed across the UN System. UNHCR builds on well-established coordination fora, including the inter-sector Refugee Coordination Group together with other national and regional sectorial working groups. Committed to pursuing refugee inclusion in national services and economies, as per the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR), UNHCR is furthering partnerships with Ethiopian line Ministries, regional and local authorities, development partners and the private sector.

UNHCR is an active part of the government-led Inter-Agency response to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), leading and co-leading the Protection and Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Clusters, contributing to the shelter and non-food items cluster, and strengthening sub-national coordination with better information sharing and communication. It distributes emergency aid supplies and related support to IDPs and IDP returnees across the country.

 

Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Weekly Bulletin on Outbreaks and other Emergencies: Week 5: 23 to 29 January 2023

Overview

This Weekly Bulletin focuses on public health emergencies occurring in the WHO African region. This week’s articles cover:

  • Cholera in Mozambique
  • Cholera in Burundi
  • COVID-19 across the WHO African region

For each of these events, a brief description, followed by public health measures implemented and an interpretation of the situation is provided.

A table is provided at the end of the bulletin with information on all new and ongoing public health events currently being monitored in the region, as well as recent events that have been controlled and closed.

Major issues and challenges include:

The cholera outbreak which was reported in Mozambique on 14 September 2022 continues with an increase in the number of districts affected. The geographic spread of the outbreak is straining response capacity, including human resources, and medical supplies. Inadequate access to safe water sources for a population already facing hygiene and sanitation challenges, the current rainy season, and a large fishing community could contribute to sustained disease transmission. In addition, Malawi, which borders Mozambique, is currently experiencing an uncontrolled national cholera outbreak with a high case fatality rate (>3%). The observed population movement from Mozambique to neighbouring countries and vice versa, poses a high risk of sub-regional transmission.

The number of COVID-19 cases reported in the first three weeks of 2023 was the lowest record in the same period comparing the past three years. However, in the three weeks, there has been an increasing number of countries with an uptick in the number of cases and deaths in the WHO African region, with South Africa, Mozambique, Lesotho and Zimbabwe of particular note.

Hospitalizations and ICU admission rates have however remained low across the region. Recent surges in China and the USA have once again highlighted the possibility of a rapid deterioration of the pandemic situation as the SARS-CoV-2 virus continues to evolve globally, particularly with the circulation of the highly transmissible XBB 1.5 and BQ.1.1 subvariants

 

Source: World Health Organization