VenturesNow

Burkina Faso launches first pharmaceutical plant

Published

2 years ago

August 25, 2022

Burkina Faso’s Prime Minister, Albert Ouédraogo, on Tuesday visited first pharmaceutical production plant, specializing in the production of generic drugs.

According to Prime Minister Albert Ouédraogo, “this is an important plant, insofar as it will contribute to making available to our population’s medicines at a lower cost.

He added: “During the Covid-19 period, these issues were important and everyone recognized the need to develop local production of medicines. It is also a local company, which contributes to developing a resilient economy.

The factory is erected on 1.5 hectares in the commune of Komsilga, on the outskirts of the capital Ouagadougou, will ensure a “permanent availability of the most requested medicines.”

Propharm’s General Manager, Armel Coéfé, said it will start producing paracetamol 500 mg, phloroglucinol, an antispasmodic, as well as a “kit of oral rehydration salts and zinc, for the treatment of diarrhea.”

“Our production capacity, at present, meets the local need and solves the problem of drastic rupture,” he added, noting that the list of molecules to be produced will grow, especially “with the production of drugs for the management of malaria.

VenturesNow

IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

14 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following the completion of a recent visit to Egypt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its mission had achieved significant strides in policy talks aimed at concluding the fourth review of the IMF loan program.

The review is the fourth in Egypt’s most recent 46-month IMF loan program, which was authorised in 2022 and increased to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis characterised by high inflation and chronic foreign exchange shortages. It may unleash more than $1.2 billion in financing.

Along with reaffirming its commitment to maintain a flexible exchange rate system, the IMF stated that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” including the unification of the currency rate that facilitated imports.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.

“Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement.

VenturesNow

Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.