Musings From Abroad

Nigeria: UNICEF partners local agencies to drive digital birth registration

Published

2 years ago

June 8, 2023

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is championing digital birth registration in Nigeria as it has patterned two local agencies, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and the National Population Commission (NPC), to achieve the feat.

UNICEF Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the NYSC and the NPC to solidify the commitment of the three organizations to collaborate and support the digitalized birth registration process in 22 states out of 36 and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

UNICEF, through a country representative, Cristian Munduate, says its primary focus on the initiative will be on providing technical assistance and evidence-based interventions.

“By integrating birth registration into routine health service delivery, conducting the digitalized birth registration process, and increasing awareness through state and community-level campaigns, we aim to ensure that every child has access to and benefits from the essential health and birth registration interventions they deserve,” Munduate said.

The parties will adopt existing resources and facilities for the initiative which it said would benefit at least 12 million under-5 eligible children who will be registered as primary beneficiaries.

The initiative will help the country to achieve comprehensive data collection and availability, supporting increased birth registration coverage in our respective local government areas.

The availability of reliable social data is a contentious issue in Nigeria, particularly as the country last had a population census in 2006. An initially planned census for this year has been postponed twice. Digitalized registration is capable of significantly improving population data and ultimately improving policy decisions.

Population size is a strong consideration in Nigeria’s federal arrangement, being one of the metrics considered for revenue allocation from the national purse to constituent units—the 36 State governments, the 774 Local governments, and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Musings From Abroad

Swiss company Mercuria partners Zambia’s IDC in new metals trading firm

Published

1 day ago

December 21, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to a statement released by Swiss commodities trader, Mercuria, on Thursday, it has established a metals trading arm with Zambia, the second-largest producer of copper in Africa.

The trading unit is jointly owned by Mercuria and an arm of Zambia’s Industrial Development Company (IDC), and its purpose is to allow Zambia to engage directly in the minerals trading market.

The joint venture “envisages the establishment of a vehicle to market and trade Zambian copper by mutual leverage,” according to a statement from Cornwell Muleya, the CEO of IDC.

The southern African nation wants to increase copper output to roughly 3 million metric tonnes within the next ten years, and in 2023, it produced roughly 698,000 tonnes of copper, down from 763,000 metric tonnes the year before.

In June, the Zambian government announced that it would establish a minerals trading unit.

Investors including First Quantum Minerals and Barrick Gold are ramping up production, with output set to receive a further boost once Vedanta Resources’ Konkola Copper Mines restart activity.

“Our joint venture with IDC marks a significant milestone for Zambia as it positions itself more strategically in the global minerals market,” Kostas Bintas, Mercuria’s global head of metals and minerals, said in the statement.

Musings From Abroad

Blinken to reveal UN Sudan funding additions

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Additional financing for humanitarian aid to Sudan and initiatives to strengthen civil society in the nation, where a conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions, will be announced by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the United Nations on Thursday.

Blinken will make many announcements when he leads a UN Security Council meeting on Sudan on Thursday, which will centre on humanitarian aid and civilian protection, Deputy U.S. Representative to the UN Ned Price told reporters on Wednesday.

According to Price, the announcements would include more money for humanitarian help, initiatives to strengthen civil society, and the return of democracy.

“Sudan, unfortunately, has risked becoming a forgotten conflict,” Price said.

“So part of the reason the secretary … opted to convene a signature event on this very topic is to make sure it remains in the spotlight,” Price said.

For almost 18 months, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and Sudan’s army have been engaged in combat, resulting in a severe humanitarian crisis that has forced over 12 million people from their homes and made it difficult for U.N. organisations to provide aid.

A power struggle between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces preceded a planned shift to civilian administration, which sparked the conflict in April 2023.

Although the army declined to join this year’s U.S.-mediated peace negotiations in Geneva, the warring parties did pledge to increase assistance access, which prevented any movement towards a ceasefire.

Price stated that before President Joe Biden’s term ends next month, the United States would keep collaborating with allies to enhance humanitarian access in Sudan and eventually end hostilities.

“We are going to leave nothing on the field in our efforts to work with allies, with partners, with the Sudanese stakeholders themselves, on the issues that matter most – humanitarian access, the provision of humanitarian assistance, ultimately, the process by which we can work to get to a cessation of hostilities, which is most urgently needed,” he said.