Musings From Abroad

US sends 10,000 doses of mpox vaccinations to Nigeria

Published

3 weeks ago

September 1, 2024

Nigeria has received 10,000 doses of the mpox vaccine from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). This is the first batch of the vaccine to get to the country, which has already reported 40 cases but no deaths.

The head of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Muyi Aina, said that the gift was a “critical step” for Nigeria.

“We are aware that the vaccine is not exactly in surplus supply. I believe we’re getting 10,000 of the about 200,000 doses that are available globally,” Aina said in a statement

According to a statement from USAID, the Nigerian government has chosen to give the vaccines to five states first: Bayelsa, Edo, Cross-River, and Lagos.

The NHPCDA hasn’t said when the shots will be sent out or who will get treatment first.

“We encourage the Government of Nigeria to continue to mobilize domestic resources to secure more vaccines to combat mpox,” U.S. Ambassador Richard Mills said at the handover ceremony of the vaccines to the Nigerian government.

Mpox is a virus that can be passed from person to person through close contact, but it can also be passed from place to person through things and surfaces that a person with mpox has touched.

Related Topics:Featured mpox vaccinations Nigeria United States

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Musings From Abroad

Egypt: Bond prices rise following announcement of $5 billion Saudi investment

Published

1 day ago

September 19, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Bond prices rose on Thursday after Egyptian Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, declared that a $5 billion Saudi investment in Egypt was separate from money the Gulf state had deposited in the nation’s central bank.

Sovereign dollar bonds issued by the nation surged to record two-year highs. According to Tradeweb statistics, the 2059 maturity gained the most, increasing 1.35 cents to bid at 77.60 cents on the dollar by 1309 GMT.

Bidding for near-term maturities reached a maximum of 99.52 cents.

“The $5 billion investments will be in projects that will be decided mutually later in important economic sectors,” Madbouly said.

Tuesday saw a significant increase in Egypt’s bond market, pushing the country’s assets to levels last seen in early 2022. This came a day after the Egyptian cabinet announced that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the Saudi sovereign wealth fund (PIF) to invest $5 billion in Egypt in a “first stage” of the plan.

The Central Bank of Egypt has medium long-term deposits worth $5.3 billion from Saudi Arabia, according to data from the bank. Additionally, it made a $5 billion short-term deposit in 2022; it is thought that this money has since been rolled over.

In an attempt to recover from a protracted economic crisis that has resulted in record inflation, a mounting debt load, and severe currency devaluations over the last two years, Egypt has been actively seeking large-scale investments.

The North African country received a boost earlier this year when it agreed to develop a desirable portion of the Mediterranean coast with the United Arab Emirates under the terms of the Ras El Hekma contract and obtained billions of dollars in finance from foreign lenders.

Large-scale investments are currently being made in five Red Sea Coast locations by Cairo, one of which is Ras Banas, a 30-kilometer (19-mile) peninsula located in the extreme south of Egypt across from Saudi Arabia.

It is one of the few remaining undeveloped coastal areas in the nation of North Africa.

“We allocated five large areas on the Red Sea coast, we aim to develop these areas as the developmental centres established like in the Ras El Hekma deal,” he said.

Musings From Abroad

Blinken to address Gaza ceasefire and bilateral relations in Egypt

Published

3 days ago

September 18, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Concerned about rising tensions in the Middle East, United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, is scheduled to visit Cairo on Wednesday.

During his visit, he intends to further efforts to establish a truce in Gaza and fortify relations with Egypt, according to his spokesperson. The visit by the senior US diplomat occurs at a time when the area is still on high alert because of the possibility that the Gaza War could spread, especially after Hezbollah, a militant organisation, threatened to avenge Israel after accusing it of detonating pagers around Lebanon on Tuesday.

Regarding the explosions, Israel has not answered enquiries. Nearly 3,000 people were injured, and at least nine people lost their lives.

At a routine briefing, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller stated that while it was too soon to determine how the events in Lebanon might impact the Gaza ceasefire negotiations, diplomacy was thought to be the most effective means of easing tensions.

Before meeting with Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and other officials on Wednesday morning, Blinken met with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt at Al-Ittihadiya Palace in Cairo.

How we achieve a plan that we think would get support from both parties” to an Israel-Hamas truce was “squarely on the table” in Blinken’s conversations with Egyptian officials, Miller added.

For weeks, American authorities have stated that a fresh plan for a settlement that would see the release of hostages that Hamas had kidnapped from Israel on October 7, 2023, would be made available soon.

“There are some issues that we need to engage with the government of Egypt on as it relates to this ceasefire proposal that we are trying to bring to fruition,” Miller said.
According to a State Department official, Blinken will travel from Cairo to Paris on Thursday to meet with the foreign ministers of France, Italy, and Britain. During the meeting, they will talk about the Middle East, Ukraine, and other topics. According to the official, Blinken will also meet French President Emmanuel Macron.

This is the first time Blinken has skipped a stop in Washington’s closest regional ally, Israel since the Palestinian militant group Hamas started the Gaza War almost a year ago. Blinken will not be visiting Israel during this trip.

Miller explained that this was because Washington’s goal for this trip was to talk to Egypt about bilateral matters, and the proposal for a Gaza truce that the United States and its mediators have been working on was still not ready to be presented to Israel.

“So it would be premature to be presenting such a proposal, or doing any other diplomatic engagements,” he added.

In the crucial diplomatic effort to end the war, Egypt and Qatar have acted as a go-between for Hamas and Israel’s proposals and counterproposals. In an attempt to improve the flow of humanitarian supplies to Gaza’s 2.3 million war-torn citizens, Washington has also relied on Cairo.

In the raid on Israel last year, Palestinian militants claimed 1,200 lives and captured over 250 prisoners, according to Israeli accounts. Gaza claims that over 41,000 people have died as a result of Israel’s retaliatory attack, which has essentially destroyed the territory.

Washington has sent billions of dollars into military aid to Egypt over their decades-long cooperation, even in the face of allegations of serious abuses, including torture and enforced disappearances, under Sisi’s regime. The Egyptian government refutes the charges.

Last week, Blinken lifted human rights requirements on U.S. foreign military assistance to Egypt, allowing the entire $1.3 billion for the first time since President Joe Biden took office, signalling Cairo’s growing prominence.

After promising to prioritise human rights in U.S.-Egypt relations, Seth Binder, director of advocacy for the Middle East Democracy Centre in Washington, stated that the Biden administration has “completely abandoned any pretence that human rights matter to the relationship.”