Day: November 4, 2021

The newly launched PIM Identification tool is a digital version of the PIM Guidance – 2nd edition allowing facilities worldwide to efficiently assess if the samples stored or handled are considered potentially infectious materials for polioviruses. Facilities utilizing this tool are encouraged to report their findings to their National Poliovirus Containment Coordinator (NPCC), National Certification Committee for Poliomyelitis Eradication (NCC), National Task Force for containment (NTF) or responsible national authority, using the form: Web Annex C. For more information on the tool, please contact: containment@who.int

“I am excited that both vaccines are accessible as they would encourage many people who bring their children for the polio vaccine to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. As a parent, I would not like to have a child that is paralyzed,” Says Joan Ewah, during a polio vaccination campaign that was leveraged by integrating COVID-19 vaccination in Cross River State, Nigeria

Summary of new WPV and cVDPV this week (AFP cases and ES positives):

– Cameroon: one cVDPV2 case

– DR Congo: one cVDPV2 cases

– Niger: two cVDPV2 cases

– Nigeria: eight cVDPV2 cases and five positive environmental samples

Source: Global Polio Eradication Initiative

Belarusian soldiers bringing illegal migrants to the border of Poland “threatened to open fire” on Polish troops, the Poland’s Defense Ministry said on November 4, in what it described as the latest attempt by Minsk to escalate the situation at the frontier.

The incident comes as thousands of migrants from the Middle East and Africa in recent months have attempted to illegally enter Poland and fellow EU members Latvia and Lithuania from Belarus.

The EU accuses Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka of flying in migrants and funneling them to the bloc’s borders to retaliate against Brussels for sanctions imposed over a sweeping crackdown on the political opposition, civil society, and independent media since last year’s disputed presidential election.

In a statement, the Defense Ministry said that on November 3 Polish soldiers located around 250 migrants near a border fence and Belarusian troops “guarding them, threatened to open fire on our soldiers.”

“The actions of Belarusian soldiers looked like an attempt to escalate the situation, but also an attempt to conceal the fact that a group of migrants had entered the territory of [the] Republic of Poland,” the Defense Ministry said.

A day earlier, Poland accused Belarus of staging an armed “intrusion” when unidentified uniformed men crossed into its territory overnight on November 1-2. The ministry summoned the Belarusian charge d’affaires to protest “deliberate escalation” on the border.

In response, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said it had made a “strong protest” to a Polish diplomat over claims of the border breach.

“Belarus has never provoked and does not intend to provoke border incidents, therefore it categorically rejects such provocations,” the Foreign Ministry said in a November 4 statement.

Poland has imposed a state of emergency at the border, put up razor wire, and increased the number of soldiers and guards to stem the flow of migrants crossing from Belarus. Lawmakers last week also approved the building of a $407 million wall on its eastern border.

Last month, the Polish Border Guards said Belarusian forces fired shots — possibly blank ammunition — at its soldiers. In other cases, Poland accused Belarusian forces of destroying a razor-wire barrier on the border or encouraging migrants to do so.

Copyright (c) 2015. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

The U.S. Department of State submitted the fifth annual report to Congress as required by the Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt Wildlife Trafficking Act of 2016 (the END Wildlife Trafficking Act). Wildlife trafficking is a serious transnational crime that undermines security, economic prosperity, the rule of law, long-standing conservation efforts, and human health through the spread of zoonotic diseases.

The END Wildlife Trafficking Act directs the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce, to submit to Congress a report that lists Focus Countries and Countries of Concern, as defined in the Act. Each Focus Country is a major source, transit point, or consumer of wildlife trafficking products or their derivatives. The identification as a Focus Country does not reflect a positive or negative designation or indicate that these countries are not working diligently to combat wildlife trafficking. A Country of Concern is defined as a Focus Country whose government has actively engaged in or knowingly profited from the trafficking of endangered or threatened species.

The 2021 Focus Countries are Bangladesh, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Laos, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, Mozambique, Nigeria, Philippines, Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe. The 2021 Countries of Concern are Cambodia, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Laos, Madagascar, and Nigeria.

For more information, please contact OES-PA-DG@state.gov.

Source: US State Department

A jihadi attack in Niger’s volatile tri-border zone with Burkina Faso and Mali has killed dozens of members of a self-defense militia, local sources told AFP on Thursday.

The assault took place on Tuesday at Adab-Dab, a village about 55 kilometers (32 miles) from Banibangou in the western region of Tillaberi, a source said.

A motorcycle-borne defense force was attacked by “heavily-armed members of the ISGS (Islamic State in the Greater Sahara),” who were also on motorbikes, the source said.

“In all there are about 60 dead, nine missing and 15 escaped. The mayor of Banibangou is among those who were killed and his body has been recovered,” an MP in the western Tillaberi area said.

A security source said the attack occurred Tuesday around 9:30 a.m. local time (0830 GMT).

Another local source confirmed the death toll and said the target of the attack was a local anti-jihadi defense force called the Vigilance Committees, which was headed by the mayor of Banibangou district.

The assailants headed back to Mali “taking the bodies of their fighters with them,” the source said.

The defense force had recently been set up by local people following a string of attacks on farm workers in remote fields by highly mobile jihadis, a former mayor said.

The militia had set off for Adab-Dab on Tuesday to hunt for armed men who had been attacking villages and stealing cattle.

The world’s poorest country by the benchmark of the U.N.’s Human Development Index (HDI), Niger is facing jihadi insurgencies on its western border with Mali and Burkina Faso and on its southeastern frontier with Nigeria.

The western insurgency began with incursions in 2015. The bloodshed escalated in 2017, with massacres carried out by groups affiliated to al-Qaida and the so-called Islamic State.

Human Rights Watch estimated in August that more than 420 civilians had been killed since the start of the year in western Niger. In one incident alone, 100 people were killed in attacks on villages on January 2.

In September, President Mohamed Bazoum, making his first visit to the region since being elected in February, said the attacks on “unarmed innocent people” were a sign the jihadis were losing ground against the army.

But on October 20, 11 members of the National Guard and a gendarme were killed in an ambush on a regional prefect’s motorcade in the Bankilare district.

The United Nations has meanwhile warned that the Tillaberi region is facing a “major food crisis,” with almost 600,000 people exposed to food insecurity.

“Insecurity and recurrent attacks by suspected elements of non-state armed groups targeting farmers and civilians will have serious repercussions this year on the already precarious food situation,” the U.N. Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs office warned in a report sent to AFP last month.

Source: Voice of America

Members of the media are invited to attend the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2021) that will provide unparalleled access to captains of industry, senior government ministers, trade finance and advisory specialists, trade and economic organisations, senior executives from corporates and multinationals, and innovative entrepreneurs in one venue.

IATF2021 is the African continent’s premier trade and investment event – its attractions will include more than 1000 exhibitors from across Africa showcasing their goods and services. The seven-day exhibition will include a packed programme of conference sessions featuring key leading African and international thought leaders and experts. They will be sharing their insight and discussing issues, challenges and opportunities in a packed programme of sessions addressing a wide range of topics relating to African trade and investments. It will also comprise of dedicated sessions and training workshops covering exports, standards and marketing.

Venue: Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre, in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal

Date: 15 – 21 November 2021

Time: 8h00-16h00

The South African pavilion will host more than 80 companies that are supported by government, will have an opportunity to showcase their products and services at the trade fair. The pavilion will amongst other host the following activities during the weeklong trade fair:

15 November: South Africa Country Day and Investment Seminar,

16 November: South African Investment Roundtable technical and opening of the South Africa pavilion and exporters-buyers networking,

17 November: Proudly South African sector focused webinar – automotive,

18 November: Proudly South African sector focused webinar – agro-processing and cooking activation with a renowned chef and using products from the South African pavilion,

19 November: Investor site tour to the Dube Trade Port and clothing manufacturing factory and Proudly South African sector focused webinar footwear, leather, textiles,

20 November: Africa Industrialisation Day Commemoration and

21 November: Off-site activation at a local Shisanyama with Wines of South Africa tasting activation and the South African Cook-Off.

To register for IATF2021 use the following link https://www.intrafricantradefair.com/en/user/register(link is external), or if you have any registration queries, please contact evashnee.naidu@reedexpoafrica.co.za(link sends e-mail).

Source: Government of South Africa