Debuting the World’s Only Balloon Festival – 2020 Taiwan International Balloon Festival in Taitung

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TAITUNG, TAIWAN – Media OutReach – 24 July 2020 – Together with Taiwan’s successful response to the pandemic, as well as Taitung County Government’s active contingency measures, the Taiwan International Balloon Festival successfully held its grand opening on July 11th. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the event and it is the only hot air balloon festival being held this year in the world. The festival is featuring 28 shaped balloons from overseas; 10 of which are making their Taiwan debut. They hail from countries such as the United States, Holland, France, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, and England. This was the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Brent Christensen’s first-time participating in the event; he expressed the fact that Taiwan is able to hold a festival of this size during the pandemic further demonstrates Taiwan’s successful response to COVID-19, which is now known globally as the “Taiwan Model”.

Debuting the World’s Only Balloon Festival – 2020 Taiwan International Balloon Festival in Taitung

 

Magistrate April Yao pointed out that the menacing pandemic has caused many events around the world to cancel. The Taitung County Government team has worked hard to overcome every obstacle to enable the festival to go on as scheduled. Many hurdles including securing the number of participating hot air balloons from overseas, safely vetting all international pilots’ entries into Taiwan, addressing epidemic control concerns with the international pilots’ country of origin, overcoming the suspension of all international flights etc. Nevertheless, nearly 20 pilots from various countries have supported Taitung and were willing to come to Taiwan ahead of time to self-isolate and go through the screening process. The festival would not have been able to happen as scheduled without their active participation. Taitung truly is the happiest city in all of Taiwan.

The 51-day event will be held through August 30th. In conjunction with the balloon festival, this year Taitung County Government will continue to host a series of 8 Night Glow Concerts as well as 7 Starry Taitung live musical performances — celebrating its 10th anniversary packed with events and great memories from dusk till dawn. If you are unable to make it to the festival in person, you can also log in to see the live stream of the balloon festival via the Tour Taitung official website as well as the Taiwan International Balloon Festival’s official website. Links can be found here http://balloontaiwan.taitung.gov.tw

Tonly Electronics Announces 2020 Interim Results

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Pandemic in Europe and the U.S. Impacts Sales; Turnover Decreases Y-o-Y by 10.7% to Over HK$3.1 Billion

 

Results Highlights (For the six months ended 30 June 2020)


Turnover

1H 2020

(HK$’000)

1H 2019

(HK$’000)

Change (%)  

Audio products (1)

2,085,945

2,502,579

-16.6%

Headphones

397,491

421,474

-5.7%

Video Products (2)

87,440

137,077

-36.2%

Wireless Products (3)

85,409

–

–

IoT Related Products (4)

69,854

77,677

-10.1%

Ancillary Products (5)

343,725

304,866

12,7%

Other Businesses

71,453

74,503

-4.1%

Total

3,141,317

3,518,176

-10.7%

(1)      Mainly include smart voice speakers, wireless speakers, soundbars, home theatres, and mini speakers

(2)      Mainly include DVD players, BD players, and OTT set top boxes (STB)

(3)      Mainly include wireless router products

(4)      Mainly include smart plugs, smart gateways and other IoT products

(5)      Mainly include fabric covering for external sales, plastic injection structural parts, speakers, wireless modules, and other components

 

  • Profit attributable to the owners of the parent company decreased year-on-year by 30.5% to HK$ 68.3 million, attributable to factors including the reduction in the Group’s sales volume and delayed work resumption as a result of the pandemic;
  • The turnover of audio products decreased by 16.6% year-on-year to HK$2,085.9 million, mainly due to a decrease in the orders from European and US customers as a result of the pandemic;
  • Wireless products is a new product category newly explored by the Group last year. Turnover of the category in the first half of 2020 amounted to HK$85.4 million;
  • Turnover of ancillary products increased by 12.7% to HK$343.7 million year-on-year, mainly due to the growth of ancillary product business supplementary to the parts and components of TV;
  • The Group’s order amount has gradually recovered since May 2020. Orders from customers in mainland China are relatively stable. The Group is in a sound financial position with ample cash flow, which will support the recovery and development of the Group’s business.

HONG KONG, CHINA – Media OutReach – 24 July 2020 – Tonly Electronics Holdings Limited (“Tonly Electronics” or “the Group”; SEHK stock code: 01249) today announced its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2020 (“the period under review”).

 

During the period under review, the Group recorded a turnover of approximately HK$3,141.3 million, representing a decrease of 10.7% compared with the corresponding period last year, which was because the Group’s primary market is in Europe and the US where the sales volume declined as a result of the novel coronavirus ( ”COVID-19”) pandemic, leading to a substantial decrease in orders from overseas customers. Gross profit during the period under review amounted to approximately HK$392.6 million, representing a decrease of 14.1% as compared to the corresponding period last year, primarily due to the reduction in the Group’s production efficiency caused by failure of the Group to resume work and production after the Spring Festival Holidays as a result of the pandemic, delayed work resumption of employees and material supply, and imbalanced production. Operating profit and net profit for the period amounted to approximately HK$91.1 million and HK$70.4 million, respectively, representing a year-on-year decrease of 31.5% and 28.7%, respectively. Profit attributable to the owners of the parent company of the Group decreased year-on-year by 30.5% to HK$68.3 million.

 

During the period under review, the Group endeavoured to develop smart speaker, true wireless stereo (TWS) earphone product and ancillary product businesses. The pandemic’s impact on the global smart audio products has been relatively smaller, resulting in a moderate growth in the Group’s smart audio speaker business. Meanwhile, the new audio business decreased mainly because the overseas market declined as a result of the pandemic while the Bluetooth speaker market was in decline due to the impact of smart speakers. In particular, orders from key European and US customers of the Group decreased significantly during the first half of the year, with the overall sales revenue with a key customer of the Group decreasing over 30% in the first half of the year. In terms of TWS earphone, the Group has just entered this market, and the number of customers for this product is still small and its competitiveness is low. Shipment volume of TWS earphones remained low. Wireless products is a new product category newly explored by the Group last year. Currently, the product is still at the preliminary exploration and investment stage. As the Group started late in developing this product, its profitability is not high and its future prospects are beset by uncertainties.  But the category has already been contributing to the Group’s turnover, recording turnover of HK$85.4 million in the first half of the year. Benefitting from the growth of ancillary product business supplementary to the parts and components of TV, turnover of the ancillary product business increased by 12.7% year-on-year to HK$343.7 million.

 

During the period under review, the Group’s R&D expenses amounted to HK$134.5 million, accounting for 4.3% of its total revenue. The Group has its own R&D bases in Huizhou, Shenzhen and Xi’an in the PRC. To facilitate the development of the wireless product business, it has also set up a R&D base in Wuhan, the PRC. At the same time, the Group mainly invested in the development of smart products epitomised by smart voice speakers and has gradually established the development capability for ancillary products which are ancillary to the smart products. The Group also continued to invest R&D resources to develop TWS earphone products and entered the market of wireless products. The Group has been building its technical capabilities since last year to narrow the gap with first-tier TWS earphone companies and gradually increase the sales volume and market share of the Group’s TWS earphones.

 

Looking ahead, as the room for development in the smart voice speakers market has contracted, and due to the adjustments in the supply chain management strategies by main customers, the growth of the Group’s smart voice speakers may be subject to a certain degree of pressure in the future. In addition, due to the restrictions by the U.S. on chip supply from certain PRC enterprises, the Group is required to switch chip platform for some of its products in the future, which may lead to new R&D investments and longer R&D cycle for products.

 

Although the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the situation has eased as compared with the first half of the year. However, the pandemic still poses negative impacts on the Group for it to complete its target for the year. But a part of the Group’s order amount has gradually begun to recover since May 2020, and its cash flow will support the recovery and development of the Group’s business. Despite challenges to the Group’s operations posed by the pandemic in the first half of the year, the Group will strive for a recovery of the overall business in the second half of the year, as compared with the results in the first half of the year.

About Tonly Electronics

Tonly Electronics Holdings Limited (SEHK stock code: 01249), a high-tech smart products manufacturer with competitive industrial advantages, is principally engaged in the research and development, manufacturing and sales of audio and video products as well as wireless smart interconnectivity products. It is also developing into smart business. The Group is committed to becoming a one-stop smart loT solutions provider based on the electroacoustic and wireless technologies. 

For more information, please visit its website at www.tonlyele.com.

Changsha IFS teams up with Looney Tunes and Graffiti Artist Dezio to Unveil the Very First “Summer Streets” Exhibition in Central China

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CHANGSHA, CHINA – Media
OutReach – 24 July 2020 – Since its opening 2 years ago, Changsha
IFS has promptly emerged as the landmark and trendsetter in Central  China by continuously injecting new impetus
and bringing a vast array of collaborations with world-renowned characters and
artists.

This summer, Changsha IFS brings another “First” to Central China by
having the world-famous characters, Looney Tunes and renowned graffiti artist Dezio
to join hands for the very first time to present a series of summer street art
scenes at the exhibition.

On July 10, “Summer Streets” was officially unveiled with a series of
exciting campaigns celebrating Looney Tunes’ first exhibition, along with the
launch of Dezio’s first large-format hand-painted graffiti wall in Central
China.

Looney Tunes Landed Central China for
the First Time with Event “Summer Streets”


Over the years, Looney Tunes has been crossing-over with many famous fashion
brands and becomes one of the classic fashion icons. This collaboration with
Changsha IFS is their first exhibition in shopping mall of Central China, along
with graffiti artist Dezio’s summer-filled painting style to bring everyone a
comprehensive and diversified lifestyle shopping experience through an imaginative
journey of Looney Tunes.

 

The main installation at LG2 restores the classic scene of Looney Tunes,
including Looney Tunes Time Tunnel, Jungle Gym Inspired Installation,
Skateboard Ramp, as well as the interactive digital graffiti wall. Characters of
Looney Tunes are portrayed in American street styles with bright colors and
street culture icons by Dezio to convey the idea of an urban street style with
summer vibes.

Dezio’s First Collaboration with
Cartoon Character and Shopping Mall

Changsha IFS Leads the New Trend of
Street Culture

 

Dezio is at the
forefront of contemporary graffiti art field and is widely regarded as one of
the graffiti veterans in China with his works influencing the development of
China’s street art. Dezio was also in charge of the first permanent graffiti
project of more than 4,000 square meters in China. This time, Dezio is
cordially invited to come to Changsha for the very first timeto present the
Looney Tunes themed graffiti in Central China.

 

In addition, Dezio contributed his ideas of street culture towards the
collaboration, and found it both exciting and challenging.

 

“This
is my first attempt to combine cartoon characters with commercial complex, as
well as my first large-scale individual project in Central China. ”
Speaking of combining the trendy position of Changsha IFS with the classic
image of Looney Tunes, “I chose bright colors and used dynamic lines for character images,
while considered the overall creation of spatial visualization for the scene
part, which maintained the balance of picture’s composition. “Through this
debut in Changsha, “I hope to present another side of street culture to
people in Changsha.”

Extreme Sports Hotshots Gathered in Changsha IFS Bringing Impressive
Show to Set off the Summer

 

On July 9, Changsha
IFS held the kick-off ceremony with the co-artist Dezio and other special
guests such as well-known DJ Tom Price, Chinese-American professional XGAME event
emcee Edan Qian, world Guinness record holder Wentao Cui, China’s skateboarder
Di Wang, world BMX champion Willif, rapper Xing Wei and some national extreme
sports top players, brought an audio-visual feast to people of Changsha.

Countless Surprises will be found in Changsha IFS this
Summer 

 

Changsha IFS
will be full of surprises this summer, customers can enjoy interactive
workshops, H5 digital games and the opportunity to get exclusive privileges in
summer.

 

A Perfect Blend of Art and Commerce,
Changsha IFS Injects New Impetus to Changsha by Bringing Art Collaborations to the City

 

Changsha IFS keeps exploring new
opportunities of collaboration between art and commercial enterprise to
strengthen its unique brand positioning, while Looney Tunes themed event is the
latest breakthrough which provides pleasurable experiential memories to customer
through immersive journey of turning characters from classic to trendy street
fashion.

In the future, Changsha IFS will
continuously retain its pioneering spirit to bring international experience to Changsha.

Oil Prices Stuck At $40

Esan Bolaji
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Oil Prices Stuck At $40

Oil prices fell back to around $40 for WTI and $43 for Brent – familiar territory for the market over the past few weeks. The EIA’s data for this week was more downbeat, dashing hopes of positive momentum.

Still, crude remains stable and steady at around $40, trapped between coronavirus fears on the downside, and improving fundamentals on the upside.

Goldman: More M&A to come. The Chevron (NYSE: CVX) purchase of Noble Energy (NASDAQ: NBL) may spark more M&A activity. Goldman Sachs said more M&A could be positive for the macro outlook for oil because consolidation will translate into slower production growth. “We believe strip prices are too low and are likely to move higher in 2021, a catalyst not only for fundamental upside to E&P stocks but also for potential M&A values,” Goldman Sachs said in a note.

NY seeking bids for 4GW of renewables. New York is seeking bids for 2.5 GW of offshore wind and 1.5 GW of onshore renewables. The state will also invest $400 million in port upgrades to support offshore wind.

Saudi Arabia explores asset sales. Saudi Arabia is accelerating plans to sell off state assets and is considering an income tax in order to shore up its budget.

Equinor posts surprise profit. Equinor (NYSE: EQNR) said that it earned $646 million in the second quarter, down by half from a year ago, but much better than analysts had anticipated. Notably, however, Equinor did not touch its long-term oil price forecasts, so it did not report any write-downs.

Schlumberger cuts 21,000 jobs. Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB), the largest oilfield services company in the world, said it would eliminate 21,000 jobs. The company posted a loss of $3.4 billion in the second quarter, including a $3.7 billion dollar impairment. Schlumberger’s CEO Olivier Le Peuch said the company is preparing “for a market of smaller scale and lower growth outlook, but with higher returns.”

ConocoPhillips buys Montney shale assets. ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) said it would spend $375 million to acquire 140,000 net acres in the liquids-rich Inga-Fireweed asset of the Montney shale in British Columbia. The acquisition adds over 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent to reserves, with an all-in cost of supply in the mid-$30s.

Tesla announces gigafactory in Texas. Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) confirmed rumours that it plans on building a gigafactory in Austin, Texas. The factory will be used to build the Cybertruck, Tesla’s electric pickup.

Congestion at China’s oil ports. Congestion at China’s east coast oil ports is adding costs for shippers and importers, a bottleneck that could stretch into August. China has purchased a record amount of oil in recent months.

U.S. oil production increase likely fleeting. The rise in weekly production to 11.1 mb/d in the latest EIA data will likely be temporary, according to analysts. The steep declines in shale wells are expected to overwhelm the return of shut-in production by the end of the summer, dragging overall output back down.

Russia considers oil hedge. Pemex routinely secures massive oil hedges, but Russia appears ready to follow suit. President Vladimir Putin gave his government the go-ahead to consider hedging Russia’s massive oil and gas export revenues to protect the country from drops in prices, according to Bloomberg.

Chevron turns to solar…to produce oil. Chevron (NYSE: CVX) is using solar in California to cut the cost of oil production.

Political strife in Guyana threatens oil future. Months of deadlock over a disputed presidential election has ratcheted up tensions in Guyana. President David Granger is widely interpreted as having lost the election but has refused to concede. ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) admitted in an earnings call that the political conflict has slowed key permitting decisions. Exxon pushed back its oil production goals by six to 12 months.

Malfunctioning flares in Permian leads to high methane emissions. One in every 10 flares in the Permian basin in June was unlit, venting unburned methane into the atmosphere, according to a new report.

Baker Hughes sees a long road to recovery. Baker Hughes (NYSE: BKR) reported a net loss of $201 million in the second quarter and does not see a swift rebound ahead. “Although the majority of lockdowns have been easing globally and economic activity likely troughed during the second quarter, visibility on the economic outlook remains extremely limited,” said Lorenzo Simonelli, CEO of Baker Hughes.

Slight uptick in LNG prices offer glimmers of hope. LNG spot prices in Asia (JKM) rose to $2.40/MMBtu on improving demand, compared to the record low of $1.85/MMBtu in May. Demand in Asia is rising steadily.

Shale lending contracts. Banks have already cut their reserve-based lending amounts, but the tightfisted approach is showing no signs of loosening. Lack of capital puts a lot of shale drilling in danger. “As long as oil prices stay at $40 or less and gas stays at $2 or less, I think banks are going to continue to be very cautious and continue to pull back,” said Spencer Cutter, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “It’ll be the end of shale if oil stays below $40.”

OILPRICE.COM

Stanbic IBTC in the Process of Establishing a wholly-owned Life Insurance Subsidiary

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Stanbic IBTC in the Process of Establishing a wholly-owned Life Insurance Subsidiary

Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC wishes to announce that it has commenced the process of seeking regulatory approvals to establish a wholly-owned Life Insurance subsidiary to be known and referred to as Stanbic IBTC Insurance Limited.

The commencement of operations for this proposed subsidiary is subject to receiving all required regulatory approvals, including licensing by the National Insurance Commission.

Accordingly, Stanbic IBTC will update the market upon completion of the regulatory approval process as well as licensing of the new subsidiary.

NAICOM Receive Applications to Register 4 New Insurance Companies

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NAICOM Receive Applications to Register 4 New Insurance Companies

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) on Friday confirmed the receipt of applications for licences of four companies to transact insurance business in Nigeria.

The companies are:

  1. Heir Insurance Ltd. (General)
  2. Stanbic IBTC Insurance Ltd
  3. Heirs Life Assurance Ltd.
  4. Enterprise Life Assurance Company Nigeria Ltd.

The commission made the confirmation in a publication made available to Brand Spur Nigeria in Lagos.

“The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has received applications from the under-listed companies for registration as insurance companies to transact insurance business in Nigeria.
“In fulfilment of the statutory provisions of extant laws for the registration/licensing of insurance companies, the general public is hereby informed that the commission has commenced the process of registering the companies.
“Members of the public are requested to submit/report any objection or otherwise against these registrations to the commission within 21 days from the date of this publication,’’ the Commission said.

NAICOM said Heir Insurance Ltd. (General) selected Olaniyi Stephen Onifade as Managing Director while Stanbic IBTC Insurance Ltd. selected Akinjide Orimolade as Managing Director.

Also, Heirs Life Assurance Ltd. selected Abah Okoriko, and Enterprise Life Assurance Company Nigeria Ltd. picked Funmilayo Omo.

Lagos Business School receives funding for sustainability research on African companies

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Lagos Business School receives funding for sustainability research on African companies

Lagos Business School (LBS) has received a research award to conduct an international study on sustainability for companies in selected parts of Africa.

The study, which will be carried out by the LBS Sustainability Centre, will focus on how businesses in Africa are responding to long-term development aspirations in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Funding for the study was provided by a consortium of international organisations who share common goals of advancing sustainable development and using business as a force for good. The organisations include B Lab, Sistema B, B Academic, and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

The project will explore how companies in Nigeria, Mauritius and South Africa are integrating longer-term sustainable development objectives and targets into their strategies, and whether the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a helpful framework for this integration process.

It will further examine how the companies being studied are working to achieve these strategies, in addition to the role played by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Principal investigators on the project include Professor Chris Ogbechie, Lagos Business School; Professor Ralph Hamann, Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town; Professor Kenneth Amaechi, Business School, University of Edinburgh; Dr Ijeoma Nwagwu, Lagos Business School; Neeveditah Pariag-Maraye, University of Mauritius; and Dr Judy Muthuri, Nottingham University Business School.

Professor Chris Ogbechie, the Director of the LBS Sustainability Centre says, “Responsible business practice is the only path for businesses that want to have a true and lasting impact on the continent. Through this research effort, we begin to map the landscape of responsible business across Africa more closely and provide leaders on the continent a roadmap to navigate these uncertain times. Insights from this research will help our business leaders build back better as we emerge from the pandemic”

Commenting further on the significance of the study, LBS faculty, Dr Ijeoma Nwagwu said, “This research project is significant because it explores the risks and opportunities confronting businesses that deploy sustainability thinking and tools to advance development in African countries as diverse as Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Mauritius. There are a few studies of this nature. Our study illustrates the possibility of a shared vision and an aspirational narrative for a sustainable future in African countries.”

The project seeks to generate direct and tangible benefits for the participants, as well as other practitioners and policy-makers as they will be presented with opportunities for discussion. Findings from the study will be widely published as they emerge.

The LBS Sustainability Centre consolidates theory and practice on sustainability, builds leadership skills and supports constructive dialogue and collaboration between business, government, civil society, and academics to find solutions to critical sustainability challenges.

This research is in line with Lagos Business School’s commitment to developing responsible leaders and solving Africa’s business problems.

Wife of Taraba Governor Flags Off Family Planning Awareness Campaign

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Wife of Taraba Governor Flags Off Family Planning Awareness Campaign

The wife of the Executive Governor of Taraba state, Anna Darius Ishaku has just flagged off a family planning awareness creation and service provision in Bali and Gassol local government areas.

Represented by her Special Adviser on Administration Nungrimam Dashe, Anna Darius performed the exercise in Garin Makeri also Known as Darius Village.

The Governor’s wife explained that awareness is aimed at enlightening women and their husbands on the importance of child spacing.

She lamented that she was touched by the ugly incident of child trafficking act carried in the areas where about seventy-two children were intercepted and are now at state government’s custody.

She told parents to take good care of their children and never to give them out to somebody who may come in the name of help to secure their future.

The Regional Behavioral Change Communication and Marketing Officer, Marie Stopes, Ibrahim Yusuf said the organization is bent on providing services on reproductive Health and Child Spacing to family across the globe.

Also commenting, Executive Secretary Primary Health Care Development Agency, Aminu Hassan Jauro Represented by Director, Community Health Service, Chindo Usman Zakari said the program is organised to create awareness to mothers on child spacing for a healthy family.

Earlier, the Kaigama Kam Maigandi Manu Kaigama Appreciated the Governor’s wife, Marie Stopes and Primary Health Care Development Agency for reaching his subjects with family planning awareness and pledged maximum support to ensure the success of the event.

The awareness campaign was organised by Marie Stopes, Primary Health Care Development Agency in collaboration with Hope Afresh Foundation, Taraba.

Malawi to receive $45.07 million for national COVID-19 emergency response from the AfDB

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Malawi to receive $45.07 million for national COVID-19 emergency response from the AfDB

Malawi will receive $45.07 million to finance the government’s response to the health, social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, following a decision by the Board of Directors of the African Development Fund (ADF) held Wednesday.

The package comprises a loan of $24.48 million, and a grant of $20.59 million as direct budget support, and complements an earlier sum of $8.9 million to six countries in the region, including Malawi, under the Bank’s COVID-19 Response grants to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries last month.

The budget support intervention will help boost the Malawi National COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Plan that has been developed with multi-stakeholders including government, development partners and non-government organizations.

The Bank’s support aims to protect lives; strengthen public health systems; protect livelihoods through enhanced social protection systems; foster economic resilience and protect jobs.

“The Bank’s support to Malawi’s COVID-19 Response Plan will help to cushion the economy from the negative impact on fiscal and current account balances, hence consolidating Malawi’s recovery efforts during this unprecedented time of COVID-19 pandemic,” said Acting Bank Country Manager, Eyerusalem Fasika.

“The support will contribute towards laboratory and diagnostic capacity to test, trace, isolate and treat COVID-19 cases, strengthen the COVID-19 case management systems, train frontline healthcare workforce, and restore services disrupted by COVID-19, particularly for patients with underlying health conditions,” she added.

The support to Malawi is part of the multi-country COVID-19 support package by the Bank that includes $41.1 million to Madagascar, $41.1 million to Mozambique and $10.23 million to Sao Tome and Principe.

The processing of this multi-country program was combined into one group to ensure efficiency in the preparation of the Bank’s assistance to Regional Member Countries.

Malawi declared the State of Disaster on 20 March 2020 and launched its National COVID-19 Preparedness Response Plan on 8 April. As of 21 July 2020, Malawi had recorded 3,149 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 1,256 recoveries and 71 deaths.

AfDB commits $1.04 million towards two COVID-19 research projects in Angola

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AfDB commits $1.04 million towards two COVID-19 research projects in Angola

Funds from the African Development Bank’s (AFDB) ongoing Science and Technology Development Project have been committed towards two research projects to mitigate the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Angola.

The Science and Technology Development Project which is being executed by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, aims to contribute to Angola’s economic diversification through scientific and technological research, and by promoting an innovative enabling environment.

The Angolan Government intends to promote research and enhance capacity in the health sector, against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Epidemiological, Clinical and Laboratory Profile of COVID-19 in Angola and the Building COVID Capacity in Angola research projects received $431,590 and $613,029, respectively.

A signing ceremony organised by the Angolan Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation was held on 20 July in the Angolan capital with virtual participation.

The event included a presentation of the research projects, as well as the signing of the funding agreements between the project implementation unit coordinator, Ricardo Queirós, and the respective principal researchers: Fernanda Dias, Professor at the Medicine Faculty of Agostinho Neto University, a local university; and Joana Afonso, General Director of the National Institute Research of Health Research.

These research projects include the participation of reference research entities from Brazil, Portugal, Sweden and the UK. The project is also being conducted in collaboration with the World Health Organization and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Minister for Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Maria Bragança Sambo, who spoke at the ceremony, reaffirmed his Ministry’s commitment to supporting the Ministry of Health’s efforts through a ‘One Health’ approach towards strengthened research on COVID-19.

Joseph Ribeiro, African Development Bank Country Manager for Angola, who attended the ceremony virtually, commended the Government of Angola for its well-articulated efforts toward combating and mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The results of the scientific research will contribute to the construction of new knowledge about the virus while strengthening national capacity in terms of staff training and availability of laboratory equipment for the health sector,” Ribero said, emphasising the importance of the presented research projects.

He further highlighted the significant participation of women researchers in the coordination and composition of the project teams, which is in line with the objectives of the Bank-financed project.

Angola currently has over 800 confirmed cases, 226 recoveries and 33 deaths, representing one of the highest death rates within the southern region of Africa. The country remains under a continued State of Calamity, declared on the 25th of May 2020.

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