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Tag: West Africa

  • ‘West Africa nowhere near desired goal on insurance’

    ‘West Africa nowhere near desired goal on insurance’

    The acceptance of insurance in West Africa is no near the desired goal of practitioners in sub-region, the President/Chairman Of Council, West Africa Insurance Companies Association (Waica), Mr Eddie Efekoha, has said.

    He spoke during the official opening of the 2023 WAICA Education Conference held in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

    He stated that the clarion call is for everyone to embrace insurance, noting that insurance companies have the strides to promote the acceptance of insurance in the sub region.

    He maintained that they are making progress but are nowhere near the desired goal yet.

    He pointed out that while their collective goal is to drive opportunities for the growth of the insurance industry regionally, he is positive that their collaboration will go a long way in helping them to achieve this goal.

    Speaking on the theme of the  Education Conference, “Aligning Insurance Practice in the 21st Century to Serve Public & Private Sectors,”, he said it is an expression of what they all want the industry to develop into.

    ‘’We are concerned and looking at issues bothering on building trust and confidence in the industry and harmonizing financial reporting across the region through implementation of the IFRS 17 standard.

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    He said: “As our esteemed clients are evolving and displaying various innovations, you will agree with me that there is need to align our insurance practice to meet their needs and demands. The relentless match of online and mobile technology will continue to fuel the constant change in clients’ expectations.

    “Similarly, online social networks are becoming pooling mechanisms for insurance and whether we like to admit it or not, Insurance companies are fast changing roles. The evolution is here; therefore, we must embrace it. Advances in software and hardware are transforming “big data” into information that gives enough insight into the future for decision makers to act.

    “As the industry reaps the gains from the most recent wave of automation, new technologies (Insuretech) are significantly enhancing operational efficiencies, increasing revenue opportunities, and improving customer experience. How do we maximize the potentials of Insuretech using tools like block-chain technology and artificial intelligence among others? We need to ensure persistence, respect, integrity, and passion by way of ethics in the industry to boost the confidence of customers”, he added.

  • Jack Ma Foundation names Olayinka best business journalist in West Africa

    Jack Ma Foundation names Olayinka best business journalist in West Africa

    APO Group, a long-time communications partner of the Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) Prize Competition, has announced winners of the inaugural Africa‘s Business Heroes Entrepreneurship Journalism Excellence Award.

    The award recognises outstanding journalism work, particularly regional, highlighting African entrepreneurs’ innovation, community impact, and strategies.

    The awards are geographically divided, recognizing the best work from each of Africa’s five regions and a Grand Journalism Excellence Award for the best overall article.

    Channels Television London Bureau Chief and Host of Channels Business Global, Mrs Juliana Olayinka, won the award for the Best Business Journalist in West Africa.

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    She has extensive experience writing and presenting to a global audience, turning complex information into engaging content, and managing multiple projects simultaneously.

    She has worked with high-net-worth individuals and government bodies across the African continent, focusing on team building, optimizing cross-sector partnerships, maximising stakeholder mapping, boosting fledging campaigns, and transforming underwhelming digital reputations.

    Olayinka has proven experience in managing politically sensitive relationships and has moderated high-level panels on behalf of The European Union, The African Union, The Nigerian Federal Government, The British Council, and the British Government.

    Her business intelligence firm J.O. Consultancy & Partners has allowed her to build a strong network of highly accomplished businesswomen who regularly spark meaningful debate about topics that matter to all of us.

    Since graduating with a degree in Journalism from the University of Arts London, she has worked in the world’s leading newsrooms, ensuring that compelling images and text resonate with those whose stories are rarely heard on the global stage.

    The ABH’s five-year journey will culminate at the Kigali Convention Centre on November 23-24, celebrating African entrepreneurship. This event offers a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs to gain insights and witness the top 10 ABH finalists compete for the 2023 Africa’s Business Heroes Winner title.

  • ‘More corporate philanthropy needed in West Africa’

    ‘More corporate philanthropy needed in West Africa’

    Ford Foundation’s West Africa Regional Director, Dr. ChiChi Aniagolu, has called on high net worth individuals (HNWIs) in Nigeria and in the West African sub-region, to support local civil society organisations (CSOs) in the face of dwindling financial funding from foreign governments and international partners.

    Last week, the Ford Foundation hosted its maiden quarterly dialogue on philanthropy in Nigeria event. Themed: “Sustainable Philanthropy: Creating Lasting Impact”,it was  organized by  PricewaterhouseCoopers Limited (PwC). Dr. Aniagolu said as a result of recent significant declines in global funding, the very existence of CSOs, who provide support and services for local communities in education, human rights, HIV awareness, among others, is threatened. 

    “The election of conservative governments in the West, amidst their unique national challenges, the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with various humanitarian war conflicts around the world, have drastically reduced donor funding to Nigeria and other West African countries.

    Yet, the needs for the interventions and services these CSOs address continue to rise as many Nigerians depend on them for support in their everyday lives,” she said.

    Research and data show that Nigeria is amongst the ‘Big 5’ private wealth markets in Africa, with over 10,000 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) with private wealth of USD 1 million or more. However, efforts of their philanthropic works have been uncoordinated and not channeled through recognizable CSOs, which has therefore led to short-term reliefs rather than sustainable long-term change.

    The rising class of Nigerian philanthropists could redefine the philanthropy landscape to drive homegrown development by supporting CSOs at the forefront of leading change efforts. “The time is now. If CSOs do not identify other funding sources, the sector may significantly dwindle in the next 10 years or so. CSOs understand the communities they work in and have the experience and expertise to deliver development excellence. That has been our experience at the Ford Foundation. If local philanthropists don’t help to fill the gaps being left behind by development partners and even expand on them, our development challenges may get significantly worse in the coming years”, Dr. Aniagolu said.

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    President MacArthur Foundation John Palfrey,who  also spoke at the Quarterly Dialogue event, said  the foundation was committed to ensuring that their contributions impacted society positively. “At the MacArthur Foundation, scale impact doesn’t have to do with the organization going the whole hog all by itself. We leverage partners and collaborations, then create platforms such as ‘Levers of Change’ to build scale and impact. We are committed to delivering impact in a systematic way”, he said.

    Participants in the dialogue discussed topics such as how local philanthropy can make more impact in society, challenges in getting funding, and how to achieve sustainability. They identified key challenges working against sustainable philanthropic efforts such as inflation, stifling government policies and bureaucracies, lack of needs assessment, loss of monetary value in foundation endorsements, and lack of collaboration and synergy as well as duplication of efforts. They agreed that getting founders and endowments to invest more, getting government buy-in and participation, public-private sector involvement, and working together will ensure the sustainability of local CSOs..

    From the participants: “To ensure the sustainability of CSOs, we need partnerships and collaboration, innovative interventions, tax exemptions and incentives by the government to private companies to encourage and incentivize private philanthropy, advocate for the removal of tax exemptions from the discretion of executive ministers as well as build local capacity and community engagement to ensure the sustainability of the interventions” they said.

  • Judges, other experts seek security of tenure for anti-graft agencies’ heads in West Africa

    Judges, other experts seek security of tenure for anti-graft agencies’ heads in West Africa

    Experts, including judges, lawyers and investigators have called for measures that would ensure the security of tenure of heads of anti-corruption agencies in the West African sub-region.

    They noted that the challenge of insecurity of tenure for heads of anti-corruption agencies accounts for why most of such bodies appear to be overwhelmed by activities of fraudulent government officials and politically exposed individuals

    This formed part of recommendations contained in a communique issued after the regional stakeholders’ workshop on “the outcomes of the typologies study of money laundering and terrorist financing linked to corruption in West Africa,” held in Abuja between August 21 and 25, organised by the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering (GIABA).

    The recommendation, participants said, was informed by recent experiences in the sub-region, particularly in Nigeria, where successive heads of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have been sacked unceremoniously.

    Part of the communique reads: “Heads of anti-corruption and other principal officers should be accorded the sanctity of tenure unless in the case of violations and with full regard to due process.

    “Anti-corruption agencies should be accorded powers to temporarily freeze accounts and/or transactions with court warrants, and in situations where the funds or assets of concern will be dissipated, without warrant while providing a cause to a court of law afterwards for doing so.”

    They also urged West African states to ensure that whistleblowers are accorded the highest protection and any threat to their safety and security should attract higher sanctions than the original case, in which they provided information.

    Participants suggested the setting up of an inter-agency task force or committee to administer the auctioning of recovered assets in an accountable and transparent manner. Members of the body should be people with highest integrity and with no conflict of interest.

    They also advocated that development of national anti-corruption strategies that consider corruption opportunities and risks in all strata of their public services, covering issues of integrity, prevention of the misuse of power for personal gain and provision of adequate protection against the misuse of public resources concerning mobilization, collection, management, and utilization.

    The stakeholders said: “ECOWAS Commission should strengthen and integrate the Network of anti-corruption as a statutory committee and provide the network with required resources to carry out its work of strengthening regional capacity, cooperation, and collaboration against corruption.

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    “Cases of corruption linked to self-laundering by deceased suspect should not be terminated but pursued to logical conclusion using all available information and evidence unless where the case can be proven otherwise.”

    Participants also suggested the establishment or strengthening up of independent accountability mechanisms for law enforcement agencies under the purview of the Minster of Justice and/or the Judiciary.

    They further advocated that appropriate measures be taken to strengthen the independence and managerial autonomy of national anti-corruption agencies, as well as the integrity of their staff. These measures should be accompanied by incentives and alternative methods of financing.

    Participants urged ECOWAS states to take appropriate measures to ensure that skills are valued, and merit is prioritized in public administration.

  • ‘100% renewable energy achievable in West Africa by 2050’

    Nigeria and other members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) can adopt  renewable energy 100 per cent by 2050,  a report by the Energy Watch Group (EWG) and the Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT) has said.

    The report entitled: “Global energy system based on 100 per cent renewable energy”formed the crux of a conference organised by Power Utility Week and Power Green Africa in Cape Town, South Africa.

    The event was sponsored by ROSATOM Central Africa and Southern Africa, EWG, a German-based research firm, and LUT, a Finland-owned institution.

    The report, EWG and LUT, said would form a blueprint for transiting from fossil fuel to renewable energy  in the West African sub-region and to make its countries understand the  task of boosting production of solar and other renewable energy in the next 30 years.

    Sub-Sahara Africa, the report, said could lower renewable energy cost, provide health care and create jobs, it adopts renewable 100 per cent.

    The report said: “The energy sector in Sub-Saharan Africa can become 100 per cent renewable by 2050, a development, which would bring about lower energy costs, improve better health services, environment and the number of direct energy jobs from 1.2milliion to five million in the region. An accelerated scaling of wind energy and a decentralised solar Photovoltaic (PV) energy can,  in combination with electrification of transport, heating and deployment of batteries and other storage technologies, result in a phase-out of fossil fuels in Africa within 2050.’’

    But, the founder, Change Partners International, Mr Arachukwu  Okafor, said the issue of  providing renewable energy 100 per cent by West African countries depend on some factors.

    He said the problems differ from one country to another, arguing that the problems facing Nigeria’s power sector might be different from Ghana.

    Okafor, an energy expert and a participant at the conference, said for this reason it is not possible to apply one method to solve all the energy problems.

    Okafor said: “While some countries have technological problems, the problems in Nigeria are not. I can tell you that the problems facing the sector in Nigeria are political and not technological.

    ‘’Since 1961, successive Nigerian governments have been saying that the country would not experience blackout again. So far, the country is yet to proffer solution to its energy problems. If, for instance, Nigeria is given $100billion to solve the problems facing its electricity market, the money may not be enough to solve the problems. The challenges in the  power sector, ditto its market, are enormous and require analysis.”

    He said it was not possible to order producers of renewable energy to charge tariffs that are equal to the ones charged by firms that are producing gird electricity.

    Also, the Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN) President, Mr Segun Adaju, said the report was timely and encouraging. He said it is high time Nigeria and other countries in Africa took proactive steps to solve their energy crises.

    Adaju, also the Chief Executive officer, Consistent Energy Limited, urged the Federal Government to speed up the process of producing renewable energy, with a view to meet the power needs of more than 170 million Nigeria’s population.  He said funding is required to produce renewable energies 100 per cent in Nigeria and other countries in West Africa.

    “The Federal Government targets 30 per cent renewable by year 2030, while the Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria is targeting 40 per cent the same year. 100 per cent renewable by 2050 is dependent on many factors including access to finance,” he added.

  • Dubai Tourism to host roadshow in West Africa

    As part of its efforts to promote the city’s ever-evolving tourism proposition to African tourists, Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) will be kicking off a roadshow across key cities in Ghana and Nigeria. On the heels of a record growth rates and a successful 2018, Dubai Tourism is looking to further strengthen relationships with key industry stakeholders in the region.

    With a record 28 Dubai-based partners participating, Dubai Tourism will begin the roadshow in Accra, Ghana on March 15; followed by Abuja, Nigeria on March 18, Port Harcourt on March 20 and Lagos on March 22. The roadshow will highlight Dubai’s affordable experiences and diversity of offerings to key travel partners in the West African region; spanning across travel, accommodation, entertainment and events in the city, with a focus on family travel.

    Special showcasing during the event will include breakout network sessions, partner presentations, one-to-one meetings, an education session and Dubai Expert certifications and a briefing update on Expo 2020.

    Speaking about the investment Dubai Tourism makes in Africa, Salim Ali Mohamed Dahman, Head of Campaigns – Africa at Dubai Tourism, said: “We will continue to invest in Africa, and this roadshow is just another way for us to reach our partners in the market. Further evidenced by the record number of participants travelling with us on this trip, the West African market is very appealing and a priority for our Dubai-based partners.”

    He went on to say: “With Nigeria being one of our top source markets, we have an all-star team of seasoned representatives from Dubai Tourism to welcome the attendees and conduct meetings and networking opportunities where substantial business deals are made between our partners. This is why we will continue to be present throughout the year and aim to steadily increase the number of partners we bring with us each year.”

    Dubai Tourism will be joined by partners: Atlantis The Palm Hotel & Resort, Dubai Parks and Resorts, Emirates Airlines, Excite Tourism, Expo 2020, Flora Creek Hotel Apartments, Four Seasons Hotel DIFC, Golden Sands Hotel Apartments, Golden Treasure Tourism, Groups Travel Tourism, JA Resorts & Hotels, Jumeirah Group, Kempinski Hotel, Le Meridien Hotel and Conference Centre, Mida Travels, Rayna Tourism, Red Apple Middle East Tourism, Roda Hotel Group, Royal Arabian Tours, Al Saqr Al Zahabi, Swissotel Alghurair, The Ritz Carlton DIFC, The Ritz Carlton Dubai, White Sands Tours & Travel, Wyndham Marina Hotel, Dubai Health Authority.

  • West Africa inches closer to single payment system

    West African countries have joined forces to interlink their payment system to make trading among member-countries easier.

    The Director-General, West African Monetary Institute (WAMI), Mrs Ngozi Egbuna, broke the news at the weekend.

    She said with funding from the African Export-Import Bank, (Afreximbank) the Institute is  working to link the payment systems of Nigeria, The Gambia, Guinea, Ghana, Liberia and all English speaking West African countries.

    She said once the linkage is achieved, “West African states would be closer to achieving their dream of migrating to a single currency, known as the ECO.”

    Egbuna told The Nation that the linkage was the second phase of the Institute’s payment systems infrastructure project in the region.

    She recalled that between 2012 and 2016, the African Development Bank (AfDB) funded the creation of payment systems in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia and Gambia, which at the time, did not have existing payment system infrastructure.

    “The West Africa Monitoring Zone which is made up of six countries- The Gambia, Guinea, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone will be used to pilot the Payment Systems Infrastructure. Interlinking our payment systems will make it possible for us to quote and trade in our local currencies.

    ”If you have naira and you want to buy anything in Guinea or any of these countries you can buy and settle in naira. We are working in conjunction with the Central Banks as co-settlement and payment institutions, not that Central Banks will bring their money, but they will only oversee the trading platforms,” she said.

    Egbuna said the success of the West African linked payment system would also convince countries that were still cautions of the single currency plan, of its importance in boosting intra-trade.

    Speaking on the yet to be achieved sub-regional convergence, the WAMI Director-General gave reasons why for so many years, West Africa was still unable to have a convergence of its monetary indices, which is a core criteria for the establishment of a single currency in the region.

    “Since the convergence criteria were set up, each of our countries sometimes meet or miss some, but we have not been able to meet them consistently on a sustainable basis. But before the global financial crisis, we met them and then the crisis came and the second round effect of it which is the fall in commodity prices hit all of us,” she said.

    According to her, as the region was about to get its acts together, Ebola hit almost all the countries except Ghana and for about three years, the world was shut out of all these countries. “Nothing was moving and there was no economic activity. As if that wasn’t enough, in August 2017 we had the flooding in Sierra Leone. So you see a series of shocks have made it impossible to meet those criteria,” she adde.

    On the fiscal side, she lamented the habit of over spending during election which she said was having negative impact on West African states. “On the fiscal side, we have not been able to meet it (convergence criteria) on a sustainable basis. This is mainly because most of our countries over-spend during election. We just had an election in Sierra Leone and Liberia and the Nigerian election is on the way.”

    West Africa has given itself the goal of creating a common currency for the region by year 2020. For the currency to be implemented, 10 convergence criteria were set out by WAMI which must be met.

    The four primary criteria to be achieved by each member country include single-digit inflation rate at the end of each year and fiscal deficit of not more than three per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

    Also, a central bank deficit-financing of not more than 10 per cent of the previous year’s tax revenues and gross external reserves that could cover a country’s import bill for a minimum of three months were proposed.

    There are also six secondary criteria which had to be achieved by each member country. They include the prohibition of new domestic default payments and liquidation of existing ones, tax revenue should be equal to or greater than 20 per cent of the GDP.

    Also, wage bill to tax revenue should be equal to or less than 35per cent; public investment to tax revenue equal to or greater than 20 per cent and a stable real exchange rate as well as a positive real interest rate.

  • ‘Nigeria is West Africa’s largest hotel pipeline’

    •Funding key to unlocking Nigeria’s hotel pipeline

    Nigeria has by far the largest hotel pipeline in West Africa, with Lagos and Abuja leading the charge, Managing Director, W Hospitality Group, Trevor Ward, has said.

    Speaking ahead of the West African Property Investment (WAPI) Summit & Expo holding in Lagos on November 15 and 16, Ward said it’s Nigeria’s obvious scale and increasing economic sophistication that are fuelling the expansion.

    WAPI is the region’s largest real estate event. It connects the most influential local and international Africa property stakeholders, driving investment and development into a wide range of real estate and infrastructure projects and developments across the region.

    Ward said with more than 9, 603 rooms across 57 hotels planned by the world’s leading hotel brands (Marriott, Radisson, AccorHotels, etc.), Nigeria has many developers, investors and operators queuing up to strike deals across the country.

    WAPI host, Kfir Rusin, also said the rapid expansion in the number of hotel rooms, or keys as it is known in the business in Nigeria was an indication of a growing economy and favourable investment climate.

    Despite Nigeria’s transaction-heavy and deal-making environment over the past few years, the challenge, according to Ward, is transforming these deals into real rooms, which cater across a broad economic demographic from affordable to high end.

    “The reality is that only 4,000 of these hotel rooms are under construction,” he said, noting, however, that the paradox was that while deals have been signed between operators and developers, the funding environment remains compressed and the biggest challenge to overcome.

    This, according to him, was despite the presence of global operators like Hilton, Marriott, and the Radisson rapidly expanding their footprint, but primarily focused on the top end of the market.

    As Ward noted: “There is no shortage of projects and developers, it is the finance that is in short supply. It is inconceivable that all the projects in the pipeline could be funded – if they were built, there would be chronic oversupply.”

    According to W Hospitality Group Managing Director, current demand is concentrated in the business and meetings incentives conferences and exhibitions (MICE) sectors, but the biggest opportunity is the economy or mid-scale markets.

    “However, despite the potential offered by the economy or mid-scale market, international brands are focussed on the high end of the market with smaller brands like South Africa’s Peermont, Southern Sun, City Lodge making waves,” he said.

    Ward said in such an environment, one emerging segment of the hospitality industry poised to break out is serviced apartments. As he explained, “it’s (serviced apartments) coming, but it is slow, even though every major city in Africa has demand for the product”.

    One industry leader and serviced apartment pioneer intimately familiar with this emerging hospitality class is Abi Adisa, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder, Amara Suites. As one of Lagos’ first serviced apartment providers, he has measured a marked increase in business confidence post-recession and in the light of a $70+ oil price.

    “We see oil and gas service companies returning to Lagos. A constant has been the fast-moving consumer goods companies focused on the increasing size of the middle class,” Adisa said.

    And while Ward said the product is relatively new and untested in the West African market with just a handful of operations, Adisa believed that serviced apartments are perfect for Africa’s fast-growing economies and urban future.

    His words: “Serviced apartments are ideally suited for African markets. Significant business traffic headed to Africa is for extended stays, and it’s not easy to get here. Folks also tend to stay longer to close on deals or execute projects and we are more flexible and cost-effective than hotels.”

    Despite Adisa’s bullish optimism, the sector is not immune to economic pressures and Nigeria’s upcoming electoral period, which he said, will result in a softening of the market and then a spike in demand.

    “Medium-term, as West Africa becomes a focus for international businesses, there is going to be a significant increase in demand, and especially the demand for branded serviced apartments with a multi-city, multi-country reach,” he said.

    As Rusin concluded: “The opportunity in Nigeria for hotels is significant, but funding has remained challenging. This year, our hotel sessions will feature many international operators like the Radisson and Hilton together with industry experts such as Trevor Ward, JLL’s Xander Nijnens and innovators like Abi Adisa.

    “As the region’s largest and most concentrated gathering of local and regional real estate developers and investors, we believe that this year’s WAPI Summit will provide the platform for industry stakeholders to unlock the country’s hotel pipeline.”

  • Maternal and infant mortality in West Africa…. Beyond the numbers

    The pain of childbirth has been described as equivalent to 20 bones getting fractured at a time, a level slightly greater than the 45 del (a subjective measure of pain) limit of pain a human can endure. With this unique experience comes inexplicable joy and the pain is momentarily forgotten. But not in all cases. The curtains may fall on the mother or baby or both, and the long nine-month wait ends in anguish with a psychological pain that can never be quantified, not in words or numbers.

    Maternal and newborn mortality ratios, that is, the rates at which women or babies die from birth related complications in West Africa are among the highest in the world. UNICEF reports that the maternal and newborn mortality rates in the West and Central Africa region are 679 women per 100,000 live births and 31 babies per 1000 births, respectively. This is in sharp contrast to the global average of 216 women and 16 babies. In Nigeria, the statistics are even higher, at 814 women and 34.1 newborns respectively (UNICEF 2018 Report).In 2016, Nigeria accounted for 9% of newborn deaths globally, behind only India and Pakistan, according to UNICEF. The statistics for maternal mortality are worse; in 2015, 19% of women who died during child birth in the world were in Nigeria, with the country being regarded as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for childbirth (Joint Maternal Mortality Report by WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group, and the United Nations Population Division).

    About 80% of the major causes of newborn deaths- complications related to preterm birth and low-birth-weight, infections such as sepsis or pneumonia and asphyxia (lack of oxygen at birth) -are preventable. The same goes for maternal deaths, which are mostly caused by sepsis, obstetric haemorrhage or bleeding, unsafe abortion, obstructed labour and pre-eclampsia complications. In the presence of skilled medical personnel and with access to healthcare facilities during pregnancy and at the time of birth, these numbers will reduce significantly. Unfortunately, in most parts of West Africa, these essentials are available to a small percentage.

    In remote areas of the region, where majority of the births that make up these statistics occur, there are limited healthcare facilities and skilled birth attendants. Pregnant women in those areas complain about the cost of treatment, the distance of the health facility and attendant transportation costs, as well as, the unavailability of medical personnel and equipment during visits. Only slightly above one-third of births in the country are attended by doctors, nurses, or midwives; the rest takes place at home or in traditional birthing centres, where complications cannot be managed, leaving the statistics on newborn deaths uncaptured, in most cases.

    These newborns and women are not just statistics. There is value in every human life, but more so children. They add beauty to our world- their innocence, their hopes and dreams. They form the very foundation on which we build our society. They provide the fresh canvas on which we can repaint the future of our nation. In these neonatal mortality statistics, we could have lost the scientist who would invent a cure for cancer, the president we yearn for, and more; individuals with boundless potentials before their lives are cut short. Undoubtedly, maternal and newborn deaths affect all of us and we cannot begin to quantify their impact.

    This unacceptable situation is one of the many societal challenges that governments alone cannot effectively address. It is therefore encouraging that stakeholders at global and local levels, including many private sector players, are standing up to be counted in the fight against maternal and newborn deaths. Coca-Cola is fostering partnerships with some governments across the West Africa region to improve the status quo. The Safe Birth Initiative (SBI), its new community Wellbeing programme to support efforts by national governments to reduce the alarming numbers of women and newborns who die from birth related complications every day, is one more investment through which it is are determined to make a difference in communities and help make the SDGs a reality.

    This initiative is being piloted in Nigeria and Ivory Coast. In Nigeria, it is implemented as a strategic golden triangle partnership involving Coca-Cola, the government (the Federal Ministry of Health and the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals) and an NGO, Medshare International Inc. With a focus on promoting safe birth through strengthening the capacity of our hospitals, the Safe Birth Initiative will support the government in three key areas to help doctors and nurses in target public hospitals to minimize maternal and newborn deaths: providing vital maternal and neonatal medical equipment and supplies; training biomedical technicians/engineers to improve equipment maintenance and uptime; and reactivating abandoned medical equipment in hospitals which are wasting away at the expense of the precious lives of mother and babies for whom they were procured in the first place.

    Over the next two years, the Safe Birth Initiative will focus on 10 leading referral institutions comprising university teaching hospitals, federal medical centres and general hospitals across the country. Pregnancy gives life and should not take lives. We can all help to make this a reality in our communities, so that our mothers and babies come home alive.

     

    • Ugorji is a public policy analyst and Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability Director for Coca-Cola West Africa.

  • ASCON seeks collaboration in West Africa

    The Director-General, the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Mrs. Cecilia Gayya has called upon Management Development Institutes (MDIs) in Africa to collaborate with one another in order to make meaningful contribution to governance and citizens across the region.

    Gayya who spoke at the opening of the Train-The-Trainers’ course organised by the West African Management Development Institutes Network (WAMDEVIN) for its workers at ASCON in Topo-Badagry, said the MDIs have a responsibility for quality assurance in human capacity building through training, research and consultancy in various countries.

    “We owe West African governments this much and we need to collaborate with one another in order to effectively discharge our duties to governments and citizens across the region. It is when all MDIs perform and make very meaningful contribution to governance that we can collectively justify our existence and relevance”, she said

    Represented by ASCON’s Director Procurement, Mr Babatunde  Iniajune, Gayya said the forum created an opportunity to meet colleagues from other countries like Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Cameroon and The Gambia with intention to collaborate, cooperate and partner among the various faculty staff of the MDls in Africa.

    The Executive Secretary, WAMDEVIN Dr Kolawole Olowe, noted that the service needs officers with strong analytical skills capable of responding promptly to macro-economic and administrative issues as well as providing practical solutions to those problems encountered in the different sectors of our national life.

    “The onus therefore lies on MDls to constantly apply capability development strategies to transform the instruments of the state into effective, efficient, innovative and responsive agents for economic and social transformation”, he said

    Olowe noted that WAMDEVIN tries to stimulate private and public sector institutions/organisations investment in capacity building, human resource development, consultancy and management research where they are not in place adding that the Network also encourages good practices in corporate governance.

    WAMDEVIN is a sub-regional network of MDIs and Business Schools with interest in human resource building, management consultancy, research and publications in Anglo-phone countries in West Africa with its Secretariat in ASCON, Nigeria.