COVID-19 Pandemic
Is the Global Pandemic an Opportunity to Reimagine Urban Development in Africa?
Sourced from SA Commercial Prop News. The need for social distancing and better sanitation could leapfrog development of African cities into a more sustainable future. This is according to Duncan Bonnett, Director of Market Access & Research at Africa House, and research partner of exhibition organiser Messe Muenchen South Africa. He says that, while Africa’s architects and planners have long been pushing for greener, smarter better designed urban spaces, the COVID-19 pandemic may help fast-track moves to better living spaces. New opportunities arise from disruptions Speaking ahead of the bauma CONEXPO Africa trade show, Bonnett says “The pandemic has certainly caused delays and disruptions across construction and infrastructure development, but there are some silver linings for the se...
South Africa’s GDP Falls by 2% During First Quarter of 2020
Sourced from Finance Monthly. According to Statistics South Africa, the country’s economy decreased by 2.0% in the first quarter of 2020. Extending the technical recession the country found itself in in the last quarter of 2019. Stats SA’s latest quarterly GDP figures come only a week after SA’s finance minister Tito Mboweni tabled a supplementary budget in part of the country’s response against the COVID-19 pandemic. South Africa is the worst affected country in the continent. Treasury now expects the country’s GDP to contract by a record 7.2% by the end of the year, while tax revenues are expected to fall over R300 billion shorter then what was estimated in February’s budget. Fin24 reports that the global economy is likewise looking dour. The UK is reporting a 2.2% contraction between Ja...
Christians, Muslims declare fasting, prayer against coronavirus
File Photo President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Samson Ayokunle, in conjunction with the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar Mohammadu III, have called for a three-day fasting and prayer (tagged NINEVEH) from July 3 to 5 throughout the country. The prayer is to seek total defeat of COVID-19 in Nigeria and all over the world. The Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) has been calling on all Christians and Muslims to take part in the national weekly prayer conducted online every Thursday in collaboration with the Office of the Secretary to Government of the Federation (OSGF) and other stakeholders. According to a statement issued by the General Secretary of CAN, Mr. Joseph Daramola: “The NIREC leadership appreciates the efforts of the Presidential Task Force on COVID...
Nigerian stocks down by N1.14 trillion in first half
Nigerian stocks closed the first half down with average loss of 8.80 per cent, equivalent to net capital depreciation of N1.14 trillion as investors struggled with a threesome of domestic macroeconomic uncertainties, global decline in crude oil price and trade wars and the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic. Benchmark indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), which are generally regarded as sovereign equity indices for Nigeria, showed that Nigerian stocks swiveled through steep decline in first quarter and a major recovery in early months of the second quarter, closing the six-month period with net loss of N1.14 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI), a common value-based index that tracks all share prices at the Exchange, closed first half at 24,479.22 points as against 26,842.07 points recorded...
CAF cancels 2020 AWCON, keeps mum on qualifiers
Getty Images Apparently not ready to risk the lives of players, officials and other stakeholders during the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, the Executive Committee of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Tuesday cancelled the 2020 African Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON). This was one of the many crucial decisions taken by the Executive Committee headed by CAF President, Ahmad Ahmad during a video-conference Executive Meeting held Tuesday, June 30, 2020. The Committee which also discussed the future of competitions and other related issues following the disruption of football activities across the world including Africa by the COVID-19 pandemic opted to cancel the 2020 AWCON. “Due to challenging conditions, the 2020 edition of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations has been cancelled”,...
75% of Nigerians at risk for non-communicable diseases – study
Three quarters of Nigerians are at risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), a nationwide study by WellNewMe, a health technology company, has revealed. According to the study, the situation needs to be urgently addressed, especially in the present COVID-19 pandemic era, as persons with underlying conditions are most vulnerable to the deadly virus. Dr Obi Igbokwe, the Co-founder of WellNewMe and author of the pilot report, told newsmen in Lagos on Tuesday that in 2019, the company partnered Novartis to run a year-long pilot to determine Nigerians’ risks for developing chronic diseases. Igbokwe quoted the World Health Organisation (WHO) as saying that the COVID-19 pandemic might have had significant impacts on the health of people with NCDs, such as hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, di...
JAMB disinfects offices over coronavirus
The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has commenced disinfecting its offices over COVID-19 with made- in- Nigeria disinfectant sprayer tunnels. The post JAMB disinfects offices over coronavirus appeared first on TODAY. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
The DRC’s COVID-19 Response is Based on Approaches Tackling the Ebola Outbreak
Sourced from ScienceMag. The Ebola outbreak in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was declared over today, almost two years since the first case was confirmed. The DRC Ministry of Health made the announcement after no new cases were reported 42 days since the last patient tested negative for the virus. The outbreak started in August 2018. There were 3470 cases, 2287 lives lost and 1171 survivors, making it the second-deadliest after the one in West Africa that lasted from 2014 to 2016. In a context of insecurity, the efforts to halt the 10th Ebola outbreak in the DRC were particularly challenging. Emergency teams from the World Health Organization (WHO), partner organizations, the DRC Ministry of Health and communities made huge efforts to end the outbreak. “During the...
Cross River TUC denies bribery allegation
File Photo Officials of the Trade Union Congress, Cross River State chapter, have denied receiving bribe from the state government to back out of the strike called by the Nigeria Labour Congress scheduled to begin on Monday. The state branch of the NLC through its chairman, Benedict Ukpepi, had declared an indefinite strike from Monday over unpaid gratuities, pensions, among other issues after the expiration of an ultimatum issued to the government. But the TUC branch in the state, as well as other affiliate unions, had said they won’t join the industrial action, noting that the timing – being amid the Covid-19 pandemic – was wrong. Speaking at a media briefing on Saturday, the State Secretary of the union, Ken Bassey, said, “Nobody has collected a dime from the government. And the TUC is ...
World Bank: Nigeria faces worst recession in 40 years
The collapse in crude oil prices, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, is expected to “plunge the Nigerian economy into a severe recession, the worst since the 1980s”, the World Bank said on Thursday. The World Bank, in a new report, titled ‘Nigeria in times of COVID-19: Laying foundations for a strong recovery,’ estimated that Nigeria’s economy would likely contract by 3.2 per cent this year. “This projection assumes that the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria is contained by the third quarter of 2020,” it said. The bank said if the spread of the virus became more severe, the economy could contract further. It said, “Before COVID-19, the Nigerian economy was expected to grow by 2.1 per cent in 2020, which means that the pandemic has led to a reduction in growth by more than five percentage poin...
MTN Records 100 Million Active Users Across Africa
Sourced from The Techie Guy Access to the Internet has the power to change lives and bridge inequalities. With this in mind, MTN Group has announced that has reached a significant milestone by recording 100 million active data users on its networks across Africa and the Middle East. “We believe that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern connected life,” says MTN Group president and CEO, Rob Shuter. “We are delighted to have connected 100 million of our customers to the power of the Internet as we have increased data coverage and reduced the cost to communicate across our markets.” MTN has a total base of more than 257 million customers in 21 markets. Growth through scaling data and digital services is central to its strategy. The group is overcoming the barriers to greater mobile inte...
How COVID-19 has Influenced Online Shopping Habits
Sourced from Innovation Village. All things considered, it’s no surprise that eCommerce has fundamentally changed over the past few months. The COVID-19 pandemic has encouraged consumers to switch to online shopping and contactless payment alternatives to abide with social distancing practices and lockdown regulations. Stats released by online payment gateway, PayFast show that Generation Z, aged 18 to 24, is paving the way for innovation in the eCommerce space, with Baby Boomers aged 55 to 64, not far behind. “The eCommerce boom was bound to happen, but COVID-19 definitely accelerated industry growth. We’ve seen adoption rates soar following on from the lockdown, this has occurred across age groups. Habits formed now are going to continue in the future,” says Jonathan Smit, MD and Founder...
