ADDIS ABABA– UK Prime Minister announced on Tuesday it will merge its Foreign and Development Aid Offices, in a new department to strengthen London’s influence abroad.
Work will begin immediately on the merger. The new department of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office – will be established in early September and will be led by the Foreign Secretary, said the press statement sent to The Ethiopian
Herald.
The merger is an opportunity for the UK to have even greater impact and influence on the world stage as we recover from the coronavirus pandemic and prepare to hold the G7 presidency and host COP26 next year.
UK aid will be given new prominence within our ambitious international policy. The Foreign Secretary will be empowered to make decisions on aid spending in line with the UK’s priorities overseas, harnessing the skills, expertise and evidence that have earned our reputation as a leader in the international development community.
The UK is the only G7 country to spend 0.7% of GNI on overseas development and the Government remains committed to this target, which is enshrined in law.
Announcing the new department, the Prime Minister said: “This is exactly the moment when we must mobilise every one of our national assets, including our aid budget and expertise, to safeguard British interests and values overseas.
“And the best possible instrument will be a new department charged with using
all the tools of British influence to seize the opportunities ahead.”
The Prime Minister has also announced that the UK’s trade commissioners will come under the authority of UK Ambassadors overseas, bringing more coherence to our international presence.
The objectives of the new overseas department will be shaped by the outcome of the Integrated Review, which is expected to conclude in the Autumn, and is the biggest review of foreign, defence and development policy since the Cold War.
The Ethiopian Herald Jun 18, 2020
BY STAFF REPORTER
Life-saving drug proves effective in treating Covid-19 patients
Researchers in England say they have the first evidence that a drug can improve COVID-19 survival: A cheap, widely available steroid reduced deaths by up to one third in severely ill hospitalized patients.
The results were announced Tuesday and the British government immediately authorized the drug’s use across the United Kingdom for coronavirus patients like those who did well in the study.
Researchers said they would publish results soon, and several independent experts said it’s important to see details to know how much of a difference the drug might make and for whom.
The study, led by the University of Oxford, was a large, strict test that randomly assigned 2,104 patients to get the drug, dexamethasone, and compared them with 4,321 patients getting only usual care.
The drug was given either orally or through an IV for 10 days. After four weeks, it had reduced deaths by 35%
in patients who needed treatment with breathing machines and by 20% in those only needing supplemental oxygen. It did not appear to help less ill patients.
Researchers estimated that the drug would prevent one death for every eight patients treated while on breathing machines and one for every 25 patients on extra oxygen alone.
“There’s this distinction, if you like, between the early phase and the later phase. What we’re seeing today is for patients who need oxygen, for patients who need machines to help them breathe. Those patients, their chances of survival will be improved if they took dexamethasone,” said Dr. Martin Landray, one of the study leaders from the University of Oxford.
Many hospitals and doctors have been trying steroids to quell the immune system, but there’s been no evidence from high-quality studies that it helps for COVID-19.
Until now, the only drug shown to help is remdesivir, an experimental drug from Gilead Sciences that blocks an enzyme the virus uses to copy its genetic material.
Remdesivir shortened the time to recovery for severely ill hospitalized patients by 31% to 11 days on average versus 15 days for those just given usual care, in a study led by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
No information was given on side effects, but researchers said they used a low dose and for a short time, which is generally safe.
“The side effects of corticosteroids are quite well known, for example, with people with diabetes that can increase blood sugar levels a little bit. But of course, in the context of a very sick patients with really quite a high chance of dying without the treatment, the benefits in terms of reducing the risk of dying vastly outweigh the possible side effects,” Landray said.
The Oxford study is the same one that earlier this month showed the
malaria drug hydroxychloroquine was not working against the coronavirus.
The study enrolled more than 11,000 patients in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland who were given either standard of care or that plus one of several treatments: dexamethasone; the HIV combo drug lopinavir-ritonavir; the antibiotic azithromycin; the anti-inflammatory drug tocilizumab; or plasma from people who have recovered from COVID-19 that contains antibodies to fight the virus.
Research is continuing on the other treatments. The research is funded by government health agencies in the United Kingdom and private donors including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. (AP)
The Ethiopian Herald Jun 18, 2020
Mali’s president agrees to hold dialogue aimed at forming unity government
Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita announced that he would hold talks on establishing a new unity government, after weeks of escalating criticism from the country’s political opposition.
In a speech in the capital Bamako, the president also suggested first steps towards reforming the constitutional court and the national parliament.
The series of announcements came as Keita has been struggling to maintain political support in the volatile West African state over a jihadist revolt that first broke out in the north in 2012.
The violence has since spread to the centre of the country, inflaming ethnic tensions, as well as to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.
Thousands of soldiers and civilians have died in the conflict, while hundreds of thousands more have had to flee their homes.
But Mali’s economic stagnation, faltering public services, and a widespread perception of corrupt
governance has also fed opposition to Keita.
On June 5, tens of thousands of people rallied in the Bamako demanding the president’s resignation over his perceived mismanagement of the poor Sahel country.
That protest was organised by a coalition of political opposition groups, which has since rebranded itself the “June 5” movement.
The rally also followed sporadic demonstrations last month over the outcome of recent parliamentary elections, which Keita’s party won, as well as over coronavirus restrictions.
On Tuesday, Keita said he would “begin consultations for the formation of a government of national unity,” in an apparent overture to Mali’s political opposition.
Details about proposed reforms to the constitutional court and national parliament are sketchy.
However, the constitutional court caused controversy in Mali in April when it overturned several results for parliamentary seats in the recent elections.
Despite the presence of thousands of foreign troops in Mali, violence has continued apace, raising questions about the government’s handling of the crisis.
In the latest attack, on Sunday, militants killed 24 soldiers in an ambush in central Mali.
Election grievances
Long-delayed parliamentary elections, which were held in March, appear to have exacerbated underlying political tensions in the former French colony.
The poll had been postponed several times since 2018, mostly because of security concerns.
But the government decided to go ahead with the vote this year, despite rampant insecurity and the coronavirus.
Holding elections was viewed as critical to breaking Mali’s cycle of violence.
The hope is that new MPs will endorse
changes to the constitution that will promote decentralisation — which experts argue could decrease conflict.
March’s election was marred by jihadist attacks as well as the kidnapping of opposition leader Soumaila Cisse, however. Opposition parties also contested the results.
In a move that triggered protests in several cities, Mali’s constitutional court in April overturned the results in some 30 seats, which saw about a dozen candidates from the presidential party take parliamentary seats.
Keita’s decision to form a new government of national unity also comes after speculation in Bamako political circles about whether the president would dissolve the parliament. He did not explicitly rule out this option on Tuesday.
The president’s promise to hold talks on a new unity government suggests the inclusion opposition figures, but it is not yet clear who exactly would be invited to join. (AFP)
The Ethiopian Herald Jun 18, 2020
