#Ethiopia News: #Ayder Referral Hospital in #Tigray calls for urgent life-saving diabetes health care supply

By Mhret G/kristos

The largest hospital in the Tigray region, Ayder referral hospital, is calling for an urgent lifesaving diabetes health care supply.

In an open letter written to Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health and the Ethiopian Diabetes Association (EDA) the hospital says there are 26,768 diabetic patients In Tigray, of which 16,420 are Type One totally insulin-dependent, and 8,224 are children under the age of 14.

According to the hospital number of patients are increasing every day with no single vial of insulin available and 12 diabetic patients dying every week.

“There are an increasing number of newly diagnosed patients and many arriving from all over the region with a DKA and related complications where we are in a position of not providing a single vial of insulin nor oral hypoglycemic medications, no dialysis service nor a supply to undergo corrective amputations for diabetic patients in need,” the letter reads.

https://addisstandard.com/news-ayder-referral-hospital-in-tigray-calls-for-urgent-life-saving-diabetes-health-care-supply/

#Ethiopia: National Bank to press charges against 391 bank account holders suspected of illegal money transfer

The National Bank of Ethiopia says it has closed 391 bank accounts and due to file charges against the account holders who are suspected of engaging in illegal money transfer activities.

A list containing the names of the suspected individuals have been sent to Ministry of Justice pending criminal charges state media reports.

Last week, the Ethiopian Finance Intelligence Service (FIS) has warned agencies and local actors it accused of involving in illegal money transfer activities to refrain from their activities.

The warning came in the backdrop of a never before seen gap in foreign currency exchange rates between the official and the informal market attributed to shortage of foreign currency.

https://addisstandard.com/news-national-bank-to-press-charges-against-391-bank-account-holders-suspected-of-illegal-money-transfer/

#Ethiopia peace talks delayed for logistical reasons, diplomats say

African Union-led peace talks proposed for this weekend to try to end a two-year conflict in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region have been delayed for logistical reasons, Reuters reported citing diplomats with knowledge to the matter.

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/ethiopia-peace-talks-delayed-logistical-reasons-diplomats-2022-10-07/

#Ethiopia: The United Nations (#UN) Hu­man Rights Council has today adopted Draft Resolution A/HRC/51/L.19 extending the mandate of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethio­pia (#ICHREE).

#Ethiopia May Allow Overseas Lenders to Own 30% of Local Banks

Ethiopia plans to allow overseas lenders to acquire up to 30% in its commercial banks, the latest step by the government to encourage investment in one of #Africa’s biggest economies.

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Several foreign banks have representative offices in the Horn of Africa country, including Equity Group Holdings and KCB Group -- the two biggest lenders in neighboring Kenya -- along with Standard Bank Group. Lease companies, such as a unit of New York-based Africa Asset Finance Co., which pledged to bring in equipment worth $600 million after being licensed in August, can also operate there.

The draft legislation also proposes that foreigner individuals can buy 5% in domestic banks. Foreign banks will also be allowed to set up subsidiaries or open branches in the nation.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-08/ethiopia-may-allow-overseas-lenders-to-own-30-of-local-banks

News፡ More than five million people need gender based violence response in #Ethiopia: UN

By Mihret G.kristos

Some 5.8 million people in Ethiopia are in need of a response to gender-based sexual violence due mainly to the escalation of militarized violence in the northern and other parts of the country, according to a new report by the UNFPA.

According to the report published on 06 October, the number of people in need of Gender Based Violence (GBV) response in 2022 increased from 3.5 million in 2021 to 5.8M spread across the conflict, drought, and flood-affected regions.

*Prolonged militarized violence in #Tigray, #Amhara and #Afar regional states has “exacerbated preexisting patterns of discrimination against women and girls"

* A record high level of GBV, especially sexual violence, has been recorded in the Tigray regional state where more than 2000 sexual violence survivors had sought services between November 2020 and June 2021.

*GBV response needs are high in #BenishangulGumuz, #Somali, #Oromia and #SNNP regions as a result of increased violence and drought.

https://addisstandard.com/news%e1%8d%a1-more-than-five-million-people-need-gender-based-violence-response-in-ethiopia-un/

News: Bridge collapse kills one, injures several students in #Hawassa University

A 12th grade student has died and several others were injured after a bridge linking two campuses of the Hawassa University in #Sidama regional state collapsed on Monday.

Peace and security bureau head of the region, Alemayehu Temotewos, told local media that a student has died and two others have been critically injured while several others sustained mild injuries. Both the Ministry of Education and Hawassa University administration have announced this morning that injured students have been getting treatments at the Hawassa referral hospital.

The Bridge that links the University’s main campus with its technology institute collapsed due to overcrowding, according to a statement by the University. The University is hosting students from different parts of the country who are due to sit for university entrance exams.

https://addisstandard.com/news-bridge-collapse-kills-one-injures-several-students-in-hawassa-university/

News: Seven killed in armed attack on #Djibouti army, #IGAD says attack “criminal and cowardly”

The Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu, condemned the attack by armed group on the #Tadjourah Regiment of the Djibouti army at #Garabistan. IGAD denounced the attack in the “strongest terms possible” and called it “criminal and cowardly”.

Djibouti’s Ministry of Defense said seven soldiers were killed in the armed attack on Saturday 06 October, which also injured four soldiers; six others are reported missing.

The Ministry blamed the attack on the “Armed FRUD”, a splinter rebel group of the Front for the Restoration and Democracy, which claims fighting for the interests of Afar people.

https://addisstandard.com/news-seven-killed-in-armed-attack-on-djibouti-army-igad-calls-it-criminal-and-cowardly/

#Somalia: #US-funded Maritime Training Center opens in Somalia

After a consistent reduction in piracy along Somalia’s coastline in the last couple of years, the country has opened a new Maritime Training Center in Mogadishu. The facility is meant to grow Somalia’s domestic capacity to protect its territorial waters, specifically due to rising problems with IUU (Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated) fishing.

***
The center is part of over $3 million provided by the U.S government to support Somali-led maritime capacity building programs.

Recently, the shipping industry made a decision to end the “High Risk Area” designation for waters near the Horn of Africa. The move has emboldened the Somali government to double its efforts in blue economy investment.

By the end of this year, Somalia is expected to open a new deep-sea port on its northeastern town of Gara’ad. This brings the total number of deep-sea ports in Somalia to five. The rest include Mogadishu, Berbera, Kismayo and Bosaaso.

https://maritime-executive.com/article/u-s-funded-maritime-training-center-opens-in-somalia#:~:text=After%20a%20consistent%20reduction%20in,Maritime%20Training%20Center%20in%20Mogadishu

ዜና፡ በጋምቤላ ክልል ኑዌር ዞን ብቸኛው ሆስፒታል በጎርፍ በመጥለቅለቁ ታካሚዎች ለከፋ እንግልት ተጋለጡ

በጋምቤላ ክልል ኑዌር ዞን ብቸኛ የሆነው ኝንኛንግ የመጀመሪያ ደረጃ ሆስፒታል በጎርፍ አደጋ ምክንያት በሆስፒታሉና በተለያዩ የህክምና ቁሳቁሶች ላይ ጉዳት የደረሰበት በመሆኑ በአሁን ሰዓት ተኝቶ ታካሚዎችም ሆኑ ተመላላሽ ታካሚዎች ከሆስፒታሉ ውጭ በሚገኝ ደረቃማ ስፍራ ላይ ሸራ በመዘርጋት አገልግሎት እንዲያገኙ እየተደረገ እንደሚገኝ የጋምቤላ ክልል የመንግስት ኮሙኒኬሽን አስተወቀ፡፡

ሆስፒታሉ በደረሰበት የጎርፍ መጥለቅለቅ አገልግሎት ለመስጠት እየተቸገረ እንደሚገኝ የገለፁት የሆስፒታሉ ስራ አስኪያጅ አቶ ኒያል ቶት ለተኝቶ ታካሚዎች ፍራሽ፣ አንሶላና መሠል መገልገያዎች እንደሚያስፈልግ ገልፀዋል።

በሆስፒታሉ የደረሰውን ጉዳት ለማቃለል MSF የተባለ ግበረሰናይ ድርጅት ግምታቸው 650ሺ ብር የሆኑ የተለያዩ መድሃኒቶችን ድጋፍ ማድረጉን የሆስፒታሉ ስራ አስኪያጅ የገለፁ ሲሆን የተደረገው ድጋፍ የነበውን የመድሃኒት አቅርቦት ችግር በተወሰነ ደረጃ እንደሚያቃልለውና ድርጅቱ ሌሎች ተጨማሪ ድጋፎች ለማድረግ የተለያዩ የዳሰሳ ጥናቶች እያከናወነ እንደሚገኝ እክለው ተናግረዋል።

https://amharic.addisstandard.com/%E1%8B%9C%E1%8A%93%E1%8D%A1-%E1%89%A0%E1%8C%8B%E1%88%9D%E1%89%A4%E1%88%8B-%E1%8A%AD%E1%88%8D%E1%88%8D-%E1%8A%91%E1%8B%8C%E1%88%AD-%E1%8B%9E%E1%8A%95-%E1%89%A5%E1%89%B8%E1%8A%9B%E1%8B%8D-%E1%88%86/

ዜና፦ በጅቡቲ ታጣቂ ሃይሎች ባደረሱት ጥቃት ሰባት ወታደሮች መገደላቸው ተገለጸ፤ ” የወነንጀለኛና ፈሪ” ጥቃት ነው – ኢጋድ

የምስራቅ አፍሪካ የልማት በይነ መንግስታት ባለስልጣን (ኢጋድ) ስራ አስፈፃሚ ዶ/ር ወርቅነህ ገበየሁ ጋራቢስታን በሚገኘው የጅቡቲ ጦር ታጁራህ ክፍለ ጦር ላይ የታጠቁ ሃይሎች ያደረሱትን ጥቃት አውግዘዋል። ኢጋድ ድርጊቱን “የወንጀለኛና ፈሪ” ጥቃት ነው ሲል ኮንኖታል።

የጅቡቲ መከላከያ ሚኒስቴር እንዳስታወቀው ቅዳሜ መስከረም 26 ቀን ታጣቂዎቹ የሃገሪቷ ወታደሮች ላይ ባደረሱት ጥቃት ሰባት ወታደሮችን ገድለዉ፤ አራት ሲያቆስሉ ሌሎች ስድስት ወታደሮች እስካሁን የት እንዳሉ አይታወቅም።

ሚኒስቴሩ ለጥቃቱ ተጠያቂው የአፋር ህዝብ ጥቅም ለማስጠበቅ በሚል ራሱን አንድነትና ዴሞክራሲ አስመላሽ ግምባር (FRUD) ብሎ የሚጠራ የአማጺ ቡድን ነው ሲሉ አስታውቀዋል።

https://amharic.addisstandard.com/%e1%8b%9c%e1%8a%93%e1%8d%a6-%e1%89%a0%e1%8c%85%e1%89%a1%e1%89%b2-%e1%89%b3%e1%8c%a3%e1%89%82-%e1%88%83%e1%8b%ad%e1%88%8e%e1%89%bd-%e1%89%a3%e1%8b%b0%e1%88%a8%e1%88%b1%e1%89%b5-%e1%8c%a5%e1%89%83/

News: #Ethiopia condemns “barbaric and cowardly” attack on #Djibouti army

Ethiopia condemned “the barbaric and cowardly attack” on 06 October on the Tadjourah Regiment of the Djibouti army at Garabistan.

In a statement released via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), Ethiopia conveyed “its deepest sympathies and condolences to the families of the bereaved, injured, and missing, as well as to the people and Government of the Republic of Djibouti.”

It also said the federal government stands in solidarity with the Government and people of the Djibouti “at this difficult moment and expresses its full readiness to closely work together with the Government of the Republic of Djibouti in tackling the scourge of terrorism in the region.”

https://addisstandard.com/news-ethiopia-condemns-barbaric-and-cowardly-attack-on-djibouti-army/

News: Prominent #Oromo scholar Alemayehu Diro under police custody for more than ten days, denied right to appear before court

By Getahun Legesse

Oromia regional state security forces have placed distinguished Oromo scholar Alemayehu Diro under custody as of 29 September 2022; he has since been denied of the right to appear before court, his wife Lakech Hailu confirmed to Addis standard.

Alemayehu, 53, an anthropologist, economist, influential business person and a father of six, was taken from his residence in Burayu town in Oromia Special Zone Surrounding Finfinne, near the capital Addis Abeba and detained at the Burayu district police station. His wife Lakech said that a group of Oromia regional state security forces took him on 29 September.

“A group of people wearing security uniform appeared at our gate at 6:00 AM and asked for the whereabouts of Alemayehu. They broke into our residence without a court order. I asked [them] to know why he was needed, the only reason they gave was that ‘we are hiding people and tools in our home’. I am not sure what they meant by ‘tools’. They checked the house and inside our car, but they couldn’t find anything,” Lakech said.

https://addisstandard.com/news-prominent-oromo-scholar-alemayehu-diro-under-police-custody-for-more-than-ten-days-denied-right-to-appear-before-court/

#Ethiopia: My patients are doomed to die in #Tigray blockade

Dr Fasika Amdeslasie speaks in a matter-of-fact voice, but what he has to say is devastating.

"We have a lack of anaesthesia drugs, lack of intravenous fluids, lack of antibiotics and so you see complications arising [with] the patients and you see them dying helplessly - your arms folded," the surgeon says on a WhatsApp call using a rare satellite internet connection from the Tigrayan capital, Mekelle.

The patients are helpless but the doctors are too.

Nevertheless, there is barely a hint of emotion as Dr Fasika, who works at Mekelle's main Ayder Hospital, relates the impact of the conflict in Tigray on the region's health service.

For most of the past two years Tigray has been isolated from the rest of the world.

Full interview: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-63166044

#SouthSudan to expel #Eritrean and #Ethiopian migrants

South Sudan’s immigration body says it will deport more than 20 foreign nationals, mainly Eritreans and Ethiopians, who entered the country illegally.

They were arrested on arrival at Juba International Airport a few days ago and were said to have entered the country without passports or travel documents, local media reported.

The migrants had come from Sudan's capital Khartoum to seek refuge in South Sudan, and had boarded local flights to Juba from Bentiu and Paloch towns in northern South Sudan, an immigration official said.


https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-africa-62845571?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=63453173e5f7325d62a037e3%26South%20Sudan%20to%20expel%20Eritrean%20and%20Ethiopian%20migrants%262022-10-11T10%3A58%3A44.993Z&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:174cd842-20d5-4279-a5f0-9b8c966ebdb0&pinned_post_asset_id=63453173e5f7325d62a037e3&pinned_post_type=share

Top Migrant Trafficker Arrested in #Ethiopia: #Italy

Temesghen Ghebru Ghebremedhin, 35, is "considered a key member of a vast transnational organization dedicated to smuggling migrants from North #Africa to #Europe," one of the sources told Reuters.

The #Eritrean suspect was captured at Addis Abeba airport and charged with international organized crime membership and abetting illegal migration.

Judges in Palermo, Sicily, had issued an arrest warrant for Temesghen and several other alleged human traffickers in 2020, the sources said.

Temesghen was on #Interpol's "red notice" fugitives list and was stopped while on his way to #Australia, where other members of his alleged criminal group operate, the sources added. https://www.voaafrica.com/a/eritrean-migrant-trafficker-arrested-in-ethiopia-/6785518.html

Business: #Ethiopia exports US$13 million worth electricity to #Sudan, #Djibouti in two months

The amount generated was out of the planned US$18.55 million by supplying more than 349.56 million kilowatt hours of electricity to Sudan and Djibouti in the two months of the current Ethiopian fiscal year.

The state owned utility has instead supplied 232.76 million kilowatt hours of electricity, cashing in 13.04 million US dollars, which amounts to 70.29% of the target.

Compared to the plan, the sale was US$5.5 million or 29.71 percent less than the plan, whereas the electricity exported was 116.8 million kilowatt hours, a decline by 33.42% than the plan.

https://addisstandard.com/business-ethiopia-exports-us13-million-worth-electricity-to-sudan-djibouti-in-two-months/

#Ethiopia: Electoral Board to hold Southern region referendum in February next year

Birtukan Mideksa, Chairwoman of the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE), announced Monday that the Board was preparing to hold a referendum in six zones and five special districts in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s (#SNNP) regional state on 06 February 2023. Birtukan announced the schedule during a discussion the Board held with representatives of political parties.

Accordingly a referendum will be held in #Wolayita, #Gamo, #Gofa, #SouthOmo, #Gedeo, #Konso zones as well as #Derashe, #Amaro, #Burji, Ale and #Basketo special districts of the SNNP region. The outcome will determine the reconstitution of a new regional state out of the existing SNNP region.

The NEBE has designated #ArbaMinch city to be the coordination center of the referendum and said the results will be announced to the public on 15 February. Bruck Wondwosen, the Board’s Operations Advisor, stated that 18,885 people will be engaged to facilitate the implementation of the referendum.

https://addisstandard.com/news-electoral-board-to-hold-southern-region-referendum-in-february-next-year/

#Ethiopia: A group of western countries issue new concern amid war in #Tigray, call for withdrawal of #Eritrean forces

A group of western countries issued a new statement of concern at “the escalation of the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in northern Ethiopia.”

#Australia, #Denmark, #Germany, the #Netherlands, the #UnitedKingdom, and the #UnitedStates, said they were “profoundly concerned” as war in the Tigray escalated in the shadow of communication blackout and continued blockade of access to independent media.

The statement also condemned “the escalating involvement of Eritrean military forces in northern Ethiopia,” and called on “#Eritrean forces to cease their military operations and withdraw from northern Ethiopia. All foreign actors should cease actions that fuel this conflict.”

https://addisstandard.com/news-a-group-of-western-countries-issue-new-concern-amid-war-in-tigray-call-for-withdrawal-of-eritrean-forces/