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Ambasciata d’Italia Addis Abeba SERVIZIO NEWS 04.04.2014 1 INDEX ETHIOPIA Egypt: fm - egypt offers to finance Ethiopia's renaissance dam ................................. 3 Ethiopia: using Ethiopia's healthcare gaps to do good and make a profit .................. 4 Authority collects 204 bln birr revenue ........................................................................ 6 DJIBOUTI Djibouti: un envoy hails djibouti for its commitment to peace and stability in Somalia .......................................................................................................................... 7 SOUTH SUDAN Sanzioni USA per governo e ribelli se non tornano a negoziare .................................. 8 UN officials cite 'race against time' to prevent humanitarian catastrophe in South Sudan ............................................................................................................................. 9 UNHCR, wfp leaders witness shocking state of South Sudanese refugees during Ethiopia visit ................................................................................................................ 10 AFRICA Human 'trade' irks Africa, EU ...................................................................................... 12 Europa-Africa: dal vertice di Bruxelles impegni rinnovati e questioni irrisolte ........ 14 Lago chad, a Bologna e Rimini con prodi per conferenza internazionale ................. 16 Crimea: what lessons for Africa? ................................................................................ 17 Bob Diamond invests in Africa’s financial services sector ......................................... 20 Azienda friulana vince importanti commesse in Algeria e Mozambico ..................... 22 2 ETHIOPIA EGYPT: FM - EGYPT OFFERS TO FINANCE ETHIOPIA'S RENAISSANCE DAM (03.04.2014 – AllAfrica) During his speech before the Royal Institute for International Relations, Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy said that Egypt offered to finance the construction of the Ethiopian Renaissance dam and suggested that the dam would be run by a joint committee from the two countries. He also emphasized the importance of serious negotiations to find out solutions that serve the interests of the Nile Basin countries without harming any country. He also asserted that Egypt would resort to all legal measures to protect its historical rights in Nile water and national security. 3 ETHIOPIA: USING ETHIOPIA'S HEALTHCARE GAPS TO DO GOOD AND MAKE A PROFIT (01.04.2014 - AllAfrica) For a while now, Magnetic Resonance Imaging or MRI scanners have typically been a luxury that both government and private hospitals in Ethiopia have struggled to afford to purchase for in-house use. Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital with an ever-growing population of around 3.8 million, currently has only four stationary MRI scanners that provide services to 30 government and private hospitals, according to Zelalem Molla, a surgeon based in Addis Ababa. Outside of the capital, only two MRI scanners exist. But the six scanners -- in this Horn of Africa nation of some 92 million people -- are old fashioned and far behind the technological curve in the West. "It would be wrong to claim that the mobile MRI scanner would save lives," says Zelalem, whose lunchtime chat with American entrepreneur Peter Burns III about the paucity of scanners sparked a business idea. "[In a developing economy] a government's focus on financial market stability and security issues can result in healthcare issues remaining on the side-lines." -- Alayar Kangarlu, MRI research centre, Columbia University But, Zelalem notes, more MRI scanners -- which use strong magnetic fields and radio waves to generate images of the inside of the body that can be analysed on computers -- would crucially allow more doctors to diagnose illnesses far earlier when they are operable and potentially curable. "Often it is not possible for doctors to diagnose illnesses such as tumours until they physically appear at a stage when the chances of saving a patient are slim -- or it is too late," Zelalem tells IPS. However, actual figures about the number of people directly affected here by the lack of MRI scanners do not exist. 4 In the past, some Ethiopians have needed to travel to other African countries such as Kenya and South Africa, or to Europe to have scans. This even included Haile Gebrselassie, Ethiopia's track runner, who used to go to Munich, Germany for scans to help diagnose running injuries. Ethiopia technically has free healthcare for all, which is provided by government-run hospitals. The reality, however, is that "there are not enough hospitals and most suffer from inadequate staffing, budgets and machinery," Zelalem says. Private hospitals exist but as an option affordable to very few Ethiopians. 5 AUTHORITY COLLECTS 204 BLN BIRR REVENUE The Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority (ERCA) said it has earned 204 billion birr revenue during the past three and half years of the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) period. (03.04.2014- Walta Information Center) Authority Education and Communication Directorate Director, Ephrem Mekonnen, told WIC that the revenue was collected from domestic tax, foreign trade and lottery sales. The revenue collected in the reported period surpassed it target by 2 billion birr, he said. According to Ephrem, the authority had collected 50 billion birr in the first year of the GTP period. The plan was to collect 45 billion birr. During the second year of the GTP period, the authority fully attained its target of collecting 70 billion birr, he said. Though the authority’s plan was to collect 87 birr during the third year of the GTP period, it managed to rake 84 billion birr, he said. Ephrem, the authority has set a plan to collect 101 billion birr and 420 billion birr this Ethiopian budget and at the end of the GTP period, respectively. 6 DJIBOUTI DJIBOUTI: UN ENVOY HAILS DJIBOUTI FOR ITS COMMITMENT TO PEACE AND STABILITY IN SOMALIA (01.04.2014 – Enca) Mr. Nicholas Kay, United Nations Special Envoy to Somalia, paid tribute on Sunday (March 23) to Djiboutian soldiers killed in an Al-Shabaab suicide car bomb attack in Buulo Burte last week. In a visit to Djibouti, he commended Djibouti's dedication and unremitting support to the people of Somalia in their march towards creating a stable, unified and prosperous country, including its sustained assistance to eliminate Al-Shabaab extremists. During his visit he held talks with President Ismail Omar Guelleh, focusing on ways to support the efforts made by the Somali people and Government to reconstruct and stabilize their country. President Guelleh reiterated Djibouti's support for the people of Somalia to establish peace, stability and prosperity. He underlined that Djibouti would continue to assist the Somali National Army under the auspices of AMISOM in the fight against Al-Shabaab. Mr. Kay applauded Djibouti for its dedication and support to consolidate peace and security in Somalia. 7 SOUTH SUDAN SANZIONI USA PER GOVERNO E RIBELLI SE NON TORNANO A NEGOZIARE (4.4.2014 – Notiziatrio Infoafrica) Con un decreto del governo degli Stati Uniti, il presidente Barack Obama ha aperto la strada ieri a sanzioni statunitensi contro qualsiasi persona in Sud Sudan minacci gli sforzi regionali e internazionali in corso per riportare la pace nel paese, dallo scorso dicembre in preda a un grave crisi politica, economica e sociale. Lo si apprende da una nota della Casa Bianca nella quale si precisa che il decreto firmato dal capo di Stato USA autorizza a procedere con il congelamento dei beni e il divieto di visto sia per i funzionari del governo del Sud Sudan che per i ‘ribelli’. Presentando alla stampa il decreto, un portavoce americano ha detto che sia il governo sud sudanese che i ribelli dell’ex-vicepresidente Riek Machar devono riprendere immediatamente i negoziati e aderire al processo di pace. È proprio di ieri la notizia della sospensione, fino alla fine di aprile, dei colloqui iniziati nelle scorse settimane ad Addis Abeba tra le delegazioni del governo sud-sudanese e delle forze ribelli. Le parti non si accordano su chi possa partecipare ai negoziati. Le due fazioni in lotta avevano siglato un accordo per il cessate-il-fuoco a gennaio, ma nonostante tale accordo i combattimenti non si sono mai interrotti. Secondo le agenzie delle Nazioni Unite, dall’inizio del conflitto sarebbero già più di 10.000 le vittime, un milione le persone costrette ad abbandonare le proprie abitazioni e circa 3,7 milioni di persone sono in una situazione di grave insicurezza alimentare. 8 UN OFFICIALS CITE 'RACE AGAINST TIME' TO PREVENT HUMANITARIAN CATASTROPHE IN SOUTH SUDAN (03.04.2014 – AllAfrica) With no political solution to the conflict that has torn South Sudan apart in sight, senior United Nations officials working in the country stressed today that they are in a "race against time" ahead of the rainy season to help prevent a health and hunger catastrophe. Hilde Johnson, the Secretary-General's Special Representative and head of the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), told a news conference in the capital, Juba, that plans are under way to establish alternative sites for tens of thousands of civilians who sought protection in UN compounds. It is estimated that 70,000 civilians are currently sheltering at UN compounds around the country which opened its gates to offer protection when the fighting between Government and opposition forces began in mid-December 2013. Overall, about a million people in South