Day: March 31, 2022

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Nomination d’Umit Ciftci en tant que directeur du développement commercial régional pour la Turquie

TEMECULA, Californie, 31 mars 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Le groupe Clean Energy & Industrial Gases (le « Groupe ») de Nikkiso Cryogenic Industries, qui fait partie du groupe de sociétés Nikkiso Co., Ltd (Japon), est heureux d’annoncer qu’Umit Ciftci a été nommé directeur du développement commercial régional pour la Turquie et les régions avoisinantes.

Basé à Istanbul, en Turquie, il sera responsable de la gamme complète de produits du groupe et fera ses rapports à Ole Jensen, NCE&IG GmbH Allemagne.

M. Umit Ciftci a obtenu un diplôme en ingénierie de gestion, qui lui a apporté une solide expérience en ingénierie, ainsi qu’en affaires et en finance. Fort de plus de 25 ans d’expérience dans le domaine de l’air comprimé, M. Umit Ciftci a occupé divers postes, notamment celui d’ingénieur commercial, de supérieur hiérarchique marketing et commercial en Turquie, et celui de responsable du développement commercial aux ÉAU pour Atlas Copco.

« L’expérience d’Umit, ainsi que les connaissances du marché et de l’industrie, seront très bénéfiques pour NCEIG GmbH, alors que nous travaillons au développement des opportunités potentielles sur ce marché. Nous attendons avec impatience ses contributions positives », a commenté Ole Jensen, vice-président de NCEIG Europe.

Avec cette nomination, Nikkiso poursuit son engagement d’avoir une présence à la fois locale et mondiale pour ses clients.

À PROPOS DE CRYOGENIC INDUSTRIES
Cryogenic Industries, Inc. (aujourd’hui membre de Nikkiso Co., Ltd) et ses entreprises membres fabriquent des équipements et de petites usines de traitement du gaz cryogénique pour les secteurs du gaz naturel liquéfié (GNL), des services d’entretien de puits et du gaz industriel. Fondée il y a plus de 50 ans, Cryogenic Industries est la société-mère d’ACD, de Cosmodyne et de Cryoquip, ainsi qu’un groupe administré en commun comptant une vingtaine d’entités opérationnelles.

Pour tout complément d’information, veuillez consulter les sites www.nikkisoCEIG.com et www.nikkiso.com.

Contact auprès des médias :
Anna Quigley
+1.951.383.3314
aquigley@cryoind.com

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Umit Ciftci Nomeado Gerente Regional de Desenvolvimento de Negócios para a Turquia

TEMECULA, California, March 31, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — O Clean Energy & Industrial Gases Group (“Grupo”) da Nikkiso Cryogenic Industries, parte do grupo de empresas da Nikkiso Co., Ltd (Japão), tem o prazer de anunciar a nomeação de Umit Ciftci para Gerente Regional de Desenvolvimento de Negócios para a Turquia.

Com base em Istambul, Turquia, ele será responsável pela linha completa de produtos do Grupo e se reportará à Ole Jensen, NCE&IG GmbH Alemanha.

Umit é formado em Engenharia de Gestão, que fornece uma sólida formação em engenharia, bem como negócios e finanças. Ele tem mais de 25 anos de experiência em Ar Comprimido, ocupando vários cargos, incluindo de engenheiro de vendas, gerente de linha de marketing e negócios na Turquia e Gerente de Desenvolvimento de Negócios da Atlas Copconos nos Emirados Árabes Unidos.

“A experiência de Umit, bem como o seu conhecimento do mercado e da indústria, serão de grande valia para a NCEIG GmbH, pois trabalhamos para desenvolver as oportunidades potenciais neste mercado. Estamos ansiosos por suas contribuições positivas”, disse Ole Jensen, Vice-Presidente da NCEIG Europa.

Com esta adição, a Nikkiso dá continuidade ao seu compromisso de ser uma presença global e local para seus clientes.

SOBRE A CRYOGENIC INDUSTRIES
A Cryogenic Industries, Inc. (agora membro da Nikkiso Co., Ltd.) fabrica equipamentos de processamento de gás criogênico projetados e plantas de processo de pequena escala para as indústrias de gás natural liquefeito (GNL), serviços de poços e gás industrial. Fundada há mais de 50 anos, a Cryogenic Industries é a empresa controladora da ACD, Cosmodyne e Cryoquip, e de um grupo comumente controlado de aproximadamente 20 entidades operacionais.

Para mais informação visite www.nikkisoCEIG.com e www.nikkiso.com.

CONTATO COM A MÍDIA:
Anna Quigley
+1.951.383.3314
aquigley@cryoind.com

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Laserfiche Recognized as a 2022 Gartner® Peer Insights™ Customers’ Choice for Content Services Platforms

LONG BEACH, Calif., March 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Laserfiche — the leading SaaS provider of intelligent content management and business process automation — has been named a Customers’ Choice in the 2022 Gartner Peer Insights ‘Voice of the Customer’: Content Services Platforms report. According to Gartner, “Gartner Peer Insights is a free peer review and ratings platform designed for enterprise software and services decision makers. Reviews go through a strict validation and moderation process in an effort to ensure they are authentic.”

Laserfiche is the leading SaaS provider of intelligent content management and business process automation.

“Customers are at the heart of everything that we do at Laserfiche and their passion for finding innovative ways to use our products is inspiring,” said Laserfiche Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy and CIO Thomas Phelps IV. “We’re honored to have been recognized by our customers on Gartner Peer Insights for our product capabilities, sales and support experience, and deployment experience —helping us to achieve the Customers’ Choice designation for three years in a row.”

Gartner defines content services platforms (CSPs) as integrated platforms that provide content-focused services, repositories, APIs, solutions and business processing tools to support digital business and transformation. Laserfiche continues to evolve its offerings beyond traditional enterprise content management (ECM) capabilities, building on Laserfiche’s strengths in content-centric business process automation, electronic forms, dashboard analytics, records management and audit trail. This includes the Laserfiche API, Microsoft Teams integration, Laserfiche Vault, Workflow Bots, Smart Invoice Capture and Direct Share.

This year, the company introduced the Laserfiche Solution Marketplace, expanding on a collection of more than 100 solution templates with downloadable tools for rapid deployment of automated solutions. The marketplace enables customers to accelerate innovation and enterprise transformation through industry-specific solutions, core business processes such as new employee onboarding, as well as templates that help users automate processes related to COVID-19.

In the ‘Voice of the Customer’: Content Services Platforms report, Laserfiche received the highest average overall ratings (4.5 out of 5), as of 31st Jan 2022 based on 86 reviews, of the vendors included. Laserfiche is also a Customers’ Choice in the Midsize Enterprise and North America categories, and a Strong Performer in the Asia/Pacific category.

“MPI embraces the innovation tools that enable us to provide the best possible experience for our participants and our employees,” said Joel Manfredo, CIO at Motion Picture Industry Pension & Health Plans (MPI). “Laserfiche is a visionary partner whose robust platform and customer-centric approach align with our strategic technology plans while inspiring innovative initiatives for advancing our digital transformation.”

To learn more about how customers rated Laserfiche, download a complimentary copy of the 2022 Gartner Peer Insights ‘Voice of the Customer’: Content Services Platforms report here.

About Gartner Peer Insights
Gartner Peer Insights is an online platform of ratings and reviews of IT software and services that are written and read by IT professionals and technology decision-makers. The goal is to help IT leaders make more insightful purchase decisions and help technology providers improve their products by receiving objective, unbiased feedback from their customers. Gartner Peer Insights includes more than 350,000 verified reviews in more than 340 markets. For more information, please visit www.gartner.com/reviews/home.

Gartner Disclaimers
Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice constitute the subjective opinions of individual end-user reviews, ratings, and data applied against a documented methodology; they neither represent the views of, nor constitute an endorsement by, Gartner or its affiliates.

Gartner, Gartner Peer Insights ‘Voice of the Customer’: Content Services Platforms, Peer Contributors, 29th March 2022

Gartner® and Peer Insights™ are trademarks of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Gartner Peer Insights content consists of the opinions of individual end users based on their own experiences, and should not be construed as statements of fact, nor do they represent the views of Gartner or its affiliates. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in this content nor makes any warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this content, about its accuracy or completeness, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

About Laserfiche
Laserfiche is the leading SaaS provider of intelligent content management and business process automation. Through powerful workflows, electronic forms, document management and analytics, the Laserfiche® platform accelerates how business gets done, enabling leaders to focus on growth across the enterprise.

Laserfiche pioneered the paperless office with enterprise content management. Today, Laserfiche’s cloud-first development approach incorporates innovations in machine learning and AI to enable organizations in more than 80 countries to transform into digital businesses. Customers in every industry — including government, education, financial services, healthcare and manufacturing — use Laserfiche to boost productivity, scale their business and deliver digital-first customer experiences.

Laserfiche employees in offices around the world are committed to the company’s vision of empowering customers and inspiring people to reimagine how technology can transform lives.

Connect with Laserfiche:
Laserfiche Blog | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook

About MPI
The Motion Picture Industry Pension & Health Plans (“MPI”) are Taft-Hartley trust funds established by collective bargaining agreements between many of the unions and employers in the motion picture production industry. MPI is governed by its 32-member Board of Directors and provides health and retirement benefits to more than 100,000 individuals who work in the entertainment industry.

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/701026/Laserfiche_Spark_Logo.jpg

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LAGRIDE Kicks Off with Delivery of 1,000 GAC MOTOR Vehicles to Lagos

The Lagos State Government launched an e-hailing taxi service with 1,000 brand new GAC MOTOR vehicles

GUANGZHOU, China, March 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — A delivery of 1,000 GAC MOTOR vehicles to the Lagos State Government kicked off “LAGRIDE,” the state’s newest ride-hailing taxi scheme. The initiative will provide a safer and more comfortable mobility option to residents.

Distinguished guests at the rollout ceremony included Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos State Governor; Cui Jianchun, Ambassador of China to Nigeria; Jin Mingyu, Chinese Deputy Consul General in Lagos, and Diana Chan, Chairman of CIG Motor.

Two-Year Effort Brought to Fruition

LAGRIDE aims to provide a reliable means of travel at an affordable rate. Plans began in November 2019 when Governor Sanwo-Olu visited Guangdong Province, headquarter of GAC MOTOR.

The GS3 SUV and the GA4 sedan’s proven quality, spacious cabin, and intelligent technology are expected to improve the quality and safety on Lagos roads.

Two years after its initial conception, 1000 GAC vehicles set sail from Qingdao, China, in October 2021 and arrived in Lagos four months later. The blue-and-white fleet cruised over Nigeria’s Third Mainland Bridge in one of the largest road-shows in the country.

LAGRIDE is a key opportunity to strengthen GAC MOTOR’s brand reputation in Nigeria by making a positive local impact. Technologically, GAC MOTOR assists the development of Nigeria’s transportation sector. Economically, the scheme encourages vehicle purchase and promotes employment, aiding overall economic growth.

Yu Jun, Member of the Executive Committee & Director of International Business Unit of GAC Group & Chairman of GAC MOTOR International, expressed that LAGRIDE is a top priority for GAC Group and strongly supported by both Guangdong and Lagos governments. The project’s successful launch came after overcoming two years of the recurring pandemic, chip shortage, and shipping delays. Despite unfavorable circumstances, GAC MOTOR retained the spirit of craftsmanship, bringing quality transportation services to Nigeria. The brand is now an important driving force in developing the local e-hailing sector.

Commitment to the Spirit of Craftsmanship

GAC MOTOR maintains a strong presence in Nigeria. In 2021, GAC MOTOR won the country’s prestigious “Automobile Company of the Year” award. After years of cultivation, the Nigerian market has recognized GAC MOTOR as representative of Chinese craftsmanship. GAC MOTOR continues to uphold the spirit of craftsmanship and the pursuit of quality, aiming to create an enjoyable life of mobility for global users.

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1777861/1.jpg

 

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New Guinness® World Record – World’s Biggest Bug Hotel

World Record Bug Hotel Certificate

Highland Titles – World Record Holders

DUROR, Scotland, March 31, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — On Monday 28th March 2022, conservation company Highland Titles achieved a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORD® for the world’s biggest bug/insect hotel, which means Highland Titles are “Officially Amazing!”®

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c6d0e716-dbd2-4737-934d-660fac898b70

The 199.9 cubic metre structure is located on the Highland Titles Nature Reserve at Duror in the Scottish Highlands and already houses a variety of species. It breaks the previous world record of 89.37 cubic metres, which was held by the Polish Association of Developers in Warsaw, Poland.

The world record-breaking bug hotel was made using felled sitka spruce from the nature reserve, masonry bricks, bamboo canes, wood chips, forest bark, wildflower seeds, clay pipes and strawberry netting.

World Record Bug Hotel

The World Record Bug Hotel is 199.9 cubic metres

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8f7ca5a3-5c5c-4d71-a475-daceb2ca6aff

“This record-breaking initiative is about the environmental message,” says Douglas Wilson, CEO of Highland Titles. “We bought this land in 2006 when it was a poorly performing commercial forestry plantation of non-native Sitka Spruce.

“Like much of the Highlands, it was inappropriately planted in the late 1980s with no thought or consideration given to biodiversity. Using these same trees for something that puts nature first symbolises that the world has changed, and we hope our efforts will inspire others. We’d be delighted if someone beat our record in the future!”

Nature Reserve Manager, Stewart Borland, was part of a team of 7 who were involved in its construction which started in September 2021 and was completed in early March 2022. In addition to the environmental message, Mr Borland hopes that it encourages people to visit:

“In 2019, we had more than 10,000 visitors to the nature reserve from all over the world. The pandemic really put a dent in our visitor numbers, so we hope that this – together with the new track which is adored by cyclists – will encourage people to visit now that travel is opening up again. The more visitors we get, the more people can see the work that we’re doing.”

About Highland Titles

Highland Titles began in 2006 with a mission to conserve Scotland, one square foot at a time. The conservation project – now encompassing 5 nature reserves and over 800 acres of Scottish wilderness – is funded by selling gift-sized souvenir plots of land.

The Highland Titles community of souvenir plot owners are invited to style themselves as the Lords and Ladies of Glencoe™. Over 300,000 plots of land have been sold to date.

The Highland Titles Nature Reserve near Glencoe is an official 4* tourist attraction and, according to Trip Advisor, one of the most popular nature reserves in the country.

Resources

For more information on the World’s Biggest Bug Hotel, visit here

For more photographs or video content, please email support@highlandtitles.com with your email address, name and phone number

Contact

Douglas Wilson, CEO
douglas@highlandtitles.com

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Safaricom Unveils Loan Product That Benefits Muslim Customers

Safaricom has unveiled a shariah compliant micro-credit loan tailored to providing alternative financial services and solutions to its Muslims customers.
The firm is partnering with Gulf African Bank, premier shariah compliant financial institution, to provide the product dubbed, Halal Pesa, to its M-PESA users across the Country.
Safaricom Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Peter Ndegwa, and Gulf African Bank Managing Director (MD), Abdalla Abdulkhalik, said the saving and credit facility has been developed to provide services that conform to the Islamic principles and to address the need of the Muslim population.
“We did not have a credit facility that caters for the needs of our Muslims customers and therefore the product we are launching today to address that gap,” Ndegwa remarked, during the launch of Halal Pesa, inside Mombasa’s iconic Fort Jesus monument.
He further stated that Halal Pesa will empower M-PESA customers, who have previously been locked out of access to financing due to barriers such as lack of Shariah modelled mobile facilities.
“We remain keen on partnerships that enable us to provide a wide variety of financial solutions that meet the diversified needs of our customers further broadening financial inclusion to ensure that we leave no one left behind,” added Ndegwa.
The Safaricom Chief further said the company also expect the interest free micro-credit product to attract and benefit the country’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SMES) traders and attract other partners across the borders.
Abdulkhalik said Safaricom customers will access financing through Halal Pesa service by receiving the amount requested in full with a repayment period of 30 days at 5 percent commodity Murabaha margin.
According to the British Based Institute of Islamic Banking and Insurance, Murabaha is an Islamic finance technique involving a contract of sale between the Bank and its client for the sale of goods at a price plus an agreed profit margin for the bank.
The contract involves the purchase of goods by the Bank, which then sells them to the client at an agreed mark-up and repayment which is usually in installments.
The Gulf African Bank MD revealed that the Bank will buy palm oil from Malaysia and trade it with the Safaricom M-PESA customers through Halal Pesa platform based on Murabaha Islamic finance principle
“Kenya is now a highly innovative, interconnected and fast-paced community that requires solutions on the go. All our digital offerings, including Halal Pesa, seek to directly address this aspect,” said Abdulhalik.
He added: “Our current strategy is focused on digitization for financial inclusion. Our aim is to provide instantaneous access to interest-free credit through Halal Pesa. We are glad that we could partner with a like-minded partner like Safaricom limited to advance this vision.”

Source: Kenya News Agency

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A Case for eHealth in Strengthening Kenyan Healthcare System

JKUAT College of Health Sciences (COHES) through the Digital Health Applied Research Centre (DHARC) organized a College Hall Meeting bringing together industry players, Ministry of Health officials, faculty and students from the Colleges of; Pure and Applied Sciences; Engineering and Technology; and Human Resource and Development, March 31, 2022.
The multi-disciplinary meeting deliberated on the emerging challenges and probable solutions in the use of eHealth to enhance decision-making for public health good in Kenya.
This comes at the backdrop of a partnership between Kenya Health Management Information Systems (KenyaHMIS) project and COHES that seeks to improve health information system towards the delivery of Patient-Centered Care and improve data demand and use for individual-level data in HIV.
Participants had the opportunity to learn research and entrepreneurial opportunities available within the eHealth space and familiarize with new innovations in HIV prevention and care.
While lauding the College for organizing the meeting, Ag. Director General of Health, Dr. Patrick Amoth advised the participants to see health as an enterprise, saying health economy never falters even during a recession.
Citing the COVID-19 Modeling innovation developed by JKUAT and the Ministry of Health, Dr. Amoth said data is vital in evidence-based decision making and informing policy.
“All the decisions we made during the pandemic were made based on science. The utilitarian web-based digital platform provided diverse data that was key in predicting the Coronavirus disease infection trends in the country,” attested the Director General.
Dr. Amoth encouraged the students and faculty to design and develop novel innovations and systems that are homegrown in order to solve the challenges facing the society.
To universities, the Director General said the curriculum need to focus on primary care, empowering people to take charge of their health care.
“As a ministry, we will partner with universities to create centres of excellence in the various health fields,” said Dr. Amoth.
While acknowledging that eHealth is a driver in providing a holistic approach to healthcare, Ag. Principal COHES, Dr. Reuben Thuo said COHES will partner with other colleges of the University to enhance multi-disciplinary research and innovation especially in eHealth.
“The purpose of this meeting was to sensitize students and faculty on the importance of eHealth and how through partnerships and collaborations we can develop viable solutions that will augment efforts towards strengthening access to quality health services,” said Dr. Thuo.
The students from the various colleges that attended the meeting will be involved in a multi-disciplinary hackathon and bootcamp in a bid to diversify the solutions to the challenges in health care delivery.
Various industry players from the Ministry of Health, KenyaHMIS, IntelliSOFT Consulting Limited made presentations on the status of eHealth in Kenya, system innovation and data use in health, role of technology in health, and Data Demand and Information Use (DDUI) perspective of KenyaHMIS III project.
The meeting was also addressed by the Ag. Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs, Prof. David Mburu, Registrar, Academic Affairs, Dr. Esther Muoria, Prof. Simon Karanja and Prof. Fred Wamunyokoli both from the School of Public Health.

Source: Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology

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Atheist group in Kenya tests boundaries of religious tolerance

The disquiet among some in Kenya over the registration and formal recognition of an atheist organisation, Atheists in Kenya, raises a number issues.
The first one is about the constitution of Kenya, the second about religious tolerance and the third is about secularism.
According to the country’s 2014 demographic profile, the dominant religion is clearly Christianity (82.5%). There are eight religions listed as major religious groups: Protestant, Catholic, Hindu, Muslim, Other Christian, Other Religion, Traditionalists and No Religion. The roughly 80% of Christians include Protestants, Catholics and Other Christians.
Protestants number more than 18 million and Catholics are in excess of nine million. Other Christians number 4.5 million. It is the latter group to which the Pentecostal groups belong.
There are close to a million people registered as having “no religion”. The 2014 demographic profile placed those who have no religion at 2.4% of the population, and those with unspecified religion at 0.7%. If one adds the two together it takes the figure of those who are unaffiliated higher than the 2009 figure. It seems that the number of people who are either atheists, or agnostics or just simply not affiliated is growing. Taken together, the million who claim to have no religion in a population of 45 million can be a significant number.
Whether or not this segment of the population is atheist or antitheist, it certainly would include those who Atheists in Kenya could easily attract to its membership.
The growth of religiously unaffiliated people in Kenya is slow but steady, and could be attributed to religious discontent and access to scientific knowledge. What is significant is that the median age of those who are turning to atheism or simply non-affiliation is set at 20 years. In developed countries such as Japan and European nations it is 34. Even pastors seem to admit that atheism in Kenya is on the rise. It may be of interest that Richard Dawkins, one of the most outspoken atheists, was born in Kenya.
The background
At the beginning of the year Atheists in Kenya applied for registration with the registrar of societies. But after protestations from a section of the Christian community, specifically the Kenya National Congress of Pentecostal Churches, the attorney general directed the registrar to suspend the registration on the grounds that peace and order in Kenya would suffer.
The founder of the atheist organisation denied that it constituted a threat to society, saying it was a peaceful group wishing to have formal recognition and space to interact with the rest of society. This makes it unlike those suspected of criminal activities, such as the quasi-religious Mungiki sect.
In a democratic society it is fundamental that all people have equal opportunities to express themselves through any formal organisational networks, as long as such associations are not a threat to society. But the atheists, in so far as they have demonstrated publicly, seem to be interested in promoting their worldview among like-minded people. There is, therefore, no reason for anyone to be agitated about it.
On the other hand, the resistance from a certain section of the Christian community to the group’s establishment and registration can only lead to unnecessary friction based on unfounded fear. It is not as if the organisation is on a massive conversion programme so as to pose a challenge to Christianity.
What the law says
First let’s establish if Atheists in Kenya qualifies to be registered in accordance with the laws of the country. According to the Societies Act the term “society” refers to any “club, company, partnership, or other association of ten or more persons”.
Atheists in Kenya does have more than ten members, according to its claim. Is it an unlawful society as it stands? Not if it has applied for registration within 28 days of its formation and “if it has not been notified of the determination of its application”. As it stands the organisation has applied for its registration and has not been formally informed of the decision from the registrar of societies.
The law provides guidelines for the rejection of an application by a society. The grounds on which it can do this is if the registrar
has reasonable cause to believe that the society has among its objects, or is likely to pursue or to be used for, any unlawful purpose or any purpose prejudicial to or incompatible with peace, welfare or good order in Kenya, or that the interests of peace, welfare of good order in Kenya would otherwise be likely to suffer prejudice by reason of the registration of the society.
There is no evidence thus far that Atheists in Kenya poses a threat to the nation of Kenya. The law provides for appeal to the minister against the decision and provides for appeal to the High Court. It would be interesting to see how far this matter goes.
What the constitution says
Notwithstanding the fact that the constitution does make explicit reference to belief in God, chapter two of the Kenyan constitution makes it explicitly clear that “there shall be no state religion”. Furthermore, chapter 2.10 and the Bill of Rights clearly provide an insight into the values that govern the constitution of Kenya. Taken together there is nothing in them to suggest any discrimination against minority groups.
When it comes to religious tolerance, the constitution clearly provides for the protection of one’s belief and opinion. Whether or not Kenya is a secular state can be debated, but the values enshrined in the constitution are clearly as secular as can be, and these provide protection to all citizens regardless of their worldviews.
Expression of belief in God in the constitution does not automatically make the country a religious one, but is rather an expression of the broader worldview of the nation. Notwithstanding the dominant worldview of any nation, democracies have clear statements in their “bill of rights” sections providing for the essential freedoms that underpin the expression of human conscience.
The constitutions of India and South Africa, and the First Amendment to the US constitution, are clear examples of such statements of tolerance in society.
In my view, the most fundamental ethical responsibility of any nation or society is to offer protection to its minority communities against the dominance of majority worldviews.

Source: The Conversation Media Group Ltd

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Covid-19 Vaccination, What’s The Status In The IGAD Region?

Early in the development of vaccines for Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), World Health Organization (WHO) led the establishment of the Vaccines Pillar (COVAX) of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) to ensure fair and equitable access to vaccines [1]. COVAX set a target of 2 billion doses, aiming to ensure that at least 20% of each country’s population at highest risk of severe disease, hospitalization and death could be vaccinated by the end of 2021 and a fair allocation mechanism was established for COVID-19 vaccines purchased through the COVAX Facility. This was hoped to end the acute phase of the pandemic and set the world on a path for recovery.
In December 2020, vaccination began in the United Kingdom [2]and other high income countries following Emergency Use Listing (EUL) of Pfizer vaccine. However, vaccine supply through the COVAX facility only became possible in February 2021 after EUL of AstraZeneca from the Serum Institute India. As of 28th March 2022, approximately 11.1 billion vaccine doses have been administered globally. Africa has received approximately 749 million doses (≈ 6% of global supply) and only 65% of this has been administered. At the end of February 2022, approximately 11.1% of total population of the African continent had been fully vaccinated. Majority of the countries in Africa did not attain the WHO 10% target by September 2021.
Vaccination in the IGAD region started in March 2021 with AstraZeneca from the Serum Institute India and Oxford supplied by the COVAX facility. Since then, other vaccines which include; Johnson & Johnson, Sputinik, Moderna, Pfizer, Sinovac and Sinopharm have also been delivered. As of 28th March 2022, approximately 118 million vaccine doses have been delivered in the region. This accounts for 15% of vaccines on the African continent. Most IGAD Member States fell short of the WHO 10% September 2021 target except for Kenya, Djibouti and Uganda. The percentage of total adult population vaccinated in the Member States is as of 9th March 2022 is as follows; Uganda (36.8%), Kenya (28.3%), Djibouti (19.8%), South Sudan (7.1%), Somalia (6.0%), Sudan (3.8%), Ethiopia (3.1%) and Eritrea (0.0%).
Vaccination in the IGAD region like the rest of the Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) has been marked by shortage of vaccine supply and logistics, cold chain challenges, misinformation/myths and vaccine hesitancy[3]. Mass campaigns, directives to deny public service to unvaccinated persons, mandatory vaccination, fines for failure to vaccinate, vaccine certificate for travellers and presidential declaration have been implemented across Member States to increase vaccine uptake [4, 5]. Continental initiatives to increase vaccine supply which include; African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT) and bilateral arrangements and Partnerships for African Vaccine Manufacture (PAVM) have been started [6].
WHO has set new targets of 40% by end of 2021 and 70% by mid-2022 in its strategy to achieve global vaccination by mid-2022 [7]. Approximately 40% of the vaccine as percentage of the regional population has been delivered. Except for Uganda and Djibouti, all other Member States have received less than 50% vaccine delivery as percentage of the population
Data from Multilateral Vaccine Task Force [8].
The journey to realisation of WHO targets in the region remains huge and renewed political commitment, program financing, policy, logistical supplies and increased vaccine production is urgently needed to accelerate the vaccine delivery, vaccination services and monitoring of Adverse Effects Following Immunisation (AEFI).

Reference
1. WHO, COVAX
Working for global equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. Webpage, 2020.
2. BBC, Covid-19 vaccine: First person receives Pfizer jab in UK. 2020.
3. Ministry of Health, K., Ramping up COVID-19 vaccination among Kenya’s hard-to-reach communities. 2022.
4. Yusuf, M., Kenyan Court Suspends Directive Barring Unvaccinated from Government Services. 2021.
5. Africa news, Jail or fine for Ugandans who refuse Covid -19 vaccination. new paper article, 2021.
6. CDC, A., Partnership for African Vaccine Manufacturing (PAVM) From Aspiration To Action. 2021.
7. WHO, Strategy to Achieve Global Covid-19 Vaccination by mid-2022
8. COVID-19, M.L.T.F.O., Vaccine supply and delivery. 2022.

Source: Intergovernmental Authority on Development

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Local students launch an online marketplace for learners

Shule Mall is designed to facilitate the purchase and sale of learning materials, related services and other requirements online
A group of Kenyan college students have rolled out an online shopping space targeted at learners.
The e-commerce platform, Shule Mall, which was launched on Tuesday in Nakuru, was developed by Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) student Wilfred Chege.
It is designed to facilitate the purchase and sale of learning materials, related services and other requirements online from textbooks stores, uniform dealers and supermarkets for students in secondary schools, tertiary institutions and universities.
Chege has brought on board 16 fellow students drawn from various universities, Technical Vocational Education Training Institutions (TVETS) and polytechnics to oversee the successful rollout of the platform.
The Fourth-Year student said entrepreneurs may add their students-specific outfits to Shule Mall by logging in and filling in information on their businesses such as location, contact details – including links to website and social media pages, opening and closing hours and a description of items they sell and their prices.
“We know that this platform both on iOS and Android has a huge potential, but like any other business, resilience and commitment should be our guiding factors. You first make your name before profits,” said Chege.
“Our focus now is on optimising Shule Mall’s features and creating more to keep users coming back,” he indicated of their short term plans.
Chege markets Shule Mall through social media platforms and plans to enlist 300,000 businesses on the platform by the end of this year.
“Students in boarding facilities far from their homes can also purchase public service vehicle tickets and air tickets online to facilitate their movement to and from their respective institution,” he added.
The online shopping mall features Safaricom’s Mpesa, cash on delivery and E-wallet as modes of payment.
“The platform features an E-wallet where once a parent loads cash, the targeted student is able to access goods and services from enlisted entrepreneurs. We are in talks with financial technology companies to expand modes of payment,” he said.
He allayed fears that the learners could use the platform to acquire illicit goods.
For students under 18 years, he said, Shule Mall has been equipped with security features to ensure that they do not use the platform to purchase items prohibited in schools including mobile phones, casual wear or illegal substances such as drugs and narcotics.
“For those over 18 years, the range of products they can purchase is broader and includes apparel, jewellery, drinks and beverages, electronic items among others. We will also use site traffic for advertisement revenue from corporates and advertisers,” he said.
While presiding over the Shule Mall’s launch, Rift Valley Institute of Science and Technology (RVIST) Principal Sammy Chemoiwa said the innovation has gone through an incubation cycle and advised inventors to patent their products.
“If students in TVETs, polytechnics and universities are equipped with sufficient practical skills, Kenya will be able to do business and compete globally in the technological arena,” Dr Chemoiwa said.
He added that the National Government had revised its policy to ensure that five per cent of TVETs, polytechnics and universities’ budget was channelled into innovations and incubations.
Laikipia University don, David Thuruthi, urged policymakers to work with telcos and ensure the cost of internet connectivity is not only brought down but coverage is extended to schools particularly in rural areas for such innovations to take root.
According to a report on the country’s Digital Economy by a global advisory firm, Dalberg, only 13 per cent of Kenyans are using e-commerce platforms such as Jumia and Kilimall to sell and buy products, underpinning the use of social media networks by marketers and shoppers.
The report indicates that retailers and shoppers prefer social sites that support direct marketing, engagement between businesses and buyers, and goods are paid upon delivery.
The rate of adoption of online marketplaces in Kenya remains slow due to high delivery costs, highly fragmented markets and ambiguity in streets and building naming leading to supply chain barriers, according to a report by the Communication Authority of Kenya.

Source: MY Gov