Cours universitaires sur Zoom, visio-conférences de travail, rendez-vous bancaires ou administratifs en vidéo et autres « apéros virtuels » entre amis : confinements et couvre-feu ont fait, depuis près d'un an, boire à chacun le calice de la vie numérique jusqu'à la lie. Si, pour les séries, films et jeux vidéos, la claustration imposée n'a fait qu'amplifier un état de fait, celle-ci a en revanche touché tout autrement le monde de l'art contemporain.
- ContrebandeLe premier ministère a annoncé aujourd’hui 16 mars 2021, dans un communiqué, la reconduction des mesures du confinement partiel dans 16 wilayas, et ce jusqu’à début avril prochain. Selon le communiqué du premier ministère, ou il a été question de reconduire confinement partiel, cette mesure va s’étendre pendant 15 jours, soit jusqu’au début du mois […]
L’article Covid-19 : Le confinement prolongé jusqu’à Avril dans 16 wilayas est apparu en premier sur .
Réckya Madougou a confirmé la transaction de 15 millions de FCFA effectuée à son collaborateur Georges Sacca. Les fonds sont transférés dans le cadre de la mobilisation pour la pré-campagne à l'élection présidentielle et non pas pour financer un projet d'assassinat ou de terrorisme. Ces aveux mettent à nu quelques incohérences.
La candidate du parti d'opposition ‘'Les Démocrates'' a vu son dossier de candidature à l'élection présidentielle rejeter le 22 février 2021, date à laquelle la Commission Electorale Nationale Autonome (CENA) a publié la liste provisoire des candidats retenus. Dans sa lettre citée par Jeune Afrique, dame Réckya Madougou reconnaît avoir transféré les fonds pour la mobilisation pour la pré-campagne à l'élection présidentielle. Selon des sources proches du dossier la remise de fonds a été effectuée le 24 février 2021 soit deux jours après la publication de la liste de la CENA. La candidate est disqualifiée à la présidentielle mais elle a transféré des sous (15 millions FCFA) pour « la mobilisation de la pré-campagne pour l'élection du 11 Avril 2021 ». Comment peut-on faire une pré-campagne à un scrutin auquel on ne participe pas ? A la lumière de ces dates, des doutes subsistent quant au mobile de la transaction.
Réckya Madougou est poursuivie pour « association de malfaiteurs et terrorisme » ainsi que trois autres accusés devant la Cour de répression des infractions économiques et du terrorisme (Criet). Elle est en détention à la prison civile d'Akpro-Missérété depuis le vendredi 5 Mars 2021.
M. M.
Credit: @ Mahnaz Yazdani
By Jan Lundius
STOCKHOLM / ROME, Mar 16 2021 (IPS)
Inequality characterizes the world we live in, predisposing how we act and think. We perceive our existence as composed of dichotomies – men and women, young and old, black or white, as well as a difference between those who have and those who do not have access to wealth, health, education and influence. Dichotomies are also born out of comparisons, about how things are now and how they could have been, how they were before and how they are now.
COVID-19 is on the mind of a majority of the world’s population and as in everything else what is happening to us it is influenced by inequalities. Many are exhausted from isolation and worries: personal and economic losses mingle with ignorance about what COVID-19 really is and how it will develop. Among the many factors governing decisions concerning the pandemic are preconceived differences between nations and age groups.
During a briefing on the 18th of June and 2nd of July last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) proposed A Global Framework to Ensure Equitable and Fair Allocation of COVID-19 Products. The recommendations were based on statistics indicating that one percent of the world’s population are healthcare system workers, while eight percent are 65 years and older, and a further 15 percent adults have “comorbidities”, which place them in high risk for fatal COVID-19 infections.
Most governments have declared they intend to follow WHO’s recommended allocations for a vaccine roll-out, by prioritizing “health- and social care workers” as the first group to receive the COVID vaccine. These people are in “developed countries” estimated to constitute three percent of the population. The second stage of vaccinations will benefit individuals who are at “high risk” and/or “above 65 years of age” (approximately 20 percent), while a third stage will benefit “further priority groups”, whose need is based on their health conditions (20 percent).
It may be emphasized that WHO’s Allocation Framework was foremost recommended to be applicable to “low income countries” and “low and middle income countries”, while making it free for “self-financing” nations to acquire a preferential access to a still limited global access to COVID vaccines. This means that wealthy nations are free to enter into advance purchase agreements with manufacturers and thus capture the constrained supply of vaccines, most of them have already secured preferential access, meaning that they currently control a larger proportion of the vaccine supply.
However, under a scheme called Covax WHO intends to, in cooperation with the Global Vaccine Alliance (Gavi) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (Cepi), ensure that 92 “poorer countries” will receive access to vaccines, at the same time as 98 “wealthier countries”. Currently Covax has raised 6 billion USD, but at least another 2 billion USD are still needed to meet its target for 2021.
Vaccines produced in the UK, US, Europe, Russia and China have already been approved and bought and are now being distributed in countries around the world. High-income countries are currently holding 4.2 billion doses of COVID vaccines, while low-middle income nations have obtained 670 million, meaning that rich nations, representing 14 percent of the world’s population, so far has bought up more than half of the most promising vaccines.
Accordingly, poor countries are still lagging behind in the race for obtaining enough vaccine, while several of the Covax signatories, which have provided funding to the programme, are directly negotiating their own deals with pharmaceutical companies. Accordingly, they may be undermining the initiative by taking doses off the market, risking that demand will continue to outstrip supply. Of course, every political leader wants to protect her/his own population first, though during a global pandemic no country can be safe until all countries are protected.
The facts above are clear for all to see, though they are just the tip of an iceberg of inequalities connected with COVID-19. One aspect that so far has not been widely acknowledged is the degree to which youngsters and children are affected by and suffering from the effects of COVID-19. They are actually those who are scheduled to be the last ones to obtain the COVID vaccine. This group does not only include adolescents, but the entire so called Generation Z, i.e. the demographic cohort which grew up with internet and portable digital technology and whose majority now is taking care of the sick and elderly, as well as maintaining the production and services that support us all.
Small children are also hard hit by COVID-19. The number of children under five dying from avoidable diseases increased considerably last year, since the pandemic in many nations has paused the fight against infectious diseases and overturned vaccination programs. Children and young people are also experiencing increased abuse and neglect due to COVID-19. Particularly young people, and women to a higher degree than men, are suffering from closure of schools, universities and diminished job opportunities. A worrisome trend is that at least 13 million girls are assumed to have been married off at an earlier age than before, mainly due to school closures and missed education- and job opportunities.
For those of us who have children and grandchildren, young and old, COVID-19 now confirms that our generation has let them down. With good reason, our young ones raise their voices accusing us for belonging to a generation that has been willing to sacrifice its children for its own welfare. It is only when we ourselves are being threatened that we have been prepared to take drastic action. Young people might tell us: “Look what you have left behind as heritage to us – a wrecked climate, a polluted earth and weapons of mass destruction, and now you demand that we remain secluded at home to prevent you from being infected with COVID-19.”
When I observe young people and children around me it is easy to discern the difficulties they have to cope with. How they struggle with themselves and their existence. Most young people feel worse now, than before COVID-19. They worry more about their future, while fewer and fewer think life is meaningful. Youngsters, finding themselves in a period of life when social interaction is crucial for their development and well-being, are now being secluded between four walls in homes that many of them are forced to share with frustrated, ageing and nagging parents.
The majority of the world’s children did not go to school last year and it has been demonstrated that the education of those students who received distance education have slipped behind. Danish researchers found that eight-graders in Copenhagen who due to COVID-closure did not go school gained an average of 7.6 kilos, of which 3.3 kilos were pure fat. Children simply stopped moving. In other areas the effect may have been the opposite when children from poor families have missed their school lunches.
A survey by the German Institute for Economic Research (Ifo) found that students on average had halved the time they spent on learning and homework, while Germany’s weekly magazine, Der Spiegel, warned that poorer education entails a risk of physical and mental illness, while reporting that education economists had calculated that four months of closed schools reduced a future annual income by 2.5 percent.
It has been stated that the financial crisis that shock the world 15 years ago led to around 10,000 more suicides than normal. Currently, European and American organisations working to prevent suicides are warning that their hotlines are getting overworked. The economic distress of millions of young people and struggling families trying to make ends meet, due to lay-offs and decreasing job opportunities in the wake of COVID-19, does not bode well for the future.
Unfortunately, I do not think I am an alarmist. It is high time we concern ourselves with the welfare of the world’s children and young people. Let as take the COVID-19 as a warning and let us remind ourselves that we cannot act in a laissez-fair manner by avoiding what parents have done before us – considering the well-being of their children to be their main priority.
Main sources: BBC: Covax: How will Covid vaccines be shared around the world? 24 February https://www.bbc.com/news/world-55795297, Ifo Insitute: COVID-19 school closures hit low-achieving students particularly hard. 15 November 2020 https://www.ifo.de/en/node/60075 Gardell, Jonas; Vi offrar barnens hälsa och framtid i covidstrategin, 1 March https://www.expressen.se/kultur/jonas-gardell/vi-offrar-barnens-halsa-och-framtid-i-covidstrategin/
Jan Lundius holds a PhD. on History of Religion from Lund University and has served as a development expert, researcher and advisor at SIDA, UNESCO, FAO and other international organisations.
Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
The post Inequality, COVID-19 and the Plight of the Young appeared first on Inter Press Service.
Plusieurs entreprises ont reçu ce mardi 16 mars 2021, leurs certificats de conformité sanitaire. Il s'agit d'un document qui leur permet de conformer leurs productions et leurs produits aux normes et règlementation sanitaire en vigueur au Bénin. Cela dénote également de la bonne marche du partenariat public privé dans le pays.
La cérémonie de remise de certificats de conformité sanitaire aux entreprises récipiendaires intervient dans le cadre de la mise en œuvre du Projet d'appui au renforcement des acteurs du secteur privé (PARASEP). Sur les 50 entreprises inscrites pour obtenir ce certificat délivré par l'Agence béninoise de sécurité sanitaire des aliments (ABSSA), 29 ont pu réussir au terme du processus.
Le PARASEP conduit par le ministère du plan et du développement a pour objectif de contribuer au renforcement des acteurs du secteur privé béninois et de l'environnement des affaires afin de promouvoir l'investissement privé, la croissance, l'emploi, et de lutter contre la pauvreté. Les filières ananas, karité et avicole sont visées.
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Un tête-à-tête s'est tenu, mardi 16 mars 2021, à la Présidence de la République entre l'ex attaché de défense du Bénin aux États-Unis et le Chef de l'Etat Patrice Talon. Le colonel Pascal Tawès à la retraite depuis 2013 a demandé l'intervention du Chef de l'Etat pour un règlement diligent de sa « situation administrative ».
Le Chef de l'Etat Patrice Talon a reçu au Palais de la Marina l'ex attaché de défense affecté aux Etats-Unis en 2011. « J'étais à cette audience pour rendre compte au Chef de l'Etat de ma situation administrative actuelle. Comme vous le savez mieux que moi d'ailleurs, j'ai été envoyé aux États -Unis en qualité d'attaché de défense en 2011 avec un visa d'un an renouvelable. Je suis retraité depuis Octobre 2013 », a confié le colonel Pascal Tawès à sa sortie de l'audience. M. Tawès ajoute qu'il a été laissé pour compte par le régime de Boni Yayi. « (…) malheureusement, les différents responsables de l'ancien régime ne m'ont pas accordé l'assistance nécessaire efficace qui permette le retour de ma famille au Bénin de manière sereine. C'est pour cette raison que j'ai rencontré le Président de la République pour qu'il intervienne pour un règlement diligent de mon dossier administratif ». A l'en croire, il a eu l'assurance du Chef de l'Etat Patrice Talon quant à la régularisation de sa situation. « Le Chef de l'Etat m'a bien reçu. Il m'a donné des directives et des conseils nécessaires et il m'a promis instruire les structures concernées afin que je sois satisfait », a conclu le colonel à la retraite.
L'audience entre le Chef de l'Etat et Pascal Tawès, l'un de ses détracteurs les plus virulents, intervient à quelques jours du lancement de la campagne pour la présidentielle du 11 avril. Malgré ses prises de position contre la gouvernance actuelle, Pascal Tawès est reçu à la Présidence. C'est un message de paix que le Chef de l'Etat envoie à tous les Béninois dans le cadre du processus électoral en cours.
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