From 10 to 20 cases of contamination per day, the number of cases of Ebola has gone from 10 to 20 cases per day on Wednesday, October 02, 2019 to only one. In short, great progress has been made thanks to the curative and effective molecule discovered by Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe. Prime Minister Sylvestre Ilunga Ilunkamlba discussed the situation with the Ebola Virus Coordination Team.

Accompanied by the Deputy Minister of Health, Albert Mpeti Biyombo, team leader and virologist Muyembe Tamfum reviewed the disease’s progress in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri.

At the basis of this success, the organization of the fight associated with the administration of the curative and effective molecule that has been discovered. To this must be added the support of the population, which has a better understanding of the importance of its role as a component in the fight. Finally, the support and financing of partners.

The Ebola Virus Coordination Team Leader also indicated that coordination requires financial support. This will make it possible to continue to motivate the staff involved in the fight in the field so as not to lose all these achievements. And soon several partners involved in this fight will benefit from World Bank funding.

Dr. Muyembe asked the Head of Government to increase the number of these types of meetings for better information sharing with the objective of maintaining vigilance.

This working session took place on Thursday, October 3, 2019 at the Prime Minister’s Office.

Nadine FULA

A feedback workshop on the first meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on the new Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework was held in Kinshasa from 1 to 3 October 2019 at the initiative of the General Secretariat for Environment and Sustainable Development, with the support of partners.

Experts from both public and private institutions in the DRC, representatives of environmental civil society organizations as well as indigenous peoples and local communities took part. The aim is to immerse ourselves in the results of the conference held from 27 to 30 August in Kenya.

The aim of this workshop was to encourage stakeholders to become involved in the preparatory process of the above-mentioned framework, as recommended in decision 14/34. And launch the consultation process on possible elements of a post-2020 global biodiversity framework as proposed.

Stakeholders shared the results of the first meeting of the Working Group for three days to select elements of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework relevant to the DRC. This will allow the DRC to better prepare itself to participate in the next meetings planned in the same framework and to share its agreed priorities in a consensual manner at the country level.

« Kenya’s meeting was important in that it reassured us that, at the international level, the priorities selected by the DRC in the field of biodiversity are beautiful and well integrated into this new global biodiversity framework. It should also be noted that the funding that will be mobilized globally for biodiversity in the next decade will be directed towards actions in line with this new framework, » said Mike Ipanga, focal point of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at the Ministry of the Environment.

In practice, the new Global Biodiversity Framework is intended to succeed the Strategic Plan for Biological Diversity 2011-2020. It should therefore be based on the lessons learned from the implementation of the plan and the Aichi biodiversity objectives and the best available scientific knowledge.

« Today’s reflections have turned around three objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the first of which is zero deforestation, zero species loss and a 50% reduction in man’s consumption and production footprint, » said Alfred Yoko, head of the Wildlife and Wild Flora Programme at WWF/DRC.

Olivier Kamo

The exchanges between the delegates of the DRC and those of Zambia regarding the shortage of maize flour in the province of Haut Katanga are already bearing fruit. Zambia has agreed to export 5 million metric tons of maize flour to the Congolese province of Upper Katanga. The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding sanctioned discussions on the import of maize flour between the Governments of the DRC and Zambia.

The signing of this memorandum of understanding is in line with the objective of facilitating and promoting the economic growth of these two neighbouring countries as well as trade, given that trade is the lever of the national economy. It also aims to help the people of Upper Katanga out of the shortage and instability of maize flour prices.

For the Zambian side, the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two parties is the result of several technical meetings held with representatives of two countries.

The Congolese side was represented by the Minister in charge of the national economy, Acasia Bandubola; the Minister of Foreign Trade, Jean Lucien Busa; Ambassador Chantal Maloba and the Governor of Haut-Katanga province, Jacques Kiabula.

On the Zambian side, the presence of the Minister of Agriculture, Michael Zondani; the Minister of Foreign Affairs; farmers’ representatives; the Governor of Luapula Province and some economic operators was noted.

Olivier Kamo