Nigeria’s frontline were in top form as they dismantled Mozambique to ease into the last eight at the end of a one-sided encounter.

The game played at the Complexe Sportif de Fès in Morocco on Monday saw Ademola Lookman open scoring in 20th minute.

This was when he steered a precise finish into the top corner after a composed square pass from industrious forward Akor Adams.

Victor Osimhen extended Nigeria’s control with two well-taken goals, struck either side of half-time in the 25th and 47th minute respectively.

The goals effectively ended Mozambique’s resistance and underlined the Super Eagles’ tournament ambitions.

Akor Adams capped an impressive display by smashing home his first goal of the tournament in the 75th minute.

His shot from close range was too hot for goalkeeper Ernan Siluane to handle, as Nigeria maintained relentless pressure throughout.

Nigeria will meet either Algeria or DR Congo in Saturday’s quarter-final, buoyed by confidence and momentum as they continue their pursuit of a fourth continental title.

Source: NAN

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This include for the first time, procurement of African-made treatment for Mozambique.

The development marks a milestone for a region that bears nearly 65 per cent of the global HIV burden and has long depended on imports of lifesaving anti-retroviral medicines and testing kits.

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus, HIV, weakens the body’s immune system, reducing its ability to fight infections and certain cancers.

Without timely intervention, it can progress to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, AIDS, the most advanced stage of infection.

World Health Organisation, WHO, in a statement on Friday, said that a Kenya-based pharmaceutical company, Universal Corporation Ltd, became the first African manufacturer to receive WHO prequalification to produce HIV medicine.

The company received prequalification to produce tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, lamivudine and dolutegravir (TLD); a first-line anti-retroviral therapy for HIV.

Now, in a major step forward, the Global Fund; a worldwide partnership financing HIV, tuberculosis and malaria responses is procuring this locally produced HIV treatment for Mozambique, making it the first time African-manufactured TLD has been deployed through this channel.

“The procurement of the African-manufactured first-line HIV treatment by the Global Fund for Mozambique is a great milestone towards strengthening supply chain systems in Africa,” Dr Meg Doherty, Director of WHO’s Global HIV Programmes, said.

“This will contribute to better health outcomes for people living with HIV who need uninterrupted medicine supplies.”

WHO says the achievement is part of a broader push to bolster local production capacity and improve access to essential health technologies across Africa.

The UN agency has been partnering with countries, manufacturers and global health organisations including the Global Fund and Unitaid to expand quality-assured African manufacturing.

“Local production of quality-assured health products is an urgent priority,” said Rogerio Gaspar, WHO Director for Regulation and Prequalification.

“With every African manufacturer that meets WHO prequalification standards, we move closer to a more self-reliant, resilient and equitable health system.”

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In spite of the milestone, WHO cautioned that production alone was not enough.

To ensure long-term sustainability, the agency is calling for advanced market commitments, fair procurement policies and ongoing technical support.

WHO also pointed to diagnostics as a critical gap. With shifting donor funding, many countries are under pressure to maintain HIV testing programmes, which are the frontline of prevention and treatment.

In a related effort, Codix Bio, a Nigerian diagnostics company, recently received a sub-licence to manufacture rapid diagnostic tests for HIV.

Locally produced HIV rapid tests will help increase affordability, and address supply chain vulnerabilities and delays.

“Having locally produced HIV rapid tests will help increase affordability, and more broadly address supply chain vulnerabilities and delays in access to diagnostics,” said Doherty.

As part of its guidance, the UN health agency is also encouraging countries to adopt low-cost, WHO-prequalified rapid HIV tests, especially as the first test in national algorithms, which can significantly cut costs while maintaining service delivery.

While the latest update marks tangible progress, more action is needed.

“Locally manufactured TLD is a major step towards that goal,” WHO said, “but more action is needed.”

Source: NAN

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The engagement was held on the sidelines of the 8th Sub-Saharan Africa International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference, in Lagos.

NCDMB’s delegation was led by the Executive Secretary, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, while Mozambique’s team was led by the chairman of Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos, Mr. Estevao Rafeal Pale.

The experience-sharing session was facilitated by Aberdeen Global Strategies & Solutions, under the leadership of Dr. Mark Osa Igiehon, who consults for ENH Mozambique.

In his introductory comments, the Executive Secretary conveyed NCDMB’s commitment to supporting African oil-producing nations in developing and implementing local content policies as a strategy for improving indigenous participation and value optimization from hydrocarbons and mineral resources.

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He lauded the giant strides recorded by Mozambique in its gas sector and advised against repeating the mistakes made by Nigeria in the early years of its oil and gas industry.

Represented by the Director of Monitoring and Evaluation, NCDMB, Mr. Abdulmalik Halilu, the Executive Secretary explained that every oil and gas-producing nation must choose to either focus on optimizing revenue generation or maximizing in-country value from the activities of the industry.

He stated that the revenue generation option encouraged oil and gas operators to seek the cheapest and fastest route to first oil, while the government collected maximum revenue in the form of taxes and royalties for development and paid little attention to value addition from industry operations.

He explained that the alternative option focused on maximizing in-country value and promoting the development and use of local capacities.

This model obligates operators in the industry to consider long-term value, while the government took lower revenue in exchange for higher in-country value and pays greater attention to life-cycle support for operators.

Speaking further, the NCDMB boss listed key parameters that are critical to in-country value addition and growth of the oil and gas sector on a sustainable basis.

These factors are Regulatory Framework, Gap Analysis, Capacity Building, Funding and Incentives, Research and Development, and Access to Market.

He hinted that a local content policy backed with appropriate legislation is very fundamental in local content practice, adding that baseline and periodic gap analyses are essential to determine gaps that need to be closed in the areas of skills, facilities and infrastructure.

He also stressed the need to develop in-country capacities and capabilities and utilise them through oil and gas projects.

The knowledge-sharing programme also featured a presentation on Funds and Funding of NCDMB, delivered by the Director of Finance and Personnel Management, NCDMB, Dr. Obinna Ofili.

The director was represented by the Head, Credit Analysis and Risk Management, Mrs. Chika Enwerem–Okidi, and underlined the need for dedicated funding that would be applied to developing local content in the oil sector.

The director mentioned that the Nigerian Content Development Fund, NCDF, was provided for in section 104 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act and is contributed by 1% of every contract awarded in the upstream section of the oil and gas industry.

He added that the NCDF had been deployed in several successful projects, including the building of human and material capacities, the $350 million Nigerian Content Intervention Fund, the ongoing development of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks Scheme, NOGAPS, the construction of the NCDMB 17-story corporate headquarters, and 3rd party investments, many of which created jobs for Nigerians and yielded interest for the board.

The second day of the knowledge-sharing programme featured presentations on the operating framework for planning, research and statistics, capacity building, projects certification and authorization and monitoring and evaluation.

The Director of Projects Certification and Authorization, Engr. Abayomi Bamidele highlighted NCDMB’s role in the award of contracts for oil and gas projects and how opportunities were captured for the local economy, using the Nigerian Content Plan and the Contracting Strategy submitted by operating companies for the Board’s review and approval.

He underlined that local content should be promoted as a national agenda for every country and the right data must be collected to establish current realities and gaps to the target.

He emphasised the need for in-country capacity building based on areas of strengths and weaknesses as well as continuous projects to keep the developed capacities engaged.

The knowledge-sharing programme was very interactive and the Mozambican officials sought clarifications on the board’s model of enforcing local content compliance, monitoring projects, supervising third-party investments, and many other areas.

The programme was convened in line with the Sectorial and Regional Market Linkage Pillar of the Nigerian Content 10-year strategic roadmap.

The roadmap requires NCDMB to support other African oil-producing countries and to develop new markets and partnership opportunities for the benefit of competent Nigerian operating and oil service companies.

NCDMB has provided similar guidance to numerous African nations, including Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda.

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The hard-earned win means the Nigerian senior women national basketball team will now meet hosts Rwanda in Thursday’s semi-finals.

Mozambique led at the break, after 18-16 and 15-13 wins in the first and second quarters, but Nigeria overcame their lethargy to eventually turn the tables around.

They outscored Mozambique 18-10 in the third quarter to set the tone to claiming the win, before a close 12-9 win in the fourth and final quarter.

With Nigeria trailing by four points at half-time, they had to find a way to get back into the game.

When the opportunity occurred, Elizabeth Balogun seized the opportunity to help Nigeria tie the contest at 40-40.

Amy Okonkwo then gave the reigning champions a short but solid advantage, before Ifunaya Okoro scored from behind the arc to give Nigeria the lead definitely.

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Mozambique tried to fight back, but they met a resilient and combative Nigeria.

Okonkwo chipped in 17 points, Balogun contributed 12 points, and Sarah Ogoke finished just one point shy from a double digit.

Nearly every Nigerian ended the game with at least two points to their credit.

However, what saved Nigeria was the depth of their bench, which produced 22 of the 59 points Nigeria needed to see off Mozambique.

Nigeria also made the difference on free throws ratio, having 14 for 18 free throws which gave them the edge over Mozambique who had 16 from 24 attempts.

The D’Tigresses also out-rebounded Mozambique 51-43, by being more active on the defensive side with 38 boards.

But ironically, the game’s best rebounder was Mozambique’s Tamara Seda.

With this win, Nigeria have also sent a message to hosts Rwanda that they will be tough nuts to crack, ready and focused on getting a fourth title in a row.

Speaking after the game, Nigeria guard Sarah Ogoke said while their opponents were good her team was better and deserved their win.

“Mozambique are a great team, and credit to them for putting up such a game. But we stayed together and we made it through,” she said.

Looking ahead to their semi-final fixture, Obote said: “We’re going to be playing against the stadium, against the fans, against the entire country.

“So it’s going to be very difficult. We will try to get us to Saturday’s final and to the 2024 Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament (WOQT).

“We definitely have what it takes to make it four titles in a row and we have a way of making things happen. And we’ll find a way.”

Source: NAN

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The Nigerian under-20 male side scored two sumptuous goals in the first-half through Samson Lawal and Ibrahim Muhammad to secure second place in Group A.

The record seven-time champions of the competition thus moved to six points while Senegal top the group with nine points following their 4-0 thumping of hosts Egypt in Cairo.

The Nigerians dominated possession at Suez Canal Stadium in Ismailia and it came as no surprise when they sealed the comfortable victory at full-time.

Muhammad tested the Mozambican goalkeeper with a speculative shot from distance after five minutes to demonstrate the intentions of the Flying Eagles.

Kimiss Zavala was well positioned to gather the effort as the Young Os Mambas weathered the early Flying Eagles’ pressure.

They continued to pile pressure on Mozambique with Haliru Sarki and Muhammad providing width to the Nigerian attack.

The Nigerians created half-chances through Sarki whose half-volley came off a Mozambican defender after 20 minutes.

Zavala also pulled a smart one-handed save to deny Ayuba Abubakarr from giving the Flying Eagles the lead.

Also, the lively Muhammad played in Abubakar who controlled the ball with his back to goal before firing straight at Zavala who made himself big.

Nigeria broke the deadlock through Lawal after 32 minutes with a stupendous strike from distance to beat the helpless Zavala.

The forward latched on to a quick interchange of passes between full-back Augustine Njoku and Sarki before beating Zavala with a powerful strike.

The Flying Eagles doubled their lead four minutes before half-time through Muhammad’s sumptuous strike from outside the area.

Muhammad Aminu cut in from the left to release the Cartagena FC striker who had a touch to set himself up before beating Zavala to make it 2-0.

The second half was an even contest with Mozambique playing on the break while Nigeria rang changes to give playing time to other members of the squad.

Substitute Jude Sunday saw his ferocious effort turned over by the busy Zavala 10 minutes into the second half.

Another Nigerian substitute, Olamilekan Adams, forced a save from Zavala as Ladan Bosso’s charges pushed more men forward.

The Young Os Mambas’ only real opportunity came late on through substitute Jose Rabelina Zavala close range effort.

The Flying Eagles join Senegal in the quarter-finals of the competition, while Egypt and Mozambique crash out.

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The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, said this in Johannesburg.

The tropical storm was expected to gain in strength on its way to Mozambique from Madagascar, where it caused heavy rains but little damage, and then continued moving in the direction of Zimbabwe and Botswana, an official said.

Storm warnings were issued in the concerned countries, and authorities in Mozambique began evacuating people from threatened areas.

The aid organisation, World Vision, estimated that more than 5.1 million people could be affected by flooding caused by Chalane.

This would have an impact on the food supply, which was already strained by the coronavirus pandemic, and also the education system.

Emergency teams stand ready in Mozambique, including from the German Red Cross, following the experience of the devastating cyclone Idai in 2019, which affected three million people and killed 600 in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

Source: dpa/NAN

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On the night that all the 12 players on the roaster scored at least two points, Promise Amukamara was the one who led the team with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 assists.

Rebound Queen, Evelyn Akhator picked up 7 and scored 9 points.

Team captain, Adaora Elonu, had 10 points, 4 assists and 3 steals with 100% records from her two points attempts while Ezinne Kalu recorded 11 points and 5 assists.

Although, Mozambique started like a house on fire in the first quarter to lead Nigeria 19-18, heading into the second quarter it was all about the coach Otis Hughley led team immediately the second quarter resumed.

The team stepped up its game with some solid defensive play and full court press to frustrate their fellow African opposition as they dominated the rest of the quarters, 23-9, 15-13, 19-10 to enjoy a 34 point victory.

Although, the team has technically qualified for Tokyo 2020, a ticket will be officially guaranteed if USA beat Mozambique in the next group game on Saturday.

Elizabeth Balogun debut for Nigeria was rewarded with 9 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals after playing 16:25 minutes.

Nigeria will face host- Serbia on Saturday.

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Otis has recalled United States of America based Upe Atosu, whose last game for Nigeria was at the 2017 Afrobasket final win over Senegal.

2019 Afrobasket Most Valuable Player Ezinne Kalu, Promise Anumakara, Atonye Nyingifa, Sarah Imovbioh and Evelyn Akhator have also been included in the 12-man list alongside team captain, Adaora Elonu.

Others include multiple Afrobasket winner Aisha Balarabe, Ify Ibekwe, whose first international debut was at the 2019 Afrobasket in Senegal as well as Victoria Macaulay.

Elizabeth Balogun who was named in the 2019 Atlantic Coast Conference Fresh Man Team while with Georgia Tech University is also on line to earn her first international cap alongside Pallas Kunnayi-Akpannah who narrowly missed the 2019 Afrobasket party.

Nigeria grouped alongside host, Mozambique, and DR Congo in Group A while Senegal will compete against Angola and Mali in Group B will open camp on November 10 in Maputo.

According to FIBA, the two group winners will join 14 other teams from Europe, Asia and the Americas to fight for the 10 Olympic slots on offer at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament

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The region has been hit by widespread flooding and devastation affecting Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

Mozambique’s President Filipe Nyusi called it “a humanitarian disaster of great proportion”.

He said more than 1,000 people may have been killed after the cyclone hit the country last week.

Cyclone Idai made landfall near the port city of Beira in Sofala province on Thursday with winds of up to 177 km/h (106 mph).

“This is shaping up to be one of the worst weather-related disasters ever to hit the southern hemisphere,” Clare Nullis, from the UN’s weather agency, told the BBC on Tuesday.

Christian Lindmeier from the UN’s World Health Organization, said: “We need all the logistical support that we can get.”

Mozambique’s government said 84 people had died and 100,000 needed to be urgently rescued near Beira.

An aerial survey of the province showed that a 50km (30 mile) stretch of land was under water after the Buzi river burst its banks, charity Save The Children said.

The governor of neighbouring Manica province, Manuel Rodrigues, says there is an urgent need to rescue people still trapped, the BBC’s Jose Tembe reports.

“It’s very sad and very complicated, given what we saw when we flew over the area. We saw people besieged and asking for help,” Mr Rodrigues told reporters.

“They were on top of their roofs made up of zinc sheets. Others under flood waters. We saw many people.

“We can only imagine that they had been there for more than two or three days, without food and without clean drinking water.”

‘It was like a war’

Nelson Moda was in Beira in Mozambique when the storm hit.

He told his story to the BBC OS radio programme:

“It was my son’s birthday on 14 March and we were all at home. In the morning this strong storm started and it was moving the city, the trees, and the houses.

“It was like a war. It was horrific. The children were crying and we were hiding in the bathroom. I could see people dying and the house where I live has been destroyed.

“There are children who now have no father, no mother, and no home. I saw the city where I grew up being destroyed with my naked eyes.

“In Beira, there are no basic services and people don’t know what they’re going to eat or where they’re going to sleep.

“I haven’t been able to sleep since that night.”

In Zimbabwe, the government says 98 people have been killed and more than 200 are missing.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa said that the government was conducting rescue missions and delivering food aid.

In the south-eastern town of Chimanimani residents told harrowing stories of how they lost their relatives when the storm hit.

Some rescuers said homes and even bodies were washed away in the rivers to neighbouring Mozambique, the BBC’s Shingai Nyoka reports.

Floods of up to six metres deep had caused “incredible devastation” over a huge area in Mozambique, World Food Programme regional chief Lola Castro said.

At least 1.7 million people were in the direct path of the cyclone in Mozambique and 920,000 have been affected in Malawi, the UN said.

In Zimbabwe, at least 20,000 houses have been partially damaged in the south-eastern town of Chipinge, 600 others were completely destroyed.

Local officials say they are distributing rice and maize from the national food reserve to those displaced.

What are the relief teams doing?

In Mozambique, several aid agencies are assisting government efforts in the search and rescue operations and in the distribution of food aid, ReliefWeb reports.

Telecoms Sans Frontiers has sent a team to Beira to help set up communication networks – which has been severely hindered – for humanitarian operations.

Many aid trucks are stuck on the impassable roads and unable to reach their destinations.

The conditions have also limited air operations.

Mozambique’s National Institute for Disaster Management is also housing 3,800 families in Sofala province.

The Red Cross has warned there could be an outbreak of waterborne diseases, including cholera, due to the expected contamination of the water supply and disruption of usual water treatment.

A cargo plane carrying emergency supplies is also scheduled to arrive in Mozambique Sacha Myers, from Save The Children, told the BBC.

Source:  BBC

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