The $11 Billion Trans-Kalahari Railway (TKR) on Course
Botswana and Namibia were to sign a bilateral agreement for the development of the Trans-Kalahari Railway deal on April 20, 2013. This was not to be as the signing was postponed after the Namibia requested for more time to finalize the technical issues involved.
The two South African countries had in 2009 signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the TKR but it is not enough to pave way for the commencement of the project. The bilateral agreement is required for corporation between the two countries and to pave way for the appointment of transaction consultants to lead the mega project.
The proposed TKR is meant to link Botswana’s Mmamabula coalfields with the Walvis Bay Port in Namibia. The 1 500 km railway line is expected to boost trade in Botswana and turn it into a regional trade hub.
According to Botswana’s Ministry of Transport and Communications, the railway project would contribute to economic development of the country by means of promoting regional trade and attracting direct investment from foreign investors.
The TKR route will run parallel to the Trans-Kalahari Highway (TKH) which will facilitate faster and more efficient transportation of goods between the two countries.
Sh2.8 Billion Spent On Medicine
Kenya Medical Supplies Authority has spent more than Sh2.8 billion in the first quarter of the year in buying medicine for the 47 counties. It predicts an expenditure of Sh8 billion this financial year. Fred Wanyonyi, the director of legal services said the figure has surpassed the previous national budget allocated to Ministry of Health.
Wanyonyi Director said all counties are able to access medicine. Speaking in Hola after supplying drugs worth Sh20 million, he said Kmsa has supplied medicine in 45 counties.
Medical Aid Group Launches Fundraiser for Central Africa Republic
The medical aid group Doctors Without Borders -- known by its French acronym MSF -- has launched an appeal in South Africa to raise $50,000 for its operations in the Central African Republic (CAR).  The campaign -- called #ActForCAR -- says the funds are urgently needed to help some of the 1 million Central Africans displaced over the past 15 months.
Speaking at the launch of the MSF fundraising drive in Johannesburg on Wednesday, South African psychologist Gail Wormersley said thousands of displaced people in the CAR are living in human misery and terror.
She appealed to South Africans to urgently donate at least $50,000 for water purification, malaria treatment, food supplements for children and general medical care.
Wormersley, who spent six weeks in the CAR providing psychological counseling to patients and MSF staff, described the mood of the victims as dominated by hopelessness.
Africa's growing need for medical expertise
Africa is on the rise. The evidence is everywhere. In a 2011 report, the World Bank declared that “Africa could be on the brink of an economic take-off.” The World Health Organization (WHO) 2011 African Regional Health Report revealed that Africa has made significant progress in the battle against many communicable diseases, including river blindness, malaria, leprosy and measles, among others.
And yet just beneath the surface of this happy story is a troubling trend. Even as Africa’s future has brightened in recent years, the continent has seen a dramatic increase in noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. In its 2010 Global Status Report on Noncommunicable Diseases, the World Health Organization noted that NCDs in Africa “are rising rapidly and are projected to exceed communicable, maternal, perinatal, and nutritional diseases as the most common causes of death by 2030.”
