<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/LQFQKYWYQZKDROPUGCXEOE2MUE-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-417431" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/LQFQKYWYQZKDROPUGCXEOE2MUE-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/LQFQKYWYQZKDROPUGCXEOE2MUE-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/LQFQKYWYQZKDROPUGCXEOE2MUE-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/LQFQKYWYQZKDROPUGCXEOE2MUE-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/LQFQKYWYQZKDROPUGCXEOE2MUE.jpg 960w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>The headquarters of the People&#8217;s Bank of China, the central bank, is pictured in Beijing, China, as the country is hit by an outbreak of the new coronavirus, February 3, 2020. REUTERS/Jason Lee</figcaption></figure>



LONDON/PARIS, May 31 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;China&#8217;s lack of experience with tricky debt restructurings and slow coordination among its public lenders is holding up debt relief for Zambia, a test case for the top emerging market creditor, three sources familiar with the matter said.



Zambia became in 2020 the first country to default in the COVID-19 pandemic era, struggling under a debt burden worth 120% of GDP. Its external debt topped $17 billion at the end of 2021, of which a third was owed to China, according to Zambian government data.



China agreed last month to co-chair Zambia&#8217;s official creditor committee with France, a move welcomed by Zambia&#8217;s government, which has made tackling the country&#8217;s debts a priority since taking power last year.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2X10KH&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Emerging market investors and other debtor countries are closely watching Zambia&#8217;s case for signs of how lenient Beijing will be in the future with overextended borrowers.



China became over the last decade the dominant public lender to African countries, extending $160 billion in credit since 2000, according to Boston University researchers.



&#8220;There is a learning curve for China and that is something we need to recognise,&#8221; said a French official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivities of the issue.



The official also cited &#8220;delays in the internal processes of China&#8221;, adding, &#8220;we also need to have better coordination among China itself, because there are a lot of agencies that have been lending&#8221;.



With the creditor committee still to have its first meeting, G7 finance ministers called on China to &#8220;contribute constructively&#8221; to the debt relief process after a meeting in Germany this month.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2XB1T2&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



China&#8217;s foreign ministry said in a statement emailed to Reuters that the country attached &#8220;great importance to Zambian concerns about debt and supports multilateral efforts to resolve its debt problem&#8221;.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-costly-precedent">&#8216;COSTLY PRECEDENT&#8217;</h2>



Another source familiar with the situation said that while China&#8217;s central bank had been willing to move ahead, the finance ministry has been wary of &#8220;setting a costly precedent&#8221; elsewhere if it accepts big losses on loans made to Zambia.



The source added that the finance ministry was in particular looking out for China&#8217;s development banks, through which much of Chinese credit is extended.



A third source familiar with the situation told Reuters that, alongside coordinating its many lenders, China has been hesitant to take part in the Group of 20 leading economies&#8217; multilateral debt process, versus bilateral negotiations where it can also focus on the country&#8217;s broader strategic goals.



China&#8217;s foreign ministry did not respond specifically to questions about whether delays were partly due to internal coordination issues and unwillingness to accept losses on loans.



Zambia&#8217;s case is likely to be watched closely in other countries. Sri Lanka, for example, defaulted on its debt for the first time this month and owes money to a mix of creditors including China, India, Japan and Eurobond holders.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2WO6GP&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Zambia reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund on a $1.4 billion extended credit facility in December, but the money cannot flow until Lusaka and its creditors agree on reducing the debt to sustainable levels.



&#8220;China is ready to work with the international community and continue to provide within its capability Zambia with the necessary support to address its current practical difficulties,&#8221; the Chinese foreign ministry&#8217;s statement said.



Zambia&#8217;s finance minister has repeatedly said he hopes the negotiations will be concluded by the end of June, a timetable analysts deem ambitious.



&#8220;Our debt burden is choking our country&#8217;s growth potential and the debt restructuring exercise is becoming more urgent day by day,&#8221; Zambia&#8217;s finance ministry said in an emailed statement in response to questions about China&#8217;s role in the debt process.



(Reporting by Rachel Savage and Leigh Thomas; Additional reporting by Marc Jones in London, Yew Lun Tian in Beijing and Chris Mfula in Lusaka; Editing by Alison Williams)

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Test case Zambia exposes China’s rookie status on debt relief – sources

May 31 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South African miner Gold Fields Ltd&nbsp;GFIJ.J&nbsp;on Tuesday agreed to buy Canada-based precious metals miner Yamana Gold Inc&nbsp;YRI.TO&nbsp;in an all-share deal, valuing the Toronto-listed company at $6.7 billion.



Gold Fields said its shareholders will own about 61% of the combined group, while Yamana Gold shareholders will own around 39% after the deal completes.



The South African miner said Yamana&#8217;s board has unanimously approved the deal and also recommended its shareholders to vote in favour of the offer.



The offer consists of new shares or newly issued American Depositary Shares in Gold Fields at a fixed exchange ratio of 0.6 of a Gold Fields share for each Yamana share outstanding.



Shares of Yamana will be delisted from the stock markets, while Gold Fields will continue trading in Johannesburg, where the combined group will have their headquarters.



(Reporting by Amna Karimi and Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Uttaresh.V and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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S.Africa’s Gold Fields to buy Yamana Gold in $6.7 bln deal

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="538" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/D3OWYTDPXBPDVMWIXKXO7YOHPE-820x538.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-417427" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/D3OWYTDPXBPDVMWIXKXO7YOHPE-820x538.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/D3OWYTDPXBPDVMWIXKXO7YOHPE-300x197.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/D3OWYTDPXBPDVMWIXKXO7YOHPE-137x90.jpg 137w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/D3OWYTDPXBPDVMWIXKXO7YOHPE-768x504.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/D3OWYTDPXBPDVMWIXKXO7YOHPE.jpg 960w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>A view shows an installed air quality monitoring device outside the Uganda National Meteorological Authority (UNMA) station at the Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda May 27, 2022. REUTERS/Abubaker Lubowa</figcaption></figure>



KAMPALA, May 30 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Ugandan researchers have developed low-cost air quality monitoring sensors that work in extreme conditions and will allow Uganda to switch from expensive imported monitors in its bid to tackle rising air pollution.



Kampala, Uganda&#8217;s capital home to two million people, ranks among the world&#8217;s most polluted cities, with pollution levels up to seven times higher than the World Health Organisation&#8217;s safe standards, according to the 2021 World Air Quality Report.



Engineer Bainomugisha, who leads the research at Makerere University in Kampala, said the team had been motivated by the growing death toll caused by air pollution around the world.



Pollution remains the world’s largest environmental threat to human health, and in 2017 was responsible for 15% of all deaths globally, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://gahp.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/PollutionandHealthMetrics-final-12_18_2019.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a>&nbsp;by the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP).



&#8220;That (number of deaths caused by pollution) was really an eye opener&#8230; to come in with technology solutions and how we could contribute to improving air quality,&#8221; Bainomugisha said.



Around 28,000 people per year die as a result of air pollution in Uganda, according to GAHP.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-rwanda-s-kagame-visits-uganda-s-museveni-as-relations-thaw">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/rwandas-kagame-visits-ugandas-museveni-as-relations-thaw/">Rwanda’s Kagame visits Uganda’s Museveni as relations thaw</a></h3>



The AirQo air quality monitoring project, which is partly funded by Google&nbsp;GOOGL.O, relies on a network of sensors, which cost $150 a piece, to gather air quality data around Kampala.



Using artificial intelligence technology and machine learning, this data is then processed before it is uploaded onto a cloud-based service accessible to consumers and the public via a smart phone application.



Kampala, where major sources of pollution include dust from unpaved roads, wood fuel use, vehicle and industrial emissions and open burning of solid waste, previously relied on air quality monitors mostly imported from the United States at about $30,000 a piece.



The equipment, which required expensive maintenance, broke down frequently because they were not designed specifically for the local environment, city officials say.



Bainomugisha said AirQo&#8217;s monitoring devices are installed around the city including in schools, residential areas, and on motorbike taxis.



Designed to withstand conditions including extreme heat and dust, the devices are powered both by electricity from the grid and solar power to allow them to operate when power supplies are interrupted, he said.



(Writing by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Duncan Miriri and Raissa Kasolowsky)

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Ugandan researchers develop low cost sensors to track air pollution

<ul><li>Prices of fuel, transport and drugs on the increase</li></ul>



<ul><li>Aid groups forced to cancel or review projects</li></ul>



<ul><li>Cost of peanut paste for malnourished kids also rises</li></ul>



<ul><li>Some countries diverting aid money to Ukraine crisis</li></ul>



By Edward McAllister



DAKAR, May 30 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;A small charity broke ground this year on a clinic in northern Burkina Faso to care for thousands of women and children who have fled Islamist insurgents wreaking havoc along the fringes of the Sahara.



But when Russia invaded Ukraine in February, global supply chains buckled and the cost of building materials, fuel and food spiked in West Africa. The charity&#8217;s founder, Boukary Ouedraogo, was forced to make a tough decision: he halted construction of the clinic with only the foundations laid.



Similar calls are being made across sub-Saharan Africa, where aid projects are threatened by the fallout from the war in Ukraine, potentially putting millions of lives at risk.



Humanitarian agencies already struggling with widespread price increases under the pandemic say the crisis in Europe has made things worse. Even the cost of life-saving therapeutic foods for malnourished children has spiked.



Compounding the problem, some donors have diverted state aid from Africa&#8217;s worst-hit countries to help support more than six million refugees who have fled the fighting in Ukraine.



Denmark said in March it was halving its aid to Burkina Faso this year to accommodate Ukrainian refugees. Its budget for Burkina&#8217;s neighbour Mali, also in the grips of an Islamist insurgency, has dropped 40%.



Sweden has also said it plans to divert $1 billion from its aid budget to help cover the cost of hosting Ukrainian refugees.



Ouedraogo&#8217;s clinic was desperately needed in Kaya, a town of dirt streets and squat brick buildings surrounded by arid scrubland. Its population has swelled in recent years as thousands of people from surrounding villages flee militant attacks, straining the already basic health care system.



&#8220;What happened in Ukraine happened at the same time as the crisis in this country got worse,&#8221; said Ouedraogo, who runs the BO Foundation in Burkina Faso.



&#8220;We hope all the donors can keep their attention,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We felt what we were doing was going to reduce the number of deaths and infant mortality.&#8221;



EMERGENCY LEVELS



It&#8217;s a similar story in Sudan. In a southern area faced with conflict and food shortages, a paediatric clinic run by Senegal-based medical charity Alima faces a $300,000 funding gap due to an increase in costs, including fuel for the clinic&#8217;s generator.



At this rate, Alima will have to shut the programme down, said its director of operations, Kader Issaley.



Action Against Hunger, a charity with operations across Africa, has seen the cost of foodstuffs such as rice, oil and sugar rise 20% to 30% over the past year.



This will reduce its coverage by the same amount, said Mamadou Diop, a representative from its West Africa office.



&#8220;We have to totally rethink our approach,&#8221; said Diop. &#8220;We must decide, do we reduce supply or reduce the number of beneficiaries?&#8221;



The problem is not limited to Africa. The U.N.&#8217;s World Food Programme (WFP) feeds 13 million people a month in Yemen, where the economy has been wrecked by years of war, but it has reduced rations for 8 million of them since January.



It may have to make further cuts, after raising only a quarter of the $2 billion it needs for Yemen this year from international donors.



&#8220;We&#8217;re taking food from the poor and feeding the hungry,&#8221; said WFP representative to Yemen, Richard Ragan.



&#8220;In June we will have to make some tough decisions about possibly even going down to just feeding five million, those who are really most at risk,&#8221; he said&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2XE07I&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



UNIQUE IN SCOPE



Still, Africa&#8217;s problems are unique in scope.



Conflict in Ethiopia, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo and the Sahel region have forced millions to flee their homes. Nearly half a billion people live in extreme poverty, according to the World Bank.



West Africa alone faces an unprecedented food shortage that threatens nearly 40 million people, driven in part by drought and the impact of the war in Ukraine on food prices and supply.



The impact of higher costs on aid organisations varies, health specialists say.



Smaller non-profits reliant on institutional donors such as governments for yearly budgets may struggle more than a larger charity such as Medecins Sans Frontieres, which raises money through public campaigns.



MSF said it did not foresee cutting back its operations due to the war in Ukraine.



But few are immune. A drop in funding that preceded the Ukraine war has forced WFP to cut rations in seven countries in West and Central Africa.



In Nigeria, the continent&#8217;s most populous country, the number of people receiving emergency assistance from WFP has dropped from 1.9 million in September to 650,000.



Like Burkina Faso and Mali, northern Nigeria is also wracked by a prolonged Islamist insurgency.



Health specialists and aid workers said it was too early to assess exactly what the impact on communities will be and it could take months to see how much damage the cutbacks cause.



&#8220;Further funding shortfalls will contribute to worsening food security and nutrition in locations where food insecurity is already at emergency levels,&#8221; said WFP spokesman for Western Africa, Djaounsede Madjiangar.



PLUMPY&#8217;NUT SPIKE



In Somalia, one-year-old Hassan howled in a blue plastic bucket suspended from a scale as a medical technician noted his weight: 5.6 kg.



It was an improvement. Hassan weighed only 5.2 kg when he first began receiving treatment for severe acute malnutrition at a clinic run by aid workers in the south of the country three months ago &#8211; about half what a boy his age should weigh.



His partial recovery is thanks to a sweet peanut paste called Plumpy&#8217;Nut developed by French scientists in the 1990s that has become a crucial weapon in the fight against child malnutrition.



Three small sachets a day for six weeks can be enough to bring a starving child back to full health, according to U.N. children&#8217;s charity UNICEF.



&#8220;He used to be much worse,&#8221; said the boy&#8217;s mother, Hasan Habiba Mohammed Nur, patting his bony legs under an oversized T-shirt. &#8220;The Plumpy&#8217;Nut has really helped him.&#8221;



UNICEF says it spends $137 million a year on therapeutic food and the overall market is estimated to be worth up to $400 million.



But aid agencies say it is becoming too expensive.



Over the past year, the cost of Plumpy&#8217;Nut has risen 23%, including a 9% increase imposed since the Ukraine crisis began, Plumpy&#8217;Nut&#8217;s main producer Nutriset, told Reuters.



In a letter to customers in March warning of impending price increases, it said the cost of ingredients such as palm oil, milk powder and whey, and packaging including laminate for the sachets, had risen sharply. Shipping expenses have also rocketed. In all, costs are up 39%, Nutriset said.



&#8220;The war in Ukraine is indirectly impacting the price of raw materials, and prices will continue to increase even more in the weeks and months to come,&#8221; Nutriset said.



The increases worry UNICEF. It predicts that prices of therapeutic foods will rise 16% in the next six months because of Ukraine and pandemic disruptions. Without further funding, 600,000 more children may miss out on treatment, it said in May.



The effects are already being felt, aid workers say.



Alima&#8217;s budget to buy and ship a batch of Plumpy&#8217;Nut to a project in an impoverished area in the southeast of Democratic Republic of Congo is about 175,000 euros ($188,000).



But with a rise in fuel costs and the price of Plumpy&#8217;Nut, the shipment now costs 230,000 euros, said Hassan Bouziane, who runs logistics at Alima.



He now has to go to donors to get more cash, taking up valuable time.



&#8220;The impact on the beneficiaries will be huge,&#8221; said Bouziane. &#8220;The treatment for a child of five years old is six weeks. When you lose two weeks, that is a third of their treatment.&#8221;



($1 = 0.9333 euros)



(Reporting by Edward McAllister in Dakar and Katharine Houreld in Dollow, Somalia; Editing by Mike Collett-White and David Clarke)

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Ukraine war hits Africa’s most vulnerable as aid costs spike

KINSHASA, May 28 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Democratic Republic of Congo has summoned Rwanda&#8217;s ambassador and suspended RwandAir flights to Congo in response to what it says is Kigali&#8217;s support for M23 rebels carrying out a military offensive in its eastern borderlands.



Rwanda denies supporting the rebels, who advanced as close as 20 km (12 miles) this week to eastern Congo&#8217;s main city of Goma and briefly captured the army&#8217;s largest base in the area.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2XJ0HI&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Congo and U.N. investigators had also accused Kigali of supporting the M23 during a 2012-2013 insurrection that took Goma before being forced back and chased into Uganda and Rwanda. Kigali denied doing so.



Congo&#8217;s government spokesman Patrick Muyaya announced the suspension of flights from Rwanda&#8217;s national carrier and the summoning of the ambassador late Friday night following a meeting of the national defence council.



He said the government had designated the M23 a terrorist group and would exclude it from negotiations being held in Kenya with militia groups active in eastern Congo.



&#8220;A warning was made to the Rwandans, whose attitude is likely to disrupt the peace process &#8230; where all the armed groups, except for the M23, are committed to the path to peace,&#8221; Muyaya said.



Rwanda&#8217;s government was not immediately available for comment on Saturday.



On its website, Rwanda&#8217;s army requested the release of two Rwandan soldiers it said were &#8220;kidnapped&#8221; along its border with Congo.



An image circulating on social media of two men in Rwandan military uniforms surrounded by Congolese soldiers has been cited by Congolese users as evidence of the Rwandan army&#8217;s presence inside Congo.



Congo&#8217;s government has not commented on the photo, but Muyaya presented video footage during his remarks showing munitions and a military uniform that he said belonged to Rwandan forces and were recovered by the Congolese army.



The M23 and Rwanda&#8217;s government have, in turn, accused Congo&#8217;s army of collaborating with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a militia founded by ethnic Hutus who fled Rwanda after participating in the 1994 genocide. Congo denies this.



Rwanda invaded Congo in 1996 to pursue the militiamen. Eastern Congo has experienced near constant conflict since then due to foreign invasions and insurgencies by rebel groups.



(Reporting by Stanis Bujakera and Fiston Mahamba; Additional reporting by Clement Uwiringiyimana in Kigali; Writing by Aaron Ross, Editing by Ros Russell)

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Congo suspends flights from Rwanda over Kigali’s alleged support for rebels

WASHINGTON (Reuters) &#8211; World Bank President David Malpass on Wednesday suggested that Russia’s war in Ukraine and its impact on food and energy prices, as well as the availability of fertilizer, could trigger a global&nbsp;recession.



Malpass told an event hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that Germany‘s economy, the world’s fourth-largest, has already slowed substantially&nbsp;due to higher energy prices, and said&nbsp;reduced production of&nbsp;fertilizer could worsen conditions elsewhere. 



“As we look at the global GDP … it’s hard right now to see how we avoid a&nbsp;recession,” Malpass said.&nbsp;He gave no specific forecast.



He said the economies of Ukraine and Russia were both expected to see a significant contraction, while Europe, China and the United States were seeing slower growth.



Developing countries were being hit even harder given shortfalls of fertilizer and food stocks and energy supplies, he said.



“The idea of energy prices doubling is enough to trigger a&nbsp;recession&nbsp;by itself,” he said.



In China, he said the relatively sharp slowdown in growth was based on the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and the pre-existing real estate crisis the country had been facing.



The World Bank last month had already cut its global growth forecast for 2022 by nearly a full percentage point, to 3.2% from 4.1%, due to the impacts from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.



Malpass gave no details on when a global&nbsp;recession&nbsp;could begin.

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World Bank’s Malpass says war in Ukraine may trigger global recession￼

JOHANNESBURG, May 25 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Africa risks sliding into stagflation &#8211; a cycle of slow growth and high inflation &#8211; as it battles the lingering effects of the pandemic and rising fuel and food prices caused by the Ukraine conflict, the African Development Bank (AfDB) said on Wednesday.



Despite experiencing relatively low death rates compared to more developed regions, Africa was dealt a heavy economic blow by the COVID-19 pandemic.



While 2021 saw a continent-wide rebound, with gross domestic product (GDP) growth estimated at 6.9% after a pandemic-induced contraction of 1.6% the previous year, the Bank projects real GDP growth to slow to 4.1% this year.



&#8220;The deceleration in growth highlights the severity of the impact of the Russia–Ukraine conflict on Africa&#8217;s economy,&#8221; the AfDB wrote in its 2022 African Economic Outlook.



&#8220;If the conflict persists, Africa&#8217;s growth is likely to stagnate at around 4 percent in 2023.&#8221;



Inflation is meanwhile expected to accelerate to 13.5% this year, from 13% in 2021, due to a sharp rise in energy and food prices linked to the war in Ukraine.



The AfDB estimates around 30 million Africans were pushed into extreme poverty and 22 million lost their jobs last year alone as a result of the pandemic.



Vulnerable populations, particularly in urban areas, will bear the brunt of rising prices, the report said, adding that economic disruptions stemming from the war could tip nearly 4 million more into extreme poverty this year and next.



&#8220;In the absence of measures to cushion the impact, this could stoke social tension across the continent,&#8221; the report stated. &#8220;But in many African countries, fiscal space remains constrained by the effects of the pandemic.&#8221;



The AfDB forecasts Africa&#8217;s debt-to-GDP ratio to stabilise at around 70%, down slightly from 71.4% in 2020, due to last year&#8217;s growth recovery and debt relief measures, but will remain above pre-pandemic levels.



(Reporting by Joe Bavier, Editing by Louise Heavens)

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Africa risks stagflation due to pandemic, Ukraine war – AfDB￼

ABUJA, May 25 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The bid-ask spreads on Nigerian bond yields widened up to 15 basis points on average on Wednesday from 5 basis points before a surprise central bank rate hike a day earlier.



The benchmark 2042 bond bid-ask spread widened as much as 35 basis points, as yields also rose, traders said.



The central bank raised benchmark interest rate by 150 basis points to 13% on Tuesday, its first hike in more than two years, to combat rising inflation, sending markets tumbling.<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2XG3P9&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Traders said the central bank sold the one-year Treasury bill at 6.49% after investors demanded the debt at a rate as high as 10.25%. This compares with a yield of 4.75% the one-year maturity fetched at a previous auction.



The main share index&nbsp;.NGSEINDEX&nbsp;gained 1.24% on Wednesday, recovering from a two-week low triggered by the rate decision. The index has been rising this year as local investors pile into equities in the wake of double-digit inflation.



(Reporting by Chijioke OhuochaEditing by James Macharia Chege and Sam Holmes)

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Nigerian bond spreads widen after surprise rate hike

DAKAR, May 25 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Senegal&#8217;s president and African Union chairman Macky Sall said on Wednesday that when he visits Russia and Ukraine in the coming weeks he will push them to unblock exports of grains and fertilizer to avoid widespread famine.



Africa is suffering from disruptions in food supply and soaring prices of basic goods and risks &#8220;disastrous consequences&#8221; if the situation endures, Sall said during a conversation with philanthropist Mo Ibrahim at the Ibrahim Governance Forum.



Nearly half of Africa&#8217;s 54 countries rely on Russia and Ukraine for wheat imports, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Russia is also a major supplier of fertilizer to at least 11 countries.<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2WV5UH&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



&#8220;We have pleaded for a ceasefire, for an end to the war and for the release of all food products &#8230; so that the world doesn&#8217;t know a famine after two years of COVID and almost three months of war,&#8221; said Sall. Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.



&#8220;There are multiple initiatives to call on countries that have (grain) stocks to liberate them &#8230; and to ensure that Russia can authorize the export of cereals from Ukraine and can also export itself. This is the African position,&#8221; he said.



Parts of Africa are already facing record hunger levels, driven by insecurity, climate shocks and the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.L5N2W23Z3



If food supply blockages were to continue and there was a famine, Sall said: &#8220;The world would not be able to contain the consequences because it would be massive on immigration. It would be dramatic for African countries.&#8221;



Sall said on Sunday he would visit Moscow and Kyiv in his capacity as chairman of the African Union, which wants peace in Ukraine through dialogue between the two sides.<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2XE0BP&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



(Reporting by Bate Felix; Writing by Nellie Peyton; editing by Grant McCool)

grains

African Union head to push Russia, Ukraine to unblock grain exports￼

Glencore agrees settlements in U.S., Brazil



Glencore Energy (UK) charged with bribery over oil operations



U.S. prosecutor calls bribery scheme &#8220;staggering&#8221;



Updates with details from U.S. settlement with Glencore, adds comments from prosecutors in Brazil



By Clara Denina, Kirstin Ridley and Sarah N. Lynch



LONDON/WASHINGTON May 24 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Glencore Plc&nbsp;GLEN.L&nbsp;said on Tuesday it anticipates paying up to $1.5 billion to settle accusations of bribery and market manipulation, as authorities in the United States, Britain and Brazil announced that three of the company&#8217;s subsidiaries were pleading guilty to crimes.



The miner and commodity trading giant agreed to pay more than $1 billion in the United States and Brazil, with Glencore representatives also appearing in courts in the United States and Britain on Tuesday.



U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said a $1.1 billion accord with the U.S. will resolve both a decade-long scheme to bribe foreign officials across seven countries and separate criminal and civil charges alleging one of the company&#8217;s trading arms manipulated fuel oil prices at two of the largest U.S. shipping ports.



&#8220;This represents the Justice Department&#8217;s largest criminal enforcement action to date for a commodity price manipulation conspiracy in oil markets,&#8221; Garland said at a press conference.



&#8220;We will continue to investigate, disrupt and hold accountable corporations that break our laws.&#8221;



The company said it expects a final global settlement, including a future fine in Britain, not to exceed the $1.5 billion it set aside in its reserves in February to resolve the probes relating to operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Venezuela.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N2UQ1V7&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



&#8220;Glencore has resolved the previously disclosed investigations by authorities in the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil into past activities in certain Group businesses related to bribery,&#8221; it said in a statement.



Any final resolution would wrap up a multi-year U.S. and British investigation that has dogged the Swiss-based multinational, which still faces corruption and bribery investigations by other countries including Swiss and Dutch authorities.



In Brazil on Tuesday, prosecutors said Glencore will pay $29.6 million directly to state-run oil company Petrobras&nbsp;PETR4.SA&nbsp;in compensation for defrauding the company and roughly $10 million to authorities in civil penalties.



The UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which opened a corruption investigation in 2019 code-named Operation Azoth, said on Tuesday it had exposed &#8220;profit-driven bribery and corruption&#8221; across oil operations in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and South Sudan.



Glencore Energy (UK) Ltd, which said Tuesday it would plead guilty to all the charges at a hearing at London&#8217;s Westminster Magistrates&#8217; Court, will be sentenced on June 21.



The SFO alleged that Glencore agents and employees paid bribes worth over $25 million for preferential access to oil, with approval by the company.



Damian Williams, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, called the bribery scheme &#8220;staggering.&#8221;



&#8220;Glencore paid bribes to secure oil contracts. Glencore paid bribes to avoid government audits. Glencore paid bribes to judges to make lawsuits disappear,&#8221; he said.



As part of the resolution with the United States, Glencore is also required to hire two separate independent compliance monitors.



In March 2021, former Glencore oil trader Emilio Jose Heredia Collado pleaded guilty in San Francisco, California, to manipulating a key oil price benchmark, while former Glencore trader Anthony Stimler pleaded guilty in New York in July 2021 over his role in a scheme to bribe Nigerian officials.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2LN22R&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a><a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2P22GL&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



However, none of the company&#8217;s top executives have faced charges to date. U.S. Justice Department officials told reporters on Tuesday their investigations remain ongoing.



Spotlight on Corruption, a public interest group, welcomed the charges on Tuesday, but said it was &#8220;essential that those responsible for the wrongdoing, including senior executives and the parent company, are held to account.&#8221;



(Reporting by Kirstin Ridley and Clara Denina in London and Sarah N. Lynch in Washington. Additional reporting by Tyler Clifford in Washington, Jonathan Stempel in New York, Gram Slattery in Rio de Janeiro and Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel, Paul Simao, David Gregorio and Richard Pullin)



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File: Glencore Plunges After U.S. Subpoena Regarding Money Laundering

Glencore prepares to pay up to $1.5 bln to settle U.S., UK, Brazil probes

GENEVA, May 24 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The World Health Organization&#8217;s (WHO) members re-elected Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as Director General by a strong majority for another five years, the president of the World Health Assembly said on Tuesday.



The vote by secret ballot, announced by Ahmed Robleh Abdilleh from Djibouti at a major annual meeting, was seen as a formality since Tedros was the only candidate running.



Ministers and delegates took turns to shake hands and hug Tedros, a former health minister from Ethiopia, who has steered the UN agency through a turbulent period dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The president had to use a gavel several times to interrupt the applause.



Addressing the assembly soon after his re-election, Tedros said the WHO&#8217;s focus will be on emergency preparedness and improvement of the agency.



&#8220;This pandemic has been very unprecedented and many lessons that we should learn and we are learning. But, at the same time we cannot just pause, learn and implement&#8230;instead of pausing to learn, we&#8217;re saying while learning let&#8217;s implement.&#8221;



The newly re-elected WHO head teared up while talking about the current Ukraine crisis and the death of his younger brother from a childhood disease amidst war and poverty decades ago.



&#8220;When I visited Ukraine when I saw especially the kids..It was the image from more than 50 years ago that came to my mind, so visible, so hounding. The smell, sound and image of war. That is what I don&#8217;t want to happen to anyone.&#8221;



Several countries including Germany and the United States were quick to offer their congratulations.



German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach tweeted that Tedros got 155 of 160 votes, calling it a spectacular result. &#8220;Congratulations, fully deserved.&#8221;



Germany recently overtook the United States as the UN health agency&#8217;s top donor.



However, Tedros’ second-term candidacy did not receive the support of his native Ethiopia due to friction over the Tigray conflict. Ethiopia&#8217;s envoy to the assembly made it clear that Botswana&#8217;s statement congratulating Tedros did not represent all 47 countries of the African group.



&#8220;The established working method of the African group is to work by consensus. I would like to point out that there was no consensus. Hence, the distinguished representative of Botswana cannot deliver the statement on behalf of the African group.&#8221;



(Reporting by Jennifer Rigby, Emma Farge and Mrinalika Roy; Additional reporting by Paul Carrel; Editing by Catherine Evans)VIEW LESS

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Tedros re-elected as head of World Health Organization

GENEVA, May 24 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;African countries raised an objection on Tuesday to a U.S.-led proposal to reform the International Health Regulations (IHR), a move delegates say might prevent passage at the World Health Organization&#8217;s annual assembly.



If Africa continues to withhold support, it could block one of the only concrete reforms expected from the meeting, fraying hopes that members will unite on reforms to strengthen the U.N. health agency&#8217;s rules as it seeks a central role for itself in global health policy.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2XF0HC&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



The IHR set out WHO members&#8217; legally binding obligations around outbreaks. The United States has proposed 13 IHR reforms which seek to authorise the deployment of expert teams to contamination sites and the creation of a new compliance committee to monitor implementation of the rules.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2XC0VG&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



The draft proposal yet to be formally decided is seen as the first step in a broader IHR reform process and would aim to change article 59 that would speed up the implementation for future reforms from 24 to 12 months.



But the African group expressed reservations about even this narrow change, saying all reforms should be tackled together as part of a &#8220;holistic package&#8221; at a later stage.



&#8220;The African region shares the view that the process should not be fast tracked&#8230;,&#8221; Moses Keetile, deputy permanent secretary in Botswana&#8217;s health ministry, told the assembly on Tuesday on behalf of the Africa region.



Diplomats said that African objections may be a strategy to seek concessions on vaccine and drug-sharing from wealthier countries who were seen to be hoarding supplies during COVID-19.



&#8220;We find that they are going too quickly and these sorts of reforms can&#8217;t be rushed through,&#8221; said an African delegate in Geneva who was not authorised to speak to the media.



The U.S. mission in Geneva did not respond to a request for comment.



Several other countries expressed broad support for the idea of IHR reforms, without giving specifics. Iran and Malaysia also expressed reservations.



One diplomat following the discussions &#8220;They don&#8217;t agree but it&#8217;s not a disaster. It&#8217;s a multilateral process so you can&#8217;t force things through.&#8221;



The negotiations will run alongside talks on a potential pandemic treaty, raising concerns over duplication. &#8220;Several developing countries have said that the WHO has too many platforms for negotiation, and it is simply not manageable,&#8221; said Nithin Ramakrishnan, consultant for the Third World Network.



Since the U.S. IHR proposal, Russia has also submitted draft revisions, diplomats say. This assembly is expected to officially launch IHR reform discussions, which may last up to two years.



(Additional reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bangalore; Editing by David Gregorio)

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Africa objects to U.S. push to reform health rules at WHO assembly￼

ABUJA, May 24 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigeria&#8217;s central bank on Tuesday raised the benchmark interest rate by 150 basis points to 13%, its first hike in more than two years, to combat rising inflation, sending markets tumbling.



The move surprised analysts and traders who expected the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to keep the rate on hold.



But&nbsp;Governor Godwin Emefiele told a news briefing&nbsp;that&nbsp;the rate hike was necessary to tame inflation, which quickened to 16.82% in April, its highest in eight months, amid a fragile economic recovery.



Six members of the MPC voted to increase the main lending rate by 150 basis points, four of them by 100 basis points and one by 50 basis points.



It was the biggest rate hike since&nbsp;July&nbsp;2016 when the central bank increased rates by 200 basis points.



&#8220;(MPC members) felt that tightening will help rein in inflation before it assumes a galloping trend,&#8221; Emefiele said.



&#8220;The committee decided to raise monetary policy rate for the first time in two and a half years to rein in the current rise in inflation as members were of the view that the continued uptrend may adversely impact growth.&#8221;



Food and energy prices are rising in Africa&#8217;s most populous country after Russia&#8217;s invasion of Ukraine pushed up oil prices and disrupted supplies of commodities like corn and wheat.



The rate hike sent the yield on Nigeria&#8217;s longest 30-year bond soaring 75 basis points to 13.8%.&nbsp;Overnight lending rates climbed 200 basis points to 14% while the main share index&nbsp;.NGSEINDEX&nbsp;fell to a two-week low.



Razia Khan, chief economist for Africa and the Middle East at Standard Chartered, said the rate increase raised questions about whether this could be a precursor to a change in the central bank&#8217;s policy on foreign exchange.



&#8220;This could be the most important signal yet of eventual FX policy intentions &#8230; but we will not really know until we see whether and how much market rates reprice,&#8221; she said.



The naira recovered from a record low of 609 on the black market&nbsp;NGNP=&nbsp;to 606 naira against the dollar after the hike but it weakened to 443.50 naira on the official market&nbsp;NGN=&nbsp;from 413.80 naira and later traded at 417 naira.



The central bank governor, who ended his presidential ambition on Monday, said the economy was expected to expand 3.25% this year, lower than the federal government&#8217;s projection of 4.2% growth.



(Writing and additional reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe and Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Catherine Evans, Mark Potter and Mark Porter)

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Nigeria’s central bank surprises with rate hike, cites inflation

LONDON, May 24 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Rising borrowing costs and the worldwide fallout from the Russia-Ukraine war could see up to 10% of riskier &#8216;junk&#8217;-rated emerging market countries suffer debt crises this year, analysts at U.S. investment bank JPMorgan have warned.



More acute balance of payment pressures and larger fiscal deficits are now compounding problems for heavily-indebted countries that import most of their energy and food.



Sri Lanka has just suffered its first ever sovereign default, joining a list that already included Lebanon, Suriname, Venezuela and Zambia. Russia and Ukraine are both teetering too and the worry is the numbers globally will soon balloon.



&#8220;Nearly half of the (52) country sample is classified as carrying high repayment risk in our assessment. Of these, eight are at risk of reserve depletion by the end of 2023, signalling high default risks. These are Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bahamas, Belize, Senegal, Rwanda, Grenada, and Ethiopia,&#8221; said the note led by strategist Trang Nguyen on Tuesday.



A jump in world interest rates in response to fast-rising inflation also means many countries are facing the reality of rising borrowing costs, a departure from over a decade of so-called &#8220;easy money&#8221;.



&#8220;Accounting for risks of a potential default in Russia and restructuring in Ukraine&#8230;the EM sovereign HY default rate could reach 10% this year,&#8221; JP Morgan&#8217;s note added, also pointing out how Ethiopia was moving towards a G20-led restructuring of its debts.



The International Monetary Fund too has said that nearly 60% of low income countries are either in, or at high risk of, debt distress.



Analysts at investment firm Tellimer this week highlighted how a record 27 emerging market countries now have eurobond yields above 10%.



Those yields are a proxy for what a government has to pay to borrow in the international capital markets and anything above 10% is generally seen as a sign of trouble.



JP Morgan said that in addition to the eight countries flagged as in immediate default danger, larger economies such as Egypt, Ghana and Pakistan were also highly vulnerable from fiscal and debt standpoints over the slightly longer term.



(Reporting by Marc Jones, editing by Jorgelina do Rosario, Kirsten Donovan)

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JPMorgan warns 10% of junk-rated emerging markets facing debt crises this year

WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The United States issued an advisory on Monday warning U.S. companies of growing reputational risks of doing business with state-owned enterprises and military-controlled firms in Sudan.



&#8220;These risks arise from, among other things, recent actions undertaken by Sudan&#8217;s Sovereign Council and security forces under the military&#8217;s command, including and especially serious human rights abuse against protesters,&#8221; State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.



The African country has been racked by protests since a military coup in October, and lawyers say dozens of political prisoners remain in detention.



&#8220;Businesses and individuals operating in Sudan should undertake increased due diligence related to human rights issues and be aware of the potential reputational risks of conducting business activities and/or transactions with SOEs and military-controlled companies,&#8221; Price said.



The advisory was issued by the U.S. departments of State, Treasury, Commerce and Labor, he said.



(Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Tim Ahmann, Bernard Orr)

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U.S. warns companies of ‘reputational risks’ of doing business in Sudan

ABUJA, May 23 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigerian GDP grew 3.11% in the first quarter, slower than in the previous quarter as a fall in oil production hit the rest of the economy, the national statistics office said on Monday ahead of a central bank interest rate decision on Tuesday.



It was the sixth consecutive quarter of growth, with non-oil sectors helping Nigeria bounce back from a severe recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The full-year GDP figure for 2021 showed the fastest growth in seven years.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2US0UR&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Gross domestic product grew by 3.98% in the fourth quarter of 2021. In the first three months of last year, the growth rate was 0.51%.



&#8220;After the recession experienced by the country in 2020 occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy has been on the path of growth,&#8221; the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.



It said non-oil sectors such as financials, communication, trade and healthcare were among the fastest growing.



However, oil refining, crude petroleum and natural gas, road transport, quarrying and other minerals were lagging.



The naira&nbsp;NGNP=, hit a record low of 609 against the dollar on the black market, where it is freely traded, as the GDP data was announced.



The oil sector shrank by 26.04% in the first quarter, compared with an 8.06% contraction the previous quarter. Crude production fell to 1.49 million barrels per day in the first quarter from 1.50 million barrels in the previous three months.



Frequent vandalism and illegal refining in the oil-producing Niger Delta region have kept the sector under pressure. Nigeria has struggled to meet its production targets, partly missing out on the effects of the global surge in oil prices.



The weak growth could prompt the central bank to keep its dovish stance at a policy meeting on Tuesday despite double-digit inflation, analysts say.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2VO1JM&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



($1 = 415.00 naira)



(Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Estelle Shirbon, Jan Harvey and Tomasz Janowski)

download (23)

Nigeria Q1 GDP growth slows Q/Q ahead of rates decision

GENEVA, May 23 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The head of the World Health Organization said on Monday that it must be &#8220;at the centre&#8221; of a global healthcare system, while also acknowledging the need for internal reforms.



The World Health Assembly from May 22-28 is seen as one of the most important in the UN health agency&#8217;s 75-year history, as it seeks to define its future role in global health policy and get approval for a funding overhaul.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2XC0VG&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a><a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2X96B0&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



&#8220;We need a stronger and sustainably financed WHO, at the centre of the global health security architecture,&#8221; Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a major speech at the WHO&#8217;s annual assembly.



But he added: &#8220;There have been many calls for WHO to change. And there is no question that more change is needed.&#8221;



The WHO is under scrutiny after an independent panel described it as &#8220;underpowered&#8221; when COVID-19 struck, with limited powers to investigate outbreaks and coordinate containment measures.



However, its 194 member states are seen as split over whether it deserves new powers after its handling of COVID.



&#8220;Some members are saying the WHO did what it could during the pandemic and want to strengthen its authority and others are very disillusioned with the WHO and &#8230; are very divided on whether it should be given more powers,&#8221; said Adam Kamradt-Scott, a professor of Global Health at the School of Transnational Governance.



In the same speech, Tedros said COVID is far from over and that the world was not ready for the next pandemic, echoing the findings of a major report last week.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2XA0VC&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



&#8220;It&#8217;s clear that the world was and remains unprepared for a pandemic,&#8221; he said.



(Reporting by Emma Farge and Mrinalika Roy; Editing by Catherine Evans)

Reuters

Test case Zambia exposes China’s rookie status on debt relief – sources

S.Africa’s Gold Fields to buy Yamana Gold in $6.7 bln deal

Ugandan researchers develop low cost sensors to track air pollution

Ukraine war hits Africa’s most vulnerable as aid costs spike

Congo suspends flights from Rwanda over Kigali’s alleged support for rebels

World Bank’s Malpass says war in Ukraine may trigger global recession

Africa risks stagflation due to pandemic, Ukraine war – AfDB

Nigerian bond spreads widen after surprise rate hike

African Union head to push Russia, Ukraine to unblock grain exports

Glencore prepares to pay up to $1.5 bln to settle U.S., UK, Brazil probes

Tedros re-elected as head of World Health Organization

Africa objects to U.S. push to reform health rules at WHO assembly

Nigeria’s central bank surprises with rate hike, cites inflation

JPMorgan warns 10% of junk-rated emerging markets facing debt crises this year

U.S. warns companies of ‘reputational risks’ of doing business in Sudan

Nigeria Q1 GDP growth slows Q/Q ahead of rates decision

WHO chief says it must take central role in global health

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Test case Zambia exposes China’s rookie status on debt relief – sources

S.Africa’s Gold Fields to buy Yamana Gold in $6.7 bln deal

Ugandan researchers develop low cost sensors to track air pollution

Ukraine war hits Africa’s most vulnerable as aid costs spike

Congo suspends flights from Rwanda over Kigali’s alleged support for rebels

World Bank’s Malpass says war in Ukraine may trigger global recession￼

Africa risks stagflation due to pandemic, Ukraine war – AfDB￼

Nigerian bond spreads widen after surprise rate hike

African Union head to push Russia, Ukraine to unblock grain exports￼

Glencore prepares to pay up to $1.5 bln to settle U.S., UK, Brazil probes

Tedros re-elected as head of World Health Organization

Africa objects to U.S. push to reform health rules at WHO assembly￼

Nigeria’s central bank surprises with rate hike, cites inflation

JPMorgan warns 10% of junk-rated emerging markets facing debt crises this year

U.S. warns companies of ‘reputational risks’ of doing business in Sudan

Nigeria Q1 GDP growth slows Q/Q ahead of rates decision

WHO chief says it must take central role in global health

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World Bank’s Malpass says war in Ukraine may trigger global recession

Africa risks stagflation due to pandemic, Ukraine war – AfDB

African Union head to push Russia, Ukraine to unblock grain exports

Africa objects to U.S. push to reform health rules at WHO assembly