Category: Uncategorized

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently awarded Egypt the Gold Level certificate for eliminating hepatitis C, a chronic viral infection that affects millions of people worldwide.

Egypt is the first country in the world to receive this certification, after reducing its infection rate from 14.7 per cent in 2015 to less than 1 per cent in 2021.

The certificate was presented to President Abdel Fattah El Sisi by WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on October 9.

Ghebreyesus praised Egypt’s success story, which he said was achieved in record time and could serve as a model for other countries. He attributed this achievement to the full commitment and personal follow-up of President Sisi, who launched ‘100 Million Healthy Lives’ presidential initiative to eliminate hepatitis C in 2018. The initiative involved establishing treatment centres, providing diagnostic tools, training staff, supporting local production of medicines, and offering free treatment to millions of citizens. The initiative also covered patients with complications of the disease, such as liver cirrhosis and cancer.

President Sisi thanked the WHO and its director general for their sincere support to Egypt’s health sector. He expressed his happiness with the improvement of the health of Egyptian citizens, who had long suffered from this disease.

The Gold level means that Egypt has met the criteria for reducing new infections and deaths caused by hepatitis C to the levels that qualify the country to eradicate the epidemic.

Ghebreyesus hailed Egypt’s remarkable progress, saying: “Egypt has transformed from a country with one of the highest rates of hepatitis infection to a country that has reached the path of eradicating the disease in less than 10 years. This is an amazing journey.”

He added that Egypt has provided the world with a role model for what can be achieved when adopting the latest tools and securing political commitment at the highest levels to use those tools to prevent infection and save lives.

“Egypt’s success should inspire us with hope and motivation to eliminate hepatitis C everywhere,” he concluded.

In 2018, some 63 million people were screened and treated, which is being studied globally, as it is a huge process that was crowned with success, and treatment was offered to those who were infected.

Less than 10 years ago, Egypt had one of the highest hepatitis C prevalence rates in the world. Left untreated, hepatitis C can cause liver disease and cancer, and premature death.

There is no vaccine for hepatitis C, but it can be cured with treatments that cost as little as $60 for an 8 to 12 week course.

Yet globally, 80 per cent of people living with hepatitis C remain undiagnosed, and almost 90 per cent remain untreated.

Egypt has showed the world that this should not be the case.

These achievements exceed the targets WHO has set for achieving gold tier status.

A key factor in the campaign’s success was using locally manufactured direct acting antiviral treatments.

Egypt also scaled up programmes on patient safety, injection safety, blood safety, and harm reduction for people who use drugs.

The WHO supported the Egyptian Health Ministry with technical guidelines and tools, providing a human-rights-based approach to hepatitis C diagnosis and treatment.

Egypt’s success in eliminating virus C is an example for the world of what is possible.

It is not the only health achievement of which Egypt should be proud. It follows Egypt’s validation last year for the elimination of rubella and measles.

The WHO notes with appreciation the ongoing commitment of the Ministry of Health and Population to sustain robust screening, care and treatment services for people with HCV. Since Egypt launched its nationwide campaign, the100 million healthy lives, over 60 million people have been screened and more than 4 million have received treatment. And by doing so, Egypt reduced the incidence of new infections from 300 per 100, 000 in 2014 to 9 per 100, 000 in 2022. This is very close to the ultimate goal of hepatitis C elimination of less than 5 per 100, 000 new cases per year and similar levels for viral hepatitis deaths.

“Egypt is an inspiration to many other countries who are working towards the elimination of hepatitis C, hepatitis B or mother to child transmission of hepatitis B. Similar achievements are within reach of many countries if they follow Egypt’s example – and use the tools available and assure political commitment,” said Dr Meg Doherty, WHO’s Director of Global HIV, Hepatitis and STI Programmes.

“However, we cannot be complacent as the work for Egypt and other countries is not over; they have achieved the gold tier status on the path to elimination for Hepatitis C, but will need to continue to sustain and step up efforts to reach the final destination of full elimination by the end of 2023. The WHO will be with Egypt every step of the way,”Doherty said in recent remarks.

There are five key elements, which contributed to Egypt’s successful HCV elimination programme. The first element is the sufficient and reliable epidemiologic data to quantify and monitor public health threats; while the second is a robust public health care infrastructure. The third element is inclusive care that reached all sectors of society. Political commitment to public health through increased health care spending and a comprehensive long-term national control strategy is the fourth, while the fifth factor is innovative scientific research and use of information technology.

Egypt has made significant efforts to strengthen hepatitis prevention since the early 1990s with programmes aimed at eliminating schistosomiasis, a parasite carried by water snails, which is mainly responsible for the disease, and to end the unhealthy practice of sharing or reusing needles and syringes resulting in the accidental transfer of infection.It also focused on harm prevention activities and on increasing public awareness.

Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, praised Egypt’s unprecedented success, saying: “It is a testament that success is unstoppable when there is commitment, even when faced with daunting challenges and difficult times, including the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent global crises. With its commitment to eliminate hepatitis C, Egypt has succeeded in testing virtually the whole of the eligible population and has treated almost all those who are living with the virus. This represents one third of the 12 million people living with hepatitis C in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. This reflects the essence of our regional vision and the call for solidarity and action.”

According to the 2023 WHO Guidance for country validation of viral hepatitis elimination and path to elimination, countries can apply for full validation of gold, silver or bronze tiers on the path to elimination based on achieving relevant targets. Egypt is the first country that applied for validation and achieved gold tier status on the path to elimination, meaning that it is well on its way towards reaching all elimination targets before 2030.

source/content: egyptian-gazette.com (headline edited)

___________

_________

EGYPT

Morocco’s Atlas Lionesses made history at this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, reaching the round of 16 at the expense of Germany.

Five Atlas Lionesses have been nominated for the CAF Women’s Ballon d’Or, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced today.

The list of the thirty nominees for the CAF Women’s Ballon d’Or features three players from Moroccan club As FAR, namely Fatima Tagnaout, Ghizlane Chebbak, and Khadija Er-Rmichi.

Alongside the AS FAR trio are two other Moroccan contenders for the CAF Awards’ most prestigious individual accolade, Anissa Lahmari of Levante Las Planas and Ibtissam Jraidi of Al Ahli.

These Atlas Lionesses made history this year with an impressive performance in their first-ever appearance at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, reaching the Round of 16 at the expense of favorites Germany.

Additionally, players from AS FAR secured a historic domestic triumph, clinching the Championship, Cup, and Champions League treble in the 2022-2023 season.

Ghizlane Chebbak and Fatima Tagnaout, the dynamic duo from AS FAR, have also earned nominations in the “Inter-Club Player of the Year” category, alongside their teammate Aziza Rabbah.

Khadija Er-Rmichi is in contention for the “Goalkeeper of the Year” trophy. Furthermore, Nesryne El Chad (Lille) is vying for the title of “Young Player of the Year.”

In the club categories, AS FAR and Sporting de Casablanca have been nominated for the “Women’s Club of the Year” at the 2023 CAF Awards, scheduled to take place in Marrakech on December 11.

Both teams are currently in the semifinals of the third edition, which is being held in Côte d’Ivoire. AS FAR, the reigning African Champions League titleholders, faces Mamelodi Sundowns, while Sporting de Casablanca takes on Ampem Darkoa.

The Moroccan women’s national team, nominated for the prestigious “African National Team” award, will compete against formidable opponents such as Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Senegal.

These nominees in women’s football join the Moroccan nominees in men’s football, as well as Walid Regragui in the competition for the title of best coach of the season.

source/content: moroccoworldnews.com (headline edited)

___________

Moroccan nominees for the CAF Women’s Ballon d’Or

_____________

MOROCCO

Boeing anticipates a demand for 3,000 new aircraft in the Middle East by 2042, signifying the region’s growth in the aviation sector.

During a media briefing ahead on Nov. 12, ahead of Dubai Airshow 2023, President of Boeing Brendan Nelson restated the company’s commitment to supporting the industry in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and neighboring nations. 

Boeing holds a significant position in the operations of the Kingdom’s flagship carrier, Riyadh Air ,as in March, the airline ordered a fleet of 72 787 Dreamliners, with the inaugural flight scheduled for 2025.

The aviation firm plans to work closely with regional governments, focusing on manufacturing aircraft parts, research and development, and professional training to contribute to the sector’s growth.

According to Khaleej Times, Nelson said: “Our vision is to build an ecosystem in the region, invest in R&D (research and development), develop industrial partnerships, and enhance manufacturing capacity in both commercial and defense sectors.”

As part of its expanding regional engagements, Boeing joined forces with the UAE’s leading renewable energy firm Masdar in October to advance the global sustainable aviation fuel industry, aligning with the industry’s goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

According to Boeing’s Commercial Market Outlook forecast, global airlines will need 42,595 new aircraft by 2042, with Middle East-based airlines requiring 3,025 – 45 percent being widebody planes.

These objectives are driven by the rising demand for travel within the region and the emergence of new flight hubs.

Boeing predicts that the global aviation industry will require 2.2 million new personnel by 2042, with the Middle East and Africa contributing 13 percent to meet this demand.

Nelson emphasized the company’s active exploration of additional opportunities in Saudi Arabia and the broader region, where over 3,000 aircraft, 58,000 pilots, and nearly 100,000 crews will be needed in the next two decades. 

The demand for airliners is anticipated to remain robust, propelled by the Kingdom’s target of attracting 150 million tourists as part of its economic diversification efforts.

Saudi Arabia’s aviation evolution 

Saudi Arabia launched a new aviation policy in October to boost the sector’s performance and attract investments worth $100 billion by 2030. 

According to the General Authority of Civil Aviation, the plan will see new regulations for airports, ground services, cargo and air transport services. 

This approach supports the privatization of airports, facilitates the procedures for new investors to join the aviation market, and enables airport operators to set wages according to their plans. 

The authority will also enable airport operators to diversify their revenues flexibly by increasing revenues from non-navigational services.

In September, Randy Heisey, Boeing’s managing director of commercial marketing in Africa and the Middle East region, told Arab News that the company is working with Saudi airlines to implement advanced aircraft and engine technologies that align with global sustainability goals.

source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)

__________

Boeing holds a significant position in the operations of the Kingdom’s flagship carrier, Riyadh Air. Shutterstock.

________________

MIDDLE EAST

Saudi teacher Nora Al-Suroor has etched her name in the annals of educational excellence, securing a spot amongst 50 honorees in the esteemed Global Teacher Prize. Administered by the Varkey Foundation in collaboration with UNESCO, the award acknowledges the indispensable role of teaching and catalyzes the pursuit of excellence in education. Al-Suroor’s victory, carved from a pool of 7,000 nominees representing 130 countries, is a testament to her unwavering commitment to shaping future generations through education.

Exemplary Journey to Global Recognition

Al-Suroor’s educational voyage is studded with numerous accolades. Her repertoire includes the Middle East’s Educational Technical Design Award, dual gold awards for innovation from Russia and Japan, and a silver finish at the Award for Excellence in Educational Outreach in Seattle, USA. Further elevating her stature are recognitions from the Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance and the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s Humanitarian Educational Excellence Award. Her ceaseless engagement in local, regional, and international educational and humanitarian initiatives underscores her instrumental role in these sectors.

Implications of the Recognition

The implications of Al-Suroor’s recognition extend beyond her individual accomplishments to the broader sphere of education. The Global Teacher Prize spotlights the quintessential role of teachers in sculpting societies, accentuating the urgency to bolster and elevate the teaching profession. The recent acknowledgment of Pakistani teacher Sister Zeph, the recipient of the $1 million Global Teacher Prize, underlines the global reach and diverse influence of exceptional educators. Sister Zeph’s mission to offer free education to over 200 children and her intent to channel the prize money towards the construction of a school for the underprivileged and an orphanage exemplify the transformative capabilities of educators.

Global Need for Teachers

The event underscored the need for an additional 44 million teachers globally by 2030, highlighting the pressing need to invest in education and empower educators to guarantee access to quality learning experiences for all. The acknowledgment of educators such as Nora Al-Suroor and Sister Zeph marks a societal shift towards recognizing and appreciating the contributions of teachers. Their triumphs underscore the importance of nurturing a culture that celebrates and supports educators, thereby propelling the advancement of global education.

In the educational landscape, the influence of exceptional teachers transcends their immediate classrooms. Their dedication and innovation have the potency to shape societies, drive progress, and instill a culture of lifelong learning. Hence, the recognition of exemplary educators through awards like the Global Teacher Prize acts as a springboard for inspiring and uplifting the teaching profession, contributing significantly to the global educational advancement.

source/content: bnn.network (headline edited)

____________

Saudi Educator Nora Al-Suroor Triumphs in Global Teacher Prize

_________________

SAUDI ARABIA

The awards celebrated the tireless efforts of the regional organisations dedicated to environmental stewardship and social responsibility.

Around 50 companies across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region won the Gulf Sustainability Awards (GSA) 2023 for their exceptional achievements in environmental responsibility.

Held in Dubai on Wednesday, the event brought together a diverse array of sustainable companies, both large and small, from the public, private and semi-governmental sectors to compete for recognition.

The awards celebrated the tireless efforts of the regional organisations dedicated to environmental stewardship and social responsibility.

Many renowned speakers including Shruthi Boosey of Jana Consultants; Tatiana Antonelli Abella, founder of Goumbook FZE; Kevin Holliday, managing director at C3 – Companies Creating a Change; and Dr Samir Thabet, corporate sustainability manager at Nesma & Partners; among others.

Juhi Yasmeen Khan, one of the renowned judges and advisory board member of the ‘Gulf Sustainability Awards’, stated that, “It was very difficult to judge this year as all the entries did exceedingly well.”

Mohammad Mustafa, a student at the University of Wollongong in Dubai, gave a presentation about sustainability and how youth can contribute towards environmental protection and sustainability. His presentation received great acknowledgement from the attendees.

“This was the best Gulf Sustainability Awards ever. In seven years, I haven’t seen so much positive energy to change the impact of business on the planet positively,” said Neil Skehel, founder and CEO of Awards International.

“GSA finds and recognises the best sustainability initiatives of the GCC. Well done to our winners and the overall winner Qatar Museums. It’s through the united efforts of corporate houses, educational institutions, governmental and non-governmental organisations and even the media, where ideas can become actions. It was truly wonderful seeing the pioneers of the future and how we are capable of creating a positive impact on the planet and the entirety of the sustainability world,” he added.

“The bar is raised. I look forward to next year when the bar will be even higher.”

Young speaker and panellist Mustafa also shared his insights from the perspective of a Youth Ambassador for sustainability.

“This event genuinely is the keystone to enacting positive change into the world, and by having me as the youth speaker it opens the doors for the future generation,” he said, adding that “sustainability seems grand and something that requires a large amount of planning and resources, but every small impact can make the biggest change.”

Mustafa said youth are burdened with the problems of the climate crisis, but at the time they are blessed with ingenuity and creativity which they should use to shape their future.

Here are the Gold Award winners in various categories:

Best community development, Recaap by Veolia; Best Workplace and HR Practices, Schneider Electric FZE; Best Net-Zero Initiative, Taqa; Best CSR Initiative, Aster DM Healthcare; Government Sustainability Initiative, Saudi Mining Polytechnic; Reaction to Crisis, Abu Dhabi Ports Group; Best Sustainable Education and Awareness Programme, Sedco Holding; Most Innovative ESG Initiative, Taqa; Environmental Sustainability Programme, DP world; Learning and Educational Programme, Potential.com and HSBC; Innovation in Sustainable Technologies, Cafu; Sustainable Business Model, DGrade; Sustainable Business Model – large firms, Taqa; UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing; Best Sustainable Product, Toppan Gravity (Gravity Group Ind); Best Sustainable Product – small firms, DGrade; Green Building, Qatar Museums – Fire Station; E-Waste Management, Schneider Electric; Water and Waste Management, DGrade; Water and Waste Management – large firms, Drydocks World; Sustainable Team of the Year, Taqa; Sustainable Professional of the Year, Verteco – David King; Overall winner, Qatar Museums, Fire Station.

source/content: khaleejtimes.com (headline edited)

_______________

Winners of Gulf Sustainability Awards. — Supplied photos

____________

UAE / GCC

Annabel Rabiyah moves through the kitchen with familiarity. She’s unconcerned with measurements and makes Iraqi kubbeh (meat wrapped in a wheat pastry and fried) and khubz tawa (Iraqi flat bread) from memory, using her hands to mix ingredients. She knows when to add more water to the farina and flour mixture for the kubbeh based on the feel of the dough, and she’s generous with the black pepper, a spice central to Iraqi food.

As head chef and co-founder of the Awafi Kitchen, a Boston-based pop-up culinary space dedicated to sharing Iraqi-Jewish food and culture, Rabiyah cooks the Iraqi food she learned from her family. She started the Awafi Kitchen in 2017 with several family members to tell stories through food and highlight the overlap between Iraqi and Jewish food.

“The more I delved into learning about the cuisines, [what] I thought was essentially Jewish was [also] Iraqi food,” Rabiyah said. “It’s not even similar, it’s essentially just Iraqi food.”

Before the pandemic, the Awafi Kitchen partnered with local artists and venues to offer a culinary element to their projects, hosted pop-up meals at restaurants in the Boston area, and used these collaborations to uplift Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish history and culture. More recently, Rabiyah has pivoted to teaching online cooking classes, and occasional baked good deliveries. She can be seen on YouTube, demonstrating a recipe for ba’be ‘btamur, Iraqi-Jewish hand-rolled date pastries, and khubz tawa, which she taught herself by watching Iraqi videos and experimenting in the kitchen.

Rabiyah—who has a Master’s degree in nutrition and has a day job as an urban farmer supporting 56 community gardens in Boston for The Trustees of Reservations—has used her work with Awafi Kitchen to go deeper into her own cultural background. It’s also part of a larger effort to bring attention to the cuisine and culture of Jewish people who aren’t part of the Ashkenazi majority.

Creating Space for Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish Identities

Rabiyah, who grew up in the U.S. with an Ashkenazi Jewish mother and an Iraqi father, spent years grappling with questions about her heritage. “I grew up with a very politicized identity,” she said. “As a child, people really didn’t believe that Iraqi Jews existed.”

Rabiyah’s family immigrated to the U.S. from Baghdad after the 1967 Six-Day War. Before that, she says, Jewish and Iraqi culture were synonymous there, largely because of the size of the Jewish population. “In the [1930s] it was 40 percent Jewish in Baghdad,” said Rabiyah. “They shut down the main commercial street for Shabbat.” Now, the Jewish community there is essentially non-existent.

It’s hard to say how many Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews live in the U.S.; the U.S. Census doesn’t ask about Jewish religion or culture, and most national surveys of American Jewish life fail to ask respondents about lineage. One survey conducted by Brandeis University found that 88 percent of American Jews identify as white, 2 percent as Black, 5 percent as Hispanic, and 4 percent as “other.” One analysis by a group of Stanford researchers concluded that 12–15 percent of American Jews are people of color. For the same reasons, there’s little data on how many Jews in the U.S. identify as Ashkenazi, but immigration throughout the 20th century was largely from Eastern European countries.

Judaism is a global religion with multiple distinct cultures. Yet in the U.S., a country that has long been a site of refuge and relocation for Jewish people fleeing persecution, the dominant stories about Jewish culture center Ashkenazi Jews, whose ancestors hail from Eastern European countries and Russia. They’re often perceived as white and of European descent, and their assimilation into American culture has helped to create a false narrative that Ashkenazim are the norm. The impact of this, Rabiyah said, is an erasure of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews, whose lineages begin in North Africa, Spain, and the Middle East.

Rabiyah is using food to record family history, document generations of Jewish movement across countries, and to demonstrate that people like her—Jews of color—exist. Take tbeet, a famous Iraqi-Jewish dish that involves slowly cooking a chicken in rice and is deeply embedded in Jewish faith and culture. It was traditionally started on Fridays, before it was forbidden to start a fire to honor the Sabbath, and served 12 hours later on Shabbat.

She also hopes to show how Iraqi Jews have acculturated to the U.S. and continue to adapt traditional foods here by swapping out ingredients that are easier to find. In order to develop recipes for the Awafi Kitchen, she reached out to elders in her family and in her community and asked them to tell her about recipes that have never been written down.

“Family is at the core of our food, and our story,” Rabiyah wrote on Instagram. “Our family members include some of the last Iraqi Jews that grew up in Iraq. Their memories feel so important to preserve.”

Collaborating with Sephardic and Mizrahi Creative Culinary Projects

In December, Rabiyah partnered with the Brooklyn-based collective Experimental Bitch Presents in their production of a play called In The Kitchen. Rabiyah developed the recipe for ba’aba beh tamur, an Iraqi cookie typically made for the Jewish holiday of Purim. To adapt to the pandemic, the project was a play-in-a-box: audience members received boxes with the audio play and the ingredients and recipe for the cookies.

Listeners heard the voice of Hannah Aliza Goldman, an actor, performer, writer, and food historian, draw on her own family history—her father’s lineage is Sephardic from Morocco, and her mother is Ashkenazi.

In preparation for the play, Goldman retraced her grandmother’s journey and returned to the village in Morocco where she grew up. In the 1930s, more than 250,000 Jewish people lived in Morocco, while today that number hovers around 3,000. For Goldman, much like Rabiyah, cooking traditional Sephardic recipes is a way to rebuild lost connections to that side of her cultural heritage.

“In Jewish culture we have different definitions of homeland,” Goldman said. “My grandmother was very religious. For her, Eretz Zion—Israel—was the homeland and they chose to move there for religious reasons. In the same vein, Morocco was also her home.”

Championing Sephardic and Mizrahi cuisine while telling the stories of migration and multiple homelands is a way of preventing cultural erasure, said Coral Cohen, the play’s director. For this reason, she plans to work with other Sephardic and Mizrahi artists in the future as well. Like Goldman, Cohen comes from a Mizrahi and Ashkenazi family. “Being white-passing, it’s important to acknowledge the privilege that we have, but really important to strongly identify as Mizrahi Jews, as Sephardic, as Iraqi, or Persian, because we are so erased in this country,” Cohen added.

Cohen and Goldman relied on community partners, such the Sephardic Mizrahi Q Network, a community of LGBTQ-identifying Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews who gathered around meals before the pandemic, to get the word out. The Q Network was inspired to use food as a way to reconnect with heritage, tell stories, and demonstrate that there are multiple valid ways of being Jewish.

In 2017, Ruben Shimonov, born in Uzbekistan and raised in the U.S., found himself searching for a Jewish community of people like himself: queer, non-Ashkenazi, and able to hold multiple identities at once. Every Friday night for Shabbat, members of the Q Network would share a meal together. Now, the community shares space on a Zoom screen, but prior to the pandemic the New York-based organization would rotate hosting responsibilities, eating in a different home every week.

“Food is one of society’s oldest technologies of community building,” Shimonov said. “We’ve had everything from chicken with preserved lemon and green olives to Persian rice. All the food represents the beauty and the diversity in [the Jewish] community.”

Representing that diversity is equally important to Rabiyah. For her, cooking her own family’s recovered recipes is a way of ensuring that other Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews feel increasingly seen and heard. “If you want your perspective to be shared,” she said. “Especially if you’re in a context of a lesser-told history—you have to tell it yourself.”

source/content: civileats.com (headline edited)

____________

___________________

AMERICAN IRAQI