World Bank warns Nigeria
World Bank warns Nigeria against sustained under-investment in human capital.
Issue #6
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What we are looking at
FG's deadline for COVID-I9 vaccination
World Food Day 2021
World Bank warns Nigeria
FG's DEADLINE FOR COVID VACCINE SHOT FOR EMPLOYEES
The federal government of Nigeria has announced that from December 1st, federal civil servants who do not show proof of vaccination and/or a negative COVID-19 result will be barred from accessing their offices.
Boss Mustapha, who is the Secretary to government of the federation and also chairman of the presidential steering committee on COVID-19, made this announcement on Wednesday.
“With effect from 1st December 2021, federal government employees shall be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or present a negative COVID-19 PCR test result done within 72 hours, to gain access to their offices, in all locations within Nigeria and our Missions. An appropriate service-wide advisory/circular will be issued to guide the process,” he said.
What's the vaccination rate in Nigeria?
According to Faisal Shuaib of the NPHCDA, more than 1.6 million eligible persons have been fully vaccinated six months into the commencement of the vaccination exercise.
1,692,315 persons have received two doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines, as approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and as at Monday evening, 4,052,756 eligible Nigerians have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccines.
This is made up of 2,645,020 persons with the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine and 1,407,736 persons with the first dose of Moderna vaccine.
This gives a national average of 70.4 percent utilisation of the 2,000,040 doses of Moderna vaccines received.
FOOD AND THE FUTURE.
Oct 16th is a day set aside to commemorate World Food Day; a day to raise awareness on food security, hunger and poverty. The event will be celebrated across 150 countries of the United Nations, with the set theme for 2021 as “Our actions are our future-Better production, nutrition, a better environment and a better life” to take place in Brussels, Belgium.
Why celebrate World Food Day?
The world at present, still faces the challenge of hunger and malnutrition, which has been aggravated by COVID-19 pandemic and an increase in population.
Our continuity depends on the food we eat and how sustainable our consumption is to our health and the planet at large. A sustainable agri-food system is one that is healthy, ample in its variety and affordable enough to everyone. A system of low food wastage, efficient supply chain and with minimal effect on the environment. World Food Day promotes such awareness and active steps for achieving these objectives.
Parties Involved
This year’s event will be jointly led by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the World Food Programme (WFP).
The Nigerian government, in support for the World Food Day, is also setting aside loans to support smallholder farmers across the federation.
W’BANK WARNS NIGERIA AGAINST SUSTAINED UNDER-INVESTMENT IN HUMAN CAPITAL.
In a new report (PDF) released yesterday by the World Bank, the global financial institution has cautioned the Nigerian government against the continued under-investment in human capital, as it may hinder Nigeria from harnessing the economic potential of its young population.
According to the report, the COVID-19 crisis has underscored weaknesses in Nigeria’s labour market, noting however, that the country could leverage the crisis to protect human capital and foster good jobs for its young population.
It observed that before COVID-19, Nigeria’s youth already faced a daunting jobs challenge, adding that even without the pandemic, about 30.8 million Nigerian youth aged 15-29 (about 54.3 percent of the 56.7 million people in that age group) were projected to have entered the labour market.
Any solution?
Yes, the World Bank listed three directions for policy action to deliver good jobs and prepare young Nigerians to fill them.
These include investment in human capital; boosting job creation; and helping enterprises grow.
It also noted that reversing education losses from COVID-19, particularly among girls, was a top priority.
Options proffered to address these included adding more hours to the school day, repeating the missed school period, and delivering lessons during school holidays.
The World Bank also stated that monitoring of education results is vital to ensure that losses are recouped.
According to the report, priorities to support job creation included promoting economic diversification away from oil and redirecting public spending towards productivity-enhancing infrastructure and pro-poor social protection.
You can read more about the report here.
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WORTH READING 📚
Shaping the future through urban farming; embracing vertical farming through technology. By Bill Saporitto.
WORTH WATCHING 🎥
Junior – The Micro-documentary. About water supply and hygiene in Bayelsa State. By Buddy Godgift Amos.
This newsletter was put together while listening to Back in Office by Mayorkun.