GlaxoSmithKline's Ebola Vaccine Passes First Human Trial

The first human trials of a vaccine against Ebola have been successful, but it will be months, at best, before it can be used to stem the outbreak in West Africa.

The origins of the vaccine go back more than a decade. A chimpanzee cold virus was modified to carry Ebola genetic material conferring protection against the Zaire strain of Ebola. This was shown to be effective in monkeys, although the benefits wore off with time.

Progress was delayed not by technical obstacles but economics. Previous outbreaks were controlled by tracing and quarantining the sick. With the people most endangered also being the least able to pay, funding was limited. Via Business Insider.

Gunmen Shoot Dead A Journalist In Puntland Somalia

(Reuters) - Gunmen shoot dead a journalist in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, the third killed in Somalia this year, a colleague and the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) said.

Radio journalist Abdirisak Ali Abdi, nicknamed Silver, was killed in the Puntland town of Galkacyo late on Tuesday, said Faduma Yusuf, who worked with him at Radio Daljir. "Gunmen hit him with several bullets," she told Reuters.

Abdi, who was 25 and married with two sons, also worked for a London-based television station, NUSOJ said. Read More...

GlaxoSmithKline Takes A Step Closer To Ebola Vaccine

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) $GSK, the Britain-based pharmaceuticals company is inching closer to finding a vaccine for the deadly virus Ebola. The company's test Ebola vaccine, which has already been tested in nearly 200 people has shown no side effects on healthy human beings so far, which is a positive sign at the early stages of the study.

Photo via CNBC Africa courtesy of Doctor's channel

According to reports on Monday, the safety data so far are very satisfactory, which means there is no threat with regard to the safety of the vaccinated subjects.


Since the trials began about two months ago, the program has used approximately 200 healthy human volunteers from the U.S, Britain, Mali and Switzerland.

The experimental shot uses a single Ebola virus gene from a chimpanzee virus to generate an immune response. Because it doesn’t contain any infectious virus material, it can’t infect those being vaccinated.

Latest statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that the latest Ebola outbreak has now infected more than 13,000 people with virtually all of them being from West Africa, especially in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. out of these, 5,000 have been reported to have succumbed to the virus.

Reports also suggest that biotech companies are accelerating the drug trials for Ebola vaccine, while WHO remains hopeful that one or more of the vaccines may be ready for some limited use in West Africa, in early 2015.

Zambian Presidential Candidate Vows To Legalize Marijuana If Elected

Following the death of Zambian President "King Cobra" Michael Sata, the presidential office for the Southern Africa nation remains under interim leadership of former V.P Guy Scott, who is Africa's first white head of state since South Africa's F.W de Clerk lost to Nelson Mandela in 1994, in an election that marked the end of the Apartheid.

Image courtesy of the Independent Observer via The Guardian

However, the office is already attracting a series of candidates as widely expected, with no incumbent to oust. Among the aspirants, is Green Party's Presidential candidate, Peter Sinkamba, who has vowed to legalize Marijuana if elected in the forthcoming elections.

Mr. Sinkamba has promised voters to cut dependence on mining, especially the over-reliance on copper, as he seeks to implement his manifesto of a green economy. Sinkamba an environmentalist is looking to save Zambia's environment with Marijuana.

According to reports, Mr Sinkamba will announce his candidature on Friday, November 14, on a Green Party ticket as he seeks to replace the late president, Michael Sata.

However, reports suggest that Sinkamba's manifesto of legalizing Marijuana might face serious headwinds especially considering the fact that Zambia is a socially conservative nation.

Nonetheless, Sinkamba is adamant that Marijuana would cut Zambia's addiction and over dependence on copper as a main export, which accounted for nearly 70% of the country's overall exports in 2012.

KCB Q3 Pretax Profit Up By 17 Percent

Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) has posted an improved pretax profit rising by 17 percent for the third quarter of 2014.

The company pointed out growth in Transaction Fees and improved efficiency through the use of alternative business channels, as well as, a significant growth in non-funded income as some of the driving factors behind its profit growth.

Image via Business Daily Africa

The Bank's CEO Joshua Oigara told CNBC Africa “We have also seen good increment on our fees and commission which is also not a surprise because we have invested very strongly on the non-funded income, alternative channels, invested in agency banking… despite the reduction in our net margin this year compared to last year.”

The group fees and commission on loans was up 20 percent to 3.5 billion Kenyan shillings while loans and advances grew by 17 percent to 264.3 billion Kenyan shillings from 225.7 billion shillings reported the same period last year.

KCB is East Africa's largest commercial bank in terms of assets, and despite experiencing some serious headwinds in its operations in Uganda and Southern Sudan over the recent past, the group still managed to grow its overall assets significantly increasing from $385.2 billion Kenyan shillings to 451 billion shillings, representing another 17 percent growth,a figure that was so common in the recent results.

Kenya is the company's largest revenue contributor accounting for 77%, while South Sudan contributes about 12.7%, with Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda accounting for 3.7%, 3.2% and 3.2% respectively.

West Africa Hits Record Numbers In Cocoa Production

West Africa has hit a record number in cocoa production driven by Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria quickly rising.

Increase in West Africa's cocoa production. PHOTO: Best Wallpaper-via CNBC Africa

This past season, West Africa produced a record of 3.1 million tons of cocoa. However, it is unlikely that the region will produce the same high yield next season.

“We’re expecting a total crop of around 1.6 million tons in Côte d’Ivoire. We’re expecting a slightly larger crop in Ghana of around 950 thousand tons and we’re expecting Nigeria to grow by the strongest of any cocoa producer in the world,” said Edward George, head of group research at Ecobank. Read More...

Africa Growth Prospects Are Key Attraction To Gulf Investors

While there have been some doubts whether African countries can maintain the pace of growth, Ernst & Young believes that 14 years of growth has not been a "flash in the pan" and that the trend will continue. EY expects Africa's combined GDP to hit USD 3 trillion by 2018, compared to just over USD 2 trillion currently.

Many Gulf businesses are well aware of Africa's promise.

Dubai's Emirates airline has emerged as the de facto 'national' airline of Sub-Saharan Africa, offering 198 flights a week to 22 destinations, while Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways serves 11 destinations.

Logistics firm Aramex has been focused on expanding in Africa and said in January it would look to acquire firms in South Africa and east Africa.

Abraaj Capital, a major private equity investor in emerging markets, has been on the hunt in Africa in recent years, picking up stakes this year in Morocco's chocolate manufacturer Kool Food, and in Liberty Star Consumer Holdings, one of the largest unlisted food and personal care manufacturers in South Africa. Read More...

Zambia's V.P Guy Scott Becomes Africa's First White Head Of State In 20 Years

(Reuters) - Zambia's Guy Scott became Africa's first white head of state in 20 years on Wednesday after the president, "King Cobra" Michael Sata, died in a London hospital aged 77.

Scott, a Cambridge-educated economist born to Scottish parents, had been Sata's vice president. He will be interim leader until an election in three months, making him the first white African leader since South Africa's F.W. de Klerk lost to Nelson Mandela in the 1994 election that ended apartheid.

Scott, 70, is ineligible to run for the presidency in the election because of citizenship restrictions, leaving defense minister Edgar Lungu and finance minister Alexander Chikwanda the most likely contenders for the ruling Patriotic Front party's ticket, analysts say. Read Mores.

Dozens Volunteer For Ebola Test Vaccine

The world's most popular virus at the moment, Ebola,  seems to have touched the hearts of many as researchers try to find a vaccine in a bid to control the outbreak. GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK), (LSE:GSK) $GSK, has been working on several Ebola vaccine products in a bid to cut the spread of the deadly virus.

According to reports, the U.K -based pharmaceuticals company may have found a product that is now ready to test on healthy human beings. The research team is looking for 120 volunteers for the test program and reports indicate that more than 50 have already volunteered.

The city of Lausanne, Switzerland  will host the test program for GlaxoSmithKline product in what would be the largest study for leading experimental vaccine in fight against Ebola.

While reports indicate that a majority of the volunteers are mainly doctors and medical students, the fact that some people are willing to become test subjects in what could possibly emerge to be a death ticket shows that at last, scientists could be making a major milestone towards fighting Ebola.

World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that, if kept unchecked, Ebola could strike as many as 10,000 people per week by December this year. However, according to Dr. Blaise Genton, a professor at the University Hospital of Lausanne, who has worked on more than 20 vaccine trials, there could be some progress towards finding a vaccine. He believes that the current string of vaccine to be tested is very different from the others, and expressed a great deal of optimism on the product.

"We need to go very fast so that we may have something more than what we have now in terms of preventive measures", Genton Said. A shipment of vials of the vaccine is expected to arrive today or tomorrow (Thursday), enabling inoculations to begin this week. Unconfirmed reports suggest that GlaxoSmithKline's experimental shot is based on a live version of a genetically modified chimpanzee virus that contains an Ebola gene.

Meanwhile, the volunteers from the broader community will receive $845 or 800 Swiss Francs as compensation for time spent and travel expenses.

Kenya Will Review Growth Target After Rebasing: Says CBK Chief

Kenya will review its economic growth target for this year after it recalculated the size of the economy.

This is a move that led to a jump in annual growth rates, its central bank governor said on Monday.

Government officials put 2013's gross domestic product at 53.4 billion US dollars - 25 per cent higher than previously stated - after updating the base year for its calculation.

Growth for 2013 was revised up to 5.7 per cent from 4.7 per cent. The higher growth trend was confirmed when the statistics office said the economy expanded by 5.8 per cent in the second quarter, up from 4.4 per cent in the first three months. Read More...

Horn Of Africa Gets Development Boost As Lenders Pledge $8 Billion

According to Reuters, Global Development Lenders have pledged more than $8 billion to boost economic growth in eight countries in the Horn of Africa region.

The Horn of Africa region has faced several challenges over the last few decades including political and security related threats. Despite all these, the region is one of the most promising in the continent in terms of economic growth. However, in order to realize this potential, the Horn of Africa region would have to meet crucial development milestones like a clear infrastructure that links the eight countries.

The Horn of Africa region features some of the world's fastest growing economies including, and is comprised of Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti and South Sudan.

The $8 billion pledged by global development lenders will be invested in the countries' infrastructure development, which
include projects like regional oil and gas pipelines, programmes to improve health and access to energy, as well as, the expansion of university education and job training in the coming years.

The countries of the Horn of Africa are making important yet unheralded progress in economic growth and political stability, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement announcing the commitments.
Now is a crucial moment to support those efforts, end the cycles of conflict and poverty, and move from fragility to sustainability,” Ban added. 

Most of the countries in the Horn of Africa region have shown impressive signs of economic growth with Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan being among the most promising. The countries in this region also boast a wealth of mineral deposits, which would become more accessible and easy to commercialize with improved infrastructure.

NB: Photo UNDP.

Fixing Egypt's Economy Not A Shot In The Dark, But Patience Is Essential

CAIRO, Oct 21 ( Reuters ) - Egypt's Prime Minister urged the country's citizens not to expect instant results from large-scale infrastructure projects the government has embarked on to create jobs and strengthen the economy.
Ibrahim Mehleb faces the monumental task of repairing finances battered by political upheaval, street protests and Islamist militant violence.

Photo Credit:Reuters/Al Youm Al Saabi Newspaper
He also has to persuade foreign companies that their cash will be safe in a country where complex laws, legal cases and stifling bureaucracy have entangled or scared away even the most adventurous investors. Read more..

EU To Raise Ebola Aid Budget To 1 Billion Euros

European Union leaders have agreed to double their financial aid directed to fight against Ebola in Africa to 1 billion Euros, CNBC Africa reported. "EU will increase financial help to 1 billion euros to fight Ebola in West Africa", the Chairman of EU Brussels Summit said on Friday via a twitter message.

There were criticisms that the 28 nations member union was not doing enough towards the fight against Ebola with the previous amount of aid pledged estimated at around 500 million euros. However, the latest developments show that the EU is now ready to show its commitment towards the fight against Ebola in West Africa.

The non-curable virus has no vaccine and has already killed thousands of people in West Africa, as the the western part of the continent continues to put measures towards prevention of spread. Mali has become the sixth nation in West Africa to report a case of Ebola as the World Health Organization (WHO) races to contain the outbreak.

This shows just how the deadly virus is spreading at an alarming rate never witnessed in the recent past. Several governments and organizations have dedicated a significant amount and effort towards containing the disease as market analysts fear that the virus could have a major impact on financial markets.

Kenya Power FY Pretax Profit Jumps 55.2 Percent

National utility firm, Kenya Power, has posted a 55.2 per cent rise in its pretax profits for its full year results.

Kenya Power, has posted a 55.2 per cent rise in its pretax profits for its full year results. PHOTO: Getty Images

The firm that supplies electric power and energy services across the country recorded 10.2 billion Kenyan shillings in its profit before tax. This positive performance is credited to higher tariffs, increased sales and enhanced systems efficiency. Read More

Sub-Saharan Africa Debt-GDP Ratios Remain Impressive, But It's Getting Worse For Some Countries

Sub-Saharan Africa Debt-GDP Ratios Remain Impressive, But It's Getting Worse For Some Countries.

According to a report published by IMF, the debt-GDP ratios in most sub-Saharan Africa countries remains low, but a few countries have experienced an increase in the rate of debt-GDP, thereby putting them in potential financial distress in the long-term.

Central Africa Republic and Malawi have the biggest debt-GDP ratios at more than 20 percent and more than 15 percent respectively, as illustrated in this 2012-2013 chart. (courtesy of IMF)

The high levels of debt-GDP ratio are putting long-term debt sustainability and macroeconomic stability at risk. However, a revision of the composition of primary spending could go a long way towards reducing this type of risk.

Generally, Africa remains one of the most promising in terms of economic growth prospects, with average annual growth estimates currently pegged at about 5.5 percent through 2014-2015. This means that it should remain attractive to investors for the foreseeable future.

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