Togo First
In Lomé, WHO trains experts from five African nations on ways to better assess risks related to spending on health services
The World Health Organization (WHO) is currently holding in Lomé a four-day workshop for public health officers from Benin, Cameroon, Guinea, Mali, and Togo. The experts will be taught how to assess monies spent on health by populations, by using the most recent data.
In detail, participants will learn about ways to estimate indicators of financial protection in the health sectors, methodology, and techniques used to assess household expenditures on health services, by using appropriate databases and statisticsa software.
Through the workshop, the experts will better understand risks related to these spending, contain them and improve access to health services for populations.
The long-term goal here is to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC), which WHO set in its general program of work adopted in 2018. The global organization indeed wants a billion people to benefit from the coverage.
Around the world, about a hundred million people are plunged in poverty due to the high spending on health services, while about 800 million spend more than 10% of their revenues to access them.
Togo records the highest proportion of female inventors who applied for patents in Africa and the world, between 1998 and 2017
Worldwide, Togo recorded the highest proportion of female inventors who applied for a patent between 1998 and 2017, 57.14% exactly. This was revealed in a recent study from the UK's intellectual property office.
The study which assessed 120 countries explored gender profiles in worldwide patenting.
After Togo follows Uganda where the proportion of female inventors in patent applications stood at 44.55% over the period.
The US and the UK are far behind respectively ranked 110th and 120th with the figure standing at 10.04% and 9.44%.
While countries like Togo and Uganda have recorded such astounding performances, data shows that the overwhelming majority of patents are filed by men. Indeed, last year, female inventors were only associated with 13.07% of all global patent applications.
Séna Akoda
Togo: US embassy provides XOF35.2 million for 17 community projects, under its Self-Help Programme
The US embassy in Togo has recently granted XOF35.2 million to seventeen community groups and associations in the country. This is under its Self-Help program to encourage local populations and improve their living standards.
With the facility, these organizations will launch income-generating projects, agricultural transformation projects, acquire equipment for schools, or help the handicapped.
The related agreement was signed on October 1, 2019.
Communities seeking to benefit from the facility can apply online on the embassy's website or physically at the embassy. However, let it be noted that the maximum amount allocated to any given project is $5000 and small-budget projects have a better chance of being picked.
The Self-Help Project was launched in 1964 to assist communities in developing impacting projects.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo: State Secretariat in charge of financial inclusion starts a set of workshops on financial education for microfinance institutions
Yesterday in Lomé, the first stage of a battery of training workshops dedicated to financial inclusion that will be organized over the whole country was launched.
This was done by Prince-Agbodjan, representative of Mazamesso Assih, State Secretary in charge of financial inclusion and the informal sector. On the occasion, he said the training is essential to teach Togolese how to manage financial resources and access loans.
The initiative follows, according to Price-Agbodjan, a finscope study that revealed that "53% of Togolese people say they need financial education" and "71% of them said they had financial issues to honor their commitments."
During the recent training, topics such as budgeting, savings, digital financial education, and others will be covered. The next locations to host the workshop are Tsévié, Kpalimé, Atakpamé, Sokodé, Kara, and Dapaong.
Séna Akoda
A Togolese delegation is currently at the French Travel Market to promote Togo as a touristic destination
A Togolese delegation is currently in Paris where it is attending the International French Travel Market Top Resa. The mission of this delegation which regroups representatives from the ministry of tourism, hotels, travel agencies, and Miss Togo 2019, is to boost Togo's visibility on the French market and attract more French tourists to the country, according to the Togolese Ministry of Finance.
In effect, at the event, the representatives showcased Togo's cultural heritage (local dances and chants, traditional crafts and infrastructures such as the Koutammaku site listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site), among others.
Attending the fair, it should be highlighted, aligns with a wider strategy to make "Togo, the premiere international touristic destination of France based on the two countries' historical bonds and linguistic affinity."
The International French Travel Market will end tomorrow, October 4th.
Séna Akoda
Togo: OTR organizes a fair to register not-yet registered, but used bikes
On Tuesday, the Togolese Revenue Office (OTR) launched a fair to "facilitate registration and customs clearance formalities for bikes not yet registered but in use in the country."
According to the related communiqué signed by the OTR's head commissioner, Philippe Kokou Tchodié, a reduction of 45% is granted on the customs value for all types of bikes.
The document, however, indicates that the operation will end on October 31, 2019. Also, only bikes purchased before October 1, 2019 can benefit from it.
Séna Akoda
Togolese parliament ratifies conventions to accelerate the operationalization of the Single African Air Transport Markert (SAATM)
During their most recent session on October 1, 2019, Togolese deputies discussed security issues impairing air transport and services, as well as the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM).
The parliamentarians adopted two ratification projects. The first is the protocol to amend the convention on offenses and certain other acts committed on board an aircraft (Montreal, April 4, 2014), to boost the security and safety of planes, passengers and goods. The second is the agreement between Togo and the Saudi kingdom, relative to air services, signed on February 24, 2016, in Jeddah. This agreement, according to officials, falls under the PND and paves the way for economic exchanges between the two partners.
Also, the parliament adopted a project for the adhesion of Togo to the constitution of the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) adopted on December 16, 2009, in Dakar, Senegal.
According to Tsègan Djigbodi, President of the National Assembly, the adoption of these projects (unanimously) "will ease the operationalization of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM)."
Let's note that the minister of transport, Zouhératou Tchakondoh-Kassah Traoré, and the MD of the national agency for civil aviation (ANAC), Gnama Latta Dokissime, were at the recent session.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo: The number of businesses created over the first eight months of 2019 was up 7%, year-on-year
Spurred by new reforms, the number of businesses created in Togo over the first 8 months of this year were up 7% compared to last year, over the same period. Indeed, data from the Center for Business Formalities puts this figure at 9,895 between January and August 2019, against 9,205 in 2018.
The trend should be sustained given economic recovery and the various measures implemented to improve the business climate. Among the latter is a significant reduction of time needed to get a business establishment card (from 24 hours in 2018 to 7 hours last February), the dematerialization of key processes to mobile (Flooz, T-money) and banks (Mastercard, Visa, wiring).
There is also the elimination of a requirement that limited liability companies have their articles of association drafted by a notary. This reform was even lauded by the World Bank which recently put Togo among the top 20 economies that improved their business climate most in the past 12 months.
It should also be noted that since last Monday, registration and stamp duties have been effectively suppressed.
Togo seeks a consultant to assess the level of utilization of ICTs and their quality in the country
A consultant is being sought after in the framework of an investigation to assess the level of utilization of ICTs in Togo and how beneficiaries of the WARCIP perceive the project. According to a document from the ministry of the digital economy, the related call for expression of interest will close next Friday.
The hired consultant will collect from the surveyed population their description of ICT services in the country, their opinion about unit costs of national and international communication, about project execution, etc.
The consultant will also assess the impacts of the WARCIP on its beneficiaries; the project, let it be recalled, is financed by the World Bank and aims at boosting connectivity in Togo.
According to the ministry of digital technologies, this goal should be met by building new infrastructures to improve network quality while at the same time lowering related access costs. Besides, the regulatory framework for information and communication technologies will be updated.
Séna Akoda
The Lomé city digital directory has been officially launched
On Sept.30, the Lomé City project was effectively launched after an experimentation phase.
The tool, a digital directory, is available on Play Store, on the project's dedicated website (www.lome-city.com) and its Facebook page. It aims to "serve as a compass for the people of Lomé, as well as a reference among other local guides," according to Osspiss Ogname, its developer.
The directory offers three main services, notably: easy search and access to services provided by local businesses; it is a channel where local businesses and individuals can publish ads and events; boost these audiences' digital audience through efficient advertising.
"The Lomé City app will help rapidly find interesting places in Lomé (businesses, restaurants, bars, hotels, hospitals, etc). It also allows identifying on a map the fastest routes to a specific location."
"Our vision is social", said the project's promoters before adding: "We are rendering the city of Lomé a service by updating urban data."
Séna Akoda