Tag: South Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya and LONDON, Dec. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Globeleq, the leading private power company in Africa, announces that it has signed financing agreements with the African Development Bank (AfDB) (as mandated lead arranger), Finnfund and the Eastern and Southern African Trade & Development Bank (TDB) with regard to the US$72 million debt funding for the 35MW Menengai geothermal project in Nakuru County, Kenya.

Globeleq, which is owned 70% by British International Investment and 30% by Norfund, is providing equity, project development and construction management experience.  The announcement follows the recent joint commitment by the Kenyan and UK Governments at COP27 in Egypt to fast-track green investment projects worth KES500 billion in the country, including the Menengai project.

Menengai is a greenfield geothermal project and part of the first phase of the wider Menengai complex, which is the second large-scale geothermal field being developed in Kenya after Olkaria. Construction of the project is expected to commence during the first quarter of 2023 once financial close has been reached. Globeleq will operate and maintain the power plant once it has reached commercial operations in 2025.

Steam will be supplied to the project by Geothermal Development Company (GDC), a Kenya government-owned company under a 25-year project implementation and steam supply agreement.  Once operational, electricity will be sold to Kenya Power, the national distribution company, under a power purchase agreement for the same timeframe. The project also benefits from a signed and effective Letter of Support issued by the Government of Kenya. The project will deliver clean and cheap baseload power to the national grid and enable GDC to monetise the available steam resources from the Menengai steam field.

Mike Scholey, Globeleq’s CEO said:
“As an active participant in the Kenyan energy sector for many years, the Menengai geothermal project is our first geothermal project.  It fully aligns with our focus on quality investments which utilize renewable energy sources to create clean, reliable and cost-effective energy for the country and be an active part of the solution to the climate crisis. We are very excited to collaborate with our partner GDC in bringing this important project to fruition and look forward to further developing the Menengai geothermal complex.”

Dr. Kevin Kariuki, Vice-President, Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth at AfDB added:
“The Bank is proud to have led the financing of the Menengai project. The project showcases a suite of products that AfDB can bring to support our member countries to harness their geothermal energy potential. The Bank has provided US$29.5 million as senior debt and mobilized US$22.4 million co-financing, having earlier invested US$145 million to develop the Menengai steam field.  Moreover, we facilitated US$20 million concessional financing from the Clean Technology Fund to support the sustainability of the tariff and, for this specific project, we will provide a Partial Risk Guarantee of US$4 million to enhance its bankability. We look forward to a successful financial close and the commissioning of the plant.”

Michael Awori, TDB CEO said: “We are delighted to participate in this impactful transaction as part of this consortium of lenders. The cost-effective power generated through this project will create significant forex savings and increase the supply of green baseload power for several thousands of homes and businesses. TDB is a strong supporter of the energy sector in its member states, tackling short-term needs by financing the trade of energy commodities and long-term climate ambitions via renewable energy projects, including in wind, solar, run-of-the-river hydro and now geothermal power.”

Helena Teppana, Associate Director, Finnfund also commented:
“This investment is yet another step in Finnfund’s commitment to make €1 billion of new investments in climate finance by 2030. The Menengai geothermal project will provide clean and affordable power to the Kenyan grid and will be a domestic source of energy which can generate base load and will have important social and economic impacts. We are proud to be investing in the power sector in Kenya with our partners.”

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ACC, NCCN, ACS, and CHAI collaborate to launch new NCCN Harmonized Guidelines for Sub-Saharan Africa focused on pediatric cancers; available free at NCCN.org/harmonized .

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania and PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., Dec. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network^® (NCCN^®)—an alliance of leading cancer centers in the United States—is working on new NCCN Harmonized Guidelines for Sub-Saharan Africa, in collaboration with the African Cancer Coalition (ACC), the American Cancer Society (ACS), and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI). The organizations are part of Allied Against Cancer, a global multi-sector effort to improve resource-stratified access to life-saving cancer care in Sub-Saharan Africa. These harmonized guidelines build on the successful implementation of evidence-based, expert consensus context-appropriate recommendations for managing nearly all adult cancers across more than a dozen countries throughout the region. The groups recently reunited in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to launch four additional NCCN Harmonized Guidelines specifically focused on best practices for treating children with cancer.

NCCN Harmonized Guidelines use color-coded recommendations for optimal cancer care in high-resource settings alongside pragmatic modifications for effective treatment options in low- and mid-resource settings. The guidelines are established in collaboration with local health ministries, providers, and advocates, and are based on the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines^®)—a recognized standard for clinical direction and policy in cancer management worldwide. NCCN Harmonized Guidelines for Sub-Saharan Africa are available for free at NCCN.org/harmonized or via the Virtual Library of NCCN Guidelines^®App.

“With approximately 90% of childhood cancers occurring in low- to middle-income countries (LMICs), the need for harmonized treatment guidelines for Sub-Saharan Africa for this unique population is paramount,” said Dr. Edith Matsikidze, Oncologist at Parirenyatwa Hospital in Zimbabwe and Member of the African Cancer Coalition. “The collaborations between African experts working together with experts from NCCN will greatly contribute towards standard treatment practices across the African continent. The NCCN Harmonized Guidelines have come at the right time, as we work towards achieving the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer (GICC) goal of at least a 60% survival rate for childhood cancer in LMICs. The implementation of affordable, available, high-impact, and evidence-based interventions—as outlined in these guidelines—is a pragmatic solution that I would recommend for immediate adoption.”

The new pediatric guidelines will cover:

• Pediatric B-cell lymphomas (aka non-Hodgkin lymphomas, and including Burkitt lymphoma)
• Pediatric central nervous system (CNS) cancers
• Pediatric Hodgkin lymphoma
• Wilms tumor

These add to 51 existing NCCN Harmonized Guidelines for Sub-Saharan Africa providing best practice cancer treatment recommendations for more than 95% of all adult cancer incidence in the region, including breast, prostate, and cervical cancers. Treatment Guidelines for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia as well as supportive care guidelines (e.g. adult cancer pain, survivorship, smoking cessation) were published previously.

“Children everywhere should receive the best possible treatment based on the latest evidence and all available resources,” said Jamie Flerlage, MD, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Chair of the NCCN Guidelines Panel for Pediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma. “Some children’s cancers, such as Burkitt lymphoma, are more common in Africa than the United States. This initiative allows for a collaborative approach to help pediatric patients, while also learning from expert care providers across the sub-Saharan region.”

Dr. Flerlage was joined in Tanzania by:

• Anita Mahajan, MD, Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, Vice-Chair, NCCN Guidelines Panel for Pediatric Central Nervous System Cancers
• Al B. Benson III, MD, FACP, FACCC, FASCO, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chair, NCCN Guidelines Panels for Colon/Rectal/Anal/Small Bowel Cancers and Hepatobiliary Cancers

NCCN Harmonized Guidelines for Sub-Saharan Africa first debuted in November of 2017, during the biennial African Organisation for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC) conference in Kigali, Rwanda. They have been officially endorsed in Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

Learn more about NCCN’s collaborative work to define and advance high-quality, high-value, patient-centered cancer care globally at NCCN.org/global.

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network^® (NCCN^®) is a not-for-profit alliance of leading cancer centers devoted to patient care, research, and education. NCCN is dedicated to improving and facilitating quality, effective, equitable, and accessible cancer care so all patients can live better lives.

Media Contact:
Rachel Darwin
267-622-6624
darwin@nccn.org

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