Issue # 492
INSIDE
T HE
P.2
P.4
P.9
Target’s $100M pledge to boost Black communities
A F R IC A N
C OM MU N I T Y
N E W S PAP E R
US to donate 17 million Covid vaccines to the African Union
Didier Drogba signs on as WHO goodwill ambassador
Are religious vaccine resisters harming reputation of churches?
President Joe Biden, right, listens as Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, left, speaks during their meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021 after President Biden announced the donation of 17 million COVID-19 vaccines to the African Union. Photo: Susan Walsh/AP
By Aamer Madhani Associated Press
P.10
OCTOBER 18 - 24 www.mshale.com
WizKid to headline Afro Nation Puerto Rico
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta discussed financial transparency during their White House meeting Thursday, as the East African leader faces scrutiny over revelations that he and his family stashed millions of dollars in hidden offshore accounts. Kenyatta is one of more than 330 current and former politicians identified as beneficiaries of secret accounts revealed in recent reports known as the Pandora Papers. He and his relatives have some $30 million in offshore holdings, according to reporting by The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. The consortium obtained millions of leaked documents that detail the hidden wealth of prominent world leaders, politicians, corporate executives and
celebrities. Kenyatta has denied wrongdoing. Biden did not directly address the Pandora Papers revelations in a brief appearance with Kenyatta at the start of the Oval Office meeting. The White House said in a statement following the meeting that the leaders “underscored the need to bring additional transparency and accountability to domestic and international financial systems.” “Our nations share a deep commitment to fairness and to respect and equity,” Biden said. “And I’m committed to further elevating our ties with Kenya and nations across Africa as a whole. But Kenya is key to this.”
meet with people you have disagreements on,” Psaki said. “We have a range of interests in working with Kenya and working with them on issues in Africa, in the region, and that will be the primary focus.” Biden announced at the start of his meeting with Kenyatta that the U.S. will donate 17 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine to the African Union. Africa lags behind much of the world in vaccinations: Only nine African countries met the World Health Organization’s goal of vaccinating at least 10% of the population by the end of September.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki noted that Biden has been vocal about what he sees as “inequalities” in the international financial system.
The new donations, expected to be delivered in the coming weeks, are in addition to the 50 million doses already donated to the African Union by the U.S. A vaccine acquisition group backed by the African Union has already procured 400 million J&J doses.
“That doesn’t mean we don’t
Kenyatta thanked Biden for
helping Kenya and other African countries access the vaccine, and said further assistance from the international community would be “greatly welcomed.” Kenyatta’s visit also comes as a nearly yearlong war in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia continues to roil the region. The United States is looking to Kenya, long an ally on counterterrorism efforts in East Africa, to help wind down the conflict in neighboring Ethiopia that has left the area gripped by human-made famine. Biden has threatened to impose sanctions against Ethiopian officials and others involved in the conflict if the fighting doesn’t wind down soon. Idaho Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations
US-Africa on Pg. 8