Here is an update on Bristol Link with Beira, Beira and Mozambique - but firstly - the 2022 calendar is now available. Further details of how you can support our work are at the end of this newsletter.

To get a calendar at £5 plus £2.50 postage and packing, please contact us by email info.bwithbeira@gmail.com including your name, postal address and the quantity required, and we will reply with the payment process. Alternatively, send these details with a cheque made out to ‘Beira Fund’ to, Dave Spurgeon, Bristol Link with Beira, 17 Oldbury Court Road, Bristol, BS16 2HH. Also available from Kalahari Moon in St. Nicholas Market.

1. MOZAMBIQUE: Covid - Malaria - Oil & Gas - Debt Scandal - COP26
2. PEOPLE: UK Envoy - Mayor of Beira
3. BROSTOL & UK: Black History Month - Afrika Eye - BITA Quiz - SOAS
4. GET INVOLVED: BLB Fundraising  - Working Groups 

Covid-19 in Southern Africa has hit the news with the emergence of the Omicron variant. This is a product of the real scandal, the lack of adequate vaccination in many poorer countries particularly in Africa. Mozambique has administered Covid-19 vaccines to about 16% of the population so far, higher than the 6.6% across the continent. Global Justice Now report that a WHO survey of 25 African nations found an average of only 27% of their health workers are fully vaccinated against Covid-19. At current rates of vaccination, the G7 countries will vaccinate their populations by 8 January 2022. It will take low-income countries 57 years to vaccinate theirs.

In June 2021, Boris Johnson promised that he and the G7 countries would use their surplus vaccines to immunise the whole world. In September, at a summit chaired by President Biden, a December target of 40% vaccination was set for the 92 poorest countries. Two and a half months on, there is little chance of this target being met in at least 82 of them. Until recently the US, which to its credit has been responsible for half the vaccines donated, had still delivered only 25% of the vaccines pledged. The failure in the rest of the world is even more disturbing. According to Airfinity, who provide data on global health issues, the EU has delivered only 19%, UK 11%, Canada 5%, Australia 18%, Switzerland 12%, of offers to supply vaccines, whilst China and New Zealand have delivered over half of what was promised.

One proposal to be discussed at a now postponed WTO Ministerial Conference, was to waive intellectual property on Covid-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments. India and South Africa first proposed the waiver in October 2020, and the solution has the backing of more than 100 countries, including Botswana, USA and Australia, the WTO, and over 170 former world leaders and Nobel Laureates. This would have freed up the ability for a wider manufacture of vaccines around the world.

Ayoade Alakija, a co-chair of the Africa Vaccine Delivery Alliance, has protested against these failures. She stated, “Had South Africa and indeed the rest of Africa been allowed access to vaccines at the same time as the rich countries of the world there wouldn’t have been uncontrolled spread replication and subsequent mutation of the virus,” Unless all the world is vaccinated, no one is protected. Vaccine nationalism threatens us all. It is vital that we petition our MPs and support the wide range of development organisations, The WHO, and its agency Covax are campaigning for equitable access for Covid19 vaccines, and aims to accelerate the development and manufacturing of Covid-19 vaccines, and guarantee fair and equitable access for every country.

We are aware that under-reporting of Covid-19 is likely in Mozambique, and the majority of the cases in Sofala Province are in Beira City, where life expectancy is already compromised by high exposure to HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis and malaria. A great piece of news for the community in Beira is that WHO has granted approvals for malaria vaccine. Malaria is endemic in Mozambique, and the entire population is at risk of contracting the disease, with about where 30% of the population experience the disease, exacerbated by the high rate of HIV. Pregnant women and children under the age of five have the greatest risk of developing severe malaria. All this negatively affects life expectancy rates and consequently global inequalities. In the case of Beira, malaria cases rise annually after flooding. We await news of the mechanisms for rolling out a vaccination programme.

Oil and Gas Exploration
The discussions continue with contrasting views on whether the exploration of gas benefits Mozambique, and Joe Hanlon recommends “Snake or ladder: Is gas the best route to development in Mozambique?” based on two recent reports. One, by the Tony Blair Institute says “Harnessing the transformative power of gas is a developmental imperative that serves people, prosperity and planet, while acknowledging the rightful aspirations of Mozambicans.” In contrast, Oil Change International argues gas is unlikely to drive equitable social and economic development in Mozambique, due to a combination of global transition away from fossil fuels, global pandemic-fuelled recession, and conflict in Cabo Delgado. Revenues that do accrue are unlikely to benefit ordinary Mozambicans.
 
Supported by their counterparts in Mozambique, Justiça Ambiental, UK's Friends of the Earth are lobbying MPs about the government's continued support for the Cabo Delgado LNG plant in Mozambique, having called for a judicial review of the Government's decision. Friends of the Earth Bristol are supporting this campaign. 

The Jubilee Debt Campaign reports that in one of the biggest debt scandals this decade, the London branch of Credit Suisse has finally been fined £147 million, and forced to cancel £150 million of Mozambican debt for its role in fraudulent loans made in 2013 and 2014. This secret loans scandal pushed an estimated 2 million people into poverty. However, the fine is being kept in the UK, rather than going back to the Mozambican people. You can support the Jubilee Debt Campaign here

If you live in Mozambique the climate emergency has already arrived. Mozambique is one of Africa's most vulnerable countries to climate change. It was the most affected by the impacts of extreme weather events in 2019, according to the Global Climate Risk Index 2021. Destruction to crops from extreme weather and falls in agricultural productivity and drought threaten the health and economic stability of many Mozambicans. Flooding is a growing risk given its location downstream of nine major river basins. Sea level rise is already affecting half of the population who live in low-lying coastal communities. Mozambique's extensive coastline heightens the country's vulnerability to tropical cyclones and storm surge flooding. Beira was on the frontline of Cyclone Idai in 2019, and Cyclone Eloise in 2021, causing severe damage and flooding.

The Glasgow Climate COP26 talks dealt with issues that are a life-or-death matter to Mozambicans. Positive decisions were made such as pledges to stop deforestation by 2030, to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030, and the rather disappointing promise to ‘phase down unabated coal use’ rather than ‘phase out’. The global planetary goal is to arrest the global temperature rise at 1.5°C, the agreed ‘Glasgow Pact’ failed to meet this. The promises made, if kept, may keep the rise to 2°C. Current trends indicate that the rise could be a disastrous 2.4°C. The bottom line is that we need to cut carbon emissions by around 7% p.a. or 50% by 2030!

Climate change is a massive issue of injustice, the richer nations caused the problem, but the poorer countries such as those in Africa who emit only 3% of global carbon emissions, suffer the biggest consequences. The plan to remedy this is the promised Global Finance dialogue, by which wealthy countries would provide £75bn per annum, this total has not been met and has now been deferred to 2023. The UK Government has also cut development aid by £3bn. These funds are urgently needed to help provide cleaner technology and help poor countries adapt to climate change. There is also a demand from poorer countries to fund a ‘Loss and Damage’ account by which compensation could be made for losses already created by climate change. These issues must be resolved by the next COP27 which takes place in Egypt, Africa in 2022.

Club of Mozambique reported that the UK Trade Envoy to Mozambique, Katherine Fletcher, visited Mozambique in mid-October meeting the President of the Republic. This was to encourage trade between Mozambique and UK, especially in renewable energy and agriculture, as well as technology, railways and ports, whilst emphasising the importance of the economic empowerment of women. She visited Manica province, and British companies operating in the agricultural sector, and then projects in Gorongosa National Park, heartened that Gorongosa Coffee is now available in UK.

Trustees of Bristol Link with Beira (BLB), and the International Twinning Officer from Bristol City Council (BCC), recently met with the new mayor of Beira Municipal Council (CMB) Albano Carige António, over the internet, to endorse the Friendship Agreement between the two cities. This provides a framework for Bristol and Beira to work with each other, and tackle the challenges Beira faces to achieve its vision as a ‘green city’. 

Mayor Antonio sees health and education as key development components, in partnership with NGOs, schools, and communities, and BLB can support this. He concluded that he was looking forward to being able to visit the ‘Beira Room’ at BCC, and hoped that people in Bristol could visit Beira in the future. BCC’s International Officer explained that their International Strategy is not just about trade and investment. It is also about providing leadership on global values such as human rights and environmental sustainability and growing global citizens that feel they benefit from our increasingly global society. BLB are using two of BCC’s mechanisms being People and Partnerships, plus Research, to contribute to this. If you or your organisation is interested in forming partnerships between Bristol and Beira, please contact info.bwithbeira@gmail.com 

Bristol 17 and Beira 17
To coincide with COP26, Bristol’s Global Goal’s Centre mounted an installation at Bristol Beacon, showing their Bristol 17 campaign of Bristol’s Heroes for the Goals, to inspire people to make a personal pledge towards the 17 UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Bristol Link with Beira have supported The Global Goals Centre since its inception as an education charity creating exciting engaging experiences to inspire learning and action on climate and equality in our everyday lives, focussing on how the climate crisis could be addressed locally, and sharing positive messages and stories. BLB ran a parallel Beira 17 campaign on social media, to highlight actions being taken in Beira to address the SDGs.

On a project-to-project basis, we partner with organisations to fund, research and deliver projects in Bristol and Beira. BLB aims to facilitate partnerships between organisations in Bristol and Beira, and to link those who have assets with those who have needs. Please let us know if:

4. GET INVOLVED

Fundraising
We are currently developing our fundraising strategy which depends on contributions from our supporters, which could include for you:

Local fundraising in Bristol allows us to have direct interaction between communities in Bristol and Beira. We can provide more information on BLB to include in your activities, and would appreciate any offers of help: please contact info.bwithbeira@gmail.com. Specifically, we are looking for runners to join the BLB team and raise sponsorship in the 10k at the Great Bristol Run on September 25 2022. Please let us know if you sign up.
 
We have set up another GoFundMe page, dedicated to building reserves for Bristol Link with Beira to be able to respond quickly to any emergency or disaster in Beira, through our partners in Beira, ADEL Sofala, who can quickly assess the needs of the people of Beira after such an event. Every donation will help. You can also make recurring payments via this page and if applicable, Gift Aid is automatically applied to individual and recurring donations.
 
We are also currently applying for grants in the UK for specific small projects proposed by Community organisations in Beira, and have fingers crossed for some success.

Working Groups 
Our two working groups would welcome any further support from volunteers. In particular anyone involved in health, schools and/or climate change for the Programes Working Group, and anyone involved in the private sector and/or IT for the Operations Working Group. If you, or anyone you know, would be interested in getting involved in any way, and especially filling these gaps, please let us know. We would also any ideas for academic research which could be facilitated by BLB.