Emirates launches second daily A380 service to Frankfurt

Emirates, a global connector of people, places and economies, has announced a second daily A380 service to Frankfurt, adding 1,155 seats a week on the route, with 280 in First Class and Business Class.

Commencing 1st January 2016, Emirates flights EK47/48, currently operated by a Boeing 777-300ER, will be up-gauged to an A380. The first scheduled A380 service between Frankfurt and Dubai was in September 2014; since then, over 280,000 passengers have traveled with Emirates on this route.

"Our daily A380 service to Frankfurt proved to be extremely popular and we’re happy that demand has been so strong that we needed to increase capacity on the route. In fact, our four gateways in Germany are doing extremely well with 3 of them boasting a daily or double-daily A380 service. Should the opportunity arise, Emirates would be keen to fly to additional cities that are currently underserved, offering more choices to travelers," commented Hubert Frach, Emirates’ Divisional Senior Vice President and Commercial Operations West.

"Our customers love the A380 and adding a second one to Frankfurt will further enhance the travel experience on that route and provide more A380 to A380 connectivity to popular destinations around the world via our ultra-modern hub in Dubai,” added Frach.

“We are pleased that Emirates decided to operate a second daily A380 to Frankfurt. It shows a clear commitment of Emirates and underlines the attractiveness of Frankfurt Airport”, said Dr. Stefan Schulte, Chairman of the Executive Board of Fraport AG.

Emirates’ flight EK47 departs Dubai International Airport at 14:35hrs and arrives in Frankfurt at 18:40hrs. The outbound flight EK48 departs from Frankfurt at 20:30hrs and arrives in Dubai at 0610hrs the following day.

The new aircraft will feature 14 Private Suites in First Class, 76 flat-bed seats in Business Class, and 429 comfortable seats in Economy Class. Passengers in all classes will enjoy access to over 2000 channels of films, TV shows, music and games through ice Digital Wide sreen, the airline’s award-winning inflight entertainment system, as well as free Wi-Fi and gourmet cuisine. It will also offer access to the world’s only onboard Shower Spa for First Class passengers and to the Onboard Lounge, where First Class and Business Class passengers can socialise at 40,000 feet.

As with all Emirates flights, passengers will be able to accumulate Skywards miles and benefit from a generous baggage allowance of 30kg in Economy Class, 40kg in Business Class and 50 kg in First Class. Passengers travelling in premium cabins will also enjoy Emirates’ dedicated lounge at Frankfurt Airport, as well as Emirates Chauffeur-drive service.

Emirates also operates nine weekly freighter flights out of Frankfurt, offering a total cargo capacity of up to 1,000 tonnes per week. Main products transported include machinery, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and electronic equipment bound for markets in the Middle East, Africa, Asia as well as USA and Mexico.

The Emirates A380 is partly manufactured at Airbus’ facilities in Hamburg-Finkenwerder, with various parts coming from small and medium sized suppliers based in Germany like galleys, aircraft upholstery, paint and ground handling equipment which represent hundreds of millions of Euros in direct investments. The Emirates’ A380 programme creates and supports manufacturing jobs across the global aircraft supply chain. With a total of 140 aircraft ordered, Emirates is the largest purchaser of Airbus’ A380, accounting for more than 40 percent of the total A380 order book. Airbus estimates that Emirates’ A380 orders support the employment of 14,500 direct, indirect and induced jobs in Germany.

The Health Camp Kampala

The Health Camp Kampala event organized by Apple Concepts in partnership with UAP, FUFA, KCCA among others. This charity event “Health Camp Kampala” is scheduled for August 27^th to 29^th 2015 at Nakawa UAP office park.

The major goal of this initiative is to help improve the quality of life in Uganda through sensitizing the community about different health aspects Several partners including Red Cross Society, Marie Stopes Uganda, Case Health Case Medcare, PathFinder, Aga Khan University Hospital, Victoria University Healthcare, Aids Information Centre to mention but a few have partnered with us to offer free body checkups and health services like Cancer screening, Typhoid tests, Tests for Hepatitis, HIV Canceling and Testing, Pressure checkup, Skin Care, Dental Care, Nutrition advice, Eye Care, Family planning services and other health services and information.

Background;

Whereas there have been a few achievements towards the MDG’s goals, Uganda’s progress has been quite slow. Despite having led the world in combating HIV/Aids about two decades ago, the HIV/Aids prevalence among the 15-49 year olds has increased from 6.4 per cent to 7.3 per cent between 2004 and 2011. 

It is estimated that 353 new infections occur daily and 60,000 Ugandans die from HIV/Aids annually.

It is also said Uganda’s maternal mortality ratio is among the highest in the world estimated at 438 per 100,000 live births. Child mortality (death before the age of five years) occurs in 90 of every 1000 live births.

 In the recent years, the country has and is experiencing an increase in the death rates due to cardiovascular diseases and cancers. According to WHO (2014) NCD’s account for 27^% of total deaths registered.

 This is worsened by the crippling state of health facilities in the country and the low financing by the government for health initiatives. 

  

The Need;

 With the above figures into consideration, there is need to increase access to healthcare services at the grass roots by increasing accessibility of hospitals and clinics to the population, finding ways of financing health better than it currently is. There is effort by the donor community and government to help improve the health indicators; however more effort is needed from the private sector and the public too.

Such partnerships permit the efficient and effective use of resources and reduced costs, increase the likelihood of sustainability, develop a stronger base of support by bringing in valuable knowledge and skills,  increases the scale and scope of activities, raises credibility and create understanding among different individuals and communities.

There is need to educate the public on their health needs and help them take charge of their health in order to prevent ill health. Life style changes have been one of the reasons attributed to the increasing number of NCD’s and this needs to be addressed through prevention mechanisms.

Sheraton Kampala Hotel thumps NBS TV

Sheraton Kampala hotel on Saturday 22nd August thumped the giant media house, NBSTV in a friendly soccer match held at Makerere University Business School (MUBS) sports grounds.

With a lot of excitement and hope from both sides before the whistle was blown for the game to start, the enchanted players were seen warming up and jogging around the pitch.

Just a few minutes into the first half Sheraton’s Robert Kasirye raised the adrenaline levels in the NBSTV players when he scored the 1st goal with a direct shot into the NBS TV goal. Robert and Jimmy Onen added another 2 goals leaving their counter parts, NBS TV with no option but to be hopeful for a better scoreboard in the second half.

Speaking to Sheraton’s Robert Kasirye, the top scorer of the day, he said "he was very optimistic and knew that his team would have a great game thus a good score since they have diligently been training He was also very confident with his team because it’s full of talent, zeal and energetic young men".

"At Sheraton we not only focus on the fitness health of our guests but our staff as well and this has been manifested in the results we have achieved in today’s game against our friends NBS TV and therefore we encourage all our customers to utilize our fitness centre and swimming pool so they can stay fit and healthy. We also want to thank the management of Sheraton Kampala Hotel for making this possible and the NBS TV team for being cooperative for this day to be successful. We hope that this is a journey to greater heights between Sheraton hotel and NBS TV." Said Collins Mpango the Sheraton Kampala Fitness Centre Manager.

It must be noted that the NBSTV team came with a lot of enthusiasm and energy to change the scoreboard in the second half but Sheraton’s Mustapha James dropped their hopes when he scored the 4th goal in the 80th minute that it was clear Sheraton had won the match.

Collins Mpango thanked the players from both sides for the great team work they have exhibited and called upon everyone to keep it up even at their places of work.

Airtel Uganda scoops two awards at the Digital Impact Awards Africa

Airtel Uganda was among the winners of the second edition of the Digital Impact Awards Africa at the just concluded awarding ceremony. The telecom service provider won two awards for its innovations in the Finance and Entertainment sector.

Airtel Uganda’s mobile money transaction service was recognized and awarded in the category of Best Financial Inclusion Impact. The just concluded talent search music competition, Airtel Trace Music Star, was also recognized in the category of the Best Digital Marketing Campaign.

The awards which were presided over by the Chairperson of Uganda Investment Authority took place at the Kampala Serena Hotel and were aimed at honoring the companies with the best digital practices in the fields of Digital Inclusion, Financial Inclusion and Cyber security.

“We are honored to have been awarded at the Digital Impact Awards Africa and this shows that the public feels the impact of our work and appreciate the services we offer. Our Airtel Money service has been improved and designed to help the users navigate and transact with ease and in a timely manner.” Said Airtel Uganda Brands, Assets and Properties Manager, Noella Byuma.

At the awards, the public vote contributed 20% and the Jury’s judgment 80% for one to win. One was able to vote as many times as they could and it was one vote per hour.

About Bharti Airtel

Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company ranks amongst the top 3 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, the company's product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed line services, high speed DSL broadband, IPTV, DTH, enterprise services including national & international long distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel had over 328 million customers across its operations at the end of May 2015. To know more please visit:www.airtel.com

Cipla, Quality Chemicals deal to enhance productivity

Cipla Limited’s wholly owned subsidiary in the UK, Cipla (EU) Limited’s recent purchase of a 51% stake in Quality Chemicals Limited, a pharmaceutical importer and distributor of human health, animal health and public health products in Uganda is a forward looking strategy, officials have noted. 

Nevin Bradford, the Chief Executive Officer of Cipla Quality ChemicalIndustries Limited (CQCIL) says that the deal will provide a liquidity solution to longstanding Ugandan partners as well as enhance the productivity of the company. “Quality Chemicals Limited is one of the leading distribution companies for pharmaceutical and consumer products and this deal provides Cipla with a platform to expand its non-tender private market reach in Uganda, thereby extending the delivery of its therapies to a much broader set of patients.” 

"It will further help in widening the investment opportunities and growing the business. This acquisition is positive and for the long term,” he explained. 

The purchase valued at approx. $26m will boost Quality Chemicals Limited’s operations, a 22.05% shareholder in the company's subsidiary in Uganda. CQCIL. With the agreement, Cipla Limited’seffective stake in CQCIL has increased to 62.3% from 51%. CQCILmanufactures therapies for HIV, Malaria and Hepatitis. 

According to Bradford, the deal has also enabled Cipla gain access to an attractive business platform and further consolidate its position in CQCIL while providing a springboard for further investment.  

CQCIL recently unveiled the ‘One Pill a Day’ HIV/AIDS therapy, as well as the first Hepatitis B Drug to be manufactured in Africa. These developments will go a long way in providing much needed affordable healthcare across the continent. 

About Cipla Ltd:

Cipla Limited is a global pharmaceutical company which uses cutting edge technology and innovation to meet the everyday needs of all patients. For more than 70 years, Cipla has emerged as one of the most respected pharmaceutical names in India as well as across more than 150 countries. Our portfolio includes over 1500 products across wide range of therapeutic categories with one quality standard globally.

Whilst delivering a long-term sustainable business, Cipla recognises its duty to provide affordable medicines. Cipla's emphasis on access for patients was recognised globally for the pioneering role played in HIV/AIDS treatment as the first pharmaceutical company to provide a triple combination anti-retroviral (ARV) in Africa at less than a dollar a day and thereby treating many millions of patients since 2001. Cipla's research and development focuses on developing innovative products and drug delivery systems.