Members of International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI) voted in a virtual election in November, with the result announced at their annual meeting this week.

IANPHI is a network of public health leaders with 111 members, representing 95 countries and works to build global public health capacity by creating, connecting, and transforming the world’s national public health institutes.

Professor Selbie’s election comes as the landscape of global public health is changing in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, making the work of IANPHI more vital than ever and provides an excellent opportunity for the UK to further strengthen its relationships with our global partners.

He has worked closely with IANPHI members for several years across various projects, including PHE’s International Health Regulations Strengthening Project which aims to establish and strengthen the capability of public health institutions to prevent, detect, respond to and control public health threats.

Following a period of transition, Professor Selbie will take over from outgoing president Andre van der Zande in January, beginning a 3-year term.

Professor Duncan Selbie said:

The global response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented and the response on a scale we have never before seen in living memory. Public health experts have never been more important to the health of their people and their local economies. We have a huge opportunity and responsibility to share our knowledge and learn from each other, ultimately strengthening global health security. IANPHI have a leading role to play in this.

Outgoing IANPHI president Professor Andre van dar Zande said:

IANPHI is very fortunate to have someone of Duncan’s experience and skill at its helm. The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded the world of how important it is to have strong, effective institutes protecting the public’s health.

Background information

IANPHI was formally launched in 2006, starting with 39 founding members and growing to 110 as of December 2020.

It is the only organisation that strengthens national public health institutes using an evidence-based international framework for development.

IANPHI provides direct funding to governments in low-income countries to build and strengthen national public health capacity through development of NPHIs.

Thank you,

I have the honour to deliver this statement on media freedom in Belarus on behalf of 42 states.

We reaffirm our unequivocal condemnation of the targeting, harassment and detention of journalists and media workers. We are deeply concerned by the excessive use of force by the authorities against journalists, including reports of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In a statement on 19 November, UN human rights experts strongly condemned large scale violations in Belarus, and said that peaceful protesters and journalists remain unprotected from disproportionately violent actions of security forces.

Journalists in Belarus are facing unprecedented levels of harassment. On 20 November, independent journalist Yekaterina Bakhvalova had criminal charges brought against her after filming police firing stun grenades during a memorial for murdered opposition supporter, Raman Bandarenka. A further 23 journalists were detained while covering this event.  Since May, 390 journalists have reported some form of persecution. Punishing journalists for doing their job is unacceptable, and we call on Belarus to immediately release all those detained and drop all charges against them.

We strongly urge Belarus to respect the freedom of expression for all, including for journalists and media workers. We urge Belarus to implement OSCE Moscow Mechanism report recommendations on freedom of expression and the media.

The increasing restrictions on independent media actors must stop.

Thank you.

Joint Statement on media freedom in Belarus

List of co-sponsors (42)

1. UK
2. Canada
3. Netherlands
4. Iceland
5. Norway
6. Germany
7. Ireland
8. Latvia
9. Lithuania
10. Czech Republic
11. Slovenia
12. Liechtenstein
13. New Zealand
14. Romania
15. Denmark
16. Switzerland
17. Luxembourg
18. Estonia
19. Spain
20. Sweden
21. France
22. Poland
23. Bulgaria
24. Finland
25. Hungary
26. Malta
27. Croatia
28. Monaco
29. Belgium
30. Cyprus
31. Australia
32. Slovakia
33. Portugal
34. Ukraine
35. Italy
36. Austria
37. Greece
38. Costa Rica
39. Chile
40. Japan
41. Brazil
42. Marshall Islands

Lee Anthony Skinner (60) has been banned for 10 years, while Karen Ferreira (60) has been disqualified for 7 years. The pair are banned from acting as directors directly or indirectly being involved, without the permission of the court, in the promotion, formation or management of a company.

The pair were directors of an online affiliate marketing company, Our Price Records Ltd, which remained dormant until 2014 before Karen Ferreira and Lee Skinner attempted to raise funds from the sale of shares in the company.

The company, however, entered into administration in April 2017 before being referred to the Insolvency Service for further enquiries.

Investigators established that Karen Ferreira and Lee Skinner sold shares to 260 investors and secured almost £3.5 million. The pair, however, secured the investment under false pretences and breached financial regulations.

Karen Ferreira and Lee Skinner created promotional material duping prospective shareholders into believing that their brand was well known, despite having their application to register Our Price Records as a trademark opposed by the original owner.

Our Price Records sold the shares through a third party but neither had the authority to engage in investment activity, breaching financial regulations.

The pair also failed to tell investors that Our Price Records had entered into agreements to pay up to 50% of total funds raised to the third parties selling the shares. In total, Karen Ferreira and Lee Skinner paid at least £1.58 million in commission to third parties.

Investigators uncovered that Karen Ferreira was a director of two other companies which had entered into general service agreements with Our Price Records. But investors were not made aware of this nor that Our Price Records paid the company in total more than £750,000.

One of the companies that Karen Ferreira was a director of entered into a commercial loan agreement with Lee Skinner and granted a loan of up to £1 million on the understanding he would pay for Our Price Record’s administrative and marketing services. A total of more than £760,000 was paid to Lee Skinner and no repayments have been made.

The funds raised remain outstanding to the investors in the administration and the investors are not protected under the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme

The FCA secured a restitution order in the High Court earlier this year against Lee Skinner, Karen Ferreira and the company. The Court found that individuals and the company were in breach of Financial Services and Markets Act.

On 28 September 2020, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from Lee Skinner, after he did not dispute that he had caused Our Price Records to breach the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, used the ‘Our Price’ brand at a time that the ‘Our Price’ trade marks were subject to dispute and caused the distribution of false and/or misleading information to investors regarding the use of the investment funds. His ban is effective from 16 October 2020 and lasts for 10 years.

Karen Ferreira’s 7-year disqualification was accepted by the Secretary of State a few days later on 5 October 2020. In her undertaking, Karen Ferreira, did not dispute that she allowed Our Price Records to breach the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, allowed Our Price Records to use the ‘Our Price’ brand at a time that the ‘Our Price’ trade marks were subject to dispute and allowed the distribution of false and/or misleading information to investors regarding the use of the investment funds. Her ban is effective from 26 October 2020.

Robert Clarke, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said:

Using an agent, Karen Ferreira and Lee Skinner made false and misleading promises to prospective investors when they were trying to entice them to invest into Our Price Records. Not only did this breach financial regulations but investors were totally unaware of other agreements Our Price Records made, which saw millions of pounds being handed over to third parties.

Unfortunately, investors have suffered significant financial losses. However, these bans should serve as a warning to other directors tempted to raise funds by illegitimate means that we will investigate and remove them from the business environment.

Lee Skinner is from Essex and his date of birth is November 1960.

Karen Ferreira is from Essex and her date of birth is July 1960.

Our Price Records Ltd (Company number 04792445)

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings.

Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of other restrictions.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

The UK is stepping up to drive climate action in Kenya, British High Commissioner Jane Marriott announced today. During a visit to Lake Baringo, she reaffirmed that the UK is doubling its commitment to providing international climate finance by KES 1.7 trillion over the next 5 years.

During the visit, High Commissioner Jane Marriott met with businesses, schools and community leaders affected by the rise of Lake Baringo. The lake has risen by over 42 inches since May, impacting jobs, education and health services. The UK is committed to tackling climate change in Kenya, and the related issues that have driven the flooding.

As shown by Lake Baringo, the impacts of climate change are being felt all over Kenya, but these effects are felt the most by the communities directly impacted. Next year the UK will host the global climate change talks, and today Ms Marriott launched a new initiative inviting Kenyans to submit their photographs depicting how climate change is affecting the country.

Photographs can portray the very real challenges people face in Kenya. Winning photographs will cover the following categories: nature based solutions to climate change, climate technology and innovation, and adapting to climate change in the community.

Speaking on the shores of Lake Baringo, British High Commissioner to Kenya Jane Marriott said:

Climate change is already a daily reality for people across Kenya. Vulnerable communities that rely on their natural environment for survival are most at risk, least able to prepare and hardest hit. The UK will provide a platform for Kenyan voices and experiences in the run up to the climate change conference next year in the UK, to build a brighter, greener, future.

Vice President of the World Resources Institute and Friend of COP26 Wanjira Mathai said:

Without support to locally led measures to adapt to climate impacts and increase the resilience of economic activities, communities will sink further into poverty and hopelessness. The need for urgent climate action is clear. We need to re-set our relationship with nature and through our collective action reverse the damage we have done to mother earth.

The initiative comes during a Year of Climate Action in Kenya, a partnership to celebrate the leadership that Kenya has shown in areas such as climate policy, clean energy, and green finance.

Edouard Wenseleers, Globeleq’s Business Development Director for East Africa said:

Globeleq’s mission is to power Africa’s growth. As a responsible investor and power producer, Globeleq is committed to grow its business in a manner that is sustainable and respectful of the environment and the communities. Our Malindi Solar project in Kenya is a testimony of that commitment and we are delighted to sponsor the ‘Climate Changemakers Photography Competition’ launched by the British High Commission in Nairobi.

Last month, the UK announced a KES 1.2 billion (£8m) package of UK initiatives to support climate action in Kenya and Africa.

The UK is also backing new pioneering satellite projects that will apply British expertise to tackling development problems in Kenya. UK academics will work on data solutions to manage natural resources and protecting wildlife. In Kenya, these projects will protect biodiversity, and increase climate change resilience:

• Sat4Wildlife – to protect wildlife habitats in Kenya, using innovative sensing and monitoring technologies to boost the capacity of conservationists, including Ol Pejeta Conservancy to tackle threats to people and wildlife.
• gEOthermalKenya – working with Kenya’s National Environmental Management Authority to support the sustainable growth of the geothermal sector, through a combination of satellite data insights and community consultations
• Earth Observation for Sustainable Aggregate Supply – supporting sustainable management of sand resources

Notes to editors:

• The photography competition, sponsored by Globeleq, will see up to three Kenyans win KES 200,000 each and a chance to visit and photograph the Globeleq Malindi Solar project once in operation
• Winners will be selected by a panel comprising of the British High Commissioner to Kenya, Jane Marriott, the Principal Secretary Ministry of Environment and Forestry Dr. Chris Kiptoo, Vice President and Regional Director for Africa, World Resources Institute, Wanjira Mathai and a representative from the competition sponsor, Globeleq

• The Terms and Conditions can be found here Terms and Conditions (ODT, 19.9KB)

• The recent 1.2 billion KES package of UK support to tackle climate change in Africa includes:

  • The UK PACT Green Recovery Challenge Fund programme to Kenya and other countries with KES 770 million (£5.3m) available to support low-carbon transitions through clean energy and nature-based solutions;
  • A new UK funded partnership between Cambridge University, the Eastern & Southern African Management Institute, the International Institute for Environment and Development and FSD Africa to build capacity to access climate finance across Africa;
  • UK support to the FlipFlopi Project, in partnership with UNEP, to combat plastic waste and water pollution in Kenya and Lake Victoria, and work by BBC Media Action to train and mentor journalists to report on pollution issues and local solutions including recycling