Development Health Advice 

Ebola cases rising in DR Congo, but UN health agency cites progress in community trust-building

Latest data from 26 March, indicates a total of 1,029 confirmed and probable cases of Ebola, while 642 people have died, making the latest outbreak of the deadly haemorrhagic fever, which is endemic in the DRC, the worst in the country’s history. More than 320 patients have recovered and been discharged from treatment centres, according to the Government’s health ministry,… Read More
Human Rights 

Khashoggi murder trials must be public and meet international standards, UN expert urges

Agnes Callamard, who is leading an independent human rights inquiry into the killing at the Saudi consulate last October, denounced the lack of transparency of Saudi Arabia’s investigation and legal proceedings so far. Calling the murder “an extrajudicial killing committed in a consulate office on foreign territory,” the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions spelled out that “these… Read More
Development Health Advice 

Yemen hospital airstrike under investigation amid resurgence of deadly cholera

Condemning the attack on Kitaf District in northern Sa’ada Governorate – and intensified fighting in Taizz city in the south-west of the country that shut another hospital at the weekend, Lise Grande, Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, said that it was “unconscionable” that facilities were being destroyed “just when people need them the most”. She added: “Cholera is starting to spread… Read More
Human Rights 

‘Provocative actions and inflammatory rhetoric’ destabilizing Middle East, warns top UN official

“I am saddened by the persistent violence that continues to result in the tragic loss of Palestinian and Israeli lives”, said Nickolay Mladenov. “Recent incidents in the West Bank and Gaza highlight the mounting tensions across the occupied Palestinian territory and the risk of a broader escalation of the conflict,” the UN official told the Security Council. “I am concerned… Read More
Human Rights 

UN expert condemns new sentence for jailed Venezuelan judge as ‘another instance of reprisal’

“It is deplorable that Judge Afiuni continues to be subjected to arbitrary detention, the UN Special Rapporteur on Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Diego García-Sayán, said on Tuesday.  In 2009, then-President Hugo Chavez demanded that she be imprisoned for 30 years for releasing businessman Eligio Cedeño on bail, who immediately fled the country.  Judge Afiuni had issued the ruling in accordance with a decision by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which… Read More
Human Rights 

Tenants ‘forced out their homes’ by global investment firms, say UN experts

In a statement released on Tuesday, the experts, Leilani Farha, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, and Surya Deva, Chairperson of the Working Group on Business and Human Rights, said that, by expending unprecedented amounts of capital on housing, these firms have converted homes into financial instruments and investments, buying up affordable properties, upgrading them and substantially… Read More
Human Rights 

‘Uphold human dignity’, dismantle ‘specious notion of racial superiority’ urges UN chief

“Slavery and the transatlantic slave trade were among history’s most appalling manifestations of human brutality”, he reminded delegates from across the world gathered in the General Assembly Hall with a call for “justice and equal opportunities for all people of African descent”.  In 2007, the UN designated 25 March as a day to honour and remember those who suffered during the transatlantic slave trade: “We pay homage… Read More
Development Health Advice 

‘Ticking bomb’ health warning over deteriorating conditions facing Cyclone Idai victims

Latest reports indicate that more than 400 are now confirmed dead in Mozambique alone, with a further 300 fatalities in Zimbabwe and Malawi. In Geneva, Elhadj As Sy, Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said that an estimated 300 square kilometres of land had been destroyed or submerged when 150 kilometre-per-hour-plus winds and… Read More
Development Health Advice 

It’s ‘time to #EndTB’, says UN on World Tuberculosis Day

TB remains the world’s deadliest infectious killer, claiming nearly 4,500 lives each year and afflicting close to 30,000 others according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since 2000, global efforts to combat this preventable and curable disease have saved an estimated 54 million lives and reduced the TB mortality rate by 42 per cent. “The theme of this year’s World… Read More
Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial