Tag: UN Africa News

The attack by the so-called Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in eastern DRC, took place on Monday, near the town of Beni, when a MONUSCO patrol came under fire. The injured peacekeeper is reportedly in a stable condition. I strongly condemn the killing of a @MONUSCO peacekeeper from Indonesia in a cowardly attack in the Beni region yesterday. This crime must… Read More

But limited testing and social stigmatization is likely obscuring the true magnitude of the pandemic, said Mr. Shearer, who heads the UN Mission in the world’s youngest nation (UNMISS). The Mission’s greatest fear is that the additional pressure of responding to COVID-19 on South Sudan’s weak healthcare system will disrupt vaccinations, maternal health services and treatment for curable diseases like malaria, diarrhoea… Read More

She noted the landlocked West African nation faced the on-going threat of violent extremism, climate change and humanitarian crises, but Michelle Bachelet also stressed that her fact-finding mission was “a testament” to the State’s openness the promotion and protection of human rights, in collaboration with the UN. Armed Islamist groups have killed hundreds of civilians there, as well as in… Read More

In the latest incident carried out by armed groups, UNHCR spokesperson Boris Cheshirkov cited local authorities in saying that 26 people were killed on Sunday at Ndjala site in the Drodro health zone in Ituri province. “Ten women and nine children were among the dead and 11 people were wounded. The attackers used guns, machetes and knives”, he told journalists… Read More

This feature has been edited for clarity and length. Eddie Ndopu was talking to Melissa Fleming, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications. You can hear the full interview on the UN podcast, Awake at Night. “At the age of two, I was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, a degenerative condition that affects the muscles and results in progressive weakness.… Read More

“Today, 9.4 million people are living their worst nightmare,” Tomson Phiri, the agency’s spokesperson, told journalists in Geneva.  80 per cent ‘behind battle lines’  Of the people across northern Ethiopia in need of assistance, more than 80 per cent – 7.8 million – “are behind battle lines”.    The largest jump in numbers has occurred in Amhara region with 3.7 million people now in urgent… Read More

The development on Friday came as a World Health Organization (WHO) panel prepared to meet to assess the potential impact of a new coronavirus variant identified as B 1.1.529. According to WHO’s COVID-19 technical lead, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the information is still limited. “There are fewer than 100 whole genome sequences that are available, we don’t know very much about… Read More

Yesterday, almost 40 trucks with humanitarian supplies, including food, left the Afar capital of Semera for Tigray – the first convoy to do so since 18 October.   Meanwhile, trucks containing fuel and medical supplies are still waiting for clearance in Semera.  Around 500 trucks of humanitarian supplies are required per week, Stéphane Dujarric informed journalists at a regular press briefing.  Today @WFP has registered families in urgent need of food assistance in #Dessie & started… Read More

He reported that the political climate remains “heavily polarized” ahead of the presidential and parliamentary polls, which are being held in line with a roadmap adopted last year following a historic ceasefire and the establishment of an interim government.  Even though Libyans are eager to cast their votes, “vocal opposition” persists surrounding the legal framework for the elections, said Mr.… Read More

The warning comes from the United Nations and the Somali Government. Climate projections show that the country is facing a fourth consecutive failed rainfall season.  In a joint statement on Friday, the organizations said it is imperative to act now to prevent a slide into the kind of drought and even famine conditions experienced in previous years.  So far, nearly 100,000 people, especially in central and southern… Read More