Tag: UN Africa News

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) nearly four million doses of coronavirus vaccines from the UN-partnered COVAX initiative arrived in Africa last week, compared with just 245,000 for all of June.  Reminding that the continent is still “in the throes of the pandemic’s third wave”, WHO Regional Director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, told a virtual press conference with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, “we are… Read More

Atul Khare, Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support, updated ambassadors on progress towards the mission’s closure and final liquidation, following the end of its mandate last December after 13 years protecting civilians uprooted by conflict.  The handover is part of UNAMID’s drawdown process as endeavors to build the capacity of designated parties who will continue to serve the host community after UNAMID’s… Read More

The number of acutely malnourished children is likely to “increase fourfold” since the previous assessment conducted last October, including 110,000 in severe condition whose growth and development will suffer “irreversible damage”, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said in a joint statement.  “What is currently happening in southern Madagascar is heart-breaking”, said WFP Representative Moumini Ouedraogo. “We cannot turn our backs on these children whose lives are at stake”.  Drastic deterioration … Read More

Six per cent of the population in the West African country is now internally displaced, with more than 1.3 million people uprooted in just over six weeks, according to latest Government figures.   No slowing down  The speed of internal displacement shows no sign of slowing as attacks on civilians and security forces continue unabated, UNHCR Spokesperson Babar Baloch told… Read More

It was the first UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) aircraft to arrive in the region since commercial flights were halted on 24 June, carrying more than 30 staffers from multiple aid organizations.  “WFP and our fellow emergency responders on the ground in Mekelle are all enormously relieved to see this UNHAS flight arrive today, bringing in colleagues who are all essential in our collective efforts to scale up the humanitarian… Read More

Voices from Sudan 2020, published this week, is the first-ever nationwide qualitative assessment of gender-based violence (GBV) in the country, where a transitional government is now in its second year.  Addressing the issue is a critical priority, according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Government’s Combating Violence against Women Unit (CVAW), co-authors of the report.  “The current context… Read More

They’ve been learning how to breed fish in tanks hundreds of miles away from the sea, in a region where crops, raising animals and artisanal fishing on Lake Chad, have been the traditional farming activities. Displaced people have been trained to process the fish for sale. © FAO Cameroon There are more than 300,000 internally displaced people in the Far North… Read More

“Positive steps are now needed to avoid backsliding”, he told the ministerial-level meeting.   To avoid a return to conflict, violence and chaos, Mr. Kubiš, who also heads the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), underscored the “overwhelming demand and expectations” of both Libya’s citizens and the international community for timely elections that are necessary to complete the country’s democratic transition. The Central Mediterranean route between Libya and Italy was the deadliest, claiming 741 lives so far this… Read More

Fatalities are rising as hospital admissions increase rapidly as countries face shortages in oxygen and intensive care beds.  COVID-19 deaths rose by more than 40 per cent last week, reaching 6,273, or nearly 1,900 more than the previous week.  The number is just shy of the 6,294 peak, recorded in January.  Reaching ‘breaking point’  “Deaths have climbed steeply for the past… Read More

Unobstructed aid deliveries are crucial in the northern Ethiopian region where the World Food Programme (WFP) says that four million people need emergency food assistance, after more than eight months of conflict between regional and central government forces. UNHCR calls on all parties and actors to not only comply with international legal obligations, including the protection of civilians, but also… Read More