Tag: UN Africa News

Displaced people there already face outbreaks of several deadly diseases, including cholera, malaria and measles, and fighting has severely weakened the health system: more than a third of facilities have been destroyed in attacks, and there is limited access to drinking water and sanitation infrastructure.  IOM fears an outbreak of COVID-19 would exacerbate the current situation, placing further stress on… Read More

Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, updating the Council on the work of the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), said at the local level, the security situation remains volatile. The mission is mandated to protect civilians and humanitarians operating in the area. He pointed to rising tensions between the pastoral Ngok Dinka and nomadic Misseriya communities, as well… Read More

UNFPA has been recruiting hundreds of contact tracers from local communities who are supporting health authorities in the most affected areas by identifying everyone who has been in contact with an infected person, monitoring their health for symptoms, and referring suspected cases for testing.  “The work of the contact tracers is critical to breaking the chain of transmission of the… Read More

Notwithstanding the “dire” situation, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, assured the Council via video tele-conferencing that the UN is “fully mobilized” to continue supporting the Sudanese people. Just told Security Council members that we’re driven by sense of urgency and collective responsibility to enable the success of the truly historic transition in Sudan. We are planning a future @UN… Read More

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) revealed on Thursday that since 29 March, thousands of people have fled their homes and villages each day, as security forces from Niger, Chad, Nigeria and Cameroon launched a military crackdown on armed groups in border regions that have seen numerous attacks on citizens and national military forces. ‘’The safety… Read More

Briefing the Security Council during open videoconference proceedings, Huang Xia urged the international community not to let up on its support for the continent-spanning region that includes Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda, among several other nations. Citing data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Special Envoy said that the novel coronavirus has so… Read More

In a statement released on Wednesday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, welcomed the acknowledgement by the Government of Cameroon – following a national investigation – that members of its military were involved in the deaths of at least 13 people in a village in the country’s northwest region, as well as the announcement of new legal proceedings… Read More

3D-printed face shields made for health workers in Djibouti fab lab, by migrants, by IOM The shields are being produced in a training space called a ‘fab lab’ (digital fabrication space) funded by IOM, the UN’s migration agency (IOM), which normally teaches digital fabrication skills and computer literacy to vulnerable youth. ‘Fab labs’, which use openly shared software and data,… Read More

Protecting marine areas from over-exploitation and providing the people who have traditionally lived off the sea with a sustainable alternative livelihood does not come cheap, but in the Seychelles, a focus on financial instruments is making that task easier.  Read More

___________________________________________________________________________________ Ahead of its arrival in Nigeria, a lot of people in the country had misconceptions about COVID-19. Many thought it was a disease only for advanced countries, or that black Africans were immune to it.  But as the number of infections grew from one case in Lagos on 27 February, to more than 400 by 17 April, new myths… Read More