Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sierra Leone began a week of mourning Wednesday as it emerged that 105 children were among more than 300 people who perished in mudslides and torrential flooding, in one of the country’s worst natural disasters. With 600 people still missing in Freetown, President Ernest Bai …
Read More »Measles outbreak confirmed in Kampala and Wakiso
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda’s Ministry of Health has confirmed there is an active outbreak of Measles in Kampala and Wakiso Districts. All the five divisions of Kampala, as well as several suburbs in Wakiso District are affected. According to a statement released Tuesday, the Ministry of Health surveillance …
Read More »2,000 Philippine mums show breast is best for babies
Manila, Philippines | AFP | Some 2,000 mothers in the Philippines breastfed their babies in public on Saturday in a gathering aimed at cutting infant deaths and dispelling taboos over the practice. To the upbeat sounds of local pop songs, hundreds of mothers suckled their babies inside a cavernous Manila stadium, …
Read More »Boxed in: S.Korea child law sees more babies abandoned
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | The young woman laboured up the steps, past brightly decorated walls akin to a child’s nursery, her daughter in her arms. Opening a hatch in the wall, she put her inside, turned around and walked away. She ran her hands over her head but did …
Read More »Rights groups urge Tanzania to stop threatening civil society
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Tanzania’s government must stop issuing threats against rights groups working with teen mothers or campaigning for gay rights, a joint statement from these organisations said Thursday. President John Magufuli and top government officials have issued a series of statements vowing to deregister or charge non-governmental …
Read More »‘Tragic’ measles vaccine blunder kills 15 children in South Sudan
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | Fifteen children died in South Sudan after receiving contaminated measles vaccines that had not been properly refrigerated, and were mixed using the same syringe for four days. In addition to the blunders handling the vaccine, Health Minister Riek Gai Kok said that two children, …
Read More »At least 29 school children killed in Tanzania bus crash
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | At least 29 final year primary school pupils were killed in a bus crash in northern Tanzania on Saturday, along with two teachers and the driver, the school’s director said. “We lost 29 students and two of our staff, and the driver died too,” said …
Read More »South Africa bus crash kills 20 children
URGENT: 20 children killed in S.Africa bus crash: emergency services Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | At least 20 children were killed in a bus crash outside the South African capital Pretoria on Friday, emergency services said, as paramedics treated the injured at the scene. The minibus collided with a …
Read More »ARTS: You can only be a child #once exhibition
By Dominic Muwanguzi In response to the growing numbers of child labour in poor communities world-wide, a photo exhibition titled #ONCE opened in Kampala recently. The photographs were taken by renowned photographer Jimmy Nelson in Erussi Sub-county, Nebbi District in West-Nile region. They show children in child labour free-zones, including …
Read More »Kadaga challenges parents on lunch for children
Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga has appealed to parents to provide lunch to children in order for them to concentrate and excel in school. “If a child is hungry, he or she will be thinking about other things like mangoes and will not concentrate in class. Parents, please give …
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