Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The United Nations on Friday launched a global push to speed up production of a vaccine for the new coronavirus as US President Donald Trump came under fire for suggesting injecting patients with disinfectant. The pandemic has upended life around the planet as nations try to …
Read More »Saudi deportations of Ethiopians could fuel COVID-19 spread: UN
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Saudi Arabia has deported nearly 3,000 Ethiopian migrants in recent days, despite concerns that such operations could hasten the spread of the coronavirus, the United Nations says. Since mid-March, the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) has registered 2,870 Ethiopian returnees, all but 100 of …
Read More »African economies hard hit by coronavirus pandemic
Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | Sub-Saharan Africa has not been as badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic as some other parts of the world, but the economy is being pummelled. Here’s a look at the main issues. – Perfect storm recession – For the first time in 25 years sub-Saharan …
Read More »UN chief calls for Security Council unity over pandemic
United Nations, United States | AFP | UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged the Security Council on Thursday to display unity as it met to discuss what he called the “fight of a generation” — the global coronavirus pandemic. “A signal of unity and resolve from the Council would count for …
Read More »Desert locust infestation linked to climate change -UN Chief
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The infestation of Desert Locusts across vast swatches of the East African Region is one of the devastating effects of climate change that Africa has to endure, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said. The migratory pests, which were first reported in parts …
Read More »Sahel violence having devastating impact on children: UN
Dakar, Senegal | AFP | Hundreds of children in the Sahel were killed, maimed or forcibly separated from their parents last year, the United Nations said Tuesday, as a jihadist conflict rages across the region. In Mali alone, 277 children were killed or maimed during the first nine months of 2019, …
Read More »Humanitarian aid to Uganda increased by UGX 700 billion in two years
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Oxfam assessment on humanitarian funding flows to local and national actors in Uganda has revealed a 700 billion shillings increase in the last two years. The assessment released by Oxfam’s humanitarian policy advisor, Anita Kattakuzhy, in Kampala on Tuesday shows that United Nations and …
Read More »UN appeals for aid to help millions of Zimbabweans buy food
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | The United Nations on Thursday called for some $200 million in extra funding to help four million Zimbabweans unable to buy food due to drought and triple-digit inflation. The southern African country has been hit by a poor harvest and an entrenched economic crisis that has …
Read More »Nigerian justice struggles with rising number of sex abuse cases
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | A dozen officers are squeezed into the dimly lit Lagos State Police Gender Unit between worn desks and witnesses writing statements, as the force struggles to cope with an increasing number of reports of sex abuse in Nigeria. Recent figures are scarce but according to the …
Read More »Kenya’s Media Council, FAO, to roll-out climate change curriculum in the region
Kampala, Uganda | Isaac Khisa | Media Council of Kenya in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, plan to start training practising journalists on effects of climate change across the East African region, according to its Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Programmes Manager, Victor Bwire. Bwire, who …
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