Africa Archives - Page 3 of 5

UN ready to assist people affected by deadly blaze in South Africa

·September 2, 2023·1 min read

The overnight blaze ripped through a five-storey rundown building in the city centre occupied by homeless people and squatters. Dozens were injured. The building was among many in the downtown area that have been abandoned and “hijacked” by criminal gangs who rent them out to families. Sadness and grief The...

Niger crisis could worsen insecurity throughout West Africa, UN envoy warns

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·August 2, 2023·2 min read

Briefing journalists at UN Headquarters in New York, Léonardo Santos Simão reiterated condemnation of the attempted overthrow of Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum on 26 July. He also underscored support for efforts by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) aimed at restoring constitutional order and consolidating democratic gains in the...

‘Real challenges’ must be addressed beyond polling day, urges UN West Africa envoy

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·July 26, 2023·1 min read

In his first briefing to the Security Council since being appointed to the position, Leonardo Santos Simaõ recalled elections in Benin, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. He said they had “marked important steps towards democratic consolidation, offering opportunities for citizens to choose their leaders and representatives at...

Sustainable Africa key to global security

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·July 22, 2023·1 min read

The discussions centred around a UN report that offers recommendations to bolster collaboration towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa, specifically those on financing for development and affordable green energy. The report reveals that almost 600 million people on the continent still do not have access to sustainable...

Horn of Africa: Around 60 million in urgent humanitarian need

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·June 27, 2023·3 min read

“About five million children under the age of five are estimated to be facing acute malnutrition in 2023 in the Horn region, in the Greater Horn. That is about 10.4 million, that is just a staggering figure,” said Liesbeth Aelbrecht, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) incident manager for the greater...

Top UN official for Africa calls for added action to stop piracy’s spread

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·June 22, 2023·3 min read

Despite gains made in tackling sea-faring criminal groups, “piracy incidents continue to threaten the safety of maritime traffic in the region,” said Martha Pobee, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations. Effective deterrents Since her last briefing on maritime security in November, she...

Central Africa faces ‘turning point’ amid multiple crises

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·June 6, 2023·3 min read

“Central Africa is richer in opportunities and resources than it is in challenges”, but, the coming months will mark “an important turning point” for the region, where crucial political and electoral processes must take place by the end of the year, said Abdou Abarry, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for...

UN and partners seek $7 billion to prevent catastrophe in the Horn of Africa

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·May 25, 2023·2 min read

More than 43 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia continue to suffer through one of the worst droughts in recent history, caused by five consecutive seasons of poor rains. Years of conflict and insecurity have sparked mass displacement, while skyrocketing food prices and most recently, the fighting in Sudan,...

Background to a crisis: In Sudan, the stakes are high for the whole of Africa

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·April 28, 2023·1 min read

A turbulent transition to civilian rule has been underway in Sudan since the ouster of former President Omar Hassan El-Bashir in April 2019. The civilian-led transitional Government put in place later that year, through a power-sharing agreement between military and civilian leaders, was toppled by a military coup in October...

Boost for developing nations as mRNA technology hub moves to the next phase in South Africa

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·April 22, 2023·2 min read

Over 200 international participants working with the mRNA Technology Transfer Programme had their first face-to-face meeting, in a bid to make one of the most revolutionary medical technologies which led the field in vaccine development against COVID-19, more widely and fairly available, in the places where it is most needed. ‘Lifesaving’ breakthrough:...

Southern Africa: Cyclone Freddy aftermath brings diseases, healthcare gaps

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·March 24, 2023·1 min read

The devastation caused by the cyclone in Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique has increased the spread of cholera and malaria, as well as malnutrition. Meanwhile, more than 300 health facilities have been destroyed or flooded in the three countries, limiting health care access. The cyclone’s destruction increased public health risks including...

Horn of Africa hunger emergency: ‘129,000 looking death in the eyes’

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·March 11, 2023·1 min read

In an appeal for $178 million to support humanitarian assistance across the seven affected countries in the Greater Horn region, veteran WHO worker Liesbeth Aelbrecht warned that the situation was worse than anything she’d seen in more than two decades in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda. “These 48...