According to the UN health agency (WHO), almost 18 million people need medical assistance and half of that number are children. Nearly one in two under-fives also suffer from moderate to severe stunting, said WHO, pointing out that this adds up to nearly 2.4 million children. “It’s important to step back and remember that hungry…
This is being compounded by an increase in child and forced marriage, and the recruitment of boys by combatants in the continuing war between rival generals that erupted nearly a year ago. All this is happening against the backdrop of the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in the country that has caused an unprecedented mass displacement of over…
Last year saw a three per cent contraction, equalling roughly $1 trillion, compared to the record high of $32 trillion in 2022. Despite this decline, the services sector showed resilience with a $500 billion (eight per cent) increase from the previous year, while trade in goods experienced a $1.3 trillion, or five per cent, decline compared…
The international day on Thursday highlights that theme, as well as the importance of recognition, justice and development opportunities for those of African descent, said Secretary-General António Guterres. He said the results of entrenched racism continue to be devasting: “opportunities stolen; dignity denied; rights violated; lives taken and lives destroyed.” The African diaspora faces a…
In an alert, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said that this increase had been fuelled by the growing number of people forced to work illegally, but also by higher profits. ILO senior research officer Federico Blanco told journalists in Geneva that traffickers and criminals make close to $10,000 per victim, around $1,700 more than they…
Rampant gang violence has created a humanitarian crisis in the Caribbean country, whose Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, resigned last week. UN children’s agency UNICEF reported that on Saturday, one of its containers was looted at the main port in the capital city. The container held essential items for maternal, neonatal and child survival, including resuscitators,…
“I am appalled by the recurrent mass abductions of men, women and children in northern Nigeria. Children have been abducted from schools and women taken while searching for firewood. Such horrors must not become normalised,” he said. News reports indicate at least 564 people have been abducted since 7 March. More than 280 pupils were…
“This war is a war on children. It is a war on their childhood and their future,” said UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, who described as “staggering” the latest Gaza health authority data indicating that at least 12,300 youngsters have died in the enclave in the last four months, compared with 12,193 globally between 2019 and…
The 2024 Joint Response Plan backed by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and migration agency, IOM, is led by the Government of Bangladesh. It seeks to alleviate the plight of around one million Rohingya refugees living in densely-populated camps in Cox’s Bazar and on the island of Bhasan Char after they fled ethnic violence in…
The World Food Programme announced the operation on Tuesday and warned that lifesaving programmes in Chad will stop because of a funding crunch “in a matter of weeks”. Thousands of Sudan refugees continue to stream over the border into Chad to escape heavy fighting between warring generals that began last April. Around one million…
