Africa News

Handling heavy machinery is not one of the first skills that comes to mind when we think of UN peacekeepers, but construction skills are an important component of the blue helmets’ competency toolkit. Go to Source

In west and central Africa, some 3.4 million people need help after destructive flooding, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday. Go to Source

The UN health agency WHO expressed serious concerns on Friday about a likely spike in a range of preventable diseases in Ethiopia’s northern regions – and in particular Tigray – caused by nearly two years of conflict and chronic aid access problems. Go to Source

UN independent human rights experts on Tuesday demanded real accountability for the year-long brutal crackdown on peaceful protests against the October 2021 military coup in Sudan.  Go to Source

The political stalemate continues in Libya and prospects for elections are dim, the head of the UN Mission there, UNSMIL, said on Monday in his first briefing to the Security Council. Go to Source

More than 2.8 million people have been impacted by Nigeria’s worst floods in a decade, with 1.3 million displaced and hundreds of lives lost, said the UN chief on Friday, expressing his sadness at the devastation. Go to Source

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Friday appealed for calm and restraint in Chad following a deadly crackdown on anti-government protests Go to Source

African leaders gathered in Mauritius on Thursday, to mull solutions to the education gap highlighted by a new UN education agency report which shows children on the continent are five times less likely to learn the basics, than those living elsewhere. Go to Source

Progress on the 2018 peace agreement for South Sudan has been “extremely slow”, UN human rights experts said on Wednesday, calling for urgent action to save lives.  Go to Source

Support from UN peacekeepers serving with the mission in the Central African Republic, MINUSCA, has proven decisive in protecting civilians alongside Government efforts and amid widespread continuing insecurity, said the UN Special Representative for the country on Wednesday, briefing the Security Council. Go to Source

The situation in Mali continues to justify sustained international attention and engagement, the top UN official in the West African country told the Security Council on Tuesday.  Go to Source

Thousands of severely malnourished boys and girls in Somalia are at risk of dying, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday, urging donors to step up support amid historic drought.  Go to Source

Parties to the conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia must cease all hostilities immediately and work towards a peaceful and lasting solution, the newly appointed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, appealed on Tuesday.  Go to Source

Fighting in the Tigray region of Ethiopia is “spiralling out of control”, and there is no military solution to end nearly two years of brutal conflict which has left tens of thousands reportedly dead, while the “social fabric, is being ripped apart”. Go to Source

In Mozambique, more than 20 per cent of girls aged between 13 and 17 have been married or live with someone as if they were married. Women’s support groups are putting thousands of them on the road to financial independence, making them less vulnerable to gender-based violence. Go to Source