At UN, Africa renews calls for Security Council seats

Abuja, Nigeria — Nigeria has joined the growing calls by Africans leaders for permanent representation on the United Nations Security Council.

On the sidelines of the 79th U.N. General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, Nigerian Defense Minister Mohammed Badaru said such a change would promote fairness and inclusivity.

“We have been in 41 different United Nations’ missions to provide security across the world,” Badaru said. “Based on that background and the effort of Africa, we also call on the United Nations to reform the Security Council so that Africa can have a permanent seat. It is time. We deserve it for justice and for equity.”

Other African nations also are clamoring for change.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday said, “Placing the fate of the world’s security in the hands of a select few when it is the vast majority who bear the brunt of these threats is unjust, unfair and unsustainable.”

Similarly, Kenyan President William Ruto criticized the multilateral system, saying, “It has proven inadequate.”

Many African countries were still under colonial rule at the time the Security Council was established. In 2005, the African Union adopted the so-called Ezulwini Consensus in Ethiopia for Africa to have at least two permanent and five nonpermanent seats at the U.N. council.

To date, though, the U.N. General Assembly elects five new members from different geographical zones for two-year terms on the council. Africa has three rotational seats on the 15-member council.

The founder of Security Watch Africa Initiative, Patrick Agbambu, said Africa needs to be united to make a good representation.

“The biggest threat to Africa getting that seat is Africa itself,” Agbambu said. “Africa does not have a united front; they do not have a common voice to be able to push two countries or one country forward. You can’t go for such with a divided house.

“As it stands, the various blocs in the African Union seem very divided, with each having a very strong opposition to the other. So, the world is just watching Africa,” he said.

Last week, the United States, one of five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, said it is open to having two African seats on the council but without the veto power of the original permanent members: Britain, China, France, Russia and the U.S.

Security analyst Senator Iroegbu said African representation on the Security Council is the right call but warned that it wouldn’t solve all problems.

“Nigeria stands in the right mix because it’s one of the most important countries in Africa and it’s the most populous nation in Africa, with huge economic potential,” he said. “But just being a member of [the] U.N. Security Council doesn’t guarantee stability at home if all the factors causing insecurity are not well addressed.”

your ad here

Delegates from African countries meet to discuss trade in live elephants

Gaborone, Botswana — Botswana is hosting delegates from 33 African elephant range states for talks on the trade in live elephants. They are also seeking a common position as Africa battles increasing elephant populations in some areas, while the numbers decline elsewhere on the continent.

Botswana’s environment and tourism minister, Nnaniki Makwinja, said Africa must speak with one voice despite the peculiar challenges each region faces. 

“We are cognizant that the challenges that we face are diverse and there is no silver bullet to address these challenges,” Makwinja said Monday during the opening of the four-day meeting. “We call upon these countries to engage with us before they adopt measures that may undermine our efforts to conserve our wildlife heritage and sustainable development goals.”  

In 2022, delegates from Africa attended talks in Panama on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES. They were divided over elephant management. 

Southern African nations want CITES to relax measures on elephant trade, but some parts of the continent, particularly the eastern and western areas, want stricter controls. 

Dan Challender, a conservation scientist on the wildlife trade based at the University of Oxford, said this week’s meeting in Botswana might not address all concerns given the uneven distribution of the animals across the continent. 

“The meeting provides an opportunity for African countries to come together and discuss trade in African elephants. I would expect them to find common ground on some issues but not all, recognizing the different status of the species and policy environments across the continent,” Challender said. 

The meeting is open to governments, but non-profit conservation organizations are not invited. 

Local conservationist Isaac Theophilus of the Botswana Wildlife Producers Association said delegates from countries that oppose trade in elephants should get a chance to see the impact of human-wildlife conflict. 

“We have two opposing blocks that will be seated around the same table to look at issues relating to elephant management,” Theophilus said. “My hope and wish is that those states attending would have an opportunity to interact with people in the (wildlife) area and get firsthand information relating to problems associated with living with an increasing elephant population.” 

Veterinarian and wildlife management expert Dr. Eric Verreynne said trade in live elephants poses logistical challenges. 

“Transporting elephants from one country to another brings with it some challenges. Most of these challenges relate to logistics,” Verreynne said. “They are bulk animals; it’s very, very expensive to transport. When you talk about females and calves, you have to take your family groups in one. The capacity to transport large numbers of elephants is limited.” 

Africa’s elephant population is estimated at 415,000, with more than half of the number living in southern Africa.

your ad here

Ancient coastal city in Egypt feels impact of changing climate

Egypt’s second-largest city, Alexandria, lies in the Eastern Mediterranean, a top climate change hotspot that has dealt with record global air and ocean temperatures this year. Egypt-based photojournalist Hamada Elrasam presents scenes of everyday life that have been impacted by the changing climate phenomenon in the low-lying metropolis that has survived over two millennia, only to find itself on this century’s climate frontlines. Written in collaboration with Elle Kurancid.

your ad here

Kenyan conservancy uses reformed poachers to protect wildlife

A Kenyan conservancy is using reformed poachers to protect wildlife. Conservation authorities say the program has helped to significantly reduce cases of poaching, especially in northern Kenya where communities are notorious for illegal hunting. Victoria Amunga reports from Meru, Kenya. Camera and video editing by Jimmy Makhulo.

your ad here

New global poll finds South Africans feel among least safe

Johannesburg — A new global Gallup poll released Tuesday shows South Africa is one of the countries where citizens feel the least safe walking alone.

Bartender Gugu Xakaza, 32, was mugged by two men while walking home from the grocery store one day.

She said that was the last time she risked walking anywhere alone.

“I’d never walk around these streets, firstly you know because South Africa’s crime status is very high, and also it’s not just safe for a woman to be walking alone at night, because obviously we might be taken advantage of…. so rather be safe than sorry,” she said.

She is not alone. 

Karabo Faith, 23, said she no longer walks anywhere by herself.

“I almost, almost got mugged at night… we were walking, going home,” she said. “So, this other guy was like, ‘Hey, give us your phone.’ Then luckily these police officers came through, so they never took our phones. But we were scared.”

The latest Gallup poll on global safety asked people in 140 countries how safe they felt walking alone. Some 70% of South Africans responded that they did not feel safe, ranking in the bottom three countries, which also included Ecuador and Liberia.

Gallup is a global analytics and advisory firm.

Gallup’s Julie Ray said sub-Saharan Africa has had low rankings in the annual poll for years. And feelings of safety have declined more here than in any other region.

“The region has ranked amongst the least safe in terms of people’s perceptions for almost two decades,” Ray said.

By contrast, citizens in Kuwait, Singapore and Norway said they felt the safest, with between only 8% and 1% feeling unsafe.

Women in South Africa typically feel less safe than men, Ray said. Confidence in police in sub-Saharan Africa is also lower than average, she said.  

Asked for comment on the report, Athlenda Mathe, spokesperson for the South African Police Services, said they were working on heightening police visibility.

“We are making inroads in clamping down on all forms of criminality and the main goal is to ensure that we make South Africa a much better and safer place to live in, so that people can walk freely,” Mathe said.

South Africa has notoriously high crime rates.

According to the latest police statistics, between April and June alone more than 6,000 murders and 9,000 rapes were recorded, for rates of 10 per 100,000 population and 15 per 100,000, respectively. 

your ad here

At least 30 bodies found on boat along migrant route off Senegal

DAKAR, Senegal — At least 30 bodies were found on a boat drifting off the coast of Senegal’s capital, the military said Monday, as the number of migrants leaving West Africa increases. 

The navy was informed of the vessel’s presence on Sunday evening and sent out a boat patrol to the area, 70 kilometers (38 nautical miles) from Dakar, Ibrahima Sow, spokesperson for Senegal’s military, said in a statement. 

“So far, 30 bodies have been counted,” Sow said. 

The advanced state of decomposition of the bodies is making the identification process very difficult, the military said, adding that investigations will provide more information on the death toll and the boat’s origin. 

Earlier this month, a boat carrying 89 people on board capsized off the coast of Senegal. At least 37 people died, according to Senegalese authorities. 

Many of the migrants leaving West Africa through Senegal flee conflict, poverty and a lack of jobs. Most head to the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off the coast of West Africa, which is used as a stepping stone to continental Europe. 

Since the beginning of the year, more than 22,300 people have landed on the Canary Islands, 126% more than the same period last year, according to statistics released by Spain’s Interior Ministry. 

Last month, the Senegalese army said it had arrested 453 migrants and “members of smuggling networks” as part of a 12-day operation patrolling the coastline. More than half of those arrested were Senegalese nationals, the army said. 

In July, a boat carrying 300 migrants, mostly from Gambia and Senegal, capsized off Mauritania. More than a dozen died and at least 150 others went missing. 

The Atlantic route from West Africa to the Canary Islands is one of the deadliest in the world. While there is no accurate death toll because of the lack of information on departures from West Africa, the Spanish migrant rights group Walking Borders estimates the victims are in the thousands this year alone. 

Migrant vessels that get lost or run into problems often vanish in the Atlantic, with some drifting across the ocean for months until they are found in the Caribbean and Latin America carrying only human remains.

your ad here

Cholera spreading in Sudan as fighting between rival generals shows no sign of abating 

Cairo — Cholera is spreading in war-torn Sudan, killing at least 388 people and sickening about 13,000 others over the past two months, health authorities said, as more than 17 months of fighting between the military and a notorious paramilitary group shows no sign of abating.  

The disease is spreading in areas devastated by recent heavy rainfall and floods especially in eastern Sudan where millions of war displaced people sheltered.  

The casualties from cholera included six dead and about 400 sickened over the weekend, according to Sunday’s report by the Health Ministry. The disease was detected in 10 of the country’s 18 provinces with the eastern Kassala and al-Qadarif provinces the most hit, the ministry said.  

Cholera is a fast-developing, highly contagious infection that causes diarrhea, leading to severe dehydration and possible death within hours when not treated, according to the World Health Organization. It is transmitted through the ingestion of contaminated food or water.   

The disease is not uncommon in Sudan. A previous major outbreak left at least 700 dead and sickened about 22,000 in less than two months in 2017.  

Sudan was plunged into chaos in April last year when simmering tensions between the military and a powerful paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, exploded into open warfare across the country.  

The fighting, which wrecked the capital, Khartoum, and other urban areas has been marked by atrocities including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in the western region of Darfur, according to the United Nations and international rights groups.  

It has killed at least 20,000 people and wounded tens of thousands others, according to the U.N. However, rights groups and activists say the toll was much higher.  

The war also has created the world’s largest displacement crisis. More than 13 million people have been forced to flee their homes since the fighting began, according to the International Organization for Migration. They include over 2.3 million who fled to neighboring countries.  

Devastating seasonal floods and cholera have compounded the Sudanese misery. At least 225 people have been killed and about 900 others were injured in the floods, the Health Ministry said. Critical infrastructure has been washed away, and more than 76,000 houses have been destroyed or damaged, it said.  

Famine was also confirmed in July in the Zamzam camp for displaced people, which is located about 15 kilometers (10 miles) from North Darfur’s embattled capital of al-Fasher, according to global experts from the Famine Review Committee. About 25.6 million people — more than half of Sudan’s population — will face acute hunger this year, they warned.  

Fighting, meanwhile, rages in al-Fasher, the last major city in Darfur that is still held by the military. The RSF has been attempting to retake it since the start of the year.  

Last week, the paramilitary force and its allied Arab militias launched a new attack on the city. The military said its forces, aided by rebel groups, managed to repel the attack and kill hundreds of RSF fighters, including two senior commanders. 

your ad here

Tanzania arrests opposition leaders, blocks protest

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania — Police arrested Tanzania’s top opposition figures on Monday, their party said, as the authorities moved to block a mass protest in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam. 

Despite an official ban, the opposition Chadema party had vowed to go ahead with the rally over the alleged kidnapping and killing of its members by security forces.

Chadema said its chairman Freeman Mbowe and his deputy Tundu Lissu were both arrested on Monday, while riot police were stationed in key areas across the city to prevent gatherings.

“Demonstration is our constitutional right and we are surprised by the magnitude of force being used by the police to threaten people and suppress our freedom,” Mbowe told supporters before being led away by police, according to a video shared by the party online.

Chadema accuses President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s government of returning the country to the repressive tactics of her predecessor, John Magufuli. 

Hassan took over following Magufuli’s sudden death in March 2021 and appeared to signal a more liberal approach, reversing restrictions on opposition rallies and the media. 

But Chadema accuses the security forces of being behind the recent disappearance of several members and the killing of Ali Mohamed Kibao, of its national secretariat, who was found dead earlier this month.

Police also blocked a youth day rally by the party in August, arresting dozens of its leaders including Mbowe and Lissu. 

Rights groups and Western governments, including the United States, have raised concerns about renewed repression ahead of local elections in November and a general election in late 2025. 

Lissu, an opposition stalwart, has been arrested countless times and suffered multiple gunshot wounds in an assassination attempt in 2017. 

He returned to Tanzania last year after Hassan lifted the ban on opposition rallies. 

Police had alleged that the Chadema protests would be violent. 

But in a speech broadcast on X on Sunday, Mbowe said: “I remind Tanzanians that we are going to hold peaceful protests. We are neither carrying any weapons nor planning to violate the peace as some people allege. 

“In case some of us will be arrested, hurt or even killed, pray for us and never turn back. We are doing this to make our country a peaceful place to live,” he said. 

your ad here

DR Congo woman creates jobs recycling plastics

In Goma, a town in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a woman-led recycling company is tackling plastic pollution, and creating jobs for some of the country’s millions of internally displaced people. Zanem Nety Zaidi takes us inside this entrepreneur’s business.

your ad here

Kenyan church cult massacre that killed hundreds haunts survivors

MALINDI, Kenya — Shukran Karisa Mangi always showed up drunk at work, where he dug up the bodies of doomsday cult members buried in shallow graves. But the alcohol couldn’t numb his shock the morning he found the body of a close friend, whose neck had been twisted so severely that his head and torso faced opposite directions.

This violent death upset Mangi, who had already unearthed children’s bodies. The number of bodies kept rising in this community off Kenya’s coastline where extremist evangelical leader Paul Mackenzie is accused of instructing his followers to starve to death for the opportunity to meet Jesus.

While he sometimes sees the remains of others when he tries to sleep, Mangi said recently, the recurring image of his friend’s mutilated body torments him when he’s awake.

“He died in a very cruel manner,” said Mangi, one of several gravediggers whose work was suspended earlier in the year as bodies piled up in the morgue. “Most of the time, I still think about how he died.”

In one of the deadliest cult-related massacres ever, at least 436 bodies have been recovered since police raided Good News International Church in a forest some 70 kilometers inland from the coastal town of Malindi. Seventeen months later, many in the area are still shaken by what happened despite repeated warnings about the church’s leader.

Mackenzie pleaded not guilty to charges in the murders of 191 children, multiple counts of manslaughter and other crimes. If convicted, he would spend the rest of his life in prison.

Some in Malindi who spoke to The Associated Press said Mackenzie’s confidence while in custody showed the wide-ranging power some evangelists project even as their teachings undermine government authority, break the law, or harm followers desperate for healing and other miracles.

It’s not only Mackenzie, said Thomas Kakala, a self-described bishop with the Malindi-based Jesus Cares Ministry International, referring to questionable pastors he knew in the capital, Nairobi.

“You look at them. If you are sober and you want to hear the word of God, you wouldn’t go to their church,” he said. “But the place is packed.”

A man like Mackenzie, who refused to join the fellowship of pastors in Malindi and rarely quoted Scripture, could thrive in a country like Kenya, said Kakala. Six detectives have been suspended for ignoring multiple warnings about Mackenzie’s illegal activities.

Kenya, like much of East Africa, is dominated by Christians. While many are Anglican or Catholic, evangelical Christianity has spread widely since the 1980s. Many pastors style their ministries in the manner of successful American televangelists, investing in broadcasting and advertising.

Many of Africa’s evangelical churches are run like sole proprietorships, without the guidance of trustee boards or laity. Pastors are often unaccountable, deriving authority from their perceived ability to perform miracles or make prophecies. Some, like Mackenzie, can seem all-powerful.

Mackenzie, a former street vendor and cab driver with a high school education, apprenticed with a Malindi preacher in the late 1990s. There, in the laid-back tourist town, he opened his own church in 2003.

A charismatic preacher, he was said to perform miracles and exorcisms, and he could be generous with his money. His followers included teachers and police officers. They came to Malindi from across Kenya, giving Mackenzie national prominence that spread the pain of the deaths across the country.

The first complaints against Mackenzie concerned his opposition to formal schooling and vaccination. He was briefly detained in 2019 for opposing the government’s efforts to assign national identification numbers to Kenyans, saying the numbers were satanic.

He closed his Malindi church premises later that year and urged his congregation to follow him to Shakahola, where he leased 800 acres of forest inhabited by elephants and big cats.

Church members paid small sums to own plots in Shakahola, and were required to build houses and live in villages with biblical names like Nazareth, according to survivors. Mackenzie grew more demanding, with people from different villages forbidden from communicating or gathering, said former church member Salama Masha.

“What made me (realize) Mackenzie was not a good person was when he said that the children should fast to die,” said Masha, who escaped after witnessing the starvation deaths of two children. “That’s when I knew that it’s not something I can do.”

Mbatha Mackenzie, a mason who lives with his family and goats in a tin shack in Malindi, said that while Mackenzie was generous to his followers, he never treated his extended family with similar kindness.

“My brother — he seemed like a politician,” he said. “They have a sweet tongue, and when he talks something to the people, people believe him.”

A former church member who escaped Shakahola said she lost faith in Mackenzie when she saw how his men handled people on the verge of dying from starvation. She said Mackenzie’s bodyguards would take the starving person away, never to be seen again.

The woman said it was “like a routine” for the bodyguards to rape women in the villages. She says she, too, was sexually assaulted by four men while she was pregnant with her fourth child. The Associated Press does not identify victims of alleged sexual assault unless they choose to publicly identify themselves.

Those who tried to the leave the forest without Mackenzie’s permission faced beatings, as did those who were caught breaking fast, according to former church members.

Autopsies on more than 100 bodies showed deaths from starvation, strangulation, suffocation, and injuries from blunt objects. Mangi, the gravedigger, said he believed more mass graves were yet to be discovered in Shakahola. At least 600 people are reported missing, according to the Kenya Red Cross.

your ad here

Fortified bouillon cubes are seen as way to curb malnutrition in Africa

IBADAN, Nigeria — In her cramped, dimly lit kitchen, Idowu Bello leans over a gas cooker while stirring a pot of eba, the thick, starchy West African staple made from cassava root. Kidney problems and chronic exhaustion forced the 56-year-old Nigerian woman to retire from teaching, and she switches between cooking with gas or over a wood fire depending on the fuel she can afford.

Financial constraints also limit the food Bello has on hand even though doctors have recommended a nutrient-rich diet both to improve her weakening health and to help her teenage daughter, Fatima, grow. Along with eba, on the menu today is melon soup with ponmo, an inexpensive condiment made from dried cowhide.

“Fish, meat, eggs, fruits, vegetables and even milk are costly these days,” Bello, 56, said, her lean face etched with worry.

If public health advocates and the Nigerian government have their way, malnourished households in the West African nation soon will have a simple ingredient available to improve their intake of key vitamins and minerals. Government regulators on Tuesday are launching a code of standards for adding iron, zinc, folic acid and vitamin B12 to bouillon cubes at minimum levels recommended by experts.

While the standards will be voluntary for manufacturers for now, their adoption could help accelerate progress against diets deficient in essential micronutrients, or what is known in nutrition and public health circles as “hidden hunger.” Fortified bouillon cubes could avert up to 16.6 million cases of anemia and up to 11,000 deaths from neural tube defects in Nigeria, according to a new report from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“Regardless of economic situation or income level, everyone uses seasoning cubes,” Bello said as she unwrapped and dropped one in her melon soup.

A growing and multipronged problem

Making do with smaller portions and less nutritious foods is common among many Nigerian households, according to a recent government survey on dietary intake and micronutrients. The survey estimated that 79% of Nigerian households are food insecure.

The climate crisis, which has seen extreme heat and unpredictable rainfall patterns hobble agriculture in Africa’s troubled Sahel region, will worsen the problem, with several million children expected to experience growth problems due to malnutrition between now and 2050, according to the Gates Foundation report released Tuesday.

“Farmlands are destroyed, you have a shortage of food, the system is strained, leading to inflation making it difficult for the people to access foods, including animal-based proteins,” Augustine Okoruwa, a regional program manager at Helen Keller Intl, said, highlighting the link between malnutrition and climate change.

Dietary deficiencies of the micronutrients the government wants added to bouillon cubes already have caused a public health crisis in Nigeria, including a high prevalence of anemia in women of child-bearing age, neural tube defects in newborn babies and stunted growth among children, according to Okoruwa.

Helen Keller Intl, a New York-based nonprofit that works to address the causes of blindness and malnutrition, has partnered with the Gates Foundation and businesses and government agencies in Africa to promote food fortification.

In Nigeria, recent economic policies such as the cancellation of gasoline subsidies are driving the country’s worst cost-of-living crisis in generations, further deepening food hardship for the low-income earners who form the majority of the country’s working population.

Globally, nearly 3 billion people are unable to access healthy diets, 71% of them in developing countries, according to the World Health Organization.

The large-scale production of fortified foods would unlock a new way to “increase micronutrients in the food staples of low-income countries to create resilience for vulnerable families,” the Gates Foundation said.

Bouillon cubes as the vehicle

Bouillon cubes — those small blocks of evaporated meat or vegetable extracts and seasonings that typically are used to flavor soups and stews — are widely consumed in many African countries, nearing 100% household penetration in countries like Nigeria, Senegal, Ivory Coast, and Cameroon, according to a study by Helen Keller Intl.

That makes the cubes the “most cost-effective way” to add minerals and vitamins to the diets of millions of people, Okoruwa said.

your ad here

Chad floods kill 503, affect 1.7 million people, UN says

N’Djamena, Chad — Severe flooding in Chad since July has claimed 503 lives and affected around 1.7 million people since July, the United Nations said Saturday in its latest assessment of the disaster. 

The floods have destroyed 212,111 houses, flooded 357,832 hectares of fields, and drowned 69,659 heads of cattle, said the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Chad. 

All of the country’s provinces have been hit, Chad’s water and energy minister Marcelin Kanabe Passale told journalists Saturday morning, warning of more trouble to come. 

“The waters of the Logone and Chari rivers have reached a critical height likely to cause obvious serious flooding in the coming days,” Passale said. 

N’Djamena, Chad’s capital, is located where the Logone and Chari rivers flow into each other. 

Passale recommended that all water from private wells be treated with chlorine before consumption. 

A flood-monitoring committee had been set up to “assess the risks associated with the pollution of drinking water supplies and rising river levels,” he added. 

The U.N. warned in early September of the impact of “torrential rains and severe flooding” in the wider region, particularly in Chad, calling for immediate action and funding to tackle climate change. 

This summer has been the hottest recorded globally since records have been kept, with a slew of record temperatures, heatwaves, drought and severe flooding. 

your ad here

Kenya’s president visits Haiti as UN considers future of peacekeeping efforts

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Kenyan President William Ruto arrived in Haiti on Saturday as the United Nations considers how to best support a peacekeeping mission of resource-strapped Kenyan and Jamaican forces that are struggling to contain the gangs terrorizing the Caribbean nation. 

Ruto stepped off the plane, walking past armed officers on a small patch of red carpet flanked by other officials. He headed to a Kenyan base at the airport where he was expected to meet with some of the police officers who are battling the gangs. 

Kenya was the first nation to send forces as part of a larger effort by the U.N. to offer international support to Haiti, which descended into turmoil following the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. 

About 400 Kenyan police are in Haiti. Earlier this month, about two dozen police officers and soldiers from Jamaica arrived in the country. But the United States and other countries have said that the forces aren’t enough and lack resources to take on gangs, which control about 80% of the capital, Port-au-Prince. 

The mission is expected to have a total of 2,500 personnel, with the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin and Chad also pledging to send police and soldiers, although it wasn’t clear when that would happen. 

While the U.S. has suggested a U.N. peacekeeping force, the idea would be far-fetched and controversial given the cholera and sexual abuse cases that occurred when United Nations troops were last in Haiti. 

Meanwhile, a U.N. human rights expert warned on Friday that gang violence is spreading across Haiti and that Haiti’s National Police still lack the “logistical and technical capacity” to fight gangs, which continue to expand into new territory. 

Ruto’s visit also comes days after Haiti created a provisional electoral council long sought by the international community to facilitate the first general election held in the country since 2016. 

In the power vacuum left by Moise’s assassination, gangs have seized more and more power. Many hope a general election will also help restore order to Haiti alongside the peacekeeping mission. 

your ad here

US, UK, Norway say South Sudan poll delay shows leadership ‘failure’

Washington — The United States, the United Kingdom and Norway expressed “deep concern” on Saturday at the announcement of a two-year delay in elections in South Sudan, terming the extension of a transitional government a “failure.”

“This announcement demonstrates the persistent and collective failure of South Sudan’s leaders to create the conditions necessary to hold credible and peaceful elections,” said a joint statement from the three governments.

South Sudan won independence from Sudan in 2011 but was plunged into a civil war two years later that killed an estimated 400,000 people.

A 2018 peace deal brought together President Salva Kiir and bitter rival Vice President Riek Machar, but efforts to write a constitution and hold the country’s first elections have been repeatedly delayed.

Last week, Kiir’s office announced that voting planned for December would be pushed back by another two years, ahead of a Sunday deadline for the transitional government to be dissolved.

Cabinet Affairs Minister Martin Elia Lomuro said the extension was “in response to the recommendations from both electoral institutions and the security sector.”

The three countries “acknowledged” that polls could not be held as scheduled in December and blamed “a lack of political will.”

“Responsibility for this failure is shared by all parties in the transitional government,” said the statement. “As South Sudan’s leaders vie for power and fail to organize credible and peaceful elections, the people of South Sudan suffer the consequences.”

Earlier this week, the United Nations expressed “regret and disappointment” at the delay.

“Two years ago, we were in a similar situation, as we are today, and gave our support specifically under the condition that there would be no more extensions,” U.N. special representative Nicholas Haysom said in a statement.

South Sudan has battled flooding, hunger and violence, while its leaders have appeared reluctant to risk going to the polls and are accused of massive corruption.

Earlier this month, the U.N.’s humanitarian agency warned that more than 700,000 people had been affected by flooding, with aid failing to meet many in need.

South Sudan boasts plentiful oil resources, but the vital source of revenue was cut in February when an export pipeline was damaged in war-torn Sudan.

your ad here

Nigeria’s inflation rate dips, but Nigerians still feel the pinch

ABUJA, NIGERIA — The high inflation rate in Nigeria dropped slightly in August, but a decline in the value of the nairia and a continued increase in fuel prices are eroding the slight gains and threatening to reignite the inflationary trend.

Michael Anthony, an engineer and father of four, still faces high costs despite the small drop in inflation, which fell from 33.40% in July to 32.15% in August. His household expenses remain steep, with no real relief in sight.

“In the month of July, I bought a bag of rice at the rate of 65,000 naira, but … three days ago, I bought a bag of rice for 95,000 naira,” he said. “If you want to buy anything, price has risen because of the price of fuel. I’m worried that inflation rate might rise again.”

At a market in a suburb of Abuja, food trader Blessing Ochuba is also struggling. With customers unable to buy in bulk, she’s cutting back her stock and adjusting prices to stay in business.

Ochuba said patronage has been slow despite the reported dip in inflation rate.

“People that normally buy in bags, they now buy like half or quarter … because they can no longer afford to buy for now,” she said. “I used to buy like 10 bags of rice, but now I cannot afford to buy five. Honestly, I did not see the coming down, everything is going higher.

“It’s on the high side, and it is really affecting us.”

Despite lower inflation, Nigeria’s currency has weakened from 1,200 to 1,600 to the dollar, and gasoline prices have soared from 620 to nearly 1,000 naira per liter over the past three months.

Development economist Hauwa Mustapha credited a government policy in which food imports were not subject to excise duty for 90 days for the slight inflation drop.

“I think that helped a lot, and that also helped for them to boost the supply of food. … It does not indicate a long-term recovery,” she said, adding that a lasting recovery will depend on government measures.

“What the government can do to manage inflationary pressure for both short term and long term, I think for now, is to concentrate policy action in the area of food supply,” Mustapha said.

“Thankfully, we are approaching the harvest season. Typically, in Nigeria, we also know that we experience a lot of post-harvest loss. This is … the time for the country to manage the harvest, particularly control [and] minimize post-harvest losses, so that we can keep the food supply steady.”

Experts say the government’s next steps will determine whether this inflation dip signals a recovery or just temporary relief.

your ad here

Congo struggles to contain mpox; here’s why

KAVUMU, Congo — Health authorities have struggled to contain outbreaks of mpox in Congo, a huge central African country where a myriad of existing problems makes stemming the spread particularly hard.

Last month, the World Health Organization declared the outbreaks in Congo and about a dozen other African countries a global health emergency. And in Congo, scientists have identified a new strain of mpox that may spread more easily. It has reached areas where conflict and the displacement of a large number of people have already put health services under pressure.

Overall, Congo has more than 21,000 of the 25,093 confirmed and suspected mpox cases in Africa this year, according to WHO’s most recent count.

Has Congo seen cases of mpox before?

Yes, Congo is one of the African countries where mpox has been endemic for decades.

Mpox, once known as monkeypox, comes from the same family of viruses as smallpox but causes milder symptoms such as fever. People with more serious cases can develop skin lesions. More than 720 people in Africa have died in the latest outbreaks, mostly in Congo.

Mpox is a zoonotic disease, meaning it can spread to humans from infected animals. In the global mpox outbreak of 2022, the virus spread between people primarily through sex and close physical contact.

What changed in Congo?

In September 2023, mpox spread to Congo’s eastern province of South Kivu; it had previously been seen in the center and far west. Scientists then identified a new form of mpox in South Kivu that may be more infectious.

The WHO said that from the outbreak in South Kivu, the virus spread among people elsewhere in the country, arriving in neighboring province North Kivu. Those two provinces — some 2,000 kilometers from the capital, Kinshasa — face escalating violence, a humanitarian crisis and other issues.

What are the problems in eastern Congo?

More than 120 armed groups have been fighting each other and the Congolese army for years in the eastern part of the country over the control of minerals. That has forced millions of people fleeing violence into refugee camps or nearby towns.

That means mpox is hitting already-stretched health facilities. Dr. Musole Mulambamunva Robert, medical director of the Kavumu hospital in eastern Congo, said it is “truly a challenge” — sometimes treating as many as four times the facility’s capacity for patients.

With more than 6 million displaced people in the east, authorities and aid agencies were already struggling to provide food and healthcare, while fighting other diseases such as cholera. Many people have no access to soap, clean water or other basics.

Some eastern Congo communities are out of reach of health clinics — roads are unreliable, and hourslong risky boat trips are sometimes the only means of transport, said Mercy Muthee Lake of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent.

People can be more susceptible to severe mpox cases because of malnutrition and undiagnosed HIV, she said.

She also said health workers in eastern Congo have requested more mpox training as medications to treat fever and ease pain run out.

Health authorities “are up against it because it’s such a complex area,” said Chris Beyrer, of Duke University’s Global Health Institute.

What about vaccines?

Africa has no capacity to produce mpox vaccines. Around 250,000 doses have arrived in Congo from the European Union and the United States, and more are expected. Congolese authorities say they need around 3 million vaccines. It will likely be weeks before any vaccines reach people in eastern Congo.

For now, the vaccine is approved only for adults. There’s limited evidence of how it works in children.

Vaccines are desperately needed, but they’re just “an additional tool,” said Emmanuel Lampaert, the Congo representative for Doctors Without Borders. The key, Lampaert said, is still identifying cases, isolating patients, and executing grassroots health and education campaigns.

Local conditions make that trying — Lampaert noted it’s almost impossible to isolate cases among poor, displaced people.

“Families with six to eight children are living in a hut, which is maybe the space of the bed we are sleeping in,” he said. “So, this is the reality.”

Why are critics blasting the mpox response?

Unlike the millions of dollars that poured into Congo for Ebola and COVID aid, the response to mpox has been sluggish, many critics say.

Health experts say the sharp contrast is due to a lack of both funds and international interest.

“Ebola is the most dangerous virus in the world, and COVID wiped out the world economy,” said professor Ali Bulabula, who works on infectious diseases in the medical department at Congo’s University of Kindu. “While mpox is a public health emergency of international concern, there is a lack of in-depth research and interest in the virus, as it’s still seen as a tropical disease, localized to Africa with no major impact on Western economies.” 

your ad here

Environmentalists, Taiwanese company clash over mining in Eswatini 

MBABANE, ESWATINI   — Residents and environmentalists in Eswatini have arrayed against Taiwan’s Michael Lee Enterprises in a battle over mining in the country’s picturesque Malolotja Nature Reserve.

The company has been accused of exploiting the park for green chert, a rare mineral found in the area, putting the park’s wildlife and natural beauty at risk.

Some locals and environmentalists are calling for an unbiased investigation to determine what damage, if any, is being caused by the green chert mining by Michael Lee Enterprises in the Malalotja reserve.

Government spokesperson Alpheous Nxumalo has maintained that no violations by the mining company have been confirmed and has urged community members to report any potential breaches to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy.

“We have spoken to both the Ministry of Natural Resources and we have spoken to the company,” Nxumalo said. “The directors themselves, they are disputing what the community members have supposedly told you in respect to this company and its activities.

“However, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy has committed that they do investigations from time to time to ensure companies continue with compliance in terms of protecting environment and in terms of complying with the laws governing the mining industry in the kingdom of Eswatini.”

Taken to Maputo for export

Green chert is used to make jewelry and religious statues and for other religious purposes. After the chert is mined, it is trucked to Matsapha, the southern African kingdom’s main industrial town, then taken by railroad to Maputo in Mozambique for export.

In a statement to VOA, Michael Lee Enterprises said it was a “complying company that abides by the environmental regulations authority” in Eswatini.

The Makhonjwa Valley, a biodiversity hot spot within the Malolotja Nature Reserve, is a world-renowned ecological, archaeological and geological treasure trove. Decades of research have uncovered rare species of trees, cicadas, birds, amphibians and butterflies. It is also home to pristine waterways, forests and a wealth of untouched natural resources.

Environmentalist Dane Armstrong warns that mining in Malolotja is putting the site at severe risk.

“The company in question, the Michael Lee Enterprises, is already extracting vast quantities of rock at the head of the valley and has plans to mine an additional 400 hectares,” Armstrong said. “This is going to have irreversible damage to the ecological integrity” of the area.

“While economic growth and job creation is critical for Eswatini and mining definitely plays an important role in this, there has to be a balance between protecting the very limited, crucially important biodiversity hot spots in our country. Malolotja Nature Reserve is a globally recognized area of extreme importance and a protected area, and it should be treated as such.”

Economic growth, jobs

The president of a traditional healers group, Makhanya Makhanya, disagrees, and sees the potential for economic growth and job creation as a means to combat poverty in the country, provided that the opportunities are reserved for the people of the former Swaziland.

“As a traditional healer,” he said, “I support the government’s decision to mine the hidden wealth beneath the Earth’s surface if it can bring economic opportunities to the people of Swaziland. However, I caution against outsourcing these jobs to foreigners, and instead, local employment needs to be prioritized in order to truly reap the benefits of this resource.”

The government is allowing the mining project to proceed until definitive evidence of environmental risk is uncovered. It is encouraging community-company dialogues for a fair resolution.

your ad here

UN report: Debt crisis undermines AIDS eradication in Africa

Harare, Zimbabwe — A new report released by the main United Nations agency for action on AIDS and HIV says growing public debt is choking sub-Saharan African countries, leaving them with little fiscal room to finance critical HIV services.

In the report, launched ahead of the 79th session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Winnie Byanyima, the executive director of UNAIDS, asks the international community for more funding to ensure Africa eliminates AIDS by 2030.

She said Africa, which accounts for the largest number of people living with HIV — some 26 million out of 40 million globally — is overwhelmed by public debt.

Robert Shivambu, UNAIDS communication officer, told VOA: “The region’s success in having reduced new HIV infections by 56% since 2010 will not be sustained if fiscal space is constrained.”

Shivambu said the U.N. believes that when debt payments hinder countries’ ability to effectively look after health care needs of their people, global health security is put at risk.

Zimbabwe is one of the countries fighting to reduce the rate of HIV infection while dealing with high debt.

On Friday, parliament Speaker Jacob Mudenda told colleagues that the country had made strides in fighting HIV/AIDS, starting in 1999 as a pioneer of the AIDS levy — a 3% income tax for individuals and 3% tax on profits of employers.

He said that the budget of $387 million for HIV programs — largely foreign sponsored — was no longer enough and that there was need to expand the tax base.

“Let’s create wealth, when that wealth is created from our wealth, including mineral resources, we are going to be able to expand the tax base,” he said.

“From that expanded tax base we will be able as parliament to come with a very stout budget. These donations are going to dwindle, slowly but surely. This current funding level still falls far short of the estimated $500 million needed annually to achieve [the] ambitious goal of the Zimbabwe national AIDS strategic plan, especially with over 1 million people living with HIV now on anti-retroviral therapy.”

Mudenda declined to say if servicing Zimbabwe’s debt — which stands at $17.5 billion, according to the African Development Bank — was one reason funding for HIV programs is falling short.

Zimbabwe is battling to service its debt so that it can resume receiving loans from multilateral development banks such as the IMF and World Bank.

Shivambu said, “Public debt needs to be urgently reduced and domestic resource mobilization strengthened to enable the fiscal space to fully fund the HIV response and end AIDS. World leaders cannot let a resource crunch derail global progress to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.”

That’s the message UNAIDS officials will take to the high-level summit of the U.N. General Assembly beginning next week.

your ad here

Mpox spreads at alarming rate among children in Burundi

GENEVA — The United Nations Children’s Fund, or UNICEF, warned Friday that children in Burundi are bearing the brunt of the mpox outbreak, with cases of this deadly, infectious disease spreading at an alarming rate among a young population.

“Of the nearly 600 reported cases, two-thirds are in children under 19. The situation has escalated rapidly, with a more-than-40% increase in cases over the past three weeks,” Dr. Paul Ngwakum, UNICEF’s regional health adviser for Eastern and Southern Africa, told journalists in Geneva via video link Friday.

Ngwakum, who currently is on a visit to Burundi, said, “The fear expressed by the parents and the resilience of communities in the face of this public health crisis” and the rapid escalation of the disease “were striking.”

Speaking from the capital, Bujumbura, he said the rise of mpox among children under the age of 5 is of particular concern as they represent 30% of the reported cases. This, he said, underscores the urgent need for targeted interventions to protect children from becoming infected as schools have reopened this week.

“UNICEF is supporting the Ministry of Education to implement health measures in schools, train staff to recognize early symptoms of mpox and reinforce hand hygiene. We aim to ensure that all children can safely return to school and minimize educational disruptions,” he said, noting that this was “a rapidly evolving situation.”

Even amid the grim situation, he observed that Burundi has had no deaths from mpox, formerly known as monkeypox. He said this provides “an opportunity to end this outbreak in a very short time period.”

“The geographical area is still limited, and with concerted effort from all partners, we can limit the spread, contain the virus, and potentially end the outbreak with no lives lost,” said Ngwakum.

He added that “it was difficult to make firm statements regarding when the outbreak could be brought under control,” both in Burundi and the wider African region, a sentiment echoed by the World Health Organization.

WHO spokesperson Dr. Margaret Harris told journalists, “The response to the outbreak is made more difficult by the context, with insecurity in the affected areas, and concurrent outbreaks of other diseases including measles and chickenpox. WHO is on the ground, working to stop these outbreaks.”

So far this year, the WHO reports there have been more than 25,000 suspected mpox cases and 723 deaths among suspected cases in Africa. The most heavily infected country is the Democratic Republic of Congo, with 21,835 suspected cases and 717 deaths, followed by Burundi with 1,489 suspected cases and no deaths and Nigeria with 935 suspected cases and no deaths.

“Vaccination is going to be a very useful tool, particularly for trying to break the chains of transmission,” Harris said. “But the virus primarily spreads through close personal contact within families. And when people are living in difficult conditions, if they do not have access to the materials, to the soap, to the clean bedding, to the clean clothing, it is very, very difficult for them to not transmit.

“Many of the children who we have seen who have sadly died in the Democratic Republic of the Congo were severely malnourished, had suffered the effects of conflict, and perhaps also had other diseases at the same time. … It may indeed be that this population cannot respond immunologically to yet another threat,” she warned.

While affirming the importance of vaccines in the fight against mpox, UNICEF representative Ngwakum observed that “unfortunately,” the vaccines that are available now “cannot be used for children.”

“I do not want to bank all our interventions on vaccines,” he said. “Vaccines are only one tool that can be used to protect children and communities against mpox. And we are, in addition to vaccines, deploying other different tools” to keep children safe, he said.

UNICEF says it is possible to halt the rapid spread of mpox if agencies act swiftly and have the means in which to do it. The U.N. children’s agency is urgently appealing for $58.8 million to scale up its humanitarian response across six African countries, including Burundi.

“These funds are essential to stop the transmission of mpox, protect children and maintain critical services like education and health care,” said Ngwakum.

your ad here

Morocco arrests 152 people for allegedly inciting illegal migration to Ceuta 

RABAT — Morocco has arrested 152 people, who will now face trial on accusations they used social media to incite an attempt at mass illegal migration into the adjacent Spanish enclave of Ceuta, a government spokesperson said.  

In recent days, thousands of mostly young Moroccan men rushed to the northern city of Fnideq, bordering Ceuta, to attempt a crossing. Their efforts were thwarted by the heaviest security deployment ever seen the city, according to human rights activists there.  

“All attempts have been foiled,” spokesman Mustapha Baitas said at a news conference late on Thursday.  

“Some 3000 people attempted illegal migration,” he said, in a first official comment days after the crossing attempt.  

Spain’s two enclaves on Morocco’s Mediterranean coast, Ceuta and Melilla, share the only land borders between the European Union and Africa. They sporadically experience waves of attempted crossings by migrants trying to reach Europe.  

Morocco and Spain have strengthened their cooperation in addressing illegal migration since Madrid backed a Moroccan autonomy plan for disputed Western Sahara in 2022.  

Videos shared by local media showed young people throwing stones at security forces as they were prevented from getting near the Ceuta border.  

“No deaths have been reported,” Baitas said, adding authorities acted in respect for the law.  

In the first eight months this year, Morocco stopped 45,015 people from illegally migrating to Europe, according to interior ministry figures.  

Last month, hundreds of migrants took advantage of a thick mist to swim to Ceuta, Spanish police said.  

Tighter surveillance of Morocco’s northern borders has prompted an increasing number of migrants to try the riskier and longer Atlantic route to the Canary Islands. 

your ad here