GENEVA – United Nations agencies say they cannot help tens of thousands of civilians suffering because of the Tigray conflict until Ethiopia opens a humanitarian corridor to allow aid into the region. The United Nations and Ethiopia reached an agreement Wednesday to grant aid agencies unimpeded access to the beleaguered area. It has yet to be implemented, though, and the hoped-for humanitarian corridor to Tigray opened. The World Health Organization says its staff is on standby and ready to be deployed as soon as the situation permits. WHO spokesman Tarik…
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West and Central Africa: Weekly Regional Humanitarian Snapshot (25 Nov – 02 December 2020)
REGIONAL LAUNCH OF THE GLOBAL HUMANITARIAN OVERVIEW 2021 The UN and partner organizations aim to help 160 million people most in need across 56 countries next year, which will require $35 billion. The Global Humanitarian Overview for 2021 highlights an increase by 40% of people in need worldwide, with a record 235 million people requiring humanitarian assistance and protection. Violent conflict, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated vulnerabilities globally. In West and central Africa, the number of people in need has increased by 35%, with over 60 million…
Read MoreHumanitarian Crisis Grips Ethiopia’s Restive Tigray Region
GENEVA – United Nations aid agencies report Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region is in a worsening humanitarian crisis, as fighting intensifies and thousands continue to flee to neighboring countries. Protection of Ethiopian civilians and Eritrean refugees is a major concern, with human rights monitors warning the weeklong fighting between Ethiopian federal forces and Tigray regional security forces could spin out of control. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says humanitarian aid to more than 2 million people in the region has been disrupted. It says security concerns are…
Read MoreNot Immune: Children in Conflict October 2020 | Save the Children
Conflict threatens global health security as children miss out on life-saving vaccines: report Save the Children calls on world leaders to deliver global ceasefire to help fight spread of COVID-19 Melbourne, 12 November – As the world awaits a COVID-19 vaccine, a new report by Save the Children shows that millions of children trapped in war zones are already missing out on life-saving vaccinations. Not Immune: Children in Conflict shines a spotlight on the harrowing impact of war on the immunisation of children over the past decade and calls for…
Read MoreWest and Central Africa: Weekly Regional Humanitarian Snapshot (4 Nov – 11 Nov 2020)
REGIONAL NORTH-EAST NIGERIA AND BURKINA FASO EDGING CLOSER TO FAMINE North-east Nigeria and Burkina Faso are among the world’s hunger hotspots with the highest risk. Vulnerable communities could slip into famine within months if conditions deteriorate any further, FAO and WFP warned. In Burkina Faso, 3.3 million people are in the emergency phase of food security, almost three times the number of 2019. In Nigeria 8.7 million were projected to face acute food insecurity in July-August 2020. Across the region, food insecurity has increased dramatically due to deteriorating conflict, displacement…
Read MoreUN Rights Chief Urges Halt to Ethiopia Violence, Dialogue to Restore Peace
GENEVA – Ethiopia’s stability is on the line as the recent outburst of fierce fighting in the country’s Tigray and Oromia regions risks getting out of hand. U.N. rights chief Michelle Bachelet called Saturday for a de-escalation of violence and for grievances in these separate but equally destructive conflicts to be settled peacefully. Heavy clashes broke out Wednesday in the northern region of Tigray between federal and regional troops, prompting declaration of a six-month state of emergency. The Ethiopian government announced it had deployed federal troops in response to an…
Read MoreRights Groups Question ‘Hotel Rwanda’ Figure’s Prospect for Fair Trial
WASHINGTON – As Paul Rusesabagina, the man depicted as a Rwandan genocide hero in the Oscar-nominated film “Hotel Rwanda” awaits trial in Kigali, rights groups and supporters are questioning the circumstances of his detention and the fairness of the legal process. After arriving in Dubai on August 26, Rusesabagina boarded a private plane and was flown to Rwanda, where he was arrested on charges of sponsoring rebel groups and terrorism-related offenses. Rusesabagina said in interviews after his detention that he was invited by a friend to visit Burundi and speak…
Read MoreOver 100 Arrive In Sudan As Voluntary Humanitarian Return Flights Resume
Over 100 Sudanese migrants have returned on the first Libya-Sudan Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) flight since the onset of COVID-19. The returnees travelled on 12 September in a long-awaited charter arranged by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in coordination with the Libyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Sudanese embassy in Tripoli. IOM’s VHR programme is a lifeline for stranded migrants, with hundreds stuck in conflict-torn Libya. Worsening the situation were measures put in place globally to fight the COVID-19 pandemic including border closures which disrupted the programme, leading…
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