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News in Brief 20 October 2022

News in Brief 20 October 2022

This is the News in Brief from the United Nations.

Somalia: WFP delivers lifesaving aid to record numbers in need

The World Food Programme (WFP) is delivering life-saving support to record numbers of people in Somalia, with over four million a month receiving urgent supplies, to prevent famine in the face of the region’s worst drought in over 40 years.

The scale-up has helped keep the worst outcomes of Somalia’s hunger crisis at bay so far, said WFP.

But the situation on the ground remains dire, with a child admitted for treatment with acute malnutrition every minute, accord to UNICEF.

WFP is racing against time to beat projected famine and a death toll that could reach the tens or even hundreds of thousands.

Over the last six months, WFP has more than doubled the number of people reached with life-saving food and cash assistance from 1.7 million in April to 4.4 million in August.

Peace and security worsening for women worldwide: UN Women

The UN priority agenda on women, peace and security, is further away from achieving its goals than ever before, according to the UN gender agency UN Women.

The latest report from UN chief António Guterres shows a sharp deterioration which is significantly impacting women and girls’ survival in warzones.

UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous said on Thursday as the Security Council debated the issue, that at a time of unprecedented crisis, the last thing the world should do is walk back from its commitments.

The report calls for empowering women human rights defenders, ensuring women have a seat at the table in peace talks, and more funding for women’s involvement in peace and security. 

Children in Africa five times less likely to learn basics

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

The ability of education systems to ensure even rudimentary literacy skills for their students has declined in four out of 10 African countries over the last three decades. 

 The findings are published in the first of a three-part series of Spotlight reports called Born to learn, published by the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report at UN education agency UNESCO, the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) and the African Union.

Manos Antoninis, Director of the Report, said while every child is born to learn, they can’t do so if they’re hungry, lack textbooks, or don’t speak the language they’re being taught in.

Lack of basic support for teachers is another key factor.

Matt Wells, UN News.

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  • Somalia: WFP delivering lifesaving aid to record number
  • Peace and security worsening for women worldwide
  • Children in Africa five times less likely to learn basics
Audio Credit
Matt Wells, UN News
Audio Duration
2'17"
Photo Credit
© UNICEF/Mulugeta Ayene