Africa

© UNHCR/Pumla Rulashe

First peaceful transfer of power in DR Congo ‘an extraordinary opportunity’ for advancing rights

19 March 2019
Human Rights

The election of President Felix Tshisekedi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), marks “an extraordinary opportunity” for the country to advance civil and political rights, said a senior UN official, on Tuesday at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

WFP/Deborah Nguyen

Cyclone Idai: emergency getting ‘bigger by the hour’, warns UN food agency

19 March 2019
Humanitarian Aid

The full scale of the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Idai in south-west Africa is becoming clearer, the UN said on Tuesday, warning that the emergency “is getting bigger by the hour”.

UNICEF/VincentTremeau

UN will do ‘utmost to prevent and mitigate any risk of violence’ in DR Congo, pledges Mission chief

18 March 2019
Peace and Security

Despite the relatively peaceful passage of December’s presidential election in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN Special Representative to the country told the Security Council she “remained concerned” over developments in the east, where dozens of armed groups continue to operate.

UN Mozambique

‘Break the cycle’ of disaster-response-recovery, urges top UN official, as death toll mounts from Cyclone Idai

18 March 2019
Climate Change

The destruction unleashed by Cyclone Idai on Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, continues to claim lives and displace thousands, in what the UN’s top disaster risk reduction official called on Monday “the worst extreme weather event to occur so far this year”.

UNICEF/Juskauskas

UN standing with Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique as Southern Africa death toll from deadly cyclone mounts

17 March 2019
Humanitarian Aid

The UN chief has expressed his sadness at the loss of life and displacement across Zimbabwe, as a result of the deadly Tropical Cyclone Idai, which has pounded Southern Africa in recent days, leaving at least 150 dead in Malawi alone, according to latest news reports.

UNICEF/Juskauskas

Tropical Cyclone Idai affects 1.5 million across Mozambique and Malawi, as UN ramps up response

15 March 2019
Humanitarian Aid

A major aid operation is under way in Mozambique and Malawi to help victims of Tropical Cyclone Idai, which has reached the densely-populated Mozambican port city of Beira, after registering maximum wind speeds of nearly 200 kilometres per hour, UN agencies said on Friday.

MINUSMA/Harandane Dicko

Service and Sacrifice: Guinean peacekeepers make their mark in Mali

14 March 2019
Peace and Security

As the sun rises over Mali’s vast desert, a group of 20 peacekeepers prepare their equipment and line up to receive instructions before heading out for their first patrol of the day on one of the most dangerous roads in the region.

World Bank /Vincent Tremeau

DR Congo Ebola centre attacks could force retreat against the deadly disease, warns UN health chief

14 March 2019
Health

Attacks on Ebola treatment centres in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), risk reversing the gains made during the current outbreak in the north-east of the country, the head of the UN health agency said on Thursday.

UNICEF/Tremeau

Around 260,000 children in DR Congo’s Kasai region suffering severe acute malnutrition

13 March 2019
Humanitarian Aid

More than a quarter of a million children in the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) – and thousands of others who have fled with their families to nearby provinces – are suffering severe and acute malnutrition, and need lifesaving treatment, said the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Wednesday.

UNMISS/Isaac Billy

In South Sudan, mothers teaching daughters ‘safer’ ways to survive rape

12 March 2019
Human Rights

Sexual attacks in South Sudan are so common that mothers now teach their daughters how to survive the ordeal of being raped, in such a way as to minimize the violence. That’s according to Yasmin Sooka, chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights, who was speaking on Tuesday in front of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, during its latest session.