Africa

Children attend class in a UNICEF-sponsored school in Dikwa, Borno state, Nigeria. Boko Haram captured Dikwa in 2014 and the Nigerian army liberated it in February 2016. UNICEF/Naftalin (file)

Over half of schools remain closed in epicentre of Boko Haram crisis in Nigeria – UNICEF

29 September 2017
About 57 per cent of all schools are closed in Nigeria's Borno state, worst hit by the Boko Haram insurgency and the subsequent humanitarian crisis, leaving an estimated 3 million children in need of emergency education support, even as the new school year begins, the United Nations child agency said today.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres (file).
TASS/ UN DPI

UN chief urges all parties to refrain from acts that could escalate tension in Cameroon

28 September 2017
Expressing “deep concern” over the deteriorating security situation in parts of Cameroon as well as heightened tensions related to planned events this Sunday, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called all parties to refrain from acts that could lead to further tensions and violence.
Children prepare freshly caught fish, village of Tagal, Lake Chad region, Chad.
UNICEF/Tremeau

Lake Chad Basin: Vulnerable people ‘a step away from starvation,’ says UN aid chief

28 September 2017
The scale up of international assistance to the Lake Chad Basin this year has averted a famine in north-east Nigeria, even though millions of people are still suffering, according to the United Nations aid chief.
In Uvira, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, peacekeepers of MONUSCO patrol the streets of the city to ensure the protection of civilians.
MONUSCO/Force

DR Congo: UN mission deploys ‘blue helmets’ to protect civilians and refugees

28 September 2017
Responding to the worsening security situation near a major town in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Nations mission in the country has deployed peacekeepers to deter any attacks on the city and to prevent escalation in clashes.
Youth of ages 15–29 make up around 30 percent of the population in the Arab region.
UNDP

North Africa set to adopt five-year plan to boost youth employment – UN labour agency

27 September 2017
With a youth unemployment rate at 28.8 per cent – twice the global average – countries in North Africa need to adopt a broader, more concerted response to tackle the crisis, the United Nations labour agency warned today.
New patient being admitted and washed with chlorinated water in the cholera treatment centre run by the Borno state Ministry of Health in northern Nigeria and supported by UNICEF and UNFPA.
OCHA/Yasmina Guerda

Amid cholera outbreak in north-east Nigeria, UN steps up aid, warns pregnant women most vulnerable

26 September 2017
Large-scale displacement and a health system in tatters as a result of persistent violence by the Boko Haram terrorist group have left many – most worryingly, pregnant women and their unborn babies – vulnerable to cholera in the wake of an outbreak in August, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has warned.
Some 17,000 people who fled to a UN protection of Civilians site in Wau, South Sudan following recent violence, have access to water, and are putting up basic structures to shield from the hot sun.
UN Photo/Nektarios Markogiannis

Warring parties in South Sudan show ‘little interest’ in pushing peace process forward – UN envoy

26 September 2017
A window of opportunity for compromise over the 2015 peace agreement by warring parties in South Sudan is narrow, the United Nations envoy for the country said today, stressing the urgency to find a political solution and for international support to the process.
A burnt village on the road to Bocaranga, northwest Central African Republic (file). Credit <a href=http://tinyurl.com/yc946l7k>IRIN/DFID.</a>

Civilians pay ‘very heavy price’ amid unfolding violence in western Central African Republic – UN

26 September 2017
Since the beginning of September, the humanitarian situation in western Central African Republic (CAR) has deteriorated as armed groups have taken over several localities – particularly Bocaranga and Niem – which has forced thousands of people to flee into the bush where they cannot access aid, the United Nations relief wing reported today.
UN convoy in Kidal, Mali. Photo MINUSMA/Marco Dormino

Mali: Security Council strongly condemns deadly attack on UN peacekeepers

26 September 2017
The United Nations Security Council has strongly condemned the attack by unknown assailants against a UN mission convoy in the region of Gao, northern Mali, on 24 September, that left three Bangladeshi peacekeepers dead and injured four others.
Special Representative and Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), Michael Keating being interviewed by local Somali TV about the UN's role in Somalia.
Michael Keating

Top UN envoy to Somalia welcomes parliamentary review of media law

25 September 2017
The top United Nations envoy to Somalia today welcomed the recent introduction of legislation that would amend the 2016 media law, and urged lawmakers to give due consideration to the concerns raised by prominent members of Somalia’s news media about the existing law and the proposed amendments.