The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination opened in Geneva on Monday to review anti-discrimination efforts being done in seven UN Member States.
A doctor in Benin has been telling the UN about the challenging conversations she has had with the relatives of patients who have died from COVID-19, and how she has used her long medical experience to effectively lead a team of health care workers.
This Friday, we cover: a worrying food crisis in the Democratic Republic of North Korea; attacks against civilians in DR Congo; outrage after the execution of child offenders in Iran; concerns over a super cereal distributed by the World Food Programme; and post-electoral violence in Benin.
Authorities in Benin are responding to what they are calling an “epidemic” of a severe illness that causes bleeding.
Lassa Fever is transmitted through contact with food or other items contaminated with the faeces or urine of a tiny rodent species known as the multimammate rat.
So far, there have been 25 suspected cases, with 12 deaths, four of which have been confirmed.
The haemorrhagic illness is endemic in Benin, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Authorities in Benin have been urged to tackle what have been described by UN human rights experts as “inhumane” conditions in one of the West African country’s prisons.
A delegation of experts has just returned from a visit to Benin where they inspected a number of detention centres without any prior warning.
Following those visits, they urged the government to immediately tackle overcrowding to alleviate the suffering of detainees and improve conditions overall.
Benin authorities urged to tackle “inhumane” prison conditions
