Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers, but does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group. 
Download logoWith the crisis in East Sudan continuing, UNDP is exploring longer-term solutions to support in-need refugees, and vulnerable local host communities; Addressing urgent health requirements, UNDP has rehabilitated the Um Rakuba health centre, located inside the refugee camp, increasing capacity up to 1,000 patients per week; Three mobile clinics, with a combined daily capacity of 180 patients, have arrived in the East to support refugee camps, points of entry, and local communities, including HIV and TB services; Civil works to rehabilitate another five health facilities are progressing. As the influx of refugees continues along the Ethiopia-Sudan border, more than 61,000 arrivals to date, limited healthcare services are under pressure – both for refugees and existing facilities for local communities. Responding to the crisis, UNDP and partners have undertaken civil works – expanding health infrastructure by rehabilitating the Um Rakuba health centre – as well as deploying three mobile clinics to the wider area. From a two-room clinic in disrepair, supporting up to 140 patients weekly, the Um Rakuba centre has expanded to six areas, assisting up to 1,000 patients per week. While regular services continued, locally employed laborers undertook extensive construction and repair, adding an examination room, emergency room, delivery room, pharmacy, and an HIV testing room. A range of equipment and supplies have been provided, including new patient beds, a medical waste incinerator and medical storage equipment – while solar panels are being added to ensure refrigeration for medicines. International NGO Mercy Corps is providing medical personnel for day-to-day operations. WHO and the Global Fund have provided critically-needed medicines, and IOM is supporting the construction of latrines. The clinic rehabilitation comes at a critical time, with the camp near full capacity – 20,500 refugees are currently based at the site. Addressing basic service need gaps elsewhere, three mobile clinics, funded by the Global Fund, have deployed in East Sudan to provide health services for up to 180 patients per day. Two clinics are positioned at the Um Rakuba and Tunaydbah refugee camps providing voluntary health checks, and HIV and tuberculosis-related care. The other remains deployable to other locations as required, such as points of entry and neighbouring communities, as well as serving as a backup. “The crisis has resulted in pressing health needs among refugees and the communities hosting them, with existing infrastructure struggling under an influx of people,” says Trond Husby, UNDP Sudan’s Crisis Coordinator. “As the situation continues, longer-term, durable solutions are increasingly necessary, providing help for those in need now, and important community assets for the future.” To date, UNDP has allocated or received around US$4 million to support crisis response, primarily focused on community stabilization and improving access to basic services, energy and health for refugees and local communities. Currently, five additional health facilities are planned for rehabilitation or construction – in Taweet, Doka, Homra, Mahala and Rashid – with rapid assessments underway for development of other community facilities in relevant areas. In response to the ongoing crisis in Eastern Sudan, UNDP has mobilized emergency response teams and resources to address urgent needs, longer-term basic service gaps, durable solutions for refugees, and broader stabilization and early recovery initiatives. Efforts have focused primarily on Um Rakuba and Tunaydbah refugee camps, in addition to seven surrounding host communities, and the fluctuating numbers of refugees transiting Hamdayet. Early UNDP intervention in a crisis enables people to use the benefits of humanitarian action to seize development opportunities, build resilience, and support sustainable recovery.Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Health centre rehabilitated, mobile clinics deployed, to support East Sudan’s refugee crisis

Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers, but does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group. 
Download logoThe United Nations World Food Programme warns that a crippling fuel shortage in Yemen is making an already catastrophic food security situation far worse and appeals for an urgent solution to this man-made crisis. No fuel vessels have been allowed to berth at Yemen’s Al Hodeidah port since 3 January. Thirteen fuel vessels carrying over 350,000 metric tons of commercial fuel are currently being held off Yemen’s coast. A lack of fuel has left the population struggling to reach markets, access health facilities and other vital services. Meanwhile, people are queuing for up to three days to refuel their cars or forced to turn to the parallel market where prices are 180 percent higher. These acute fuel shortages threaten the availability of clean water and electricity supply. Health facilities that rely on fuel for generators are without power. Higher fuel prices also mean higher food prices at a time when over 16 million food insecure Yemenis are already struggling to afford basic foods, all coming together and culminating in another shock that will further heighten the fragility of those most vulnerable. The humanitarian community and commercial actors’ small reserves are also at unprecedented lows. WFP’s ability to deliver lifeline food assistance after March is hanging in the balance. Food security projections for 2021 warn that nearly 50,000 people are facing famine-like conditions with 5 million people just a step away. A further 11 million people are struggling to each day to feed themselves and their families. But these forecasts do not factor in the economic and humanitarian impact of a fuel crisis meaning they risk underestimating the scale of suffering right now in Yemen. WFP issues an urgent appeal for all parties to reach an agreement that allows entry and distribution of fuel for civilians and the commercial sector through Al Hodeidah port, echoing similar and repeated calls by the UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, Martin Griffiths. The fuel shortages are yet another threat to a population already on the brink. The spectre of famine grows by the day and the cycle of hunger and conflict continues. Action must be taken to protect the lives and livelihoods of Yemeni civilians.Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Food Programme (WFP).

WFP appeals for solution to Yemen fuel shortages that threaten to worsen widespread food insecurity

Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers, but does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group. 
Download logo“We are relieved at the news of the reported release of over 200 students of the Government Girls’ Secondary School Jangebe in Zamfara State, north-west Nigeria, who were kidnapped during an overnight attack at their school in the early hours of the morning on Friday 26 February. “While we rejoice at the release of the schoolgirls and look forward to their safe return to their families, we reiterate that attacks on students and schools are not only reprehensible but a violation of the right of children to an education. It is a right that any society can ill-afford to violate. “UNICEF calls on the Government of Nigeria to take all measures to protect schools in the country so that children will not be fearful of going to school, and parents afraid of sending their children to school. “Schools must be safe places to study and develop, and learning should not become a risky endeavour. “UNICEF will be providing psychosocial support to the girls and their families and working with the Ministry of Education on how to ensure the safe return to school of all children in Zamfara State.”Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Statement from UNICEF Nigeria Representative Peter Hawkins on the release of abducted schoolgirls in Jangebe, Zamfara State, Nigeria

Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers, but does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group. 
Nineteen patients have been diagnosed positive for COVID-19 in tests carried out today at Quarantine Centers in Gash Barka, Southern Red Sea, Central and Southern Regions. Out of these, eleven patients are from Quarantine Centers in Adibara (6), Ali-Ghidir (4), and, Omhajer (1) in Gash Barka Region.  Four patients are from the Quarantine Center in Kiloma, Southern Red Sea Region.  Three patients are from Quarantine Centers in Asmara, Central Region.  The last patient is from a Quarantine Center in Adi Keih, Southern Region. On the other hand, eight patients who have been receiving medical treatment in the Central Region have recovered fully and have been discharged from these facilities. The total number of recovered patients to-date has accordingly risen to 2261 while the number of deaths stands at seven. The total number of confirmed cases in the country to-date has increased to 2866.Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Information, Eritrea.Media filesDownload logo

Coronavirus – Eritrea: Announcement from the Ministry of Health (1 March 2021)

Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers, but does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group. 
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is alarmed at surging violence in north-west Nigeria which has fuelled displacement into neighbouring Niger’s Maradi region, where violence is also on the rise. Fearing armed groups and communal clashes, more than 7,660 refugees have fled Nigeria into Maradi this year and another 3,500 citizens of Niger have been displaced inside the country. Most of the refugees are women and children, displaced following recent attacks in Nigeria’s Sokoto state. The Maradi region, in southern Niger, now hosts nearly 100,000 displaced people, including 77,000 Nigerian refugees, who have fled relentless attacks in Katsina, Sokoto, and Zamfara states. UNHCR commends the generosity of Niger as it continues to grant access to asylum, despite border restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. UNHCR teams in Niger have recorded a spike in deadly violence inside Maradi itself, with more casualties and serious incidents reported in January and February 2021 than in the second half 2020. Refugees describe gruesome murders, kidnappings for ransom, and looted villages. Many have also been caught up in clashes between farmers and herders as well as vigilantism, as self-defence groups are being set up in most villages. People fleeing are in urgent need of water, food, shelter, and health services. Most have fled empty handed in the rush to save their lives. UNHCR is providing life-saving assistance and protection and has scaled up border monitoring activities. Our teams are also registering new arrivals to identify people with vulnerabilities and other specific needs.  We are working closely with Nigerien authorities to relocate refugees away from the border and into safer localities where basic assistance and services are available. Since October 2019, some 11,320 refugees have been relocated to other villages where UNHCR and its partners have strengthened water, health, sanitation, and education infrastructure for the displaced and their hosts, helping to ease pressure on communities who have shown incredible generosity but have limited means. Armed groups in the Sahel and Lake Chad regions have been fuelling one of the world’s fastest growing displacement and protection crises. To date, more than 3.2 million people have been displaced by violence in the Lake Chad Basin. Humanitarian efforts to respond to the emergency are dangerously overstretched –UNHCR’s Lake Chad Basin operation requires US$128.6 million and is only 10 per cent funded. UNHCR is urging the international community to boost support for the region and to help governments root out the causes of this forced displacement and to boost strategic and sustainable development.Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).Media filesDownload logo

Surging violence in Nigeria drives displacement to Niger

Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers, but does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group. 
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is working to relocate thousands of Central African refugees away from dangerous conditions in remote border areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) into safer sites further into the interior. UNHCR and DRC’s National Refugee Commission (CNR) have signed agreements and started to develop a site for 10,000 refugees in Modale village, near Yakoma in North Ubangi province. A second site is being considered near Ndu in Bas Uele province, and is pending government approval. Work is ongoing to identify two additional sites where more refugees can be moved. UNHCR and CNR will prepare four relocation sites for some 35,000 refugees to live alongside local communities and grow their own crops, attend local schools, and benefit from other services that serve their Congolese hosts. Settling refugees in local communities will allow them to live with greater dignity and independence. At the Modale site, UNHCR is setting up new water and sanitation facilities and is planning to expand health and education facilities. The localities selected already have administrative and judicial services, nine primary schools, a secondary school and a health clinic. UNHCR is reinforcing existing services and infrastructure which would struggle to cope with the sudden increase in new arrivals. Authorities in the DRC estimate that 92,000 refugees have arrived from the Central African Republic (CAR) after election-linked violence erupted in December 2020. Most Central African refugees are now living along riverbanks in hard-to-reach border areas, among host communities with extremely limited resources. Conditions are dire, with many refugees sleeping in makeshift shelters. Most have little to no access to drinking water, sanitation, or food. Some have been welcomed by host families, sometimes with up to three refugee families living in a single home. Health needs are becoming increasingly urgent. Joint health evaluation teams of UN agencies, NGOs, and the Provincial Health Division have reported a high risk of a major measles epidemic in refugee hosting areas in North Ubangi. Suspected cases are already being reported among the host communities. The evaluation team has recommended an urgent vaccination drive, as fewer than 30 per cent of refugee children are vaccinated. Further measures to counter the spread of COVID are also needed. So far, nearly 40,000 refugees have been biometrically registered by UNHCR teams. Our teams are assisting more than 4,500 particularly vulnerable refugees, including unaccompanied and separated children, at-risk women, people with disabilities and serious medical conditions. We are also providing support to some 80 survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, including cases of child marriages. All these incidents are reported to have occurred in CAR.   As the needs of thousands of Central African refugees continue to increase, so do the funding requirements. Funds for UNHCR’s humanitarian response are already critically low and under severe pressure due to the needs of both refugees and the host communities. UNHCR is appealing ( https://reporting.unhcr.org/node/30262 ) for US$164.7 million to deliver critical protection and assistance to the displaced Central Africans.Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).Media filesDownload logo

UNHCR to relocate thousands of Central African refugees to safer locations

Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers, but does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group. 
Results of COVID-19 tests done on 01 March 2021 confirm 28 new cases. The cumulative confirmed cases are 40,395.  The breakdown of the new cases are: 27 contacts and alerts: Gulu (7) Wakiso (7) Kampala (11) Amuru (1) Mubende (1); 1 Truck Driver: Elegu PoE.Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Health &#8211; Republic of Uganda.Media filesDownload logo

Coronavirus – Uganda: COVID-19 update (1 March 2021)

Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers, but does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group. 
Download logoAfrica must protect itself against future pandemics and other shocks through higher investment in primary healthcare and increased local manufacturing of key medical products, panelists at the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development urged on Monday. Egypt hosted the virtual, second edition of the meeting, titled Shaping Africa’s New Normal: Recovering Stronger, Rebuilding Better’. A significant part of the discussion centered on providing access to COVID-19 vaccinations and to healthcare more generally. This is not the first pandemic and it is not going to be the last,” said Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Hala El-Said, who appealed for vaccine equity and the establishment of research and diagnostic centres that focus on pandemics in Africa. She also invited the private sector to play a greater role in investing in the healthcare of Africans.  Investments in healthcare must be a priority, said World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “A healthy population is a secure, resilient and prosperous population,” the WHO chief said. “As we work together to respond, recover, and rebuild, we must see health as an investment to be nurtured- an investment that delivers for each and everyone.” African Development Bank President Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina called for the establishment of an African Financial Stability Mechanism to help the continent withstand future economic shocks such as the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. “As we go into the African Continental Free Trade Area, we cannot afford this kind of shocks that could pull our economies down, because that is an economy of $3.8 trillion,” Dr. Adesina said. “It is time for us to develop and put in place an African Financial Stability Mechanism that will ensure that Africa does not reel from side to side when situations like this happen,” Adesina added. The African Development Bank President cited as a model the European Financial Stabilization Mechanism created by the European Commission to provide financial assistance to EU countries experiencing or threatened by serious financial difficulties. “We were looking for $154 billion for Africa last year. We couldn’t even get it,” he said. Speakers agreed that in the near term, securing vaccine equity—access to an adequate and affordable supply of vaccines against COVID-19—would be critical. The Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), John Nkengasong, urged Africans to use vaccine supplies effectively. “Unless, and until we vaccinate at least 60% of our population, we remain a continent of COVID-19 going forward, with serious economic and health implications. We must do everything to meet our vaccination targets,” he said. It was agreed that another lesson of the pandemic is that African countries need to promote the domestic manufacture of diagnostic equipment, vaccines and other medicines.   “We need to build back better, bolder and bigger, and embrace a new public health order for our continent,” Nkengasong said.  The Aswan Forum, an annual event that receives support from the African Development Bank and other international and regional organizations, promotes an agenda to address the peace, security and development challenges that Africa faces. The forum runs from the 1st to 5th of March.Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).Media Contact: Emeka Anuforo Communication and External Relations Department e.anuforo@afdb.org

Aswan Forum: Put healthcare, including vaccines, at the center of rebuilding Africa back better and more resilient – WHO, African Development Bank, Africa CDC

Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers, but does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group. 
Download logoThe Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) has awarded a grant of $320, 535 to the West African Monetary Agency to mainstream gender in ECOWAS’ core digital financial services (DFS) regulatory frameworks. The funds will support a gender gap analysis of several WAMA strategies including those for financial inclusion; gender disaggregation data analytics; digital payment services and infrastructure; and digital identity.  The project, to be executed over a three year period, will potentially affect 350 million people in all 15 ECOWAS nations:  Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Cabo Verde, Ghana, Guinea, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. The grant will be disbursed through the Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility, a blended finance vehicle, supported by the Bank. “With a secretariat comprising all the 15 ECOWAS central banks, WAMA plays a pivotal role in the consolidation and implementation of strategic financial inclusion objectives. ADFI and the WAMA project team will work closely with other ecosystem players in the region to ensure harmonisation of efforts for maximum impact,” said Sheila Okiro, the ADFI Coordinator. The project has the potential to raise by 35% women’s participation in digital financial market operations in the region, which has a higher gender disparity than other parts of the continent as reflected in its Gender Development Index of 0.825 versus the African average of 0.871.  Africa has a gender-inclusion gap of 11% as compared to the global average of 9%  according to the 2017 Findex Report. To address this challenge, it is imperative that gender is mainstreamed across all functions but more so at the level of policy and regulation. The project is aligned to ADFI’s strategic goals including its cross-cutting focus on gender inclusion, as well as the Bank’s Ten-Year Strategy, Gender Strategy (2021-2025) and to the Integrate Africa High-5 strategic focus. The Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility (www.ADFI.org) (ADFI) is a pan-African instrument designed to accelerate digital financial inclusion throughout Africa, with the goal of ensuring that an additional 332 million Africans (60% of them women) have access to the formal financial system. ADFI’s current partners are the French Development Agency (AFD); the French Treasury, Ministry of Economy and Finance; the Government of Luxembourg’s Ministry of Finance; the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; and the African Development Bank, which also hosts the fund. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).Media Contact: Olufemi Terry Communication and External Relations Department African Development Bank Email: o.terry@afdb.org About the African Development Bank Group: The African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) is Africa’s premier development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). On the ground in 41 African countries with an external office in Japan, the Bank contributes to the economic development and the social progress of its 54 regional member states. For more information: www.AfDB.org

African Development Bank provides $320 000 in grant funding to mainstream gender in Economic Community of West African States&apos; (ECOWAS) digital financial operations

Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers, but does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group. 
Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone, H.E. Hu Zhangliang, has presented 200,000 doses of the SinoPharm COVID-19 Vaccine to His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio on behalf of the President and People’s Republic of China. The donated items, which arrived in the country on Thursday 25 February 2021, also included 201,600 pieces of disposable needles and syringes. In his statement before the symbolic handing over ceremony, Ambassador Hu said it was a pleasure to make the donation on behalf of his government and country, adding that the consignment of medical supplies was part of President Xi Jinping’s commitment to helping other countries manage the deadly Coronavirus.  He further expressed gratitude to President Bio for receiving the donation on behalf of his government and thanked the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nabeela Tunis, the National COVID-19 Emergency Response Centre and all those who helped the delivery. After taking receipt of the donation, President Bio expressed appreciation to the Chinese Government, emphasising that China had continually been of help to Sierra Leone whenever the small west African nation needed help. He said: “A friend in need, is a friend indeed”, adding that Sierra Leone was grateful for the great show of friendship and assuring them of the intended purpose of the vaccines. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Republic of Sierra Leone State House.Media filesDownload logo

Coronavirus – Sierra Leone: Chinese Ambassador Hu Zhangliang presents COVID-19 Vaccines to Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio

Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers, but does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group. 
Download logoThe U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is deploying a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to respond to growing humanitarian needs stemming from conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. After nearly four months of fighting between armed groups, hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee their homes and more than four million people are in need of food assistance. USAID’s DART will lead the U.S. Government’s humanitarian response. The team includes disaster experts who are assessing the situation, identifying priority needs to scale up assistance, and working with partners to provide urgently needed assistance to communities affected by the conflict. Since the outbreak of conflict, USAID’s partners have been pivoting existing programs to provide life-saving assistance in the few areas of Tigray that can be reached. While USAID has been working with partners to overcome many access challenges, an estimated 80 percent of Tigray remains cut off from assistance. The United States remains committed to supporting the people of Ethiopia and is the largest humanitarian donor in Ethiopia. In FY 2020, the U.S. provided more than $652 million in humanitarian assistance to respond to acute food needs, conflict-driven displacement, flooding, a desert locust infestation, and the COVID-19 pandemic.Distributed by APO Group on behalf of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

USAID Deploys Disaster Assistance Response Team to Respond to Humanitarian Needs in Tigray, Ethiopia

Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers, but does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group. 
New cases: 63 Total active cases: 11,313 Total currently admitted: 89 (14 new) Total number of tests conducted: 198,742 (818 new) Total confirmed cases: 32,008* Total recovered: 19,513 (639 new) New discharges from treatment units: 9 Total deaths: 1,048 (4 new) *Out of these, 134 lost to follow-up. 7.7% Positivity Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Health and Population, Republic of Malawi.Media filesDownload logo

Coronavirus – Malawi: COVID-19 update (1 March 2021)

Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers, but does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group. 
Daily: Laboratory test: 5,840 Severe cases: 375 New recovered: 319 New deaths: 8 New cases: 900 Total: Laboratory test: 2,140,427 Active cases: 22,420 Total recovered: 135,177 Total deaths: 2,373 Total cases: 159,972Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Health, Ethiopia.Media filesDownload logo

Coronavirus – Ethiopia: COVID-19 update (1 March 2021)

Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers, but does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group. 
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and World Food Programme (WFP) appealed today for US$266 million to end food ration cuts for over 3 million refugees in Eastern Africa. Funding shortages have forced cuts up to 60 per cent. The agencies warned of growing risks including increased malnutrition and anaemia, stunted child growth and a myriad of protection risks. The impact of the funding shortfalls on refugee families is compounded by COVID-19 lockdowns and measures to contain the pandemic’s spread, which had already reduced the availability of food in markets in refugee camps and wrecked many refugees’ hopes of helping to support their families through casual labour and small businesses. “The pandemic has been devastating for everyone, but for refugees even more so.” said Clementine Nkweta-Salami, UNHCR’s Regional Bureau Director for the East, Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes. “Unless more funds are made available, thousands of refugees including children will not have enough to eat.” “Protection concerns are growing. Food ration or cash cuts are resulting in negative coping strategies to meet their basic food needs – such as skipping or reducing meals, taking loans with high interest, selling assets, child labour, and increased domestic violence. There is often a desperation and a feeling of no alternative,” she said. “We must start meeting the food and nutritional needs of refugees in the region now,” said Michael Dunford, WFP Regional Director for Eastern Africa. “The immediate priority for us all must be to restore assistance to at least minimum levels for refugees, many of whom lost the lifeline of remittances due to the global impact of COVID-19.” “We’ve never had such a terrible funding situation for refugees. We have a US$266 million shortfall for the next six months for refugees’ minimum needs. We are deeply concerned that if cuts continue, they will be faced with a very difficult decision: stay in the camps where food and nutrition security is deteriorating or consider risking going back when it is unsafe.” In the 11 countries covered by UNHCR’s Bureau for the East and Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes, 72 per cent of 4.7 million refugees face food cuts on top of funding shortfalls already for UNHCR’s non-food assistance and support. Funding shortfalls have forced WFP to slash its monthly assistance for refugees by up to 60 per cent in Rwanda, 40 per cent in Uganda and Kenya, 30 per cent in South Sudan, 23 per cent in Djibouti and 16 per cent in Ethiopia. Almost 140,000 refugees and asylum seekers live in Rwanda, mostly from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi. WFP supports 138,000 refugees in camps and 12,500 children from the host community who attend the same schools as refugees and receive school meals. The 60 per cent cut is unprecedented and will only worsen food insecurity. WFP predominantly supports refugees in Rwanda with cash transfers so relatively little additional funding could reverse the cuts. WFP needs US$11 million to provide refugees in Rwanda with full cash or food rations through August. In Kenya, WFP has reduced food rations for 417,000 refugees by 40 per cent. WFP needs US$61 million to provide full food and nutrition assistance to refugees from March through August. In Tanzania, WFP rations for 280,000 refugees are cut by 32 per cent of the minimum recommended kilocalorie requirement. WFP needs US$17 million for refugees in Tanzania through August. Uganda hosts the largest refugee population in Africa and in February WFP cut food assistance to 1.27 million refugees by 40 per cent of the basic survival ration. US$77 million is needed through August to provide full rations. In South Sudan, Ethiopia and Djibouti, WFP requires US$82 million to provide full assistance through August for almost 1 million refugees. Only refugees in Burundi and Sudan are receiving full rations. They need a total of US$18 million through August. The United Nations World Food Programme is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. We are the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).Media filesDownload logo

WFP, UNHCR appeal for funding for over 3 million refugees hit by ration cuts in Eastern Africa

Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers, but does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group. 
Download logo152 people have tested positive of the coronavirus from a sample size of 2,213. 29 patients have recovered bringing the total to 86,717. Unfortunately 3 patients have succumbed to the disease pushing the total fatalities to 1,859.Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Health, Kenya.

Coronavirus – Kenya: COVID-19 update (1 March 2021)

Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers, but does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group. 
Download logoMinister of Health Lizzie Nkosi COVID-19 update on 01 March 2021: New cases: 11 Total cases: 17,025 Active cases: 1,562 New recoveries: 124 Total recoveries: 14,800Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Health, Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini.

Coronavirus – Eswatini: COVID-19 update (1 March 2021)

Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers, but does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group. 
As of 1st March 2021, we report 468 new cases out of 5,535 tests (8% positivity), 589 recoveries and 7 deaths [MTSRIP].Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Zambia National Public Health Institute (ZNPHI).Media filesDownload logo

APO

Health centre rehabilitated, mobile clinics deployed, to support East Sudan’s refugee crisis

WFP appeals for solution to Yemen fuel shortages that threaten to worsen widespread food insecurity

Statement from UNICEF Nigeria Representative Peter Hawkins on the release of abducted schoolgirls in Jangebe, Zamfara State, Nigeria

Coronavirus – Eritrea: Announcement from the Ministry of Health (1 March 2021)

Surging violence in Nigeria drives displacement to Niger

UNHCR to relocate thousands of Central African refugees to safer locations

Coronavirus – Uganda: COVID-19 update (1 March 2021)

Aswan Forum: Put healthcare, including vaccines, at the center of rebuilding Africa back better and more resilient – WHO, African Development Bank, Africa CDC

African Development Bank provides $320 000 in grant funding to mainstream gender in Economic Community of West African States' (ECOWAS) digital financial operations

Coronavirus – Sierra Leone: Chinese Ambassador Hu Zhangliang presents COVID-19 Vaccines to Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio

USAID Deploys Disaster Assistance Response Team to Respond to Humanitarian Needs in Tigray, Ethiopia

Coronavirus – Malawi: COVID-19 update (1 March 2021)

Coronavirus – Ethiopia: COVID-19 update (1 March 2021)

WFP, UNHCR appeal for funding for over 3 million refugees hit by ration cuts in Eastern Africa

Coronavirus – Kenya: COVID-19 update (1 March 2021)

Coronavirus – Eswatini: COVID-19 update (1 March 2021)

Coronavirus – Zambia: COVID-19 update (1 March 2021)

News Tips

Advertise With Us

APO

Health centre rehabilitated, mobile clinics deployed, to support East Sudan’s refugee crisis

WFP appeals for solution to Yemen fuel shortages that threaten to worsen widespread food insecurity

Statement from UNICEF Nigeria Representative Peter Hawkins on the release of abducted schoolgirls in Jangebe, Zamfara State, Nigeria

Coronavirus – Eritrea: Announcement from the Ministry of Health (1 March 2021)

Surging violence in Nigeria drives displacement to Niger

UNHCR to relocate thousands of Central African refugees to safer locations

Coronavirus – Uganda: COVID-19 update (1 March 2021)

Aswan Forum: Put healthcare, including vaccines, at the center of rebuilding Africa back better and more resilient – WHO, African Development Bank, Africa CDC

African Development Bank provides $320 000 in grant funding to mainstream gender in Economic Community of West African States' (ECOWAS) digital financial operations

Coronavirus – Sierra Leone: Chinese Ambassador Hu Zhangliang presents COVID-19 Vaccines to Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio

USAID Deploys Disaster Assistance Response Team to Respond to Humanitarian Needs in Tigray, Ethiopia

Coronavirus – Malawi: COVID-19 update (1 March 2021)

Coronavirus – Ethiopia: COVID-19 update (1 March 2021)

WFP, UNHCR appeal for funding for over 3 million refugees hit by ration cuts in Eastern Africa

Coronavirus – Kenya: COVID-19 update (1 March 2021)

Coronavirus – Eswatini: COVID-19 update (1 March 2021)

Coronavirus – Zambia: COVID-19 update (1 March 2021)

News Tips

Advertise With Us

Newsletters