Africa

The African Cup of Nations starts on Friday 21 June. We look at the top players to watch out for at the tournament.

The Military Council has switched off the internet in response to protests that took place in early June.

A selection of the week's best photos from across the continent and beyond.

Ajara Nchout scores two brilliant goals, including an injury-time winner, as Cameroon beat New Zealand 2-1 to reach the last 16 of the World Cup as a best third-placed team.

Hosts Egypt play Zimbabwe in the first match of the Africa Cup of Nations - the first time the tournament has been held in Europe's summer.

UN Secretary General, António Guterres visiting a refugee camp in Uganda. June 2017, PHOTO//Twitter @antonioguterres

By Siddharth Chatterjee
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 20 2019 (IPS)

As the world marks World Refugee Day on June 20th to celebrate the strength, courage and perseverance of refugees, a glaring concern remains just how inadequate the global response to the refugee crisis has been.

To a large extent, refugees have been painted with the broad strokes of a burden to host economies or sources of insecurity and crime. The world has lacked the resolve and skills needed to negotiate peace settlements, end the refugee crisis through dialogue and diplomacy and support countries that continue to host refugees.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the world is facing the highest levels of displacement ever in history, with over 65 million people forced from their homes by war, internal conflicts, drought or poor economies. People are forcibly displaced at a rate of 34,000 per day due to conflict or persecution.

The world’s poorer countries are bearing the brunt. Currently, eight out of ten refugees are hosted by developing countries, mostly in Africa, adding to existing challenges such as access to food, water, shelter and health care to both refugees and host communities.

Extensive media coverage of the surge in refugees landing in Europe has tended to divert attention from the challenges that a few African countries are grappling with as they carry the burden of displacement. Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya are among the countries in Africa that continue to extend their hospitality and bare the social and economic burden.

Ethiopia hosts nearly 740,000 refugees, mostly from Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan and South Sudan, the largest refugee population in a single African country. The country maintains an open-door policy that welcomes refugees and allows humanitarian access and protection. In Uganda, the more than 500,000 refugees from Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, have been granted free movement, employment opportunities and land for building new homes or farming.

Kenya currently hosts about 480,,000 refugees. Most are Somali refugees, but others are from South Sudan, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, the Great Lakes region, and others. They are concentrated in three main locations: the Dadaab camps, the Kakuma camp, and urban areas.

In Kakuma, the Government of Kenya and various UN agencies led by UNHCR together with the World Bank (IFC) are implementing the Kalobeyei Integrated Socio-economic Development Programme that is enhancing inclusion by empowering the refugees and host communities to participate in socio-economic activities.

The programme has created conditions that are attracting investment from the private sector and impressive gains are already evident in a more vibrant local economy. The International Finance Corporation estimates that there are over 2,500 refugee businesses in Kakuma and Kalobeyei, with economic activities being worth about $56 million per year

Such data supports the need to begin to see refugees not just as a problem to be overcome. Various studies have concluded that refugees have a net positive effect on the welfare of locals. The World Bank, “Yes, in my backyard” established that refugee presence in Kakuma contributes 3% to the GDP in Turkana West.

As UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has observed, “inclusion and social cohesion are the tools with which it is possible to allow refugees and host communities to live together in harmony and create a win-win situation for everyone”.

The world must take collective responsibility for the horrors of rampant conflict, violence and human rights abuses that continue to force people to flee within or outside their countries. Currently, about two-thirds of all the refugees under the UNHCR’s mandate come from just five countries: Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Myanmar and Somalia.

Even with the large part of the global crisis emanating from only those few hotspots, humanitarian support remains chronically underfunded. Developing countries, especially Africa deserve better support.

As the world observes World Refugee Day this year, UNHCR has received contributions of only $306 million for its programmes in Africa, which represents a paltry 11 percent of its requirements.

With a keener sense of purpose and will, the world can take better care of refugees, a segment of society that represents humanity at its most vulnerable.

It is the only way to prove that the oft-repeated declaration about all humans being born equal is more than just parody.

The original version of this article appeared in Thomson Reuters Foundation news.

The post Sharing the Burden of Refugees; the World Can Do Better appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Siddharth Chatterjee is the United Nations Resident Coordinator to Kenya.

The post Sharing the Burden of Refugees; the World Can Do Better appeared first on Inter Press Service.

The group had been staying in safe houses in Kenya's capital after fleeing attacks, the UN says.

By Charlotte Munns
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 20 2019 (IPS)

Over 785 people have been diagnosed with HIV in Larkana, Pakistan. 82% of those individuals are children, and only half are receiving the treatment they need.

A World Health Organisation (WHO) report titled ‘HIV Outbreak Investigation in Larkana’ rated the situation a Grade-II emergency requiring US$1.5 million to contain. WHO is able to provide only US$200,000 of those funds.

This report comes as it is announced South Africa has attained the UN goal of 90-90-90 diagnosis-treatment-suppression of HIV ahead of the 2020 objective. Pakistan’s recent leap away from that target illustrates the profound disparity in treatment and prevention of HIV across the globe.

On April 25th, a number of children from Larkana, a city in the north-west of the Sindh province of Pakistan, were referred for HIV testing after they exhibited a persistent fever. An initial HIV-positive diagnosis of 15 children aged between 2 and 8 years old prompted a large-scale screening programme beginning on April 28th.

Larkana Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Nauman Siddique wrote in an op-ed, “the results of the screening within the first few days were shocking. The tests revealed that the parents of the HIV-positive children were HIV negative.”

The disease was not spread through those means commonly associated with the disease: sexual intercourse, births and drug use. Perhaps more disturbingly, the outbreak seemed to be due to systemic poor medical practice in the region.

Interviews with parents regarding their childrens’ medical history revealed a local doctor, Muzaffar Ghangro, as a possible source for the outbreak. 123 of the diagnosed patients had been treated at his practice.

Authorities arrested the doctor on charges of unintentional murder. He was later found to be HIV-positive, however there is no evidence that he injected the patients deliberately.

WHO noted, “iatrogenic transmission via unsafe injection practices and poor infection control is likely to be the most important driver of the outbreak.” This includes re-use of syringes, poor disposal of used equipment and little protection between doctor and patient.

UNAIDS Country Director for Pakistan and Afghanistan Maria Elena Filio Borromeo told IPS, “as this practice is widespread in Pakistan, it is likely that the same will happen again if no corrective measures are implemented now.”

Organisations working in the area have also pointed to unsafe cheap circumcisions, sometimes in barber shops, as accountable for some of the cases.

“Around 82% of those infected were children less than 15 years old, and most of these children are also malnourished, have concomitant infections and come from very poor, illiterate families in Ratodero, Larkana,” Borromeo said.

With 20,000 new HIV infections in 2017, Pakistan already has the second largest growing AIDS epidemic in the Asia-Pacfic region. Low literacy rates, poverty, gender inequality and little understanding of the disease increase the risk of transmission in Pakistan.

In response to claims the outbreak was a result of systemic issues in the Pakistani health system, the province expanded testing facilities under the Sindh AIDS Control Program. More than 26,000 people have now been tested.

The Sindh Ministry of Health also instigated a widespread crackdown on unlicensed and informal medical practices, closing more than 900 health clinics and unlicensed blood banks following investigation.

WHO, UNAIDS and the UN children’s agency UNICEF are all on the ground assisting local authorities in containing the outbreak. Despite this support, on June 17th only 396 of the nearly 800 people diagnosed had been referred to their facilities for treatment.

Further, Pakistan is almost entirely dependent on foreign aid. The country has the resources to treat only 240 of the diagnosed patients.

The burden on the healthcare system will only deepen as time progresses. These children diagnosed must now regularly take antiretroviral therapy drugs for life.

Borromeo underscored that the implications of such an outbreak extend far deeper than access to medical services. “The community in general lacks HIV education; myths and misconceptions prevail,” noting that as a result of the outbreak, “stigma, discrimination and even rejection will deepen.”

The Los Angeles Times reported that police in Ratodero, a town in the Sindh Province at the heart of the outbreak, arrested a man for killing his wife after she was diagnosed with HIV. He apparently accused her of having sex outside of the marriage. Borromeo also recalled hearing of a father of four children who hung his wife after learning she was HIV positive.

While over half may not receive treatment at all, the outlook for those children with access to life-saving antiretroviral therapy is one of social isolation. Misunderstandings surrounding how HIV is spread lead to stigmatisation and discrimination.

Systemic issues in the Pakistani healthcare system caused the outbreak in the Sindh Province, however endemic socio-cultural issues mean its effects will be felt long after the outbreak is contained.

The post Poor Outlook for HIV-positive Children in Pakistan appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By Mohammed Eid
CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina, USA, Jun 20 2019 (IPS)

I am a refugee, born to a refugee family. I was granted that status on the day I came into this world. I was not aware of what had happened before then. I did not fight any battle, I did not threaten anyone. I did not even choose my own race or ethnicity. I just came to this world to find myself a displaced person.

Being a refugee means, I am a stranger on every spot on this planet. Some see me as a burden on the people of the hosting country. I drink their water, I eat their food, and I breathe their air. Day after day, their resources are less and less because of me, the alien person who came from outside. Maybe that explains why I never had access to education or healthcare, and I will never have access to work in the future.

Not being welcomed at one place, my family decided to travel to another. One expulsion after another, one deportation after another, we roamed the planet looking for one spot to claim. We found none.

Very often, I felt as if we came to the wrong planet, but it was the only one. We decided to return to the place we once called home, we were stopped at a man-built wall called a border and sent to a refugee concentration camp. We were told it was a temporary solution but we learned that temporary solutions can often last forever.

Mohammed Eid

The place was crowded. People had been forced into only one fifth of what once was all theirs. We were constantly threatened, bombed, displaced and even slaughtered. We felt insecure and scared but we could not go anywhere. I was upgraded from a refugee to internally displaced person (IDP). Not much change – just different words to describe the same suffering and pain.

As internally displaced people, we were assigned a monthly food package by a United Nations agency. It allowed us to survive, thanks to donors who shared their money and food with us. My childhood memories? Standing for hours in food lines, moving from one shelter to another, burying loved ones and struggling with disease and health problems.

Life for me has never been stable. Yet I have always dreamed of a place called home. I have often stood by the walls that keep us inside the camps and peeped through holes in them. What my eyes took in was another world.
I saw open space and fields. I felt the fresh breeze on my face. I imagined myself at home – in a place where I belonged to the earth, to the sky, to the rocks, to the sand, to the trees, to the hills and to the breeze. A place where I would be welcomed as a human being. To me, home is like nothing else.

Today, the world observes World Refugee Day. On this day, we do not celebrate. We are reminded that there is no place for us in this world. We just remember the moral failure of our human race. On the World Refugee Day, I will only make one wish: that all those around the world forced from their homes, longing for home, will be refugees no more.

Footnote: I’ve just graduated my double major master’s program in Global Studies from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and International Development from Duke University. I’m now still in Chapel Hill, North Carolina waiting for my certificate and transcript to be issued and at the same time I’m working on a temporary job with Duke University on designing programs on training youth from the Middle East and North Africa on leadership and democracy.

The post ‘Born A Refugee, I Dream of a Place Called Home’ appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

On World Refugee Day, personal reflections of a young Palestinian from the Gaza Strip

 
Mohammed Eid* is from Rafah Refugee Camp in the Gaza Strip.

The post ‘Born A Refugee, I Dream of a Place Called Home’ appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Fifa confirms the appointment of its general secretary Fatma Samoura as a 'General Delegate for Africa' in light of recent governance issues on the continent.

While there were just 10 megacities worldwide in 1990, this number has tripled to 33, with populations of more than 10 million people. The number of megacities is expected to rise to 43 by 2030, mostly in developing countries. Credit: Desmond Brown/IPS

By Desmond Brown
ANKARA, Jun 20 2019 (IPS)

With two-thirds of the world’s population projected to be living in cities by 2050, increasing pressure continues to be placed on forests which are being cleared to make way for agricultural production.

China, India and Nigeria are set to drive a surge in urbanisation, with the percentage of the global population living in urban areas increasing from around 55 percent currently, to 68 percent in the coming decades, according to United Nations figures.

Luc Gnacadia, former Minister of Environment of Benin and former Executive Secretary of the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) says as more people move to cities – where incomes and rates of consumption are generally higher – more pressure is put on forests to produce more animal and processed food products, which require more clearing.

“The system that we have, that is mining natural resources, using it for consumption patterns that are wasteful, that system is still in play,” Gnacadia told IPS on the sidelines of the International Soil Congress in Turkey, which ended Jun. 19.

“It is less people producing more for cities, which means that they may be just mining the soil, mining the forest and causing us to be more and more vulnerable to climatic shocks and contributing to it.”

Gnacadia said forests are being lost because of what he described as the misuse of land in agriculture.

He said agricultural expansion globally is taking place by encroaching on existing pristine ecosystems, including forests.

Luc Gnacadia, former Minister of Environment of Benin and former Executive Secretary of the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) says as more people move to cities – where incomes and rates of consumption are generally higher – more pressure is put on forests to produce more animal and processed food products, which require more clearing. Credit: Desmond Brown/IPS

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the U.N. said on Tuesday that expanding plantation and sprawling urban areas are placing greater pressure on forests and resources, hurting rural communities and exacerbating the effects of climate change.

“If we want less of this, we must first consider the land potential and clearing capacity; what can the land be used for must be clearly identified before we make decisions,” Gnacadia said.

“When we use the land for agriculture, we must clearly map the land and identify where the land is in good health and make sure that we avoid degradation. Whatever we do must have one aim. We use the land but we make sure that we do not lose its productivity, and we do not deplete all of its nutrients.

“For the lands that are experiencing some degradation, we must make that we do whatever we can to reduce it . . . you must assess if there’s still, in socio-economic terms, potential for restoring it, bringing it back to life. If it is, then you have to do it.”

While there were just 10 megacities worldwide in 1990, this number has tripled to 33, with populations of more than 10 million people. The number of megacities is expected to rise to 43 by 2030, mostly in developing countries.

Tokyo is the world’s largest city with a population of approximately 37 million people, followed by New Delhi with around 29 million and Shanghai with 26 million. However, India’s capital is forecast to surpass Japan’s most populous area by 2028.

UNCCD-Science Policy Interface co-chair Dr. Mariam Akhtar-Schuster says countries need to put in place an integrated land use planning mechanism to be able to satisfy the demands and needs of households, and at the same time sustainably manage and conserve the natural environment

“We have to consider that urban people also have a demand for firewood, cooking wood and construction material. These are all taken from forests,” Akhtar-Schuster told IPS.

“If an unregulated expansion of urban areas takes place then nearby forests will be affected, but even if forests are not logged for housing, they are a source for firewood, for cooking and this can lead to an immense degradation process.”

Akhtar-Schuster stressed that it is a governance issue and “you have to create procedures and regulations, how much wood is allowed to be taken out of forests and how far forests control mechanisms have to be in place to avoid illegal logging and the removal of wood for daily demand.”

Urban planning should also consider that infrastructure for energy is needed, Akhtar-Schuster said, adding that forests are very vulnerable to human use and this needs to be taken care of.

“I am not saying that forests should not be used, but they have to be used sustainably and that means you have to put in a lot of regulations especially is urban expansion takes place,” Akhtar-Schuster said.

“It takes years and years and years until a small sapling turns into a real big tree and this time dimension needs to be considered in any planning. You have to have a very long vision if you want to manage your forests sustainably and you will always have to check the condition whether there’s a natural rejuvenation of forests taking place, you will have to check that the age structure of forests close to urban areas always remains healthy.”

Global demand for commodities like rubber and palm oil have driven changes in land use, especially in countries such as Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, where governments have granted businesses leases and land concessions to boost their economies.

Related Articles

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• ‘What it Takes to Feed 7.5 Billion People’
• There’s No Continent, No Country Not Impacted by Land Degradation

The post More Megacities, More Pressure on Forests appeared first on Inter Press Service.

On the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, United Nations officials as well as government and civil society representatives convened to address sexual violence and stressed the importance of a survivor-centred approach. Pictured here is a graffiti expression in Rio de Janeiro calling for the end to violence against women. Credit: CC By 2.0/Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 20 2019 (IPS)

Sexual violence is still all too common and continues to threaten peace and security worldwide. How can we do better? Put survivors at the centre.

Marking the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, on Jun. 19, United Nations officials as well as government and civil society representatives convened to address sexual violence and stressed the importance of a survivor-centred approach.

“[This] is an opportunity to not only raise awareness of the need to end conflict-related sexual violence, but also to stand in solidarity with and pay homage to the survivors—women, girls, men and boys—who despite the horrors they have endured, show the determination, resolve, and unflinching courage to stand up and speak out against this scourge,” said Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict and Under-Secretary-General Pramila Patten during a panel discussion at the U.N.

Also in attendance was Amanda Nguyen, CEO and founder of Rise, a non-governmental civil rights organisation, who echoed similar sentiments, stating: “It is the most fundamental, moral responsibility of a nation to listen and to offer justice to the most vulnerable people within it. And it is the most fundamental, moral responsibility of the international community to come together and to do the same.”

“Global leaders must take sexual violence seriously, and must look at all sexual violence survivors as humans with full human dignity,” she added.

The U.N. estimates that approximately 35 percent of women—or 1.3 billion people—have experienced sexual violence. Other studies puts that figure as high as 70 percent along with numerous other men and children.

In April, the Security Council passed Resolution 2647 which recognised the need for a survivor-centred approach to prevent and respond to sexual violence with regards to non-discriminatory services and access to justice.

But how do we employ a survivor-centred approach?

Patten noted the need for survivors to have tailored assistance that meets their specific needs.

“The plight of all survivors should be the moral compass that guides our actions…survivors are not a homogeneous group. Sexual violence has many victims,” she said.

While the story of thousands of Yazidi women who experienced sexual slavery at the hands of the Islamic State (IS) made international headlines, lesser known are the cases of such violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) communities.

In 2015, the U.N. found that attacks against LGBTI individuals took place as a form of “moral cleansing” by armed groups in Iraq.

The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner on Human Rights found that 88 percent of LGBTI asylum-seekers and refugees from Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua were subjected to sexual and gender-based violence in their home country.

Such violence in Central America has driven migration to the north—among the first people to reach the United States in the widely reported migrant caravan in November 2018 were 85 LGBTI people. 

However, specific services and attention to LGBTI communities are still sorely lacking.

Nguyen highlighted the need for access to justice and to include survivors in the drafting of legislation.

“Peace is not the absence of visible conflict. In order for there to be true peace, survivors must have access to justice. Their lives are the invisible war zones that corrode human potential and hold back the promise of a just world. Their powerlessness is our shame. This is a peace we can all help deliver,” she said.

“Nothing is more sacred than the universal right to human dignity,” she added.

After learning about the complexities in seeking justice for survivors in the U.S., Nguyen helped pass support for the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights which includes the right to not pay for a rape kit examination—which can cost as much as 2,000 dollars—and the right to not have one’s rape kit destroyed before the statute of limitation expires.

Since then, her organisation Rise has put survivors at the forefront, helping them “pen their own civil rights into existence.”

“Change happens when we decide, and we can decide to uphold the principles of fairness, equality, and justice. We can decide that no one is powerless when we come together. We can decide that no one is invisible,” Nguyen said.

Patten highlighted the transformative nature of a survivor-centred approach, stating it: “is one that gives voice and choice to the survivors, restores their agency, builds their resilience, and enshrines their experience on the historical record….by shifting power dynamics in this way, a survivor-centred approach can also be a profoundly transformative approach that reaffirms the status of the survivor as a holder of rights.”

Related Articles

• Sexual Assault Survivors March to End Gender Violence in India
• Women in Argentina Are Empowered as They Speak Out Against Gender Violence
• Central America: Eradicating Gender Violence is Vital to State Security

The post Put Survivors Front and Centre appeared first on Inter Press Service.

The Africa Cup of Nations gets under way on Friday as hosts Egypt face Zimbabwe. BBC Sport looks at some of the things to keep an eye out for.

BBC Sport challenged pro Fifa player Fully to score against Adebayo Akinfenwa in real life.

With measles cases on the rise in UK, we follow a project aiming to tackle lower vaccination rates in the Somali community.

BBC Africa Eye investigates what followed its probe into unlicensed rehabilitation centres in Nairobi.

A charity comes in for criticism for its immersive experience depicting the lives of poor African children.

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson plays one of the great World Cup innings to steer his side to a tense four-wicket victory over South Africa at Edgbaston.

Fifa and Caf are considering appointing Fifa General Secretary Fatma Samoura as a 'High Commissioner for Africa' in light of recent governance issues on the continent.

Anastasia Mikwa was a student at Garissa University when it was attacked by al-Shabab gunmen in 2015.