Africa: Amidst Ongoing Global Crises, Gates Foundation Announces Largest Annual Budget Ever: $8.6 Billion in 2024 to Save and Improve Lives

[ad_1] Davos — The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced its largest annual budget to date as it works toward the goal of a healthier, more prosperous world for all. With global health budgets in decline overall, a portion of the additional funding will go toward advancing global health innovations that will save and improve the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable people, including newborn babies and pregnant mothers living in low-income communities. The foundation’s $8.6 billion […]

January 15, 2024 2

Africa

Cape Verde: WHO Certifies Cabo Verde As Malaria-Free, Marking a Historic Milestone in the Fight Against Malaria

[ad_1] The World Health Organization (WHO) has certified Cabo Verde as a malaria-free country, marking a significant achievement in global health. With this announcement, Cabo Verde joins the ranks of 43 countries and 1 territory that WHO has awarded this certification. Cabo Verde is the third country to be certified in the WHO African region, joining Mauritius and Algeria which were certified in 1973 and 2019 respectively. Malaria burden is the highest on the African continent, which accounted for approximately […]

January 12, 2024 1

Africa

Africa: Palestine – Nothing Can Justify Genocide, It’s Not the Time for Silence

[ad_1] Johannesburg — Far from the mayhem, destruction, and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the South African government argued in the International Court of Justice in the Hague that it had an obligation and a right to bring a case to halt a genocide by the Israeli government and its military. The top legal team, composed of both South African and international human rights lawyers, spent over two and a half hours arguing that it had an obligation as a signatory […]

January 12, 2024 2

Africa

Africa: Where Does the International Criminal Court Stand On Charges of Mass Killings in Gaza?

[ad_1] United Nations — The continued devastation of Gaza by Israel has triggered widespread charges of war crimes, genocide, forced displacement, ethnic cleansing, starvation as a weapon of war and mass killings of civilians - over 22,000 at last count--compared to 1,200 killings by Hamas. These accusations have prompted growing demands for intervention by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, which has remained silent while its Prosecutor Karim Khan is accused of double standards and playing politics. The […]

January 12, 2024 2

Africa

Africa: Explainer – What Is the Genocide Convention?

[ad_1] South Africa has set out its case accusing Israel of violating the Genocide Convention, pointing to the current situation in the bombarded, besieged Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians. Filed with the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ), a UN court, on 29 December, South Africa's case stated that Israel, particularly since 7 October, "has failed to prevent genocide and has failed to prosecute direct and overt incitement to genocide". So, what is the Genocide Convention? The basics […]

January 12, 2024 2

Africa

Africa: Life-Saving Aid Not Reaching Millions of People Caught in Health Emergencies – WHO

[ad_1] Geneva — The World Health Organization is warning that millions of people caught in conflict-driven health emergencies risk dying from traumatic wounds and infectious diseases because life-saving humanitarian aid is not reaching those in need. In one of his most forceful statements to date, the WHO's director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, accused the Israeli government of blocking essential aid to Gaza. In a briefing to journalists Wednesday, Tedros said a humanitarian mission to northern Gaza planned for that day, the […]

January 12, 2024 2

Africa

Africa: What Is the International Court of Justice and Why Does It Matter?

[ad_1] The profile of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) was raised in January, following South Africa's decision to bring proceedings against Israel for violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention. Here is a primer on the ICJ, and what it does. What is the ICJ for, and how does it work? The ICJ, which is situated in the Peace Palace in The Hague, a city in The Netherlands, was established in 1945 as a way of settling disputes between […]

January 11, 2024 3

Africa

Africa: Moroccan Envoy Pips South African for UN Human Rights Council Post

[ad_1] The UN Human Rights Council has elected Ambassador Omar Zniber of Morocco as president of the UN Human Rights Council for 2024 after he beat South African envoy, Mxolisi Nkosi in a vote. Voting was by secret ballot on January 10 and held after the 47-member council resumed its work for 2024 without a leader for only the second time in its 18-year history. Of the votes cast, Zniber won 30 to the 17 cast for Nkosi with all […]

January 11, 2024 2

Africa

Africa: AU Appeals for Calm in Ethiopia-Somalia Row

[ad_1] The African Union on Thursday joined the United States in appealing for calm in the Horn of Africa after regional tensions soared following a contested deal between Ethiopia and the breakaway region of Somaliland. Somalia has vowed to defend its territory after Monday's agreement, which it described as an "aggression" and a "blatant assault" on its sovereignty by neighbouring Ethiopia. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) gives landlocked Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous country, long-desired access to the Red Sea through […]

January 5, 2024 1

International Organizations and Africa