Africa Africa: 85% of Children Affected By Polio in 2023 Lived in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Areas – Unicef [ad_1] Countries facing conflict, natural disasters and humanitarian crises are struggling to provide routine childhood immunisations leaving many children vulnerable to the resurgence of polio, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned in new report. On World Polio Day, UNICEF has issued a stark warning: polio cases in fragile and conflict-affected countries have more than doubled over the past five years, with 85 per cent of the children affected by the disease in 2023 living in these regions. "In conflict, children […] todayOctober 24, 2024 2
Africa Africa: Explainer – How to Advance Women’s Roles in Peace and Security [ad_1] Ongoing conflicts in Gaza, Haiti, Sudan and Ukraine and beyond reveal that females are disproportionately affected - from gender-based violence to rape used as a tool of war - but the UN chief's newly released report suggests eight ways for policymakers and interested parties to advance women's role in peace and security. Right now, the reality is grim: in 2023, the proportion of women killed in armed conflicts doubled compared to the previous year, and the number of UN-verified […] todayOctober 24, 2024 1
Africa Africa: Enhancing Polio Detection With Advanced Sequencing Technology [ad_1] Brazzaville — The African region, declared free of indigenous wild poliovirus in August 2020, faces an urgent threat: the intense transmission of type 2 variant poliovirus (cVDPV2). This year alone, 290 poliovirus detections have been reported in 23 African countries. As countries ramp up vaccination efforts to protect children against the virus, one of the most critical components of the response is early and accurate detection. To enhance the effort, the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO […] todayOctober 24, 2024 2
Africa Africa: ‘Trauma That Echoes Across Generations’ – UN Highlights Weaponisation of Sexual Violence [ad_1] The United Nations marked 15 years of its mandate on sexual violence and conflict with a commemoration ceremony held in New York on Wednesday. The mandate was established through Security Council resolution 1888 (2009) which called for appointing a Special Representative to lead UN efforts to address rape during conflict, among other actions. "It recognized that like bullets, bombs and blades, the widespread systematic use of sexual violence decimates communities, drives displacement and inflicts trauma that echoes across generations," […] todayOctober 24, 2024 1
Africa Africa: Number of Women Killed in War Doubled in 2023 – UN Report [ad_1] The proportion of women killed in armed conflicts doubled last year compared to 2022, accounting for 40 per cent of all deaths in war, while UN-verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence increased by 50 per cent. The findings come in the Secretary-General's latest annual report on women, peace, and security. The rise in death and violence is "taking place against a backdrop of increasing blatant disregard of international law designed to protect women and children during war," according to […] todayOctober 24, 2024 1
Africa Africa: New Ibrahim Report Reveals Governance ‘Stagnation’ in Africa [ad_1] Monrovia — The 2024 Ibrahim Index of African Governance report - released biennially by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation to assess the performance of various African governments and trends across the continent - reveals that the region has experienced years of "almost complete stagnation". The report said, that in 2022, overall governance progress "grounded to a halt" as rising conflict and insecurity, as well as a "shrinking democratic space", undermined progress. "Over the decade 2014-2023, there is progress for just […] todayOctober 23, 2024 2
Africa Africa: The IMF Just Made the Case for Its Own Irrelevance [ad_1] Washington DC — On Friday the 11th, the IMF announced policy changes that will save developing countries $1.2 billion per year. Despite the self-congratulations and fanfare, these reforms are only a tiny fraction of what campaigners had been asking for -- and an even smaller share of what the Global South needs. This month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had an opportunity to end one of its most reviled policies and lift billions of dollars of debt off the […] todayOctober 23, 2024 2
Africa Africa: Nigeria’s Weaker-Than-Expected Activity Slows Sub-Saharan Africa’s Economic Growth – IMF [ad_1] In contrast, growth in the Middle East and Central Asia is projected to pick up from an estimated 2.1 per cent in 2023 to 3.9 per cent in 2025 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said the growth forecast in Sub-Saharan Africa has been revised downward by 0.2 percentage points for 2024 and upward by 0.1 percentage points for 2025. The revision reflects slower growth in Nigeria, amid weaker-than-expected activity in the first half of the year, the fund […] todayOctober 23, 2024 1
Africa Africa: Another Nobel for Anglocentric Neoliberal Institutional Economics [ad_1] Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — New institutional economics (NIE) has received another so-called Nobel prize, ostensibly for again claiming that good institutions and democratic governance ensure growth, development, equity and democracy. Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson (AJR) are well known for their influential cliometric work. AJR have elaborated earlier laureate Douglass North's claim that property rights have been crucial to growth and development. But the trio ignore North's more nuanced later arguments. For AJR, 'good institutions' were transplanted […] todayOctober 23, 2024 1