Nigerian physician Dr. Tunji Funsho named one of TIME’s Most Influential People in the world

Funsho honored for his work with Rotary International to eradicate wild polio in Africa

TIME named Nigerian physician Dr. Tunji Funsho to the 2020 TIME100, its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The full list and related tributes are available now at time.com/time100, and Dr. Funsho’s TIME100 profile is available here (https://bit.ly/3ky8pZg). The list, now in its seventeenth year,…

Coronavirus - Africa: Preventing a lost generation - Private sector partnerships to support refugee education now and beyond the coronavirus pandemic

Coordinated action of all stakeholders, including the private sector, is crucial to minimize the risk of refugee children and youth being left behind

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the greatest disruption of education systems in history, affecting 1.6 billion learners. Refugee children and youth were already at a grave disadvantage before the pandemic: they are twice as likely to be out of school as their non-refugee peers and their educational options dramatically…

Team Europe: Germany and European Union jointly support African Union’s response to COVID-19

As part of the EU’s global coronavirus response, test kits were delivered by an EU Humanitarian Air Bridge flight in August

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) received additional 500,000 COVID-19 test kits from the German Government through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). As part of the EU’s global coronavirus response, the test kits were delivered by an EU Humanitarian Air Bridge flight…

IOM Receives New Funding to Support Integrated Humanitarian and Recovery Support in South Sudan

The USD $30,375,000 funding comes at a time when South Sudanese are working towards nation-building

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has received new funding from the United States Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAID/BHA) to step up humanitarian response and recovery efforts in South Sudan. The USD $30,375,000 funding comes at a time when South Sudanese are working towards nation-building following…

Industry Lobby the US Government to Make Africa Backslide on Plastics

The efforts by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) would undo progress that Kenya and other African states have made to address plastic pollution

The American Chemistry Council has lobbied the US government during the COVID-19 pandemic to use a US-Kenya trade deal to expand the plastics industry’s footprint across Africa. Documents obtained by Unearthed -- Greenpeace’s (https://www.Greenpeace.org/africa/en/) investigative journalism platform -- through the Freedom of Information Act separately show that the same lobby…

Coronavirus - Africa: Southern and Eastern Africa COVID-19 Digest (28 August 2020)

Highlights South Africa continues to report the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the African continent. Inadequate access to personal protective equipment or weak infection prevention and control measures raise the risk of health worker infection. In East Africa, 92 per cent of working women are employed in…

The United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office (UNRCO) and Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) Announce Formation of Advisory Committee for their Awqaf Research Project

The Advisory Committee will play a major role in supporting the direction of the research study

The United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office (UNRCO) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) (www.ICD-IDB.org), announced the launch of their joint initiative’s newly formed advisory committee. On April 23, 2020, UNRCO and ICD have signed a Letter of Understanding…

Coronavirus - Togo: UNICEF Togo COVID-19 Situation Report No. 9 for the period 13 July to 15 August 2020

Situation Overview and Humanitarian Needs As of August 15, 2020, Togo has registered 1,147 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The reopening of the borders on August 1, 2020 was accompanied by preventive measures and monitoring of travellers in order to ensure a return to normalcy under adequate conditions. The number of…

Global Polio Eradication Initiative Applauds WHO African Region for Wild Polio-Free Certification

Support from national governments and global donors critical to the region’s success against wild polio and must continue to achieve a polio-free world

Today, the Africa Regional Certification Commission certified the WHO African Region as wild polio-free after four years without a case. With this historic milestone, five of the six WHO regions – representing over 90% of the world’s population – are now free of the wild poliovirus, moving the world closer…

Africa eradicates wild poliovirus

This marks the eradication of the second virus from the face of the continent since smallpox 40 years ago

The independent Africa Regional Certification Commission (ARCC) for Polio Eradication officially declared on Tuesday that the World Health Organization (WHO) African Region is free of wild poliovirus. This marks the eradication of the second virus from the face of the continent since smallpox 40 years ago. “Today is a historic…