Nigerians gather to mobilize hope amid growing burden of childhood cancers
Abuja — Hundreds gathered in Abuja, Nigeria for the 2024 Childhood Cancer Awareness Walk, raising awareness and support for pediatric cancer. Despite progress in cancer care, Nigerian children face high costs and delayed diagnoses, which the walk aims to address….
Collective effort essential to get DR Congo on firm path to peace
“We need to collectively remain engaged in assisting the country on its path to peace and stability,” said Bintou Keita, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for the DRC and head of the UN Mission there, MONUSCO. Ceasefire and dialogue ‘framework’ There…
Marburg virus kills 6 in Rwanda, health minister says
KIGALI, Rwanda — Rwanda has confirmed six deaths and 20 cases of Marburg disease, the country’s health minister Sabin Nsanzimana said late on Saturday. The majority of victims are health workers in the intensive care unit, Nsanzimana said in a…
African leaders at UN warn against dwindling malaria funding
Abuja, Nigeria — Leaders in Africa say the fight against malaria on the continent is facing significant funding gaps due to the ongoing global financial crisis and the impact of climate change. African leaders this week met in New York…
Zimbabwe currency plunges after central bank move to allow more flexibility
Harare, Zimbabwe — The value of Zimbabwe’s gold-backed currency plunged 44% Friday on the official market. The sudden drop of the gold backed currency, known as ZiG, began Friday shortly after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s monetary committee met and…
Women and girls in Sudan disproportionately impacted by ongoing conflict
The need for gender-based violence-related services has increased 100 per cent since the crisis began in April 2023, the UN agency championing gender affairs reported, with up to 6.7 million people needing assistance by the end of last year. Cases of conflict-related…
Push for renewable energy sparks new environmental worries
According to the International Energy Agency, the world now invests almost twice as much in clean energy as it does in fossil fuels. But with that shift comes environmental risks related to the mining of critical minerals. VOA’s Jessica Stone…
Oxfam: ‘Oligarchy’ of super-rich undermining cooperation to tackle poverty, climate change
London — As world leaders gather for the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York this week, the charity Oxfam says they are being undermined by what it calls a “global oligarchy” of the super-rich who exert considerable control…
Calls by African leaders for equitable representation on UN Security Council gain momentum
They articulated a compelling case, highlighting how the legacy of colonialism and its lingering effects have left the continent disproportionately excluded. This exclusion is not merely a matter of representation, it directly impacts Africa’s ability to influence discussions on critical…
Sudan crisis: Top ministers meet in New York in call for concerted action
The development comes almost 18 months since rival militaries started fighting each other in Sudan, forcing more than 10 million people from their homes – half of them children. “People in Sudan have endured 17 months of hell, and the…