Alliance sets sights on minerals needed for global shift to green energy
The U.S. government’s representative to the Minerals Security Partnership, an alliance of mostly Western countries that aims to speed the development of energy mineral supply chains, said last month that a Chinese company was using “predatory” tactics to hold down…
Sudan: UN food convoy attacked, supplies looted amid worsening crisis
Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the top UN humanitarian official for Sudan expressed “outrage” at the incident. “The aid looted from a WFP convoy in Central Darfur will no longer go to the most vulnerable people in need,” she said in a post…
Antelope poaching on rise in South Sudan
BADINGILO and BOMA NATIONAL PARKS, South Sudan — Seen from the air, they ripple across the landscape — a river of antelope racing across the vast grasslands of South Sudan in what conservationists say is the world’s largest land mammal…
More African nations focus on HPV vaccination against cervical cancer
ABUJA, Nigeria — Yunusa Bawa spends a lot of time talking about the vaccine for the human papillomavirus that is responsible for nearly all cases of cervical cancer. But on most days, only two or three people allow their daughters…
Nigerian ginger farmers struggle after outbreak of disease
Nigeria is one of the world’s leading producers of ginger, but a massive outbreak of fungal disease last year caused millions of dollars of damage. The Nigerian government has launched an emergency recovery intervention to help ginger farmers. Timothy Obiezu…
UN mission boosts presence in Central African Republic’s conflict-stricken southeast
Briefing ambassadors at the Security Council on the situation in the country, head of the UN mission Valentine Rugwabiza stated that the additional deployment also facilitated the delivery of humanitarian aid in the restive and hard-to-access Haut Mbomou region. Bordering…
Famine risk is real for 14 areas of Sudan amid ongoing fighting
According to the latest UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) initiative, over half the population in Sudan – 25.6 million people – face “crisis or worse” conditions between now September 2024, coinciding with the lean season. Learn more about…
A source of nutrients and anxiety: Egypt cuts back on longtime bread subsidies
After more than three decades, Egypt has increased the fixed price of subsidized bread from 0.05 Egyptian pounds ($0.0010) a loaf to 0.20 Egyptian pounds ($0.0042). With record levels of inflation already straining the Egyptian people — the majority of…
Nigeria declares cholera crisis, launches emergency measures
Nigerian authorities have declared a national emergency and activated response operations to control the spread of a cholera outbreak that has killed more than 50 people. The Nigerian Center for Disease Control, or NCDC, said Tuesday that its decision to…
Zimbabwe fights higher drug abuse cases, especially among youth
HARARE, ZIMBABWE — Officials in Zimbabwe, which is facing a growing problem of substance abuse — especially among unemployed youth, say arrests have surged in 2024, with close to 2,400 people taken into custody so far. Officials say economic difficulties…