Category: Medical

Ugandan police say suicide bombers carried out twin attacks near the capital's central police station and parliament Tuesday. Three civilians were killed and 33 others were injured in the attacks.

The bombers exploded their devices at three minutes past ten in the morning and six minutes past ten respectively.

Police spokesperson Fred Enanga said the first attack, involving one bomber, was at the Kampala Central Police station check point, while the second attack, involving two bombers, was along Parliament Avenue.

"We are seeing a lot of bodies scattered," he said. "Legs have been scattered and there’s a skull which we believe are for the suicide bomber who attacked the police station at CPS. Then there are also other bodies that have been scattered at the scene, between Raja chambers and Jubilee insurance."

Police are blaming the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel group for the attacks.

"The hallmarks of the attack clearly indicate that the ADF-linked radicalized groups who still have a desire to carryout lethal attacks on soft targets, using suicide attackers and improvised explosive devices, are behind these attacks," Enanga said.

All roads within Kampala’s central business district have been cordoned off, and offices and businesses premises have been closed.

A fourth suicide attacker only identified as Mozey was also pursued, shot and disabled, according to police. Enanga said officers searched Mozey’s home, where they recovered an unexploded suicide jacket and other related explosive devices.

Two other suicide bombings in the capital late last month injured a total of six people.

Calling for public vigilance, Enanga warned that radicalized groups are an active threat, especially from suicide attackers.

Source: Voice of America

U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths allocated $40 million on Monday to support life-saving aid and civilian protection efforts in Ethiopia amidst ongoing conflict and drought.

According to an announcement from the U.N., $25 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund will be allocated, as well as $15 million from the Ethiopia Humanitarian Fund.

The funds will be used to step up emergency operations in the northern regions of the country, where pro-government forces and Tigrayan rebels have been fighting for a year. Around 2.2 million Ethiopians have been displaced in Tigray, according to Reuters.

The funding will also be used to support early response efforts regarding a drought in southern Ethiopia.

In a statement, Griffiths noted that millions of Ethiopia are “living on a knife edge” as the country’s humanitarian crisis grows deeper.

“Across the country, needs are rising. This injection of cash will help aid organizations meet some of the most vulnerable people’s need for protection and relief,” Griffiths said.

The newly announced funding will support aid agencies providing protection and “other life-saving assistance” to citizens impacted by conflict in the northern Tigray, Amhara and Afar regions.

The U.N. said funding for the drought-affected Somali and Oromia regions will be used to provide drinking water and prevent waterborne diseases like cholera. It said agencies will also help pastoral communities preserve their livestock.

The allocations raise the Central Emergency Response Fund’s support to Ethiopia to $65 million, according to the announcement. It is now the second-highest recipient of support from the fund this year. The Ethiopia Humanitarian Fund’s support to the country also now totals $80 million.

The U.N. said there is still a funding gap of $1.3 billion for humanitarian operations in Ethiopia, which includes $350 million for the response in Tigray.

Source: Voice of America

RABAT– Morocco announced yesterday, to strengthen the control measures for access to its territory, as part of efforts to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.

A mandatory health pass and negative PCR test will be required for international travellers, as well as, a double-check by thermal cameras, and antigen tests will be conducted upon arrival in Morocco, said an official statement, published by the Moroccan official news agency.

The statement added that, any passenger who tested positive on arrival must return immediately to the country of origin, at the expense of the airline or shipping company.

This decision aimed to preserve Morocco’s achievements in the fight against COVID-19, and took into account the increase in cases of infection in Morocco’s European neighbours, it said.

Morocco’s COVID-19 tally rose to 948,157 yesterday as 132 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours.

The death toll stood at 14,740, with three new fatalities, and total recoveries hit 929,909, after 134 new ones were added.

A total of 24,359,996 people have received the first shot of COVID-19 vaccines, and 22,388,630 have received the second dose. Meanwhile, 1,570,471 people have taken the third dose.

The North African country launched a nationwide vaccination campaign on Jan 28, after the arrival of the first shipment of China’s Sinopharm vaccines.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

BLANTYRE, MALAWI — Malawi has begun a mass distribution of mosquito nets, aiming to reach almost half the country’s population of 18 million people. Health authorities say the campaign is aimed at reducing the spread of malaria, which in Malawi currently accounts for 36% of all hospital outpatients and 15% of hospital admissions.

The Global Fund-supported campaign was announced during the commemoration of Southern Africa Development Community Malaria Day November 6 and is expected to be rolled out nationally November 15.

Khumbize Kandodo-Chiponda, Malawi’s minister of health, says the intervention is a response to the health threat malaria is posing in Malawi.

“So, one of the interventions is the distribution of the nets as vector control. As a country, we are going to distribute 9 million nets. Out target is that at least two Malawians should share a net. Our population we are targeting we are about 18 million, that why we reached the figure of 9 million,” Kandodo-Chiponda said.

She said during the campaign all expectant mothers will be given anti-malaria drugs to prevent them from suffering from malaria while pregnant.

Statistics show that malaria is the No. 1 deadly disease in Malawi. Last year alone, malaria killed 2,500 people in Malawi, more than any other disease, including COVID-19.

However, Kandodo-Chiponda said the campaign is strewn with challenges.

“And one of the challenges is that when you distribute the nets, you will find that, especially along the lake, these nets are used for fishing and sorts of things,” she said.

To reduce the changes of such misuse of the nets, the campaign also involves teaching the recipients about the importance of sleeping under the net.

The mosquito net distribution is part of the Zero Malaria Starts With Me campaign, launched by Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera in June as part of global campaign to end malaria by 2030.

Elias Mpedi Magosi, executive secretary of the Southern Africa Development Community, commended Malawi’s efforts to eradicate malaria and said the bloc is working to adopt a regional malaria strategy.

“Primarily because if one country, one member state removes or clears malaria, these mosquitos known no boundaries, they just relocate to another country. So, it requires a pooled regional effort, resources, attributes and behaviors so that it is eliminated,” Magosi said.

Janet Kayita, the World Health Organization country representative in Malawi, said the campaign is among major steps Malawi has successfully taken against malaria.

“Malawi has been exceptional in taking forward WHO recommendations on what to do, how to prevent malaria, how to treat malaria. But the most historic groundbreaking event in the last month actually, that Malawi is at the front of, is the information that is coming out about the new malaria vaccine for infants and children,” Kayita said.

Last month, the WHO endorsed the world's first malaria vaccine for children across Africa following a successful three-year trial in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi.

Although it is only 30% effective, scientists say the vaccine, known as Mosquirix, will have major impact against malaria in Africa, which records 200 million cases and 400,000 deaths per year.

Source: Voice of America

UN staffers detained in Ethiopia

Ethiopia's federal government detained nearly two dozen of its nationals who work for the United Nations in the capital, Addis Ababa, earlier this week. More than 70 truck drivers contracted to drive humanitarian assistance into the northern Tigray region for the U.N. and international NGOs were also rounded up in the country's north. The move comes amid reports that the government is targeting ethnic Tigrayans as tensions rise between the government and the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

As Diplomatic Efforts Continue, Ethiopian Forces Detain UN Staffers, Truck Drivers

Tensions simmer on Belarus-Poland border

On Thursday, the U.N. Security Council discussed the situation of migrants who have legally traveled to Belarus from the Middle East and Afghanistan in order to migrate into the European Union. The migrants are now camped on the borders of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, which accuse Moscow and Minsk of weaponizing the migrants. Russia and Belarus deny they are manufacturing a migration crisis.

Western Nations Condemn Belarus at UN Security Council

Climate negotiations near finish line

Negotiations at the COP26 conference in Glasgow, Scotland, are slated to conclude Friday with a new deal among countries to stay on course to reach the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as stated in the 2015 Paris Climate Accord. As we went online, the U.N. Secretary-General was in Glasgow meeting with negotiating groups, as talks continued and could go beyond the Friday evening deadline.

COP26: Draft Climate Deal Published as Negotiations Enter Crucial Final Hours

News in brief

— The United States and China, two of the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters, announced on Wednesday that they have agreed to cooperate on climate action. This was welcome news at the United Nations.

— On Thursday, Sudan's top military commander appeared to tighten his grip on power, appointing a new governing council that he will lead, two weeks after the military overthrew the joint civilian-military government. Nationwide demonstrations are expected Saturday against the move, prompting calls from the U.N. on Sudanese security forces to exercise restraint. More than a dozen protesters have been killed since the October 25 coup.

Some good news

On her 16th birthday in July 2013, Pakistani-born activist Malala Yousafzai made her U.N. debut. The survivor of a shooting attack on her school bus the year before by the Taliban, she gave a captivating speech on the importance of education for all saying, "Let us pick up our books and our pens. They are our most powerful weapons." In 2014 she became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, and in 2017 she was named a U.N. Messenger of Peace with a focus on girls' education. Today she is a 24-year-old Oxford University graduate, and on Tuesday announced she had gotten married. The U.N. Secretary-General's spokesman said, "We are so happy for her. We wish her and her husband a life of joy and happiness."

Quote of note

"Now we have over 22 million people marching toward starvation, of which 8.7 million of those are at famine's door as we speak."

— World Food Program chief David Beasley, speaking Thursday on Twitter from Kabul airport on the escalating humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

What we are watching next week

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations embarks on a 5-day trip to the Middle East. Linda Thomas-Greenfield is the first Cabinet-level official in the Biden administration to go to Israel since the new government was formed in June. She will also go to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian leaders, and then on to Jordan.

Did you know?

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, also known by its acronym UNESCO, celebrates its 75th anniversary on Friday. The Paris-based agency was established following the end of World War II. The organization aims to build peace through cooperation in the fields of education, science and the preservation of cultural heritage.

Source: Voice of America