Rwanda’s government has offered to host up to 30,000 African migrants held as slaves by armed groups in Libya. The announcement on Thursday, November 23, 2017 comes days after U.S. television network CNN broadcast footage of African migrants being auctioned off for slave labour in Libya, for as little as 400 dollars. “Given Rwanda’s political philosophy and our own history, we cannot remain silent when human beings are being mistreated and auctioned off like cattle,” Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo told dpa. “Our door is wide open,” the minster added. “Rwanda is small, but we will find some space.” The East…
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The National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) on Wednesday, November 21, 2017, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in the bid to ensure proper regulation of genetically modified (GM) foods in Nigeria. The Director General/CEO of NBMA, Dr. Rufus Ebegba, while addressing the team from the NAFDAC, emphasised the need for both agencies to work together for the good of Nigerians. Dr. Ebegba stated that the MoU signing was necessary as the agency had previously signed MoUs with other sister agencies like Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) and National Seed…
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has approved two loans amounting to $171 million to finance Rwanda’s Sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation Programme. The programme is designed to improve the quality of life and socio-economic development of the country by ensuring equitable provision of adequate, reliable and sustainable water and sanitation services for targeted cities with a view to promote economic growth and transformation. Under the programme, water supply and sanitation infrastructure and services will be provided in Kigali and satellite towns of Rubavu, Rusizi, Nyagatare, Muhanga, Huye, Musanze and Karongi. An estimated 1.1 million…
A group, the Billital Moroobe Association of Nigeria (BILPAN), warned on Monday, November 20, 2017, that the anti-grazing law enacted in some states was a violation of the fundamental human rights of herdsmen. The group, which also call themselves Pastoralists, made the statement while speaking with newsmen in Dutse, Jigawa State. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the position of the group comes amid out cries over the killing of hundreds of farmers by rampaging herdsmen nationwide. The association described the anti-grazing stance of some states as infringing on herdsmen’s rights and freedom of movement. The National President…
The number of dead or missing migrants in the Mediterranean has risen above the 3,000 for the fourth year in a row, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday, November 28, 2017. In the year to date, 3,033 people are estimated to have lost their lives in attempts to reach southern Europe by sea, a spokesman for the UN agency, Joel Millman, said in a statement. The figure includes the death of at least 31 people off the coast of Libya, the death of a 10-year-old Afghan boy near the Greek island of Lesvos, and at least eight…
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says one in 10 drugs sold in developing countries is fake or substandard, leading to tens of thousands of deaths, many of them of African children given ineffective treatments for pneumonia and malaria. In a major review of the problem, the WHO said that bogus drugs are a growing threat as increased pharmaceutical trade, including internet sales, open the door to sometimes toxic products. Some pharmacists in Africa, for example, say that they are compelled to buy from the cheapest but not necessarily the safest suppliers to compete with illegal street traders. Fake drugs could…
About 32,000 people have been displaced by conflict and severe drought ravaging several parts of Somalia in October, the UN humanitarian agency said on Thursday, November 30, 2017. The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest bulletin that this is a slight decline in the number of newly displaced people, compared to about 49,000 people displaced in September. “Of those displaced in October, 23,000 were due to drought related reasons as the cause of the displacement, while 8,000 cited conflict,’’ the UN said. The Horn of Africa nation is in the midst of unprecedented drought…
The Federal Capital Territory Primary Health Care Development Board says it is targeting one million children in the territory to immunise against polio and other childhood diseases. Dr Mathew Ashikeni, the Executive Secretary of the Board, disclosed this at the inauguration of the 16th round of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week in Abuja on Thursday, November 30, 2017. Ashikeni explained that apart from vaccination to children against killer diseases, there would be nutritional assessment of children for malnutrition. He also said that vitamin A supplement would be provided for children under the age of five to boost their immunity…
More than 300 million people across the globe were living with depression in 2015, over four percent of the global population, according to new global health estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO). Depression is the largest single contributor to global disability. The global health estimates on depression and other common mental disorders provides details on the prevalence of depression and anxiety, and health problems as a result of these disorders, at both global and regional levels. The number of people living with depression is increasing, with an increase of 18 percent between 2005 and 2015. This was as a…
The Global Affairs Canada (GAC) in conjunction with UNICEF said it immunised more than two million children against polio in rural communities of Jigawa, Niger, Taraba and Zamfara states in the past one year. Dr. Esther Obinya, a UNICEF health specialist and the National Coordinator of the Hard To Reach (HTR) project, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jalingo on Saturday, December 2, 2017 that the initiative of reaching rural communities with vaccines was recording a lot of success. She disclosed that the HTR project was able to reach more than 900,000 pregnant women in the four states…