New Ebola outbreak is a crisis of hunger and displacement too: WHO
A day after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the new Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda an international emergency, top global disease transmission experts on Monday stressed that the chances of another global pandemic similar to the 2019 coronavirus emergency are increasing all the time.
“The world is not safer from pandemics”, said experts from the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB).
They underscored how the world’s vulnerability was exposed by an Ebola outbreak a decade ago and then by the “global catastrophe” of COVID-19.
“As infectious disease outbreaks become more frequent they are also becoming more damaging, with widening health, economic, political and social impacts, and less capacity to recover from them,” the experts said, in a new report.
Over the weekend, health authorities recorded eight laboratory-confirmed cases of Ebola, 246 suspected cases and 80 suspected deaths in Ituri province in eastern DR Congo.
Other unconfirmed reports indicated a positive test for Ebola in the rebel-held city of Goma, capital of North Kivu province and home to one million people.
The confirmed case is believed to be the wife of a man who died after contracting Ebola in Bunia, capital of Ituri province. Another individual who had travelled from Bunia to Beni in North Kivu also tested positive for Ebola.
LGBTIQ+ face mounting violence and discrimination, warns UN rights chief
Violence and discrimination against LGBTIQ+ people are widespread, including at school, where 45 per cent of LGBT youth report being bullied.
That’s the worrying message from UN human rights chief Volker Türk, who said that more than one in three countries still criminalize consensual same-sex conduct and several also maintain the death penalty for it:
“The trend is worsening. Over the past year, Burkina Faso criminalized consensual same-sex relations. Senegal increased prison terms for same-sex sexual acts from five to 10 years. Similar laws are being considered in other countries, including Ghana.”
These countries also have discriminatory laws that penalize the dissemination of information about LGBTIQ+ issues, with similar legal restrictions in operation in Belarus and Kazakhstan, the UN rights chief noted.
He highlighted how Cameroon, Hungary, Indonesia, Morocco, Tunisia, Türkiye and other countries “have arrested and targeted LGBTIQ+ people and activists”, amid divisive rhetoric “by some politicians and leaders” that is driving online abuse, especially against transgender people.
Despite this growing negative trend, some progress is being made in the struggle “to live and love freely”, Mr. Türk noted.
He pointed to St. Lucia which has now decriminalized consensual same-sex relations and Botswana, which has decriminalized same-sex conduct. And also, Nepal, where the country has elected a transgender woman as a Member of Parliament for the first time in its history.
South Sudan: Families return to Akobo, aid resumes after conflict
To South Sudan, where the UN and partners are on the ground in Akobo town, providing lifesaving assistance to people uprooted by escalating violence.
In an update, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, said that families are gradually returning to Akobo in Jonglei state after weeks of clashes and displacement.
Around 30 humanitarian teams are now delivering food, health, nutrition and protection services, as well as clean water. The response has been boosted by an allocation of $12 million from the UN’s central emergency fund.
With more, here’s OCHA’s Elijah Gatchang Nimir Wal:
“The violence forced tens of thousands to flee to Tirgol in neighboring Ethiopia, and surrounding areas. It also disrupted aid delivery. Humanitarian access is now resuming following commitment by transitional government parties to ensure safe access and protect aid workers.”
The crisis is linked to a years-long struggle for control of the country between forces loyal to South Sudan’s President, Salva Kiir, and former Vice-President Riek Machar.
Mass atrocities against civilians were a hallmark of the emergency. A fragile peace deal was signed in 2018.
Although the agreement brought some stability, delays in its implementation and continued political rivalries have kept tensions simmering.
According to UN estimates, the civil war has claimed lives of around 10,000 people.
Daniel Johnson, UN News
Source of original article: United Nations (news.un.org). Photo credit: UN. The content of this article does not necessarily reflect the views or opinion of Global Diaspora News (www.globaldiasporanews.com).
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