ReliefWeb

It is critical that activities to control locusts and address their impact on livelihoods continue, with local communities placed at the forefront, says the Regional Desert Locust Alliance.

"I am very concerned about the reported pushbacks ... which constitutes a violation of the prohibition of collective expulsions and the principle of non-refoulement," said Felipe González Morales.

Witnesses have revealed that the appalling attacks in northern Yatenga province on 8 March were perpetrated by a 'self-defence’ armed group that has often operated alongside the country’s military.

As COVID-19 hits countries across the world, over half the world’s population lack safe sanitation.

This easy-to-use messaging service has the potential to reach two billion people and enables WHO to get information directly into the hands of the people that need it.

Between 2018 and 2020, MSF recorded at least 40 incidents of violence against the MSF-supported Al-Thawra General Hospital, its personnel and patients, including shootings inside hospital premises.

Clashes in El Geneina, in Sudan's West Darfur State, since December 2019 have forced more than 16,000 people, mostly women and children, to flee violence and cross into neighbouring Chad.

Understanding how COVID-19 will evolve in Africa is still a work in progress. The response will need to be adapted to the African context – the demographics are very different from China, Europe and US.

WHO has trained 36 countries on Rapid Response Teams and contact tracing across Africa; tools for data collection, reporting and diagnosis have also been circulated.

As Hurricane Dorian's anniversary approaches, the focus shifts from short-term support to recovery. Access to water, overcrowded hospitals and business revitalization remains critical.

The most vulnerable – not least many of the 40+ million IDPs – simply cannot ‘self-isolate’, enjoy clean water and sanitation, and respond to illness in the way that billions in their own homes can.

The pandemic has forced over 110 countries to shut down their education systems - on top of 258 million young people already not going to school in the long term.

People seeking asylum in Europe have been stuck in dire conditions in EU ‘hotspot’ refugee camps on the Greek islands, which have become desperately overcrowded.

“The ceasefire doesn’t mean conditions in camps have improved or that people have returned home,” said MSF. “Not only do almost a million people live in the cold, many do so in very unsanitary conditions.”

The suspension will begin to take effect within the next few days as the two agencies attempt to bring those refugees who have already cleared all formalities to their intended destinations.

The adoption of the law follows a series of commitments taken by the Government and parties to conflict to better protect children, including the February 2019 Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation

MSF medical teams received a mass influx of 83 wounded patients in Pieri and Lankien over the space of just five days between 9-13 March, and treated 45 gunshot wounds in Pibor over the past month.

As the Burundi refugee crisis approaches its sixth year, some 367,000 Burundians are being hosted by Tanzania (168,000), Rwanda (73,000), Uganda (48,000) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (47,000).

Following the closure of the Torkham and Chaman border-crossings with Afghanistan, the repatriation of registered Afghan refugees in Pakistan has been suspended to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

After cyclones Idai and Kenneth tore across Mozambique in March and April last year, AI and drones were officially used for the first time in a humanitarian emergency by WFP.