Haiti aid groups halt operations as thousands flee gang warfare
Reuters Haitian aid groups backed by the International Rescue Committee are temporarily shutting down operations, including some mobile health clinics, following days of extreme violence in parts of the Caribbean nation’s capital Port-au-Prince. “In a matter of days, violence escalated dramatically in Port-au-Prince, particularly affecting neighborhoods where the IRC collaborates with local organisations to provide […]
US calls for UN to urge Taliban to reverse bans on women; Afghan cricket fans disappointed after Australia cancels over women’s rights
United Nations Reuters The United States on Friday pushed the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution calling on the Taliban-led authorities in Afghanistan to reverse bans on women working for aid groups or attending universities and high school, diplomats said. The 15-member council met privately on Friday – at the request of the United […]
UN halts some programs in Afghanistan after ban on women aid workers
United NationsReuters The United Nations said on Wednesday that some “time-critical” programs in Afghanistan have temporarily stopped and warned many other activities will also likely need to be paused because of a ban by the Taliban-led administration on women aid workers. UN aid chief Martin Griffiths, the heads of UN agencies and several aid groups […]
Aid groups push to feed Yemen’s hungry millions during Ramadan ceasefire
Hajjah/Al Mahra, YemenReuters A two-month ceasefire has given aid groups a chance to step up aid to Yemen’s hungry millions, but malnutrition ravaging children is projected to worsen if fighting returns or humanitarian funding does not pick up. “The benefits of the first weeks of truce are already significant,” said Erin Hutchinson, Yemen Director for […]
Congolese refugees cross illegally into Uganda, raising risk of Ebola – aid groups
Nairobi, KenyaThomson Reuters Foundation People fleeing violence in an Ebola-hit region of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are being forced to cross the border illegally into Uganda, risking the virus spreading into the neighbouring East African nation, aid groups said on Friday. More than 60,000 people in Democratic Republic of Congo’s Beni region in North […]
Should aid work stop when militants move in?
Thomson Reuters Foundation When jihadists on motorbikes surrounded a village in Mali’s Toubakoro commune last October, a US aid group helping local farmers improve their incomes found itself in a bind. After their one staff member left the area for security reasons, reporting on the project’s progress to its British government funder was going to […]
Africa welcomes refugees but freedom, jobs needed – aid groups
Thomson Reuters Foundation African nations, which host more than 20 million people forced to flee their homes, must enforce international agreements to better protect and provide opportunities for those escaping conflict and disaster, aid groups said on Tuesday. Refugees and internally displaced people topped the agenda at the African Union‘s annual heads of state summit, […]
Syrian refugees risk being driven home despite violence, say aid groups
Thomson Reuters Foundation Hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees may be pressured to return to their war-ravaged homeland this year, despite continuing violence, leading aid agencies said this week. They said misleading rhetoric in refugee-hosting countries was creating the false impression that the country was safe for people to return to, even though it remained […]