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 […]
Save the Children, others suspend Afghanistan efforts after Taliban bar on female staff
Kabul, AfghanistanReuters Four international aid agencies including Save the Children said on Sunday they were suspending their humanitarian programs in Afghanistan in response to the Taliban-run administration’s order to stop female employees from working. The administration on Saturday ordered all local and foreign non-governmental organisations not to let female staff work until further notice. It […]
Malala Yousafzai says educate girls to fight climate change
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Keeping girls in school and taking young climate leaders seriously are keys to tackling climate change, Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai said on Friday. Speaking to a virtual panel, Malala, 23, said educating girls and young women, particularly in developing countries, would give them a chance to pursue green jobs […]
Coronavirus measures will hit women harder than men, charities warn
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Data is urgently required to highlight the different impact of coronavirus on women and men, with early signs that women face higher levels of violence and more care work, researchers said on Wednesday. Although death rates appear to be slightly higher among men, a study by aid organisations CARE International and […]
Cheap as bread, girls sell sex to survive hunger crisis in Africa
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Young girls in southern Africa are selling sex – sometimes for less than the cost of bread – to survive a hunger crisis ensnaring tens of millions, aid agencies said last week. In Angola, girls of 12 sell themselves for as little as 40 cents to feed their families as the […]
Demands grow for “global justice” on climate damage at UN talks
Barcelona, SpainThomson Reuters Foundation Droughts, floods and storms are nothing new to poor communities in Mozambique – but in recent years, the weather has become so extreme that neither the people nor the state can cope, said an international charity head in the south-east African nation. After two powerful cyclones battered swathes of the country […]
Aid groups warn of ‘catastrophic’ situation as Syrians brace for offensive
Beirut, LebanonThomson Reuters Foundation A Syrian army offensive in the rebel-held enclave of Idlib would have a “catastrophic” humanitarian impact and cause levels of civilian suffering unprecedented in the seven-year war, aid agencies have warned. The government has said it aims to recapture the north-western Idlib region, a refuge for civilians and rebels displaced from […]
More parents trade girls for cows as war and climate change hit east Africa
Thomson Reuters Foundation Child marriage is increasing in parts of war-torn South Sudan and drought-hit Kenya as parents swap their daughters for cows and goats to survive, campaigners said on Wednesday. Africa accounts for nine out of the 10 countries with the highest rates of underage unions globally, advocacy group Girls Not Brides said, with […]
‘Catastrophic’ risk of death for 300,000 Yemeni children trapped by attack
Thomson Reuters Foundation Some 300,000 children risk death, injury and starvation as they are trapped in Yemen’s main port city which is under assault from Saudi-led Arab states, aid groups said on Wednesday. The biggest battle in a three-year war, which has already created the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis, centres on Hodeidah, the main route […]
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 […]