UK lawmakers hear more reports of aid worker sex abuse in Congo
Dakar, SenegalThomson Reuters Foundation Britain’s charity watchdog said it has received reports of at least eight cases of sexual assault and abuse by aid workers in Democratic Republic of Congo, vowing to ensure “robust action”. It said the incidents were reported both before and after an investigation published last month by the Thomson Reuters Foundation […]
Sex-for-jobs scandal: How aid workers got away with sex abuse in Congo’s Ebola crisis
Following revelations of a sex-for-jobs scandal published last week, NELLIE PEYTON, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, and ROBERT FLUMMERFELT, of The New Humanitarian, take a look at how such exploitation could occur…
Congo ‘jobs-for-sex’ expose prompts calls for greater scrutiny of aid workers
Dakar, SenegalThomson Reuters Foundation Vetting aid workers more closely and giving women more power is critical to tackle sex abuse in humanitarian crises as exposed in a joint investigation by the Thomson Reuters Foundation and The New Humanitarian, aid experts said on Wednesday. In the expose, 51 women recounted multiple incidents of abuse by mainly […]
In SUVs and on planes, richest one per cent drive climate-heating emissions
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Prone to frequent flying, a passion for SUVs and big spending, the richest one per cent of the world’s population produced twice as many planet-heating emissions as the poorest half of humanity over the last quarter-century, researchers said on Monday. That excessive consumption has left little room in the world’s “carbon […]
How coronavirus “supercharged” economic inequality in the Middle East
Amman, JordanThomson Reuters Foundation The gap between the richest and the poorest in the Middle East and North Africa – the world’s most unequal region – is widening due to the coronavirus, said an Oxfam report on Thursday. Twenty-one of the Middle East’s wealthiest magnates in countries like the United Arab Emirates and Egypt have seen their […]
UK charities launch appeal to help fragile states fight coronavirus
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation British charities launched an appeal on Tuesday to help protect millions of people at heightened risk of coronavirus in the world’s most fragile states, and provide protective equipment for frontline health workers. Aid agencies warned that COVID-19 could cause a humanitarian disaster as it hits refugee and displacement camps and war-torn […]
COVID-19 will push middle income countries into hunger, says Oxfam
Rome, ItalyThomson Reuters Foundation More people will die of hunger caused by the pandemic than of coronavirus this year, according to The Hunger Virus, a report from Oxfam. Poor countries like war-torn Yemen are at risk but the global aid charity also identified several middle-income countries as new epicentres of hunger where millions could be pushed to […]
Britain launches new inquiry into sex abuse by aid workers
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation British lawmakers will hear evidence that aid workers are demanding sex in return for assistance when they launch an inquiry this week into preventing sexual abuse and exploitation in the aid sector. The industry has come under intense scrutiny since 2018 when it emerged that Oxfam staff had paid young women […]
World’s poor “will pay price”, charities say as UK scraps aid department
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Charities and former British prime ministers condemned the government’s decision on Tuesday to merge its diplomatic and aid departments, warning it could not come at a worse time and that “the world’s poorest will pay the price”. Prime Minister Boris Johnson told parliament the new joint ministry – the Foreign, Commonwealth […]
Aid workers race to stop coronavirus spreading in world’s largest refugee camp
Dhaka, BangladeshThomson Reuters Foundation Aid workers in Bangladesh raced to stop the coronavirus spreading through the world’s largest refugee settlement on Friday, installing isolation treatment centres and hand washing stations, after the first cases were confirmed. The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, said the 850,000 Rohingya who occupy the densely populated camps in Bangladesh were […]