News by region: Africa

UN, African Union voice concern over protracted political crisis in Guinea-Bissau

3 February – The top leaders of the African Union and the United Nations on Saturday expressed concern over the prolonged political crisis in Guinea-Bissau, condemning the recent actions taken by the national authorities to prevent a political party from holding its conference.

Partnership key to ensuring all children can access education – senior UN officials

2 February – Stressing the importance of quality education for the future of young people and children, senior United Nations officials, including the head of its education agency and the UN youth envoy, called for cooperation to strengthen education and learning programmes in all corners of the world.

Mali human rights situation still a concern – UN report

1 February – Despite the signing of a 2015 Peace Agreement, the human rights situation in Mali still remains a concern, according to a United Nations report published on Thursday.

Human cost of conflict in South Sudan has reached ‘epic proportions,’ warns UN refugee agency chief

1 February – The human cost of South Sudan’s long-running conflict has reached “epic proportions” with the number of refugees set to rise beyond three million by the end of this year, potentially making it Africa’s largest refugee crisis since the mid-1990s, the head of the UN refugee agency said on Thursday.

Security Council stresses need of ‘sustainable solutions’ for millions displaced in Darfur

31 January – Despite improvements in the security and humanitarian situation in Darfur, continued challenges remain, the United Nations Security Council has said, underlining the need for sustainable solutions for the region’s 2.7 million internally displaced persons.

With ‘little hope’ of a quick return to stability in Lake Chad Basin, UN and partners launch aid appeal

31 January – With more than a quarter of a million people affected by the Boko Haram insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin region, the United Nations refugee agency and its humanitarian partners launched on Wednesday an inter-agency funding appeal for $157 million.

Somali leaders, international partners and UN determined to make Somalia famine resistant

30 January – One year after Somalia declared drought as a national emergency, famine has so far been averted due to collective and unprecedented humanitarian action, and on Tuesday, the country marked a turning point towards ending the cycle of recurring crises, with the launch of a Government-led, United Nations-supported humanitarian response plan.

Thousands flee violence in eastern DR Congo, seek shelter in nearby countries – UN refugee agency

30 January – Surging violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is driving thousands of Congolese into neighbouring Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda, the United Nations refugee agency said Tuesday.

UN agency launches appeal to fund aid efforts in crisis-struck South Sudan

30 January – Amid worsening humanitarian situation in South Sudan and the number of persons in need of assistance continues to grow, the United Nations migration agency today launched a $103.7 million appeal to sustain critical and life-saving aid programmes.

New UN funding to help sustain critical aid programmes for hundreds of thousands in Ethiopia

29 January – The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) - a pool of funding which supports critical relief operations around the world - has allocated $10 million to help meet the life-saving needs of the most vulnerable people displaced due to conflict in Ethiopia.