Day: February 18, 2022

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Boris Cheshirkov – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is working with the Ethiopian authorities and partners to provide emergency aid to thousands of Eritrean refugees who fled Barahle refugee camp and its environs in the Afar region after fighting engulfed the area.

Refugees who trekked the long distance to the regional capital in Semera told UNHCR staff that armed men entered the camp on 3 February, stole their belongings and occupied their homes. According to their testimonies, at least five refugees were killed and several women were kidnapped. Family members lost one another in the chaos of fleeing the camp.

So far, over 4,000 refugees are in Semera where UNHCR together with Ethiopia’s Government Refugees and Returnees Service (RRS) and other partners are providing immediate support with shelter, relief items, food as well as clean water. We have also set up protection desks where the most vulnerable among the refugees, including separated children and others with specific needs, are being identified and provided with support.

Around 10,000 refugees are also reported to be living in Afdera town, approximately 225 kilometers from Semera. Others are also believed to have fled towards the towns of Altefa and Dabure, further inland.

The government has identified a temporary site in Serdo town, 40 kilometers from Semera, where UNHCR, RRS and partners are making preparations in order to quickly relocate refugees.

With yet another refugee camp severely impacted, UNHCR remains extremely worried about the safety and wellbeing of thousands of Eritrean refugees caught up in the conflict.

We condemn the attack on the refugee camp and reiterate the call for cessation of hostilities to avoid further destruction and potential loss of life for refugees and Ethiopians alike, and so that much needed humanitarian assistance can reach them.

There are also large numbers of internally displaced Ethiopians in the Afar region, including some 300,000 uprooted by the recent fighting.

UNHCR will continue our efforts to support the Ethiopian government in its response to refugees and displaced populations affected by the conflict.

Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

KAMPALA, Uganda has dropped the mandatory requirement for COVID-19 testing at its main entry point in Entebbe.

The announcement follows a Monday Cabinet decision that noted that few new cases were being recorded at the airport and that the threat of new coronavirus variants and community transmissions has been reduced.

“Mandatory Covid-19 testing of all incoming travellers at Entebbe International Airport upon arrival has been stopped with effect from 16 February 2022,” said Dr Henry Mwebesa, the director of health services at the Ministry of Health, in a statement.

Uganda has, however, maintained the requirement for travellers to be tested 72 hours before arrival or departure from the airport.

“Our health workers will continue to screen all travellers both at arrival and departure and verify their Covid-19 test certificates,” said Dr Mwebesa.

The government imposed the restrictions in September last year following the detection of more variants of Omicron imported from neighbouring countries in travellers who arrived via the airport.

Previously, arrivals were only required to show a valid negative PCR certificate obtained from an accredited lab in their countries of origin.

While talking to local media on Wednesday afternoon, Works Minister Gen Katumba Wamala confirmed the suspension of Covid testing, saying it would apply to all points of entry.

Travellers paid $30 for the tests even if they possessed negative PCR results from their departure points.

The measures had brought business to a standstill at Malaba and Busia along the Kenya border with Uganda as truck drivers protested the mandatory tests and costs. The strike led to a fuel shortage in the landlocked country, forcing the government to cut the cost to $25 and eventually suspend testing for truck drivers only.

Source: Nam News Network

Berlin, Feb. 16 (BNA): German vaccine maker BioNTech, which developed the first widely approved shot against COVID-19 together with Pfizer, unveiled plans Wednesday to establish manufacturing facilities in Africa that would boost the availability of much-needed medicines on the continent.

The modular design presented at a ceremony in Marburg, Germany, consists of shipping containers fitted with the equipment necessary to make the company’s mRNA-based vaccine, save for the final step of putting doses into bottles, a process known as fill and finish.

BioNTech has been criticized by some campaign groups for refusing to suspend its vaccine patents and let rivals manufacture the shots as part of an effort to make them more widely available, especially in poor countries.

The company argues that the process of making mRNA vaccines is difficult and it prefers to work with local partners to ensure consistent quality of the shots worldwide, reports AP..

The first turnkey facility will be shipped to either Senegal or Rwanda in the second half of this year, BioNTech said. It aims to start production of up to 50 million doses of vaccine a year within 12 months, pending approval from local regulators.

That’s a fraction of the 1.2 billion doses the company produced in Marburg last year. But the vaccines made in the target country would likely be for use there and other African Union states at a not-for-profit price, BioNTech said.

BioNTech said it would initially staff and operate the facilities but later transfer the know-how to local partners to enable independent operation.

The head of the World Health Organization, Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, welcomed BioNTech’s plan to increase vaccine production on the continent, saying it would complement the global body’s own effort to foster use of mRNA technology in South Africa and elsewhere.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

GENEVA — A new seasonal forecast for the drought-stricken Horn of Africa shows many parts of the region can expect a good rainy season.

The forecast by the World Meteorological Organization is good news for millions of people suffering acute hunger because of poor harvests caused by several years of drought.

However, WMO spokesperson Clare Nullis said that good news is coupled with warnings that people should still prepare for what she called a worst-case scenario.

“The March-to-May rainy season is really, really important for many countries in the region,” she said. “In the region, it accounts for about 70% of the total annual rainfall. So, obviously if there were to be a renewed failure of the rains, there would be massive socioeconomic consequences.”

The World Food Program says 12-14 million people in three of the worst-affected countries — Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia — are facing severe hunger due to the devastating drought across the Horn of Africa.

The WMO says southern to central parts of the region have the highest chances of receiving more rain than normal at this time of year. Countries include Tanzania, eastern Uganda, northern Burundi, and eastern Rwanda.

However, it says western South Sudan, and central and northeastern Ethiopia are likely to receive less rain than usual.

Given the below-average rainfall the past three seasons, meteorologists say a wetter-than-normal season does not mean the region will immediately recover from the drought.

Nullis said countries in the eastern part of the Horn should prepare for the worst.

“In the regions worst hit by drought, the current trends are comparable to those observed during the 2010-2011 famine and the 2016-2017 drought emergency,” she said. “There is obviously a delay between planting and harvesting. The next harvest will not start until about August, so we are not going to see any immediate positive impacts.”

More than a quarter-million people died in the Somalia famine between 2010 and 2012, more than half of them children. More than 6 million people, half of Somalia’s population, were ravaged by the severe 2017 drought. Few people died, though, because the international community responded quickly to the acute hunger emergency.

Source: Voice of America