Category Archives: Global development

‘The water took everything’: Buzi evacuees tell of Cyclone Idai ordeal

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People rescued by boat are arriving at Beira in hope of first aid, shelter and reunion with their families

Standing in the fishing port in Beira, Mozambique, Jose Mala scans the faces of those evacuated by boat from Buzi – one of the towns hardest hit by Cyclone Idai – searching for anyone he knows.

He had hopeful news the day before, says Mala, 27. He met a neighbour at the port who told him his sister and two nephews had survived the cyclone that destroyed large parts of their hometown.

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Dirty water 20 times deadlier to children in conflict zones than bullets – Unicef

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World Water Day study highlights lethal nature of unsafe sanitation and hygiene for children, especially under-fives

Children under five who live in conflict zones are 20 times more likely to die from diarrhoeal diseases linked to unsafe water than from direct violence as a result of war, Unicef has found.

Analysing mortality data from 16 countries beset by long-term conflict – including Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen – the UN children’s agency also found that unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene kills nearly three times more children under 15 than war.

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‘We don’t have anything’: the fight for survival after Cyclone Idai

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In cities and villages across Mozambique the huge need for aid and assistance is not being met by a chaotic rescue effort

The main road connecting the cyclone-devastated Mozambican city of Beira to neighbouring Zimbabwe comes to an abrupt end. A section almost 100 metres wide is almost entirely underwater, an angry muddy gash where the tarmac was ripped away by the floods and raging currents.

A week after the onset of Cyclone Idai, as the waters have receded in some places, some of those trapped in villages in the midst of the flood waters have at last managed to get out with huge effort.

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Cyclone Idai witness describes seeing hundreds of bodies by roadside

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Fears situation far worse than official death toll, as communities ‘totally obliterated’

Entire villages have been destroyed in Mozambique and Zimbabwe and most of their inhabitants swept away, as rescuers race to save tens of thousands of people trapped by flood waters from Cyclone Idai.

Testimony collected from areas entirely cut off by flooding shows a situation far worse than indicated by official figures, with estimates from some witnesses suggesting that the death toll will reach the thousands.

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UN to explore wave of deaths linked to food aid porridge in Uganda

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World Food Programme halts distribution of fortified cereal as four people die and hundreds suffer suspected food poisoning

The World Food Programme and Ugandan government have launched an investigation into deaths linked with the distribution of fortified porridge to refugees and people suffering from malnourishment.

The health ministry was alerted to reports of possible food poisoning among people who had consumed Super Cereal, a blended food designed to prevent malnutrition, in the north-east region of Karamoja on 12 March.

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‘It’s a godsend’: the healthcare scheme bringing hope to India’s sick

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In a country where treatment can cost two years’ wages, a new project could mean free medical care for 500 million people

Rajiv Gupta has a distinct spring in his step. He has brought his mother to New Delhi from the northern state of Bihar for a hip replacement, for which he won’t have to pay. His mother qualified for free treatment under Ayushman Bharat, the government’s ambitious new health insurance scheme.

“I can’t quite believe this is happening. When the doctors in Bihar told me it would cost 200,000 rupees [£2,180], I took mum home. That kind of money is impossible for me. I just run a tiny sari shop. And now she’s getting it done here free,” says Gupta. Then he hurries off as though scared he has got it wrong and someone is going to present him with a bill.

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Britain’s arms export watchdog in danger of becoming toothless

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As ministers and weapons manufacturers alike shun the body that oversees UK arms exports, its authority is at risk of being eroded

As Britain’s foreign secretary warns of “a shortening window of opportunity” for peace in Yemen, the hours are also counting down for weapons manufacturer Raytheon UK to explain its activities to the government’s committees on arms export control (CAEC).

Raytheon, the world’s third largest manufacturer, was called upon to give live evidence on Wednesday. However, the company has effectively avoided face-to-face scrutiny by simply declining to attend.

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Key to saving lives of newborns lies in half a teaspoon of blood, study claims

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Research reveals striking changes in babies’ immune development that could form the basis for lifesaving vaccines

A groundbreaking study has claimed that the key to saving the lives of newborns is found in just half a teaspoon of blood.

Research has revealed dramatic changes in the immune systems of newborns, which scientists say could transform our understanding of disease in babies.

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The campaign for a ‘drug-free world’ is costing lives | Louise Arbour and Mohamed ElBaradei

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Global policy on drug control is unrealistic, and has taken a harsh toll on millions of the world’s poorest people

Drug control efforts across the world are a threat to human dignity and the right to life.

In 2017, more than 70,000 people died from a drug overdose in the US. Among the reasons for these deaths are the lack of access to health and harm-reduction services, as well as the fear of legal repression, which often dissuades people who use drugs from asking for help.

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Chinese fishmeal plants leave fishermen in the Gambia all at sea | Hannah Summers

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Scientists and campaigners warn that factories in coastal villages are wreaking environmental and economic havoc

Before the arrival of fishmeal factories in the Gambia, Musa Duboe would catch red snapper and barracuda to be sold at the local market. But his income had begun to dwindle due to depleted stocks.

Then in 2016 the Chinese-owned fishmeal plant Golden Lead began operating out of the coastal town of Gunjur, increasing demand for fish to export for overseas aquaculture.

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Self-interest must not guide UK aid | Letters

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Britain’s aid budget must be about altruism, not narrow self-interest say the Rt Rev John Arnold and the Rt Rev Dr Christopher Cocksworth

Your article (Aid budget: Ex-minister joins calls for shake-up, 18 March) on the report by the TaxPayers’ Alliance offers an opportunity to reflect again on what we want and expect from our government.

In the suffering of men, women and children caught up in conflict, dealing with the worst effects of climate change or leaving their homes in search of a safer future, we see the face of Jesus Christ.

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Foreign nationals suspected of Isis links ‘not wanted’ in Syrian camps

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Aid agencies struggle to cope with rise in new arrivals, with scores dying on the way to the settlements

An estimated 7,000 women and children from more than 40 nations, including the US, UK, Australia and Europe, are living in tense and chaotic conditions in camps in north-eastern Syria, where they are “not wanted” due to their supposed affiliation with Islamic State.

Among them are hundreds of unaccompanied or separated children, some just babies as young as five months, according to aid groups and other sources.

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Three people dying in Yemen every day despite ceasefire agreement

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Since the Stockholm deal in December, airstrikes on Hodeidah have decreased but casualties have doubled elsewhere

Yemen is continuing to experience a steady stream of violence, claiming at least one life every eight hours – despite the agreements reached between the internationally recognised government and the Houthis at talks in Sweden just over three months ago.

According to figures compiled by two international aid agencies, in some areas of the country the number of casualties, far from falling, had doubled where the conflict was flaring up.

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Priti Patel’s brazen anti-aid agenda is ultimately all about Brexit | Peter Beaumont

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Backing calls from the TaxPayers’ Alliance to face down ‘NGO cartels’ shows a profound misunderstanding of how the aid system works

Priti Patel is not known for her transparency or her subtlety.

The former international development secretary was forced to resign over misleading prime minister Theresa May over an undeclared “family holiday” to Israel that – among other things – saw her fail to tell the British embassy that she would be meeting with Israeli politicians and visiting the occupied Golan Heights, against all British government conventions for a serving minister.

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US accused of trying to dilute global agreements on women’s rights

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Draft documents suggest US will refuse to reaffirm commitment to international declaration on women’s rights at New York forum

US officials in New York are attempting to water down language and remove the word “gender” from documents being negotiated at the UN, in what is being seen as a threat to international agreements on women’s rights.

In negotiations at the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which resume at UN headquarters this week, the US wants to replace “gender” in the forum’s outcome document with references only to women and girls.

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UK charity knew of alleged abuse in Congo parks but did not act

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Wildlife trust that funded ‘eco-guards’ at the centre of rights abuse claims comes under scrutiny over failure to alert charities’ watchdog

A British charity set up to fund conservation parks in the Congo basin knew about allegations that tribal people were being abused by park guards but failed to alert the charities’ watchdog, the Guardian can reveal.

Last week, WWF launched an inquiry into claims that it has funded paramilitary guards accused of torturing, sexually assaulting and murdering people in Africa and Asia. In response to the claims, published by BuzzFeed News, the organisation said it has “stringent policies” to ensure the safeguarding of indigenous peoples’ rights and would take “swift action” should the review uncover any breaches.

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Doctors in Zimbabwe ‘sending patients away to die’ as drug shortages bite

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Senior doctors go on strike as president is warned that lack of medicine could lead to collapse of emergency services

A doctors’ strike in Zimbabwe entered its second day on Wednesday with health workers claiming patients in the biggest state hospital are dying due to a lack of drugs and medical supplies.

Dozens of doctors picketed outside Parirenyatwa hospital demanding improvements and claiming government promises to improve the health service had come to nothing.

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Shadow falls over Ethiopia reforms as warnings of crisis go unheeded

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Having fled violence, a million Ethiopians now face hunger and disease. Yet Abiy Ahmed seems intent only on their return

In southern Ethiopia, tens of thousands of people are enduring what aid workers say is a full-blown humanitarian crisis. But the government of the new prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, appears not to be listening.

It is a stain on the record of an administration that, since Abiy’s appointment last April, has been lauded for opening up Ethiopia’s political space and making peace with neighbouring Eritrea. Last month, Abiy was nominated for a Nobel peace prize. His government has also been praised for passing a new refugee policy hailed as a model of compassion and forward-thinking. Yet the dire situation facing millions of people forced from their homes by conflict, and the new regime’s approach to their plight, has invited a more sceptical response from some observers.

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