Category Archives: Africa

Number of people facing extreme hunger in Sudan predicted to double

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UN warns up to 18 million could be in need of aid by September as food prices soar due to conflict, poor harvests and economic crisis

The number of people who are severely hungry in Sudan could double by September as a result of poor harvests, economic crisis, internal conflict and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the UN has warned.

In a joint statement, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agricultural Organisation said more than 18 million people could face extreme hunger over the coming months, up from about 9 million currently in need of aid.

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War in Ukraine could lead to food riots in poor countries, warns WTO boss

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Exclusive: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala says impact of conflict on food prices and hunger could be substantial

Rocketing global food prices as a result of the war in Ukraine could trigger riots from those going hungry in poor countries, the head of the World Trade Organization has said.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warned food-producing countries against hoarding supplies and said it was vital to avoid a repeat of the Covid pandemic, when rich countries were able to secure for themselves the bulk of vaccines.

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Female opposition MP among dozens killed in Somalia bombings

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Al-Shabaab claim responsibility for attacks, including that which killed Amina Mohamed Abdi in run-up to elections this week

A “fearless” Somali female MP was among dozens of people killed in a series of bomb attacks in rural Somalia on Wednesday.

According to a witness quoted by the Associated Press, the bomber ran towards and embraced opposition MP Amina Mohamed Abdi before detonating a bomb as she campaigned in the town of Beledweyne in central Somalia ahead of parliamentary elections this week.

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Ethiopian government declares Tigray truce to let aid in

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Blockaded region faces severe humanitarian crisis after 16 months of war, with UN estimating 5 million people in urgent need of food

Ethiopia’s government has declared an immediate “humanitarian truce” with rebel Tigrayan forces to allow aid into the besieged northern region where millions of people are facing starvation.

The government led by the prime minster, Abiy Ahmed, said the ceasefire declared on Thursday could “pave the way for the resolution of the conflict in northern Ethiopia without further bloodshed”, and analysts in the country expressed hopes that if it holds, the deal may lead to a diplomatic resolution.

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‘Climate smart’ policies could increase southern Africa’s crops by up to 500%

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Researchers outline urgent steps to improve food security in the face of increasing natural disasters caused by the climate crisis

The climate crisis is threatening food stocks in sub-Saharan Africa, but a comprehensive approach to food, farming and resources could increase crop production by more than 500% in some countries in the region, according to new research by more than 200 experts.

There is no single technological fix to the threat posed by the barrage of natural disasters striking the region, they said, but significant improvements could be achieved with new approaches, based on modelling done by the network of researchers in Malawi, Tanzania, South Africa and Zambia.

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Millions of children to be vaccinated for polio in Africa after Malawi detects case

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First case of wild polio detected in Malawi for 30 years prompts emergency rollout of vaccinations in five African countries

More than 23 million young children across southern Africa will be offered vaccinations against wild polio after an outbreak of the virus was detected in Malawi for the first time since 1992.

Children under five in Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital, began to be immunised on Sunday as part of a mass drive against the disease.

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Better use of groundwater could transform Africa, research says

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Studies ‘debunk the myth that Africa is running out of water’ but say resource needs to be better managed

Groundwater resources in sub-Saharan Africa are enough to transform agriculture in the region and provide people with adequate safe water for their drinking and hygiene needs, if the resource can be better managed, researchers have said.

Groundwater – found underground in aquifers, rocks and soils – makes up about 99% of all liquid freshwater on earth, and is abundant in much of Africa, but a lack of investment has left it untapped or poorly managed, two major studies have found. The reserves could be used for irrigation and to supply clean and safe water, but there is also a danger that if used unsustainably they could be rapidly depleted or polluted.

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‘It was hard rediscovering myself’: Judith Tebbutt on escaping Somali kidnappers

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Freed 10 years ago after seven months held hostage, Tebbutt watched homecoming of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with joy and trepidation

Ten years ago on Monday, Judith Tebbutt walked onto a plane and out of the hands of the Somali pirates, kidnappers and murderers who had held her captive for almost seven months.

Her husband, David, had been shot dead by Tebbutt’s initial captors when they burst into the couple’s bedroom in their isolated, luxury holiday resort.

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Stranded Nigerians accuse UK of ignoring pleas of black refugees fleeing Ukraine

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Critics say race is an issue in treatment of African students fleeing war in Ukraine

Two weeks ago, Alani Iyanuoluwa fled Kyiv as the Russian invasion intensified. Making her way across Europe, the 24-year-old hoped to be reunited with family in London. Yet for 10 days she has been stranded in a French port – because she is Nigerian.

Iyanuoluwa is among a growing number of refugees who claim the British government is ignoring black people who fled Ukraine.

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Sumaya Sadurni: photojournalist and ‘rock’n’roll Mother Teresa’ dies at 32

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Described as ‘outstanding and fearless’ by Bobi Wine, tributes have been paid to Sadurni, whose work featured in the Guardian and New York Times

Sumaya Sadurni Carrasco has died while travelling to take photographs for the Guardian’s Saturday magazine in northern Uganda. Thomas Mugisha, an NGO worker, also died in the accident on 7 March.

Sumy, as she was known, was a talented, driven and courageous photojournalist with a rare gift for friendship. At just 32 years old, she had built a powerful body of work, which had been published in some of the world’s best-known publications; in 2020 she was shortlisted for the Guardian’s agency photographer of the year. She also leaves a legacy of knowledge and inspiration that she passed on to young photographers as a Uganda Press Photo award mentor, a teacher at Makerere University and a Canon trainer.

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‘Take from the hungry to feed the starving’: UN faces awful dilemma

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Agencies forced to cut back aid in Yemen, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Ethiopia despite growing need as funds go to Ukraine

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has put huge pressure on an already shrinking pot of international aid.

Aid agencies working in countries with the most pressing emergencies, including Yemen, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Ethiopia, are facing difficult decisions on how to spend their money.

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‘Nowhere on earth are people more at risk than Tigray,’ says WHO chief

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Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says even with war in Ukraine, the world must not forget the crisis unfolding ‘out of sight’ in Ethiopia’s northern region

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has urged the world not to forget the humanitarian crisis in Tigray, saying that even amid the war in Ukraine there is “nowhere on Earth” where people are more at risk than the isolated region of northern Ethiopia.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director general, is from Tigray and has incurred the wrath of the Ethiopian government in the past after accusing it of placing the region under a de facto blockade. Prime minister Abiy Ahmed’s government has accused him of bias, and of spreading misinformation.

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Tropical Cyclone Gombe hits countries in south-east Africa

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Damaging winds and torrential rainfall strike Madagascar, Mozambique and Malawi

Tropical Cyclone Gombe affected parts of Madagascar, Mozambique and Malawi last week, bringing damaging winds and torrential rainfall. Gombe made landfall in the Nampula province of northern Mozambique on Friday as a category three tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of about 120mph and more that 100mm of rainfall in places. Mozambique has already been hit this year by Tropical Storm Ana in January and tropical depression Dumako in February.

A powerful late-winter storm system surged across eastern parts of the US on Friday night and Saturday, bringing heavy rain, widespread heavy snow, strong winds, thunderstorms and freezing temperatures. Snow was reported as far south as Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia, with 20-30cm falling quite widely across the Appalachians and northwards through parts of Pennsylvania, New York and Vermont. Damaging winds affected parts of Florida, with a tornado reported near Crescent City, Florida. Cold weather plunging well into the south has been a frequent feature of this winter in the US.

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Protests in Sudan after alleged gang-rape of young woman by security forces

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Women fear use of sexual violence as a ‘tactic’ against those protesting the coup, after attack on 18-year-old in Khartoum

Demonstrations took place across Sudan on Tuesday in protest at the alleged gang-rape of a teenager by security forces.

The 18-year-old said she was attacked in Khartoum on Monday by up to nine men dressed in the uniforms of the security forces involved in dispersing regular protests held across Sudan since October’s military coup.

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Hope for Kenya’s mountain bongos as five released into sanctuary

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Rewilding programme marks the ‘most significant step’ in ensuring the critically endangered species’ survival

Five mountain bongos have been released into a sanctuary in Kenya, a milestone in the fight for the animals’ survival with fewer than 100 left in the wild

Considered critically endangered, the chestnut-coloured mountain bongo is one of the largest forest antelopes and native to the equatorial forests of Mount Kenya, Eburu, Mau and Aberdares. IUCN predicts their numbers will probably continue to decline without direct action. A recent wildlife census in Kenya counted just 96 mountain bongos in the wild.

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Looting and attacks on aid workers rise as hunger adds to unrest in South Sudan

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UN says 70% of the population will struggle through the coming season as humanitarian workers are killed and supplies raided


Looting of emergency food supplies and attacks on aid workers are rising in South Sudan, where hunger is causing unrest.

A security vacuum is fuelling the violence as communities take up arms to fend for themselves amid unprecedented food shortages, aid agencies have warned.

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Video of armed men burning man alive in western Ethiopia sparks outrage

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Eleven people, including nine ethnic Tigrayans, were killed on 3 March in the Benishangul-Gumuz region

A video posted on social media showing armed men burning a man to death in western Ethiopia has drawn condemnation and renewed fear over increasing horrific incidents of ethnic violence.

Eleven people, including nine ethnic Tigrayans, were killed on 3 March in the Ayisid Kebele of Metekel zone, in the Benishangul-Gumuz region where waves of ethnic violence over the last year have killed hundreds of people.

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At least 19 migrants missing after boat capsizes off coast of Libya

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Missing are presumed dead after three migrants rescued and one body retrieved, Libyan coast guard says

A boat carrying about two dozen migrants capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya on Saturday, with at least 19 people missing and presumed dead, authorities said.

Libya’s coastguard said that a group of 23 migrants – Egyptians and Syrians – set off from the eastern city of Tobruk earlier in the day. Three migrants were rescued and taken to hospital. Only one body was retrieved and search efforts were continuing, the agency said.

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Ethiopia says it will act after video shows uniformed men burning civilians alive

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Incident took place in the western region of Benishangul-Gumuz, a site of frequent ethnic violence

Ethiopia’s government said on Saturday it would act against the perpetrators after a video appeared on social media showing armed men, some in military uniforms, burning civilians to death in the west of the country.

The Ethiopia government communication service said in a statement on its Facebook page that the incident occurred in the Ayisid Kebele of Metekel zone in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, a site of frequent ethnic violence for more than a year in which hundreds of civilians have died.

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At least 19 people die amid fresh fighting in Sudan’s Darfur region

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Janjaweed militias accused of attacking villages as violence continues to rise in a region once ravaged by civil war

At least 19 people have been killed in Sudan’s restive Darfur region in the latest violence between rival groups that has left dozens dead this week.

Fresh clashes broke out on Thursday between armed groups in the rugged Jebel Moon mountains of West Darfur state, close to the border with Chad.

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