Ecological and political factors are stacking the deck against the population in Ethiopia amidst severe drought
2 May 2022

Ecological and political factors are stacking the deck against the population in Ethiopia amidst severe drought

by | posted in: Drought, El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Ethiopia, Horn of Africa region, Humanitarian Crisis, La Niña, UNHCR, World Food Programme, World Meteorological Organization | 0

On 19 April, the World Food Program announced that the number of people pushed to hunger by the severe drought in the Horn of Africa could rise from the current 14 million to 20 million by the end of the year. This is the latest in a long list of warnings from various international organisations that have been drawing attention to the agropastoral and food crises caused by this drought  since 2020. But contrary to the 2016-2017 drought in the Horn, sufficient measures have not been put in place upstream, organisations warn. Although the whole region faces alarming consequences, with for example half a million already starving people in Kenya, Ethiopia is currently the most affected country with more than 7 million people already affected by famine. This is due to various climatic, but also political circumstances.

News Highlights: Millions face humanitarian crisis in the Horn, Hundreds forcibly returned to Libya, UK pushback plan abandoned
29 Apr 2022

News Highlights: Millions face humanitarian crisis in the Horn, Hundreds forcibly returned to Libya, UK pushback plan abandoned

by | posted in: Afar, Africa, Belarus, Darfur, Drought, Environment, Eritrea, Ethiopia, European Commission, European Politics, European Union, France, Horn of Africa region, Humanitarian Crisis, Libya, Malnutrition, Migration, Poland, Refugees in the EU, Sudan, Tigray, Tunisia, United Nations, UNOCHA | 0

In this week’s News Highlights: UN warns of humanitarian catastrophe in the Horn of Africa; Tigray forces say they have withdrawn from the Afar region; ‘Collapse’ of the health system in Tigray; Twenty muslim worshippers killed in clash in Ethiopia; UN pushed towards the exit door of Sudan; UN warns against escalation in Darfur; 171 migrants and refugees rescued, hundreds more forcibly returned to Libya; 17 migrants and refugees found dead off Tunisian coast, several others still missing; New European plan to facilitate legal immigration; Pushback plan in the Channel from the UK abandoned for legal reasons; EU questions ecological aspects of the anti-migrant wall between Poland and Belarus; Bulgarian human trafficking network targeted in France.

Horn/News Highlights: Rain remains absent in the Horn, UK plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda criticised, Human trafficking in Cyprus on the rise
20 Apr 2022

Horn/News Highlights: Rain remains absent in the Horn, UK plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda criticised, Human trafficking in Cyprus on the rise

by | posted in: Cyprus, Drought, Ethiopia, Human Trafficking, Oromia, Rwanda, United Kingdom | 0

This week, the Horn and News highlights are sent out in a combined format on Wednesday. In this week’s Horn and News Highlights: Conflict renewed in Oromia special zone of the Amhara region; Horn of Africa faces fourth consecutive crop failure;$300 million grant approved by the WB to finance reconstruction in Ethiopia; MSF staff member killed in South Sudan; Boat sinking leaves 6 dead and 29 missing off Libyan coasts; Migrants and refugees in Tunisia ask for evacuation through sit-in outside UN Office; Cigarette plant using refugee forced labourers dismantled in Italy; New UK plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing widely criticised; Migrant and refugee collective takes control of office building in Paris; Large building of migrants and refugees evacuated in Brussels; Human trafficking on the rise in Cyprus; Number of entries in Europe highest since 2016, says Frontex; Seventy-third session of the Committee against Torture of the OHCHR.