Archive for ‘Africa’

26/07/2024

More Workers Than Ever Are Losing the Fight against Heat Stress

Human Wrongs Watch

Workplace exposures to excessive heat in Africa were above the global average, affecting 92.9 per cent of the workforce.

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GENEVA, 25 July 2024 (ILO)* – A new report from the International Labour Organization (ILO), Heat at work: Implications for safety and health, warns that more workers are being exposed to heat stress worldwide.

The new data reveals that regions previously unaccustomed to extreme heat will face increased risks, while workers in already hot climates will confront ever more dangerous conditions.

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25/07/2024

Hunger Numbers Stubbornly High for Three Consecutive Years as Global Crises Deepen: UN Report

Human Wrongs Watch

1 in 11 people worldwide faced hunger in 2023, 1 in 5 in Africa

**If current trends continue, about 582 million people will be chronically undernourished in 2030, half of them in Africa. ©iStock

Rio de Janeiro, 24 July 2024 (FAO)* – Around 733 million people faced hunger in 2023, equivalent to one in eleven people globally and one in five in Africa, according to the latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report published today [24 July 2024] by five United Nations specialized agencies.

25/07/2024

Rising Heat in Europe and Central Asia Killing almost 400 Children a Year: UNICEF

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Soaring summer temperatures in Europe and Central Asia are killing nearly 400 children a year according to new analysis of the latest available data by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released on Wednesday [].

Rising heat across Europe and Central Asia kills nearly 400 children a year, according to latest data.
© Unsplash/Derek Thomson| Rising heat across Europe and Central Asia kills nearly 400 children a year, according to latest data.
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UNICEF revealed that 377 children died in 2021 based on data from 23 countries across the vast region. Heat-related illnesses claimed the lives of half of those vulnerable youngsters in the first year of their lives.
25/07/2024

Biodiversity Is Life, Not an Asset Class

Human Wrongs Watch

By Prof. Vandana Shiva | Navdanya International – TRANSCEND Media Service

Debunking Biodiversity Credits, the Next Wave of Bio-Imperialism

Full Report – Download

Executive Summary

In the name of biodiversity “conservation” and “protection”, the corporate sector is increasingly making calls for the financialisation of nature.

The financialization of nature continues the harmful legacy of bio-imperialism.

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24/07/2024

Sudan War: Nearly 26 Million Going Hungry Due to Rising Food Prices, Access Challenges

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Nearly 26 million people in war-torn Sudan are not getting enough to eat, the UN reported on Tuesday [23 July 2024], citing its humanitarian affairs office, OCHA.
 
Children is Sudan are facing widespread food insecurity.
© UNICEF/Ahmed Mohamdeen Elfatih | Children is Sudan are facing widespread food insecurity.
24/07/2024

UN and Humanitarian Partners Launch Emergency Appeal to Address Severe Drought in Malawi

Human Wrongs Watch

By Vibhu Mishra

(UN News)* — UN agencies alongside humanitarian partners in Malawi have launched a Flash Appeal to help millions in the country stricken by drought that has decimated harvests and sent hunger levels soaring.

Prolonged droughts in Malawi have caused severe damage to crops and decimated harvests.
© UNICEF/Bennie Khanyizira | Prolonged droughts in Malawi have caused severe damage to crops and decimated harvests.
24/07/2024

More Poverty for the Poor

Human Wrongs Watch

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Jul 24 2024 (IPS)* –Many low-income countries (LICs) continue to slip further behind the rest of the world. Meanwhile, people in extreme poverty have been increasing again after decades of decline.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram

Falling further behind
World output more than doubled from $36 trillion in 1990 to $87 trillion by 2021 (in constant US dollars), but this growth has not been evenly distributed, causing most LICs to fall further behind.

Many of the world’s poorest economies have had meagre growth since the 1960s. As most developing countries have made progress, income gaps among nations have declined.

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13/07/2024

Climate Crisis Fuels Flooding and Deepens Displacement, Making Life Even Harder for People Already Uprooted from Their Homes

Human Wrongs Watch

By the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)*

Climate change is fuelling flooding and other forms of extreme weather, causing fresh displacement and making life even harder for people already uprooted from their homes.
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Residents in Baghlan-e-Jadid district assess the damage caused by recent flooding in Afghanistan’s northeastern Baghlan province. © UNHCR/Mujeeburrahman Habiby

10/07/2024

“Trafficking, torture, forced labour, extortion, starvation in intolerable conditions of detention” are “perpetrated at scale… with impunity”: UN Human Rights Chief

Human Wrongs Watch

By Daniel Johnson

(UN News)* — The desperate plight of migrants and refugees tortured, trafficked and sold “at scale” in Libya took centre stage at the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday [], where UN rights chief Volker Türk urged the international community to consider halting its agreement with the north African country on asylum seekers and migration.

Migrants rescued off the coast of Libya by SOS Méditerranée NGO. (file)
© SOS Méditerranée/Anthony Jean | Migrants rescued off the coast of Libya by SOS Méditerranée NGO. (file)
10/07/2024

While Global Population Is Rising, East Asia Is Shrinking

Human Wrongs Watch

On 15 November 2022, the world’s population reached an estimated 8.0 billion people, a milestone in human development. This unprecedented growth, according to the UN, is due to the gradual increase in human lifespan owing to improvements in public health, nutrition, personal hygiene and medicine. It is also the result of high and persistent levels of fertility in some countries. Meanwhile, the UN will be commemorating World Population Day on July 11.

WASHINGTON DC, Jul 9 2024 (IPS)* Across East Asia, birthrates are plummeting. Japan’s has been falling for eight straight years and recently hit a record low of 1.2 children per woman, the lowest since record keeping began in 1899.

For reference, a total fertility rate of 2.1 is needed to maintain a stable population. China’s total fertility rate is now approaching 1.0. South Korea’s plummeted in 2023 to a record low of 0.72, the worlds’ lowest.

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