Author: Akanimo Sampson

Many rural communities in Chad are ‘disconnected’ from critical COVID-19 sensitisation messages.  Why? The communities are ‘excluded’ from radio and cellphone coverage thus, leaving them out of critical COVID-19 messages.  Chad, a landlocked country in Central Africa, has more than 70 per cent of its population in rural areas, and with limited access to digital information channels.  To overcome this challenge and strengthen health security at local levels, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Chad recently partnered with local traditional town troubadours to ensure that the most rural communities across the country are informed on COVID-19 transmission and preventive…

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The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has welcomed the Call to Action by garment industry to work with governments to tackle the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The industry’s employer, worker organisations, leading brands and retailers have expressed willingness to work with governments and financial institutions to tackle the devastating economic disruption and threat to livelihoods caused by the coronavirus pandemic.  The call to action is bringing together key stakeholders in the industry in the wake of unprecedented social and economic disruption that has resulted in the closure of factories and retail stores, illness, and widespread loss of income and unemployment.…

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The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has released a report calling for a global debt deal for the developing world.  The UN trade and development body has accordingly set out urgent measures needed to head off a looming debt disaster in developing countries. Developing countries are said to be reeling in debt from the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The UNCTAD report underlines the vital need for decisive action to provide substantive debt relief to developing countries to free up sorely needed resources to respond to the raging pandemic. On March 30, UNCTAD called for a…

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The International Labour Organisation (ILO) wants governments to use the COVID-19 crisis as a wake-up call to strengthen their social protection systems. An analysis shows that countries that have effective health and social protection systems in place and that provide universal coverage are better equipped to protect their populations from the threats to their livelihoods posed by COVID-19.  However, countries that lack robust health and social protection system will need to develop policies and interventions in an ad hoc way, which is likely to lead to limited and delayed response. Director of the ILO’s Social Protection Department, Shahra Razavi, says…

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Like the State of Missouri in the US, a coalition of Nigerian lawyers is bracing for a $200 billion legal battle with China over the killer COVID-19 pandemic.  The goal is to ensure that China takes full responsibility for its alleged negligence that is causing Nigerians untold hardship and pains as the virus continues to spread in the country. The lawyers are filing a class action suit against the Chinese government.  This is coming as confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in Nigeria zoomed to 1273 with 91 new cases recorded as at 11.50 pm on Sunday. The Nigeria Centre for Disease…

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Over the past year, Northern Mozambique has been reeling from nature’s blows. First, it was the Cyclone, and now the contagion.  On April 25, 2019, the Category-4 tropical Cyclone Kenneth struck the communities of some 280,000 people.  The Province of Cabo Delgado, which borders Tanzania, is marked by displacement due to insecurity which generates important humanitarian needs.  In February 2020, cholera was identified, affecting hundreds of people. Now COVID-19 brings a new threat.  The International Organisation for Migration’s (IOM) presence in Mozambique had ramped up in the six weeks following the arrival of the Category-4 Cyclone Idai, so it was…

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There are some emerging worrisome indicators that the global recession triggered by COVID-19 might become a depression. Experts at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) are already saying, ‘’we face the real prospect that a global recession becomes a depression.’’ Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their employees broadly regarded as an essential part of the social and economic fabric of daily life worldwide, is now under threat from the unprecedented effects of the rampaging coronavirus.  ILO says in this situation, controlling the pandemic, maintaining workers’ incomes and minimising the long-term costs of collapsing businesses are essential.  ‘’Much action is underway,…

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The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has taken the leadership of the UN Group on the Information Society (UNGIS). UNGIS is the UN inter-agency mechanism for advancing information and communications technologies (ICT) policy coherence and programme coordination. UNCTAD, on the other hand, spearheads discussions on e-commerce, the digital economy and policy for the global body.   It is taking the leadership of UNGIS from joint leaders, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), for a year with effect from April 15. UNCTAD Secretary-General, Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi, is the new chair of the group.  Kituyi…

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The commitment of G20 to safeguard people’s jobs and incomes has received a thumb up from the International Labour Organisation (ILO). G20’s Labour and Employment Ministers committed to “full global cooperation” to safeguard people’s jobs and incomes.  While welcoming the development, ILO’s Director-General, Guy Ryder, also warned that the current support measures are not enough. As the crisis spreads to low and middle-income countries, Ryder says, ‘’ we will need to do much more to protect workers and support enterprises, because these countries are less prepared for a protracted crisis. ‘’Otherwise, the combination of large informal economies and low social…

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Worried by the crushing effect of the coronavirus crisis, a top UN functionary is busy appealing to the conscience of the developed world to rise in aid of poor countries. He has also pointed out that 1.1 billion people living in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) will be facing an eventual domestic pandemic except for the developed world urgently rise in their aid.  Director of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) Division for Africa and Least Developed Countries, Paul Akiwumi, who disclosed this, says the COVID-19 crisis has rapidly thrown the world into uncharted territory.  As COVID-19…

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Imo State has joined the league of states in Nigeria being infected by the spreading coronavirus in the country. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) that reported 87 new confirmed positive cases of the killer virus, and one new death in the country late Saturday night says Imo joined the league as the latest state with reported cases in the last 24 hours. In Nigeria, 28 out of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, are already being ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic.  This is, however, happening as the Nasarawa State Secretary of the All Progressives Party…

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Political functionaries in Ebonyi State who are holding juicy offices are no longer finding their seats very comfortable because of the rampaging COVID-19. Governor Dave Umahi, who is fast becoming a controversial no-nonsense governor in Eastern Nigeria, has threatened to visit the COVID-19 sins of communities on their sons and daughters who are holding appointive offices. But, in Akwa Ibom state, the killer virus is deepening the political antagonism between President Muhammadu Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). APC is claiming that the seeming indecisive Governor Udom Emmanuel has not been visible like his counterparts…

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For millions of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in North-East Nigeria, COVID-19 pandemic will have devastating consequences.  Throughout the volatile region, a majority of the IDPs live in overcrowded and underserviced camps.  Already, conflict-affected communities in the area are increasingly vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic as cases begin to be reported in Borno State.  Interestingly, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) is supporting health actors to construct 90 quarantine shelters across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States to decrease the risk of COVID-19 spreading in densely populated camps and host communities.  IOM Nigeria Chief of Mission, Franz Celestin, says “given the rapidly…

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During the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) eWeek event, digital solutions and policies to help the world recover from the COVID-19 crisis promises to be in sharp focus. The online event which will be held from April 27 to May 1, is a modified, smart edition of the popular annual UNCTAD eCommerce week at which senior government officials, chief executive officers and other stakeholders forge solutions to challenges linked to the digital economy.  It will comprise a set of 15 online webinars and meetings that will discuss the evolution of e-commerce and the digital economy, its development…

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The economic-strangulating effect of the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be providing the chocolate industry with an opportunity to consider working together to support cocoa farmers during this critical time. Fairtrade International’s Senior Advisor on Cocoa, Jon Walker, says on the path to sustainable cocoa, the COVID-19 pandemic is a large, unexpected, and frightening detour. Fairtrade is concerned with changing the way trade works through better prices, decent working conditions, a fairer deal for farmers and workers in developing countries. According to Walker, ‘’it is laying bare the precariousness of many people in all societies, including farmers and workers in the…

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G20 is currently under intense pressure from Fairtrade International to protect farmers and workers in developing countries from the worst effects of the COVID-19 crisis. The pressure is coming as the confirmed positive cases of coronavirus in Nigeria are racing to the thousands figure. Already, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has said that the confirmed cases have shut up to 981 with 108 new cases recorded on Thursday. NCDC says as at 11:30 pm on Thursday, Lagos, obviously the epicentre centre, recorded 78 of the new cases. The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) follows with 14 cases, five in…

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The International Food Policy Research Institute estimates, for example, that 140 million additional people could fall into extreme poverty this year as a result of coronavirus.  A recent United Nations University study also projects that global poverty could increase for the first time, since 1990. These, according to the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), clearly tend to show that the COVID-19 pandemic is far more than a health crisis: it is affecting societies and economies.  The potential impacts on already vulnerable groups are especially worrying, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where a large share of people are threatened by poverty and hunger. In…

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Analysis by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a heavier blow to personal services sectors compared with other recent economic crises. UNCTAD reveals that the pandemic has massively disrupted key services sectors, especially tourism, hospitality and retail.  ‘’This contrasts with the resilience witnessed during the 2008 great recession and the 2011-2013 eurozone sovereign debt crisis, particularly in comparison to trading in goods’’, says the UN agency. An UNCTAD survey found that in the eurozone, the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) indicator, a measure of prevailing economic trends, in services and the…

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Concern has started to grow in Ethiopia on the safety of midwives in the face of the rampaging coronavirus pandemic. A midwife working in the Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, the country’s largest tertiary hospital, Dawit Mequanint, says “midwives cannot maintain physical distance with a labouring mother like in other wards making them too prone to acquiring infection with the virus.”  Ethiopia has more than 70 confirmed cases of COVID-19, a fact that has placed the country’s midwives on high alert. Around the world, doctors and midwives are struggling to obtain enough Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to protect themselves from infection…

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The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is making a seeming frantic effort to support farmers and rural communities to continue growing and selling food. According to it, the COVID-19 pandemic and economic slowdown are threatening the lives and livelihoods of the world’s most vulnerable people. To this end, it has committed $40 million, and launched an urgent appeal for additional funds, to support farmers and rural communities. This is coming as Nigeria now has 873 confirmed positive cases of coronavirus in total, 197 discharged cases and 28 recorded deaths. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said as, at…

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National Statistical Offices are facing challenges in the unprecedented COVID-19 situation, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has said. Labour ministries as well as other producers of statistics, according to ILO, are facing a double challenge: providing continuity and maintaining minimum data quality while also being responsive to new demands. The ILO reached out to national statistical offices to assess how producers of precious official statistics are reacting to the enormous challenge they now face. A Senior Statistician in the Labour Force Survey (LFS) Methodology Team of the ILO Department of Statistics, Kieran Walsh, says the clear conclusion is that the…

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Top oil industry decision-makers in Nigeria are busy assessing the impact of COVID-19 and strategising for the future. Though Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, could not be reached for comments, ministry officials, however, say they have been assessing the impact of the pandemic and strategising for the future. Before now, efforts were being made in Nigeria to push through the beleaguered Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). The aim was to create a more predictable investment policy climate for oil and gas investors.  With the COVID-19 crisis, oil prices are disturbingly crashing. However, the aim seems even more vital…

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Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), David Beasley, says the world is on the brink of a hunger pandemic.  Speaking bluntly on Tuesday’s virtual session of the UN Security Council on the Maintenance of International Peace and Security: Protecting Civilians Affected by Conflict-Induced Hunger, he laid out very clearly what the world is facing at this very moment. According to him, lockdowns and economic recession are expected to lead to a major loss of income among the working poor.  ‘’Overseas remittances will also drop sharply – this will hurt countries such as Haiti, Nepal, and Somalia just a…

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The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that the rampaging COVID-19 will push 265 million people into acute hunger by the end of 2020. WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian organisation, saving lives in emergencies, building prosperity and supporting a sustainable future for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change. Speaking on Tuesday as it and other partners released a new report on food crises around the world, the UN agency said the COVID-19 pandemic could almost double the number of people suffering acute hunger, pushing it to more than a quarter of a…

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A new report indicates that at the close of 2019, 135 million people across 55 countries and territories experienced acute food insecurity. Acute food insecurity is however when a person’s inability to consume adequate food puts their lives or livelihoods in immediate danger.  It draws on internationally accepted measures of extreme hunger, such as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) and the Cadre Harmonisé. It is more severe than / not the same as chronic hunger, as reported on each year by the UN’s annual State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report.  Chronic hunger is when a person…

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Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Director-General, Qu Dongyu, says coherent actions are currently needed to address the root causes that perpetuate existing food crises. He specifically said such actions are needed among humanitarian, development and peace actors,  The call is coming as conflicts, extreme weather, desert locusts, economic shocks and the rampaging COVID-19, are pushing more people into acute food insecurity.  Already in Nigeria, there is a huge leap of confirmed positive cases of COVID-19. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says the country on Tuesday recorded an all-time high figure of 117 new cases in a single day.…

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The COVID-19 situation in Nigeria is growing more critical every day, with the numbers expected to rise dramatically over the coming weeks.  Latest figures released by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) as at 11:10 pm on Monday, April 20, show that the country now has a total of 665 confirmed cases of COVID-19. This indicates that 38 new confirmed cases of the rampaging virus were recorded the same day across eight states of Nigeria. A breakdown of the 38 fresh cases indicates that for the very first time, Lagos did not record any confirmed case. Kano State, the…

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The fate of hundreds of migrants who were returned to Libya by the coast guard this year is now unaccounted for.  This is currently a matter of serious concern for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).  According to recent government figures, roughly 1,500 people are currently detained in 11 state-run Directorate for Combatting Illegal Migration (DCIM) centres, some for many years, the lowest figure since October 2019.  However, at least 3,200 men, women and children aboard boats bound for Europe have been rescued or intercepted by the coast guard and returned to the war-torn North African country in 2020.  Most…

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Around 267 million young people in the world are particularly affected by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) says figures from 2019 before the virus outbreak tend to demonstrate this. One-in-five of those aged under 25 are classified as Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET). Though the COVID-19 emergency is affecting almost everyone in the world, regardless of age, income or country, researchers say young people are likely to be particularly hard hit by the economic fallout of the crisis.  Why? It seems the COVID-19 crisis is falling hardest on the most vulnerable.…

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The Netherlands is currently funding a peer-to-peer awareness-raising campaign that empowers young people in West Africa to make informed decisions about migration.   The project, Migrants as Messengers is however in response to the growing COVID-19 pandemic. It is a campaign project of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) that is raising awareness to prevent the spread of the disease.  Youthful volunteers across West Africa are spreading the word in vulnerable communities.   The 248 volunteers from seven West African countries are returning migrants, trained in peer-to-peer communication. They provide a critical link when disseminating information on COVID-19 to remote areas.   Collectively, these volunteers…

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