The authors of the annual review of the president’s State of the Nation Address on ‘Women and Government Priorities’ express their disappointment with the speech’s lack of details on government departments’ implementation of policies and programmes. Joy Watson, feminist researcher, says: ‘The State of the Nation Address contained far too few details on the progress made on issues highlighted in previous addresses. It was particularly thin on addressing challenges in the education sector. While the president spoke about reducing the drop-out rate, no mention was made of the serious challenge of retaining girls in school who get pregnant. A significant... Continue Reading
Geneva, 16 February 2012 — Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) launches today a public communication called Dadaab: Back to square one. The international medical organisation takes stock of the current humanitarian situation and operational challenges in Dadaab, Kenya, home to the world’s largest refugee camp. The open report also reviews the emergency response MSF provided throughout 2011. “MSF now faces this dilemma: we want to continue to work in Dadaab, as the humanitarian situation is extremely serious. However, we are held back from deploying an adequate response given the insecurity of the situation,” says Laurent Ligozat, MSF Deputy Director of Operations. “For the time being, we have chosen to focus... Continue Reading
…… Other projects in Somalia continue, but MSF medical assistance in Somali capital reduced by half. 19 January 2012 – Following the tragic killings of our colleagues Philippe Havet and Dr. Karel Keiluhu in Mogadishu, Somalia, on 29 December 2011, the medical humanitarian organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) sees itself forced to end all activities in the Hodandistrict of the capital, including the closure of two separate 120-bed medical facilities for the treatment of malnutrition, measles and the treatment of cholera. The closure of activities in this district halves the assistance MSF is providing in Mogadishu. For now, MSF projects will continue to provide medical care in the other districts of... Continue Reading
10th January 2012 — Juba — On Saturday 7th January Médecins Sans Frontières MSF (Doctors Without Borders) returned to Pibor town with 12 medical and logistics staff to provide an emergency response in the aftermath of last week’s inter-communal violence in Pibor, Jonglei State. The looting of MSF’s facilities and the climate of uncertainty make it challenging for MSF to rapidly scale up activities. Before the violence hit Pibor town, MSF had evacuated all non-local staff to Juba, and the locally-recruited staff had left town and gone into hiding along with the other inhabitants of Pibor. As at 10th January, 60 of the 155 locally-hired MSF staff in Pibor county remain unaccounted for. We are very concerned for their welfare,... Continue Reading
December 30, 2011- It is with great sadness that Médecins Sans Frontières MSF (Doctors Without Borders) confirms that two MSF staff members were killed yesterday morning as a result of a shooting in the organization’s compound in Mogadishu. While one of the aid workers died during the shooting, the other was transferred to a hospital and died after surgery this evening. The victims are Belgian and Indonesian nationals. Philippe Havet, a 53-year-old from Belgium, was an experienced emergency coordinator who had been working with MSF since 2000 in many countries, including Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Lebanon, Sierra Leone, South... Continue Reading
