Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: APO

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Nearly 39,000 children fled to the city of El Obeid in North Kordofan, Sudan, over the first six months of the year, escaping violence and attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure that have uprooted families across the state, Save the Children said.

The new arrivals are now part of more than 605,000 people living in El Obeid town and Sheikan locality, who have come seeking safety but are facing new challenges in accessing health, water, education and protection services within the city [1].

Save the Children is reporting a significant increase in cases of child malnutrition in Sheikan locality, with nutrition centres seeing substantial increases in new inpatients.  In April 2026, Save the Children-supported health facilities in Sheikan locality treated 426 children for malnutrition, compared with 195 in March, marking a 118% month-on-month increase and a 75% rise from April 2025.

In June and July, Save the Children field reports further revealed severe food shortages and reduced food assistance in the two camps where the aid agency supports displaced families. While many families rely entirely on humanitarian aid, it remains far below the growing needs, forcing children to skip meals or go to sleep hungry. 

Water shortages in the city are also compounding the crisis, with Save the Children staff reporting some families spend nearly half of their day searching for water. The situation was particularly bad in June and July when drone strikes hit water infrastructure, causing panic and further exacerbating shortages. Where individual consumption has now been reduced to approximately 7 litres per person per day, less than half of the general minimum standard of 15 litres recommended by the World Health Organization during crises. 

Mohamed*, a father living with his family in a camp for displaced people in El Obeid, told Save the Children: 

“When we arrived in El Obeid, we had nothing except the clothes we were wearing. Finding food, water, and a safe place for our children was our biggest concern. Every day is a struggle, but we are trying to rebuild our lives.”

Amani*, Save the Children staff working in El Obeid said the scale of humanitarian need has grown significantly in recent months:

“Today, we are seeing substantially higher levels of need than we observed three months ago. The number of displaced families has increased, food and fuel prices have risen sharply, access to safe water has become more difficult, and health facilities are reporting higher numbers of children requiring treatment for malnutrition and illness.”

Francesco Lanino, Deputy Country Director for Save the Children in Sudan, said:   

“El Obeid is approaching a humanitarian breaking point. Tens of thousands of children have been forced from their homes by violence and attacks that continue to impact civilians and civilian infrastructure across North Kordofan. Families arriving in the city are seeking safety, but many are finding food shortages, limited access to clean water and health services already pushed to their limits.  

“Children are paying the highest price for this conflict. They are being displaced, going hungry, losing access to education, and living with constant fear and uncertainty. The international community must act urgently to protect civilians, ensure safe humanitarian access and provide the resources needed before this crisis deepens further.”

Across North Kordofan, attacks on civilian infrastructure – including fuel stations and depots, market areas, health facilities, and residential neighbourhoods – have disrupted access to essential services, destroyed livelihoods and forced growing numbers of families to flee in search of safety, placing further pressure on already overstretched resources in El Obeid. 

Save the Children continues to operate in and around El Obeid, providing health, nutrition, water, sanitation, education and child protection services despite growing access challenges.   

The aid agency is calling for the protection of civilians, ensuring safe and sustained humanitarian access, and increased humanitarian support to meet the growing needs of displaced children and families in El Obeid and across Sudan. Without urgent action, needs are expected to increase significantly in the coming weeks, placing thousands more at risk.  

Save the Children has worked in Sudan since 1983 and provides programming for children and families affected by conflict, displacement, extreme poverty and hunger. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Save the Children.

Source: APO – Report:

Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora, Ambassador Barry Faure, held a bilateral meeting with his South African counterpart, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, H.E. Ronald Lamola, on the margin of the 46th SADC Ordinary Summit in Durban.

The meeting provided an opportunity for the two Ministers to reaffirm the longstanding friendship between Seychelles and South Africa, and to discuss avenues for deepening cooperation between the two countries on a number of bilateral matters.

Minister Faure thanked South Africa for its leadership of SADC and for the hospitality extended to the Seychelles delegation throughout the Summit. Minister Lamola, in turn, expressed appreciation for Seychelles’ consistent support to South African candidatures in multilateral organisations, describing the country as a reliable partner within the region and beyond.

Both Ministers underscored the importance of the bilateral relationship between Seychelles and South Africa, particularly in the economic sector, and welcomed the growing interest of South African investors in Seychelles. They also agreed on the importance of convening the 4th Session of the Seychelles-South Africa Joint Commission for Cooperation, set to take place in 2027.

On matters of diplomatic representation, Minister Lamola confirmed that South Africa’s newly appointed High Commissioner to Seychelles will soon travel to Victoria to present credentials. Minister Faure similarly announced the appointment of Seychelles’ High Commissioner to South Africa.

Paying tribute to outgoing High Commissioner H.E. Hlamalani Nelly Manzini, Minister Faure commended her active tenure, particularly her contribution to advancing the Maritime Corridor Strategy, and expressed hope that she would soon pay her farewell courtesy call.

The meeting closed with both Ministers reaffirming the strength of Seychelles-South Africa relations and their shared commitment to deepening cooperation across all areas of mutual interest.

– on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora, Republic of Seychelles.

Source: APO

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• “In West Africa, as in many other regions of the world, issues relating to substance abuse remain complex and constantly evolving.”

This was the observation made by the Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, Prof. Fatou Sow Sarr, on Tuesday 11 August 2026, in Lagos, Nigeria, at the opening of the capacity building workshop organised by the Nigerian Network for Epidemiology on Drug Use (NENDU).

According to Ms Fatou Sow Sarr, represented by the Head of the Commission’s Drug Prevention and Control Division, Dr Daniel Amankwaah, this complex and ever changing nature requires continuous monitoring of emerging trends to enable the adoption of appropriate measures.

Dr Daniel Amankwaah called on ECOWAS Member States to establish a system to monitor the scale, characteristics and trends of drug supply and demand, as well as national and regional responses to the situation.

He also emphasised the need for coordinated collaboration between the health and law enforcement sectors, with a public health focused approach. This, he said, would enable the establishment of national mechanisms capable of both assessing local specificities and clearly defining the types of responses required to tackle the issue of drug use in a comprehensive manner, by addressing both supply and demand.

“To tackle the drug problem comprehensively, it is essential to have reliable and up to date data to guide evidence based policies and programmes; without this, our interventions risk remaining purely reactive rather than proactive,” said Dr Daniel Amankwaah.

He recalled the establishment, by the ECOWAS Commission in 2013, of the West African Network for Drug Use Epidemiology (WENDU). This network, he emphasised, serves as a regional mechanism for the collection, analysis and dissemination of data on drug use and related issues in the member states of the regional organisation.

Alongside WENDU’s operations at regional level, it should be noted that each of these states has its own local drug use epidemiology network. In Nigeria, this is the Nigerian Network for Drug Use Epidemiology (NENDU), established to improve the collection, analysis and reporting of data.

This three (3) days workshop has been organised for NENDU focal points, professionals from Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and other key stakeholders responsible for collecting data on drugs, representing all of Nigeria’s geopolitical zones.

Its main objective is to strengthen the technical capacities of participants, in order to ensure they produce high quality reports on drug use; these reports support the development of evidence based policies and interventions for drug prevention and control in ECOWAS member states.

Between 2014 and 2024, the ECOWAS Commission published five WENDU reports, and the 2025 report  which has already been validated by the focal points of the regional organisation’s member states will be finalised shortly.

“The ECOWAS Commission attaches great importance to the reliability of drug data in the region; it will support its member states so that they can provide high quality data, which will form the basis of the annual regional report. The WENDU report is also published globally,” said Dr Daniel Amankwaah.

He reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to continuing to do everything in its power to help ECOWAS Member States fulfil their role effectively in the fight against the scourge of drugs. “By joining forces, we will succeed,” he concluded.

For her part, Dr Amina Z. Kazaure, Director of the Hospital Services Department at Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, expressed her gratitude to the ECOWAS Commission for its ongoing partnership and support aimed at strengthening prevention, treatment and rehabilitation in relation to drug use in her country and across the rest of the ECOWAS region.

As for the Director of the Narcotics and Drug Abuse Division at the same ministry, Ms Henrietta Bakura-Onyeneke, she urged participants to identify common challenges relating to reporting and to jointly develop practical solutions and action plans to improve NENDU reporting.

“We must move beyond the mere collection of data, which is often seen as a routine reporting obligation, and recognise it as an essential public health function, facilitating the early identification of emerging trends, the prioritisation of resources and the development of evidence-based interventions,” she recommended.

It should be noted that during the workshop, participants watched a video on the social, health and economic consequences of drug use in the ECOWAS region.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Source: APO

With the participation of the delegation from Equatorial Guinea, represented by Ambassador Anatolio Ndong Mba, the summit placed young generations at the center of the debate on the future and governance of AI.

To commemorate International Youth Day, the United Nations headquarters in New York hosted the Youth and Artificial Intelligence Summit, a historic gathering that brought together more than 600 young delegates from around the world. The Republic of Equatorial Guinea was represented at this global event by its delegation, headed by Ambassador Anatolio Ndong Mba, Permanent Representative to the UN.

Under the theme “Different contexts, common aspirations”, International Youth Day 2026 recognizes that, although the lives of young people are shaped by diverse local and national realities, their aspirations are profoundly similar: dignity, opportunity, meaningful participation, decent work, quality education and a sustainable future.

This year’s theme pays special attention to young people living in:

• Least Developed Countries (LDCs)

• Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs)

• Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

These communities face interconnected challenges such as poverty, climate change, geographic isolation, economic limitations, and unequal access to digital technologies. Despite these obstacles, young people continue to demonstrate exceptional resilience, leadership, and innovation.

“Young people are already leading the way as organizers and innovators. But to go further, they need access to the skills that will shape the future, from critical thinking and problem-solving to digital literacy,” said António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The United Nations Youth Bureau emphasized that technological change is not a future projection, but a present reality. It urged the equitable development of human-centered skills (critical thinking, empathy, and resilience) and AI literacy, recognizing young people as co-creators of educational policies and models.

Key subtopics for 2026

1. Global Solidarity: Promoting international cooperation, strategic alliances and equitable access to resources so that young people around the world can thrive.

2. Shared Challenges: Dialogue and collective responses to cross-cutting issues such as employment, education, climate change, digital inclusion and mental health.

3. Youth Innovation: Recognition of practical solutions devised by young people in climate action, digital entrepreneurship and social innovation in resource-limited environments.

The global situation highlights the urgency of these discussions:

• The world is currently home to 1.3 billion young people (between 15 and 24 years old), the largest generation in history.

• By 2050, 69% of young people will live in low- and middle-income countries (up from 59% in 2025).

• Between 2025 and 2050, the youth population in high and middle income countries is projected to decline by almost 24%.

• Injuries account for nearly half of youth deaths in low-income countries.

• Children and young people are adopting AI technology three times faster than adults, exposing themselves to unique opportunities and risks.

During the summit, delegates participated in debates and workshops organized by the International Youth Organization and presented a Youth-Led Declaration on AI Policy and Governance. This document will directly contribute to the UN’s efforts to define digital governance, including the Digital Global Compact.

This milestone complements previous UN initiatives such as the Global Dialogue on AI Governance, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Youth Advisory Board and the Science, Technology and Innovation Forum.

Prior to the meeting, the International Labour Organization (ILO) published a report warning of a new surge in youth unemployment figures worldwide following the pandemic.

The study indicates that 6.1% of jobs currently held by young people aged 15 to 29 are in the categories most exposed to AI automation, which could displace millions of workers in the coming years if retraining and continuous education processes are not guaranteed.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Equatorial Guinea: Official Web Page of the Government.

Source: APO

The Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI) (www.IsDBInstitute.org) and the Maghreb Bank for Investment and Foreign Trade (BMICE) have signed a grant agreement to support the establishment of an Islamic window within BMICE, marking an important step toward strengthening Islamic finance offerings and expanding access to Shariah-compliant financial services in the Maghreb region.

The agreement, signed on 12 August 2026 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, provides a framework for IsDB Institute to extend technical assistance to BMICE in developing the institutional, regulatory, operational, and capacity-building requirements necessary for the establishment and effective functioning of the Islamic window. The support will contribute to developing a sound and sustainable framework for Islamic finance operations within the Bank, in line with applicable regulatory requirements and internationally recognized Islamic finance principles and standards.

Through this cooperation, IsDB Institute will support BMICE in strengthening its institutional readiness and human capital, developing appropriate Islamic finance products and operational processes, and addressing the legal, regulatory, and Shariah considerations relevant to the establishment of the Islamic window. The initiative is also expected to contribute to enhancing BMICE’s ability to respond to the growing demand for Shariah-compliant financial solutions in the Maghreb region.

The partnership reflects the shared commitment of IsDB Institute and BMICE to advancing Islamic finance as a tool for financial inclusion, private-sector development, and sustainable economic growth. By introducing Islamic finance services within BMICE, the initiative has the potential to broaden financing opportunities for businesses, entrepreneurs, and other economic actors, while supporting the development of a stronger regional Islamic finance ecosystem across the Maghreb.

The signing of the agreement further strengthens the cooperation between IsDB Institute and BMICE and demonstrates the Institute’s commitment to supporting its Member Countries and regional financial institutions in developing effective and enabling Islamic finance frameworks.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB Group).

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About the IsDB Institute:
The Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI) is the knowledge beacon of the Islamic Development Bank Group. Guided by the principles of Islamic economics and finance, the IsDB Institute leads the development of innovative knowledge-based solutions to support the sustainable economic advancement of IsDB Member Countries and various Muslim communities worldwide. The IsDB Institute enables economic development through pioneering research, human capital development, and knowledge creation, dissemination, and management. The Institute leads initiatives to enable Islamic finance ecosystems, ultimately helping Member Countries achieve their development objectives. More information about the IsDB Institute is available on https://IsDBInstitute.org/ 

Source: APO

• ECOWAS is advancing a shared regional approach to carbon markets, with a three-day validation workshop in Abuja bringing together representatives of Member States, regional and international institutions, development partners and technical experts to finalise a framework for a credible, transparent and inclusive regional carbon market platform.

• The initiative seeks to strengthen access to climate finance, build national capacities and enable West Africa to better harness its carbon market potential in support of climate action and sustainable development.

Opening the workshop, the ECOWAS Director of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Christophe Deguenon, stressed that West Africa’s acute vulnerability to climate change and growing financing requirements make it imperative to mobilise innovative sources of climate finance at scale. He noted that the region’s 2022 Regional Strategy for Access to and Mobilisation of Climate Finance estimated financing needs at US$294 billion, with requirements expected to increase further as Member States strengthen their climate commitments. He identified carbon markets and the implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement as important avenues for addressing this financing gap, particularly given West Africa’s substantial natural capital and potential to generate high-integrity carbon credits.

Mr Deguenon recalled that ECOWAS has, since 2024, been advancing a regional process to establish a harmonised carbon market framework based on transparency, environmental integrity, inclusive governance and recognition of Member States’ climate efforts. He described the validation workshop as a critical milestone towards creating a credible and attractive regional mechanism capable of strengthening investor confidence, pooling expertise, reducing transaction costs, building national capacities and positioning West Africa more effectively in international carbon markets.

Welcoming participants to Abuja, Dr. Iniobong Abiola-Awe, Director of the Department of Climate Change at Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Environment, described the ECOWAS initiative as timely and strategic, she noted its potential to mobilise climate finance, incentivise emissions reductions, support nature-based solutions, attract investment, strengthen private-sector participation, and create green jobs.

She highlighted Nigeria’s launch of its national carbon market framework and the ongoing development of its carbon market registry, stressing that a regional platform would complement national efforts through peer learning, knowledge-sharing and stronger regional coordination. She reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to working with ECOWAS, Member States and development partners to translate the framework into practical action.

Following the opening ceremony, participants proceeded to technical sessions examining the framework’s alignment with the ECOWAS Regional Climate Strategy and Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, alongside an article-by-article review of its proposed provisions. Discussions are addressing the platform’s scope, technical architecture, regional carbon register and transaction mechanisms, with the workshop expected to contribute to the validation of the framework and the development of a regional roadmap for its progressive operationalisation.

The initiative forms part of ECOWAS’ broader efforts to advance climate action and mobilise innovative climate finance in line with the ECOWAS Regional Climate Strategy, ECOWAS Vision 2050 and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. Through the development of a harmonised regional carbon market platform, ECOWAS seeks to strengthen cooperation among Member States, support the progressive operationalisation of carbon-market mechanisms, build institutional and technical capacities, and create a more enabling environment for investment in climate action across West Africa. The validated framework is expected to provide a basis for the platform’s adoption and progressive operationalisation, including through a regional roadmap defining the roles, responsibilities and implementation steps for national and regional actors.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).