Category: English

Source: APO – Report:

For thousands of refugee and host community women living in Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee Camp and Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement, resilience is more than a response to adversity, it is a daily reality. 

Faced with economic hardship, displacement, limited livelihood opportunities, and heightened protection risks, many women and girls continue to confront significant barriers to realizing their full potential. 

Through the Government of Japan-funded Project “Enhancing Women’s Resilience in Refugee Camps and Host Communities”, UN Women Kenya, working alongside county government of Turkana, international and national non-governmental organizations, has helped create pathways to safety, economic empowerment, and self-reliance. 

Years after implementation, the project’s impact continues to be felt across refugee and host communities, with women and young people building sustainable livelihoods, accessing essential services, and shaping a more hopeful future.

Kenya hosts one of the largest refugee populations in the Horn of Africa, with more than 300,000 refugees and asylum seekers residing in Kakuma and Kalobeyei. While the Government of Kenya’s Shirika Plan seeks to advance refugee inclusion and self-reliance, women and girls continue to face complex challenges, including poverty, limited access to financial services, restricted economic opportunities, gender-based violence, and unequal access to digital technologies.

Recognizing these barriers, the Enhancing Women’s Resilience in Refugee Camps and Host Communities Project was designed to strengthen the resilience of women and girls through economic empowerment, skills development, protection services, and community engagement. Implemented through a network of partners including the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Refugee Consortium of Kenya (RCK), Don Bosco Kakuma, Peace Winds Japan, and Rural Women Peace Link (RWPL), the initiative sought to equip women and girls with the skills, resources, and support needed to thrive.

A recent UN Women Kenya mission led by Country Representative Antonia Sodonon provided an opportunity to revisit project sites and assess the sustainability of results achieved under the initiative. Across the settlements, one message emerged consistently: investments in women and girls continue to generate transformative change long after project activities have ended.

Among those whose lives have been transformed is Neema, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2023, Neema enrolled in vocational training through the project, pursuing a course in tailoring and dressmaking. The training provided more than technical skills; it offered a pathway toward economic independence and renewed confidence.

Today, Neema operates her own tailoring business in Kakuma, earning an income that supports her family and contributes to household stability. Her growing enterprise has enabled her to build a reputation within the community while opening new possibilities for the future.

“I joined the programme because I wanted a skill that could help me support myself and my family,” Neema says. “Now I have my own business, and I am able to earn an income. My dream is to expand the business and mentor other women so that they can also become self-reliant.”

Neema’s story reflects the wider impact of vocational training interventions implemented through partners such as Don Bosco Kakuma, where refugees and host community members received training in trades including tailoring, mechanics, plumbing, carpentry, and salon services. Through these skills, participants have been able to secure employment, establish businesses, and strengthen their economic resilience.

For Nawar, a refugee from South Sudan, the project provided support at a critical stage in her life. Having arrived in Kenya in 2014, she participated in the project’s   girls’ empowerment initiative before later pursuing hairdressing as a livelihood opportunity. The training equipped her with practical skills that she would eventually transform into a sustainable business.

Today, Nawar operates a hairdressing business from the Women’s Empowerment Centre, earning an income that allows her to support herself and contribute to her family’s well-being.

“The project helped me believe in my abilities and gave me the skills I needed to start something of my own,” she explains. “Through my salon business, I can support my family and plan for a better future.”

Her journey highlights the importance of investing in adolescent girls and young women, particularly in displacement settings where opportunities are often limited. Beyond livelihoods, project interventions also provided girls with access to sexual and reproductive health information, life skills training, sports programmes, and awareness initiatives aimed at reducing vulnerability to child marriage, teenage pregnancy, and school dropout.

The project’s impact is equally evident in the story of Alex, a refugee from South Sudan whose determination and entrepreneurial spirit have transformed skills into opportunity. Through project-supported mechanical training, Alex acquired technical expertise that enabled him to establish a spare parts shop and a mini garage in Kakuma.

What began as vocational training has since evolved into a thriving business that supports not only his livelihood but also those of other young people in the settlement.

“The training gave me practical skills that I could immediately use to earn a living,” Alex says. “Today, I train other young people in mechanical work so that they can also gain skills, find opportunities, and become self-reliant.”

His story demonstrates how investments in technical and vocational education can create ripple effects that extend far beyond individual beneficiaries, generating employment opportunities and strengthening community resilience.

Beyond livelihoods, the project also strengthened protection systems for women and girls. Through collaboration with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), survivor-centred services were expanded through the Gender Violence Recovery Centre, providing medical care, psychosocial support, counselling, and referral services for survivors of violence. Partnerships with the Refugee Consortium of Kenya (RCK) enhanced access to justice through legal aid services, while collaboration with community actors strengthened prevention and response efforts. Additionally, engagement with Peace Winds Japan and refugee-led organizations helped advance youth skills development, water access, and community resilience initiatives that continue to benefit refugee and host populations.

The success of the Enhancing Women’s Resilience in Refugee Camps and Host Communities Project demonstrates the value of long-term investments in women and girls. By combining economic empowerment, protection, skills development, and community partnerships, the initiative has helped create lasting pathways toward self-reliance and inclusion. Most importantly, it has empowered women and young people to become active contributors to their communities, proving that resilience flourishes when individuals are provided with opportunities, support, and the tools to shape their own futures.

As Kenya advances its vision of refugee inclusion and shared prosperity under the Shirika Plan, the experiences of Neema, Nawar, and Alex serve as powerful reminders that meaningful change is possible when governments, donors, UN agencies, civil society organizations, and communities work together. From tailoring workshops and hair salons to mechanical garages and strengthened protection services, the legacy of this Government of Japan-supported initiative lives on through the countless individuals whose lives have been transformed and whose aspirations continue to inspire hope for a more resilient future.

– on behalf of UN Women – Africa.

Source: APO – Report:

The speed and quality of medical care during an emergency are critical. Yet, many African countries lack permanent, self-sufficient medical teams that can rapidly deploy to save lives and maintain essential health services.

African health ministers are addressing this by adopting the Regional framework on emergency medical teams, 2026–2030, at the Seventy-sixth session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa. Member States have committed to establishing at least one functional national emergency medical team in every country by 2030. This marks a collective commitment to build nationally led, sustainably financed, and quality-assured teams integrated into national emergency response systems.

This decision comes as the Region faces over 100 significant public health events annually, including disease outbreaks, climate-related disasters, and humanitarian crises, often exacerbated by conflict, displacement, and fragile health systems. It signifies a decisive shift towards permanent national teams that are trained, tested, and ready to deploy.

“This framework marks a shift from reaction to readiness. Strong national medical teams will save lives, protect essential services and strengthen health security across Africa,” said Dr Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa.

Emergency medical teams comprise clinical, public health, and operational professionals who can rapidly reinforce health services. They require clear leadership, standardized procedures, adequate medical equipment, and effective infection prevention and control, patient referral, and health information systems.

Since the initiative launched in the Region in 2017, WHO has helped countries develop national capacity. Thirty Member States have completed awareness activities, over 26 have advanced to structured training, and national teams have undertaken more than 46 deployments, including two outside the Region. Between 2017 and December 2025, 29 international teams were also deployed at the request of 32 Member States, with three-quarters responding to disease outbreaks.

WHO has developed a ten-step pathway covering a team’s full life cycle, from governance and recruitment to training, logistics, deployment, and after-deployment learning. It has also established a regional training and simulation hub in Addis Ababa and supported readiness assessments, simulations, deployments, validation, and classification, helping countries move from planning to trained and deployable teams.

“Preparedness means having trained, equipped and self-sufficient teams ready to deploy when they are needed most,” said Dr Marie-Roseline Darnycka Belizaire, Regional Emergency Director.

However, progress remains uneven. Only seven countries have teams demonstrating advanced operational readiness or alignment with WHO minimum standards, while Senegal has the Region’s only internationally classified team. About 80% of operational national teams remain project-based or externally supported, hindering personnel retention, equipment maintenance, and readiness between emergencies.

The framework calls on governments to anchor teams within ministries of health, national public health institutes, emergency operations centers, and incident management systems.

Countries will establish accountable governance structures, multidisciplinary rosters, rapid activation procedures, and dedicated financing, while investing in standardized equipment, deployable infrastructure, simulations, and self-sufficient logistics. These arrangements must protect routine health services and the physical and psychosocial well-being of responders.

Quality, equity, and accountability are integral to the framework. Countries will assess readiness, address gaps, and pursue WHO validation or classification. Emergency care must protect dignity and meet the needs of vulnerable people, while cross-border agreements, joint exercises, and One Health coordination will enable faster regional assistance.

By 2028, at least 80% of Member States should have governance mechanisms and integrated teams, while at least half should have initiated or achieved progressive validation. By 2030, every country should have at least one operational team, and at least 80% should have teams validated or classified against WHO standards.

With the framework adopted, the Region enters a new phase of national action. By securing sustainable financing, building the workforce, and maintaining trained, equipped, and deployable teams, countries can ensure life-saving medical care is accessible when the next emergency occurs.

– on behalf of WHO Regional Office for Africa.

Source: APO – Report:

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The Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, conveys his deepest condolences to H.E. Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, her family, and the people of Tanzania on the passing of her husband, H.E. Hafidh Ameir Hassan.

H.E. Mr Youssouf extends his profound sympathy to H.E. President Samia and her family during this difficult period and wishes them strength, courage and solace. He prays for the peaceful repose of the departed soul. Inalilahi wainailehi rajiun.

– on behalf of African Union (AU).

Source: APO – Report:

The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa has launched the Regional Health Data Hub (RDHUB) that brings together health information from across the region to facilitate access, analysis and use of trusted data by countries for decisions that improve health outcomes.

Across the African Region, governments rely on timely and reliable health information to respond to disease outbreaks, improve maternal and child health, plan health services and allocate resources. Yet the data needed to guide these decisions are often fragmented across multiple systems, making it challenging to obtain a complete and timely picture of population health.

The RDHUB, launched during the Seventy-sixth session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa (RC76) held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 25 to 27 August 2026, aims to address this challenge by connecting data from different health programmes and information systems and transforming fragmented information into actionable health intelligence. By bringing relevant information together, the platform allows users to explore trends, compare progress and identify emerging health priorities.

“We believe that no country in our region should have to make critical health decisions without access to the information it needs, and no health data generated with public resources should remain unused simply because it’s fragmented or difficult to interpret,” said Dr Abdouramane Diallo, Director of Programme Management, WHO African Region.

The platform currently includes 53 datasets and 7965 indicators. All indicators have been formally registered, with their metadata defined and validated in collaboration with WHO clusters and countries. So far, 65% of datasets have been ingested, while data for 45% of indicators are available through the web portal. The target is to reach at least 80% dataset ingestion by the end of 2026.

The Hub is designed to support all 47 Member States of the WHO African Region, as well as public health institutions, researchers, development partners and other users. It provides access to publicly available indicators and analytical products through the web portal, while more detailed country-level information and country-specific analytical products are made available through appropriate access arrangements.

One of the key strengths of the platform is its ability to bring together information from different sources to support more informed decisions. For example, in immunization planning, decision-makers can combine population data, vaccination coverage, disease surveillance and other health indicators to identify areas with low coverage or increased disease risk.

By triangulating information from different sources, countries can gain a more complete understanding of health needs and better target interventions, resources and investments.

The RDHUB was developed in response to a mandate from Member States and is intended to complement, rather than replace, national health information systems. Countries retain ownership of their data while benefiting from common standards that promote interoperability, data quality and secure information sharing.

This approach is supported by a regional data governance framework that clarifies ownership, stewardship, access rights and responsibilities between Member States and WHO. It is intended to strengthen transparency, accountability and responsible data stewardship while building trust in the use and sharing of health information.

“The Hub is being developed alongside a data governance framework that clarifies ownership, stewardship, access rights, and responsibilities between Member States and WHO,” said Dr Nancy Njeru Mucogo, Director, Healthcare Financing, Digital Health, Policy and Research Standards, Ministry of Health, Kenya.

For countries, reliable evidence is essential not only for planning but also for ensuring that health decisions respond to the realities on the ground. Dr Ahmadou Lamin Samateh of The Gambia’s Ministry of Health highlighted the importance of strengthening the use of evidence in national decision-making.

“Each country is trying to do its best in ensuring that information is correct, but they are not guided. So, evidence-based decision-making is very, very important and useful,” he said.

The Hub also provides a foundation for stronger regional collaboration and learning. By making comparable health information more accessible, it can support countries to benchmark progress, identify common challenges and learn from approaches that have worked elsewhere in the Region.

“There is a need for regional linkages to promote regional benchmarking, epidemic intelligence, and predictive analytics,” said Dr George Sinyangwe, Permanent Secretary, Donor Coordination, Ministry of Health, Zambia. “These virtues will strengthen our ability to identify trends, anticipate risks, and make evidence-based decisions more rapidly at national and regional levels.”

As the platform continues to evolve, additional datasets and indicators will be integrated, alongside enhanced analytical tools and more comprehensive Country Profiles tailored to national priorities. Artificial intelligence will also be further leveraged to support automated narrative generation, pattern identification and decision-support capabilities.

The next phase will also focus on strengthening the integration of diverse datasets, enabling better triangulation of information and a more holistic understanding of health situations across the Region.

The ambition is not simply to collect more data, but to ensure that existing health information is put to work. By turning fragmented data into actionable intelligence, the Regional Health Data Hub will support evidence-based decision-making, collaboration and accountability across the African Region — helping countries make better decisions that can lead to better health outcomes for millions of people.
 

– on behalf of WHO Regional Office for Africa.

Source: APO – Report:

Now well into its fourth year, the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has created a massive humanitarian emergency, with more than six million people displaced internally and another 4.5 million forced to seek shelter across Sudan’s borders.

In his appeal for an end to the violence, UN rights chief Mr. Türk warned about the deteriorating situation in Kordofan, Blue Nile, and North and West Darfur, stressing that civilians remain at “imminent” risk. 

Ceasefire call

“There needs to be an immediate ceasefire, an end to foreign involvement, and a return to inclusive civilian rule,” he insisted.

The High Commissioner’s appeal follows the publication of a new report into the conflict by senior independent investigators appointed by the Human Rights Council. 

Their key findings include the increasing use of long-range drones against civilians and the significant support allegedly provided to paramilitary rebel fighters by “individuals and entities” in the UAE, Chad, southeastern Libya and Puntland in Somalia.

“Both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are increasingly using long-range drones, resulting in attacks now reaching far beyond traditional front lines,” said Mohamed Othman, chair of the Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan, which was created by the Council in Geneva in October 2023.

Mr. Othman also stressed that drone strikes had injured and killed civilians “in their homes, schools, hospitals, markets, displacement sites and places of refuge and while attending weddings, funerals and other community gatherings”. 

Turning to El Obeid city in North Kordofan, where access is heavily contested, the human rights investigator warned that “repeated RSF drone attacks” had impacted water, energy and other vital civilian infrastructure.

“These attacks underscore that these risks remain acute, as civilians continue to face repeated aerial threats, displacement and pressure on already strained essential services”, he said, in a city under partial siege by the RSF.

The fact-finding mission’s report highlights how both parties to the conflict have carried out attacks on civilians.

These included “successive” RSF drone strikes on a kindergarten and a hospital in Kalogie, South Kordofan, that left 114 dead including 60 children, along with SAF attacks on Ad-Da’ein Teaching Hospital that killed at least 70 people.

“Based on the evidence gathered, we found reasonable grounds to believe that both the SAF and the RSF committed serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law which may amount to war crimes,” Mr. Othman told the Council.

Healthcare devastation

In a separate update from Khartoum, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Monday that the devastation of three key hospitals in the capital has been repeated across the country.

Before the conflict, Khartoum Teaching Hospital, the Ophthalmology Hospital and the Dental Hospital were major referral and teaching hospitals. Today, their buildings and medical equipment have sustained extensive damage. 

“Operating theatres have been destroyed, imaging equipment lost and several wards have collapsed,” said WHO Representative in Sudan, Dr Abdinasir Abubakar. “Entire blocks and departments are out of service. The buildings need urgent structural repair before patients can be admitted safely.”

Despite the difficult working conditions, hospital staff remain present to treat patients “in the parts of the buildings that remain usable”, Dr Abubakar continued, in an appeal for assistance to repair the “immense” damage. 

– on behalf of UN News.

Source: APO – Report:

• During the last week of August, MSF teams in Mauritania and Senegal assisted people who had disembarked from boats attempting to cross to the Canary Islands.
• Our support included providing medical care, essential items, and emergency mental health care.
• West African and European governments must put in place safe and legal pathways for migration.

A total of 1,046 people who survived attempted boat crossings on the Atlantic migration route disembarked in a vulnerable condition during the last week of August at three West African cities: Nouadhibou in Mauritania, and Rosso and Dakar in Senegal.

The survivors were onboard seven boats in distress that had departed from The Gambia and were heading for the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean — one of the longest migration routes in the world — before becoming stranded at sea. They were rescued and brought to shore, where Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) medical teams provided them with emergency medical support in collaboration with the Mauritanian Red Crescent in Nouadhibou and with the International Organization for Migration in Rosso and Dakar.

They were suffering from medical conditions that included extreme dehydration, unconsciousness, bone fractures, extreme fatigue, and skin, gastric and respiratory infections from being stranded for an extended period of time at sea. The survivors included 134 women, including one who is pregnant, and 88 minors in need of protection.

Most survivors came from Senegal and The Gambia; others came from Mali, Guinea, and Côte d’Ivoire. Many told our team that they had suffered violence in their country of origin as well as along the migration route. One survivor who disembarked in Dakar said that he was beaten by a smuggler and unidentified men to force him to pay more money for the crossing. A female survivor told our team that a smuggler took her crossing payment and then raped her ahead of boarding the boat.

“When people take a 2,000-kilometre route that is currently the deadliest in the world, they must be escaping something worse,” says Dalil Adji, head of mission for MSF’s migration task force in West Africa. “People we support frequently tell our teams that they took the route to escape violence and extreme conditions in their country of origin, only to be met with more violence along the way.”

“We call on the governments of West Africa and Europe to prevent this human toll by putting in place safe and legal pathways for people to seek safety, and by creating a migration response that prioritises human life, dignity, and timely assistance,” says Adji.

In addition to providing emergency medical support, MSF teams referred severe cases for specialised medical care and provided survivors with water, food, blankets, and dignity kits, as well as emergency mental health care.

Our teams have been assisting people who disembark from distressed boats from the Atlantic route since 2024. From the launch of the project, MSF teams have been bearing witness to the growing human toll of this migration route, and the level of vulnerability among those who take it. Despite the evident dangers, people continue to take this risky route for lack of alternatives.

– on behalf of Médecins sans frontières (MSF).

Source: APO

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The Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), the equity investment arm of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) (www.Afreximbank.com), has made significant progress in expanding its membership, with the Republic of Senegal and the Republic of Liberia acceding to the FEDA Establishment Agreement, and the Republic of Zimbabwe and the Republic of Angola ratifying the Agreement.

These latest milestones further strengthen FEDA’s growing membership and mandate across the continent and reflects its strategic importance to closing the equity funding gap on the continent.

The accession of Senegal and Liberia, which brings FEDA’s membership to twenty-four countries, together with the ratification of its Establishment Agreement by Zimbabwe and Angola, provides a stronger foundation for FEDA to support strategic industrial and critical mineral processing investment opportunities in these countries, including logistics, agro-processing, energy, manufacturing, financial services, and strategic mineral processing.

FEDA’s expanding membership broadens the geographic scope of its interventions and strengthens its ability to deploy long-term domestic capital in support of transformative regional investments. The Fund provides equity, quasi-equity and other forms of patient capital to projects and businesses that advance economic diversification, regional integration and export development.

As FEDA continues to grow its continental footprint, the Fund will work closely with its member states to identify investment opportunities that combine strong commercial fundamentals with measurable development impact. This includes mobilising additional capital alongside FEDA’s own resources and building partnerships with public and private investors to increase the scale of investment available to African businesses and strategic projects.

Dr George Elombi, President and Chairman of both the Board of Directors of Afreximbank and FEDA, said: “These latest membership milestones demonstrate the growing confidence of African governments in the institutions they own and control and their commitment to building strong institutions capable of mobilising and deploying African capital for Africa’s development. As the Afreximbank Group pursues its African industrialisation agenda, FEDA’s equity and quasi-equity instruments will become critical to executing strategic industrial projects at national and regional levels. The growing membership of the fund will, therefore, help to catalyse such investments across the continent.”  

Emmanuel Assiak, Chief Executive Officer of FEDA, said: “FEDA’s continued membership growth significantly expands the markets in which we can pursue our mandate and build stronger partnerships with governments and the private sector. Senegal, Liberia, Angola and Zimbabwe each offer compelling opportunities for investment across strategic sectors of their economies. We look forward to translating this expanded footprint into investments that strengthen local and regional value chains, support competitive African businesses and deliver sustainable economic impact.”

Over the past five years, FEDA has also significantly strengthened its investment capacity, with Afreximbank’s commitment increasing from US$100 million to US$1.3 billion, enabling the Fund to expand its investment activities across a broader range of regions and sectors.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Afreximbank.

Media Contact:
Vincent Musumba
Communications and Events Manager (Media Relations)
Email: press@afreximbank.com

About FEDA:
The Fund for Export Development in Africa (“FEDA”) is the impact investment subsidiary of Afreximbank (www.afreximbank.com), set up to provide equity, quasi-equity, and debt capital to finance the multi-billion-dollar funding gap (particularly in equity) needed to transform the Trade sector in Africa. FEDA pursues a multi-sector investment strategy along the intra-African trade, value-added export development, and manufacturing value chain which includes financial services, technology, consumer and retail goods, manufacturing, transport & logistics, agribusiness, as well as ancillary trade enabling infrastructure such as industrial parks.

About Afreximbank:
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra- and extra-African trade. For over 30 years, the Bank has been deploying innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialisation and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa. A strong supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA. Working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, the Bank has set up a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund to support countries effectively participating in the AfCFTA. At the end of December 2025, Afreximbank’s total assets and contingencies stood at over US$48.5 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$8.4 billion. Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by China Chengxin International Credit Rating Co., Ltd (CCXI) (AAA), GCR (A), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-), Moody’s (Baa2) and S&P Global Ratings (BBB+). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.