MIL Africa Engine

Source: APO – Report:

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To address the high burden of tuberculosis (TB) in the country, the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho officially launched its National TB Parliamentary Caucus in a high-level event held on Friday, 8 May 2026, in Maseru. The launch was led by the Rt Hon. Speaker of the National Assembly, Tlohang Sekhamane, and attended by the Minister of Health, Hon. ‘Mamokete Ntšekhe, the Global TB Caucus Chairperson, Rt Hon Lord Nick, parliamentarians, heads of diplomatic missions, the Head of TB Caucus in Africa, Hon Stephen Mule, Regional Representatives, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders.

The establishment of the Caucus marks a decisive step toward a unified, multifaceted national response to tuberculosis (TB).

In his keynote remarks, Rt Hon Speaker Sekhamane emphasized that the creation of the TB Caucus demonstrates Parliament’s readiness to play a pivotal role in combating TB. He noted that TB is not only a health issue but also a developmental challenge, affecting education, the economy, and livelihoods. “It requires a multisectoral approach,” he said, stressing the need for collaboration across sectors.

Minister of Health, Hon ‘Mamokete Ntšekhe, highlighted Lesotho’s progress toward global TB targets. The country has achieved a 33 percent reduction in TB mortality and a 30 percent reduction in TB incidence, moving closer to the Sustainable Development Goal 2030 and End TB Strategy 2035 benchmarks. However, she cautioned that these gains remain insufficient, stressing the need to intensify efforts significantly to meet the ambitious targets.

WHO Representative to Lesotho, Dr. Innocent Nuwagira, praised the initiative as both timely and commendable. “Parliament has a unique and decisive role to play through legislation, budgetary allocation, oversight, and public advocacy,” he said. He added that the Caucus provides a critical platform to strengthen domestic financing, enhance accountability, and ensure equitable access to TB services, particularly for vulnerable populations.

The event also saw Rt Hon Speaker Sekhamane named as the National TB Champion, a powerful signal of national leadership and commitment to the fight against TB. By extension, members of parliament are TB Champions in their respective constituencies. 

Lesotho now joins a growing number of countries that have established Parliamentary TB Caucuses as part of the Global TB Caucus movement. Similar initiatives have been launched in nations across Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America, creating a worldwide network of parliamentarians committed to ending TB. These caucuses provide platforms for lawmakers to collaborate, share best practices, and mobilize political will, ensuring that TB remains high on national and international agendas.

Tuberculosis remains the world’s deadliest communicable disease. According to the World Health Organization, TB claimed 1.23 million lives in 2024, including 150 000 people living with HIV. In the same year, approximately 10.7 million people fell ill with TB, highlighting the scale of the crisis. Beyond its mortality rate, TB poses a growing challenge due to drug resistance, making the need to intensify action urgent.

– on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO) – Lesotho.

Source: APO – Report:

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The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, has appointed H.E. Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to support AU Commission’s efforts towards peace and stability in the Horn of Africa,

Announcing the appointment, the AUC Chairperson stated: “President Obasanjo brings unparalleled experience, wisdom, and credibility to this important assignment”.

In this capacity, President Obasanjo will engage with all relevant stakeholders and parties with a view to building confidence, sustaining dialogue, and supporting ongoing efforts towards lasting peace, stability, reconciliation in the Horn of Africa.

The AUC Chairperson expressed his deep appreciation to President Obasanjo for accepting this responsibility and reaffirmed the African Union’s continued commitment to supporting sustainable peace in the region.

– on behalf of African Union (AU).

Source: APO – Report:

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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warn that the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to face one of the world’s largest and most severe hunger crises.

Today, over 26.5 million people—nearly one in four Congolese—are struggling to meet their basic food needs, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis update. Among them, more than 3.6 million people are in emergency conditions, facing critical food shortages that threaten their survival without urgent assistance.

Although the latest projections show a slight improvement compared to previous estimates, the situation remains above levels recorded in the September–December 2025 period, when 24.8 million people were facing crisis or worse levels of hunger—highlighting the deepening and protracted nature of the crisis. This underscores the entrenched dynamics, particularly in the most affected provinces – North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri and Tanganyika – where conflict continues to uproot families, destroy livelihoods, disrupt markets and limit access to farmland.

Across the country, there are more than 7.8 million internally displaced people, many of whom have lost their homes, fields, livestock and sources of income. At the same time, persistently high food prices, disrupted supply chains and recurrent disease outbreaks, including cholera, measles and Mpox, are pushing already fragile communities closer to the brink.

The nutrition situation is particularly alarming. An estimated 4.18 million children under five require treatment for acute malnutrition (January–June 2026). Of these, more than 1.3 million children are suffering or expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition, a life-threatening condition that can become fatal within weeks if untreated. In addition, over 1.5 million pregnant and breastfeeding women are projected to be acutely malnourished, further compounding health risks for both mothers and children.

FAO and WFP also warn that humanitarian assistance continues to fall critically short of needs, and without urgent and sustained investment, the crisis risks deepening further, with potentially irreversible consequences for millions of people.

In 2026, FAO is already supporting 55,500 crisis-affected families in North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri and Tanganyika through a USD 10 million allocation from the DRC Humanitarian Fund. This support includes seeds, tools and livelihood inputs, as well as cash-based assistance where feasible, helping families restore food production, protect their assets and reduce dependence on food assistance. FAO urgently requires USD 163 million to scale up this life-saving agricultural support before critical planting windows are missed.

“Every missed agricultural season increases dependence on humanitarian assistance,” said Athman Mravili, FAO Representative a.i. “When families receive seeds, tools and timely livelihood support, they can produce food within weeks, protect their dignity and avoid falling deeper into hunger. But this support must arrive before planting windows close.”

FAO and WFP reiterate the urgent need for a dual approach that combines life-saving assistance with longer-term support to agriculture, livelihoods and food systems, while ensuring safe and sustained humanitarian access.

Since January 2026, WFP’s emergency food and cash assistance has reached nearly 1.3 million people, only a fraction of those in need in the most affected eastern provinces. Among them, just 389,000 children and mothers received nutrition assistance between January and March 2026, far below the scale required. Limited humanitarian access due to insecurity, combined with a funding shortfall of USD214 million through October, continues to constrain the response and force difficult prioritization decisions.

“Far from easing, the crisis has become entrenched and increasingly complex, trapping millions of vulnerable households in a cycle of persistent need,” said David Stevenson, WFP Representative. “Humanitarian assistance is a lifeline, but it must be scaled up urgently to match the magnitude of needs. Beyond emergency support, sustained investment in resilient food systems and integrated solutions is essential to help communities withstand shocks and move toward recovery.”

– on behalf of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO): Regional Office for Africa.

Source: APO – Report:

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Veld fires continue to damage ecosystems and rural livelihoods, making early preparedness more urgent as conditions grow hotter and drier. Against this backdrop, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), with support from the Government of Canada launched the three-year Integrated Fire Management ‘Capacity Building and Knowledge Exchange and Global Indigenous Fire Network’ project in the context of Zimbabwe’s 2026 National Fire Week, reinforcing a shift from reactive firefighting to more coordinated, prevention-led and risk-informed fire management.

“This reflects the confidence that the international community places in our country’s commitment to environmental protection, climate resilience and sustainable land management,” said His Excellency Kembo Mohadi, Vice President of the Republic of Zimbabwe in a keynote address launching the project underlining Government’s approach to addressing uncontrolled fires while supporting livelihoods.

The new initiative is designed to strengthen global, regional national and local capacities to implement Integrated Fire Management (IFM), an approach that encompasses actions before, during and after fires, recognizing that extreme wildfires are becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change and land-use change. The IFM project aims to strengthen the implementation of integrated fire management globally, with targeted activities in Zimbabwe and six other project countries in Southern Africa and Asia.

“Canada is proud to support this Global Integrated Fire Management initiative, working alongside FAO and the Government of Zimbabwe to strengthen prevention and preparedness. By investing in practical tools, training and partnerships, we can reduce the impacts of wildfires on livelihoods and ecosystems and advance safer, more resilient communities,” George Polanyi-Williamson, Second Secretary at the Embassy of Canada to Zimbabwe.

The launch of this global project in Zimbabwe builds on a wider global effort that began in 2023, when FAO, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and other partners launched the Global Fire Management Hub, a collaborative partnership to scale integrated fire management. The Fire Hub brings together science, data, best practices and capacity development to strengthen national systems, promote collaboration across regions facing similar challenges, and complement, not replace, existing initiatives for wider and more sustainable impact.

“This project will enhance prevention and preparedness, support practical tools and training, and contribute to reducing the impacts of wildfires on livelihoods and ecosystems. Implementation will be aligned with national priorities and carried out in close collaboration with government institutions and partners,’ said Patrice Talla, FAO Subregional Coordinator for Southern Africa and Representative to Zimbabwe.

To translate commitment into action, FAO is convening a two-day workshop to begin implementation of the IFM project by aligning country priorities with the Fire Hub approach and translating them into actionable, co-created implementation plans.

Bringing together country and partner perspectives and experiences, the workshop will strengthen shared understanding of IFM, embed cross-cutting priorities such as climate adaptation planning and gender-responsive, inclusive approaches, and support structured collaboration to develop workplans that clarify priority actions, roles, partnerships and delivery pathways, ensuring a coherent, results-focused rollout beyond the launch.

“Integrated fire management is most effective when it combines science, practical tools and strong local institutions with the knowledge and leadership of communities. Through this project, FAO is supporting countries to move from seasonal response to sustained integrated fire management approaches in support of climate change adaptation and resilience,’ said Amy Duchelle, FAO Senior Forestry Officer.

Following the launch and workshop, the project will move into structured implementation over three years, anchored on country-driven priorities and strengthened regional and international cooperation, with emphasis on strengthened fire data systems, community-based approaches, practical capacity development and links to adaptation policies and planning. Lessons learned and good practices will be scaled globally through the Fire Hub.

– on behalf of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO): Regional Office for Africa.

Source: APO – Report:

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About half of children under 5 in Somalia are facing acute malnutrition as poor rains and rising costs drive up hunger levels, with risk of famine announced for the first time in four years, Save the Children said.

New data from the global hunger monitor, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), showed that over 1.88 million children aged 6–59 months are suffering from acute malnutrition, including 493,000 cases of severe acute malnutrition (SAM),  a 2% increase since data in February. 

In addition, over 6 million people, or one in three people, are now experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity with over 1.9 million people facing emergency levels of food insecurity, signalling urgent action is needed to save lives and livelihoods.

Burhakaba district in the Bay region of southwest Somalia has been classified to be facing the risk of famine through June 2026 – the first time such a classification has been announced in Somalia since the devastating drought of 2022.

This classification means that at least one out of three children are expected to be acutely malnourished, with many more children expected to die from preventable diseases due to complications without urgent intervention.

Failed rains, a sharp spike in food price due to the conflict in the Middle East, depreciation of the Somali Shilling in the south, and conflict‑related displacement have combined to push more people into hunger since the previous forecast in February.

Suad*, 45, a mother of five, is living with three of her children in a makeshift tent at a camp for displaced people fleeing drought and conflict in the outskirts of Kismayo city, Somalia. This is the second time she has sought refuge in this camp,  having been displaced four years ago at the peak of Somalia’s worst drought in recent memory. 

She told Save the Children: “The situation is very dire. We have nothing to eat. We have nothing to sleep on and cover ourselves at night. You see my small child has even burned himself on the hands while trying to look for something to eat in other houses in the camps.”

Mohamed Mohamud Hassan, Country Director for Save the Children in Somalia, said:   

“Somalia is in the grip of a deepening humanitarian catastrophe. Children are dying from preventable causes — malnutrition, disease, displacement — while funding falls far short of what is urgently needed. 

“The window to prevent famine in Burhakaba and wider deterioration across Somalia is closing fast. We call on the international community to act now, scale up lifesaving assistance, and ensure that no child dies because the world looked away.”

Save the Children is calling on the international community to urgently increase humanitarian funding to meet the needs of over 6 million people requiring assistance, prioritise support for nutrition and health programmes to prevent child deaths, and invest in longer-term resilience programming.

Save the Children has been working in Somalia since 1951, delivering life-saving health, nutrition, education and protection services. 

– on behalf of Save the Children.