Dry Water Taps in Nairobi’s Pumwani Slums during COVID-19 Pandemic
By Francis Kinyua: Hand washing is a precautionary measure to curb the spread of COVID-19, but residents of Majengo Pumwani slums in Nairobi are wondering what this means as taps have been dry for the past week. As water taps stopped working in Majengo slums, there is no water for drinking and cooking, let alone to wash hands to curb the spread of COVID-19.
News highlights: Appeal to extend mandate UN Special Rapporteur on Eritrea, Maltese PM implicated in illegal pushbacks, TPLF announces election plans
This week’s news highlights: Appeal to renew UN Special Rapporteur mandate on Eritrea; Tigray region plans to hold elections; Increased vulnerability of women and children in Kenya to domestic and sexual violence; Desert locust and COVID-19 devastating for malnourished children; Eritrean President meets Ethiopian Prime Minister in surprise visit; Eritrean-Ethiopean border divides families; Maltese prime minister implicated in illegal pushback operation; Malta uses private ships for pushback; Armed Forces of Malta ignore ship in distress; Quarantine ends for migrants and refugees on Italian ship; Italian union supports migrants on labour day; UNHCR distributes Ramadan food packages in Libya; UNHCR calls for more EU solidarity; And IOM guidance to curb anti-migration rhetoric.
COVID-19 and LOCUST-20 lead to unprecedented famine in East Africa
This month, communities across East Africa, which are already unsteady from the impact of COVID-19, are now also forced to fight against new swarms of locusts. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) states that the locust outbreaks in Ethiopia and Somalia are the worst in 25 years and in Kenya the worst in 75 years. The FAO expects that swarms will rise in June and July at the time of harvest and could cause ‘biblical’ famines. David Beasley, head of the World Food Programme (WFP) said that urgent action is needed to avoid a catastrophe. The President of the African Development Bank believes that an unprecedented race against time has begun to urgently halt the progression and potentially destructive impact of COVID-19 and the locust swarms in Africa. The European Commission and the FAO have gathered funds to help in the fight against the growing locust swarms but challenges remain due to COVID-19.