Aid and Assistance

[UNFPA] Sofala -- In the early hours of 23 January, Cyclone Eloise - a category two storm bringing winds of up to 160 kilometres per hour - made landfall in Sofala Province in central Mozambique, an area still recovering from the devastation caused by Cyclone Idai nearly two years ago. (AllAfrica)

[IPS] Likuangole -- Located in Jonglei state, one of the most underdeveloped regions of South Sudan, Likuangole is a town badly hit by floods and often battered by conflict. Despite the lack of secondary schools and industry, its residents aspire to transform their lives. But real investment is needed to spur development. (AllAfrica)

[Thomson Reuters Foundation] The new president will revoke a policy which prevents foreign groups providing abortion services or counselling from receiving U.S. funding (AllAfrica)

[Daily News] SOME Chinese medical team here yesterday donated medical equipment worth 348m/- to Zanzibar's two main hospitals- Mnazi-Mmoja in Unguja and Abdalla-Mzee in Pemba Islands. (AllAfrica)

[UN News] UN agencies voiced deep concern on Wednesday over the worsening humanitarian crisis in Mozambique's Cabo Delgado province, where attacks by armed groups have forced more than 565,000 to flee their homes. (AllAfrica)

[East African] The Food Agriculture Organization in collaboration with the European Union on Wednesday launched a three-year project in Somalia to enhance food security by increasing job opportunities in the fisheries and livestock sectors. (AllAfrica)

[allAfrica] Geneva -- After developing under the radar for a number of years, what has been described as a humanitarian disaster in Mozambique's northern Cabo Delgado region is now grabbing the United Nations' attention. (AllAfrica)

[The Conversation Africa] Even after the Trump administration's repeated efforts to slash foreign aid and global partnerships, the United States remains the world's largest source of official development assistance for low-income countries. (AllAfrica)

[allAfrica] Washington, DC -- Despite dire predictions, the Trump Administration's overall policy toward Africa represented continuity. Foreign aid continued; skilled diplomats were appointed and deployed to resolve conflicts; and the signature Africa programs of past presidents remained unabated. The administration launched a trade program, and President Trump himself intervened to mediate a brewing conflict in east Africa. (AllAfrica)

[UNFPA] Pemba -- "I came with nothing. Nothing at all," said Amina Daúde, 25, who travelled by boat to Pemba with her husband and three children to flee the escalating violence in northern Mozambique. (AllAfrica)

[East African] East African governments have resolved to consider alternative ways of financing key donor-funded projects to ensure their sustainability after the British government suspended funding for the regional electronic cargo tracking system (RECTS) last year. (AllAfrica)

[WFP] Maputo -- A combined total of ?7.6 million in funding from the European Union (EU) is helping the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) address the growing food needs in Mozambique driven by climate change, insecurity, displacement and the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, while also strengthening national capacity to respond to natural disasters. (AllAfrica)

[allAfrica] The city of Freetown has become one of five across the world to receive an award to help it expand a waste-management scheme aimed at helping young people in informal settlements to make a living and improve public health amid the challenges of Covid-19. (AllAfrica)

[DW] The conflict between Ethiopia's government and the TPLF is fueling hardship in the Tigray region as sporadic fighting continues. (AllAfrica)

[UN News] The head of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) on Wednesday expressed his deep concern over the humanitarian situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, including its impact on Eritrean refugees hosted there. (AllAfrica)

[African Arguments] Mild threats oblivious to how the NRM system actually operates are not enough. (AllAfrica)

[UN News] Nearly three months after the start of conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region, hundreds of thousands of people have yet to receive assistance, the United Nations reported on Wednesday, citing information from its humanitarian coordination agency, OCHA. (AllAfrica)

[allAfrica] Geneva -- Five years of drought have bludgeoned a "breadbasket" region of Madagascar and, along with the coronavirus, have disrupted local labour patterns in the south, resulting in a looming food crisis. (AllAfrica)

[Namibia Economist] The Development Bank of Namibia's (Dbn) Covid-19 business relief loans which will provide finance equivalent to three months up to a maximum of six months working capital for enterprises affected by COVID-19, will kick off on 18 January. (AllAfrica)

[New Zimbabwe] THE United Kingdom (UK) is releasing an extra US$5,4 million of aid money to immediately provide food, nutrition, water and shelter to 110 000 vulnerable families living in Zimbabwe's urban areas (AllAfrica)

[The New Humanitarian] Geneva -- 'Food supplies are very limited, widespread looting is reported and insecurity is high.' (AllAfrica)

[New Zimbabwe] MTHWAKAZI Republic Party (MRP) has donated a wheelchair to former ZIPRA cadre, Better Tshuma who lost his legs when he was subjected to acts of torture by the Zimbabwean military during the dark Gukurahundi period in the early 1980s. (AllAfrica)

[Premium Times] Also appointed was Kabir Mohammed as Director General, Gombe Media Corporation (GMC). (AllAfrica)

[MSF] Bamako, Mali -- A Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) ambulance transporting patients between Douentza and Sévaré, in central Mali, was violently stopped by armed men for hours on Tuesday 5 January, resulting in the death of one of the patients onboard. MSF strongly condemns this serious obstruction of medical aid, and calls on all parties to the conflict to respect humanitarian and medical action and the civilian population. (AllAfrica)

[Nation] The United Nations has set aside Sh164 million from its Central Emergency Response Fund to fight a possible desert locust upsurge in Kenya. (AllAfrica)

[East African] US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin arrived in Sudan Wednesday on a one-day visit in which he held talks with leaders and discussed economic assistance. (AllAfrica)

[Nation] Russia has contributed Sh109 million to support Kisumu county's Covid-19 response and recovery. (AllAfrica)

[Zimbabwe Independent] The tightening of restrictions by the government last week to curb the spread of the second wave of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic once again exposed the government's lack of preparedness with regards support for vulnerable families. (AllAfrica)

[AIM] Maputo -- The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that shortage of funds may force it to reduce, or even halt, food aid to people displaced from their homes by the terrorist attacks in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado. (AllAfrica)

[allAfrica] Lagos -- Now that COVID-19 vaccines are available, the richest countries in the world have effectively bought them up. African leaders have let them. (AllAfrica)

[The Conversation Africa] Humanitarian organisations - such as the World Food Programme (WFP) - are increasingly using cash transfers as a way of assisting vulnerable people. Conventionally, humanitarian organisations procure food or other goods and distribute it directly to recipients. But cash transfers allow people to choose and purchase what they need for themselves. (AllAfrica)