Author: Amnewsworld

IOM estimates that more than 650,000 undocumented migrants will return in 2021 all in dire need of humanitarian support at a time when donor funding is a small fraction of what is needed. Over the last year, more than one million Afghan migrants have returned or been deported to Afghanistan from neighboring Pakistan and Iran as COVID-19 continues to deprive many of employment and health care. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that more than 650,000 undocumented migrants will return in 2021 — all of whom will be in dire need of humanitarian support at a time when donor funding…

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Accra, Ghana, working in close collaboration with Ghana’s Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) this week organized the safe return of 13 child survivors of trafficking to their home country, Côte d’Ivoire. The youths, now reunited with their families on March 15, had been exploited by traffickers on farms in Ghana’s Volta Region after being brought to the country by traffickers. “” Regardless of where someone comes from, victims are victims, and must be given the best support possible,” said Abena Annobea Asare, Head of the Human Trafficking Secretariat of the…

UNEP finds a fifth of the world’s river basins are experiencing dramatic fluctuations in water availability, and 2.3 billion people live in countries categorized as “water-stressed”. Over 3 billion people globally are at risk of disease because of the water quality of their rivers, lakes and groundwater due to a lack of data. Meanwhile, a fifth of the world’s river basins are experiencing dramatic fluctuations in water availability, and 2.3 billion people live in countries categorized as “water-stressed,” including 721 million in areas where the water situation is “critical,” according to recent research carried out by the United Nations Environment…

Amid social unrest that is preventing children from accessing essential services, the purchasing power of Lebanon’s currency has fallen to a record low, resulting in soaring inflation and dwindling wages. As the economic situation in Lebanon continues to deteriorate, children and their families are feeling the effects first-hand. The purchasing power of the local currency has fallen to a record low, resulting in soaring inflation and dwindling wages, and leaving vulnerable families in a daily battle to survive [I], warns Save the Children. In addition to that, increasing social unrest and lack of safety in streets across Lebanon are having…

Since January this year, attacks blamed on the Allied Democratic Forces have killed nearly 200 people, injured dozens and displaced almost 40,000 people in Beni Territory in North Kivu and Ituri provinces. The UN Refugee Agency is warning about an alarming increase in the number of attacks by an armed group on civilians in the north-eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Since January, attacks blamed on the armed group, Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), have killed nearly 200 people, injured dozens of others, and displaced an estimated 40,000 people in the DRC’s Beni Territory in North Kivu province…

It’s driven by the widely reported internment of Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China, which has been termed a genocide by human rights groups. A broad coalition representing Uyghurs, Tibetans, Hong Kong, and Chinese democracy campaigners is pushing for everything from a hard boycott to a so-called diplomatic boycott. Activists are also reaching out to national Olympic committees, athletes, and sponsors after failing to get the International Olympic Committee to move the games out of China. Beijing is the first city to win the right to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics. The 2008 Beijing Olympics were…

AstraZeneca says a review of safety data of people vaccinated with its COVID-19 vaccine has shown no evidence of an increased risk of blood clots. Key points: Ireland is the latest country to suspend the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. AstraZeneca, the European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organization all say the vaccine is safe. Irish authorities concede they “may be overreacting” AstraZeneca’s review, which covered more than 17 million people vaccinated in the United Kingdom and European Union, came after health authorities in some countries suspended the use of the vaccine over clotting issues. “A careful review of…

The Chinese capital Beijing was shrouded in thick brown dust on Monday morning as a result of heavy winds blowing in from Inner Mongolia and other parts of northwestern China. The China Meteorological Administration announced a yellow alert on Monday morning, saying that the sandstorms had spread from Inner Mongolia into the provinces of Gansu, Shanxi and Hebei, which surrounds Beijing. Beijing’s official air quality index reached a maximum level of 500 on Monday morning, with floating particles known as PM10 reaching 2,000 micrograms per cubic meter in some districts. Readings of PM2.5, smaller particles that infiltrate the lungs, were…

The Netherlands and Ireland joined a host of countries temporarily halting the use of the vaccine following reports of blood clotting and low platelet count in Norway and Denmark. The Netherlands became the latest country to suspend the use of the COVID-19 vaccine after reports from Denmark and Norway about possible serious side effects. The Dutch government said that it would suspend the use until March 29. The move follows a clash between the police and anti-lockdown protesters in The Hague, a day before a three-day general election. The police arrested 20 people, used water cannon on protesters after they…

A new online platform visualizing data on the lives and journeys of refugees and migrants is now available as the Mixed Migration Centre has launched “4Mi Interactive”. Refugees and migrants are certainly among the most affected by COVID-19 – but how exactly did refugees and migrants in Colombia experience the crisis? How did their access to health services differ compared to refugees and migrants in North Africa? What have the impacts of COVID-19 been on the use of smugglers in Asia? To explore the answers to such questions and much more, Mixed Migration Centre (MMC), a part of the Danish…