Mexico City, Mexico | AFP | Adriana Fargo nervously bites her lip as she waits for news on the fate of her seven-year-old daughter, feared buried in the earthquake-hit remains of a Mexico City elementary and middle school. At least 21 children died when a three story wing of the Enrique …
Read More »Museveni calls for accelerated action to end child marriage
Presidents of Malawi, Uganda and Zambia call for accelerated action to end child marriage in Africa New York, US | UN WOMEN | President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda has emphasized the importance of education for girls and skills training to boost women’s economic empowerment and financial independence in the fight against …
Read More »Inside the brutal world of Ivory Coast’s ‘microbe’ child gangs
Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | Vieux-Pere runs his fingers through his patchy hair as he remembers escaping being lynched. “The locals caught me and hit me everywhere, I still have scars on my skull,” he says. “That’s why I can’t get my hair right,” he says with a laugh. For …
Read More »Sierra Leone mourns 100 children among dead in massive flooding
Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sierra Leone began a week of mourning Wednesday as it emerged that 105 children were among more than 300 people who perished in mudslides and torrential flooding, in one of the country’s worst natural disasters. With 600 people still missing in Freetown, President Ernest Bai …
Read More »Measles outbreak confirmed in Kampala and Wakiso
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda’s Ministry of Health has confirmed there is an active outbreak of Measles in Kampala and Wakiso Districts. All the five divisions of Kampala, as well as several suburbs in Wakiso District are affected. According to a statement released Tuesday, the Ministry of Health surveillance …
Read More »2,000 Philippine mums show breast is best for babies
Manila, Philippines | AFP | Some 2,000 mothers in the Philippines breastfed their babies in public on Saturday in a gathering aimed at cutting infant deaths and dispelling taboos over the practice. To the upbeat sounds of local pop songs, hundreds of mothers suckled their babies inside a cavernous Manila stadium, …
Read More »Boxed in: S.Korea child law sees more babies abandoned
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | The young woman laboured up the steps, past brightly decorated walls akin to a child’s nursery, her daughter in her arms. Opening a hatch in the wall, she put her inside, turned around and walked away. She ran her hands over her head but did …
Read More »Rights groups urge Tanzania to stop threatening civil society
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Tanzania’s government must stop issuing threats against rights groups working with teen mothers or campaigning for gay rights, a joint statement from these organisations said Thursday. President John Magufuli and top government officials have issued a series of statements vowing to deregister or charge non-governmental …
Read More »‘Tragic’ measles vaccine blunder kills 15 children in South Sudan
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | Fifteen children died in South Sudan after receiving contaminated measles vaccines that had not been properly refrigerated, and were mixed using the same syringe for four days. In addition to the blunders handling the vaccine, Health Minister Riek Gai Kok said that two children, …
Read More »At least 29 school children killed in Tanzania bus crash
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | At least 29 final year primary school pupils were killed in a bus crash in northern Tanzania on Saturday, along with two teachers and the driver, the school’s director said. “We lost 29 students and two of our staff, and the driver died too,” said …
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