By Caroline Mwanga

NEW YORK (IDN) – Contrary to the widespread view coloured by the too-common images of young African migrants crossing the Mediterranean, migration in Africa is dominated by Africans moving within Africa, says Ashraf El Nour, the director of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Office to the UN in New York.

They migrate mostly to neighbouring countries, or within the same region. Africa’s share of global migration, which on the whole stood at 258 million in 2017, are 36 million people of which 19 million moved within the continent and 17 million outside Africa, El Nour told Africa Renewal‘s Zipporah Musau.…

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK | PORT VILA (IDN) – One month old Joy Nowai has become the world’s first child to be given a vaccine delivered commercially by drone in a remote island in the South Pacific country of Vanuatu, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported on December 18.

The vaccine delivery through the state-of-the-art craft covered almost 40 kilometres of rugged mountainous terrain from Dillon’s Bay on the west side of the island to the east landing in remote Cook’s Bay, where 13 children and five pregnant women were vaccinated by Miriam Nampil, a registered nurse.…

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – The possibility of a negotiated end to the conflict in Afghanistan has never been more real in the past 17 years than it is now, according to the United Nations top envoy in Afghanistan.

Tadamichi Yamamoto told the Security Council on December 17 he is encouraged by several recent developments, including the appointment of a team to negotiate with the Taliban, the announcement of a peace advisory board representing a broad set of Afghan politicians and recent initiatives by key international partners.…

Viewpoint by Chief Fortune Charumbira

The author is from Vice President of the Pan African Parliament (PAP), and President of the Chief Council in his home country Zimbabwe He gave an opening speech to the Conference titled ‘We the People: Peace in the Horn & the Safety and Future of the Eritrean People’ 12-14 December 2018. He noted that the success of the conference has “the potential to transform” the lives of millions of Eritreans “who have been suffering for several years”. The EU that preaches the respect for human rights as enshrined in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “must be louder in calling for the end of ill treatment of migrants”. The following are extensive excerpts from his address.…

Viewpoint by Graça Machel

The author, who writes this piece following the recent publication of the Africa Report on Child Wellbeing and the African Child-Friendliness Index, is the widow of Nelson Mandela and former First Lady of both South Africa and Mozambique. She is Chair of the International Board of Trustees of the African Child Policy Forum (ACPF).

ADDIS ABABA (IDN) – Nelson Mandela famously said “History will judge us by the difference we make in the everyday lives of children.”…

Berlin a ‘Launch Partner’ to UNDP’s Accelerator Labs in 60 Countries

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has greeted the German government’s decision to raise a further 25 percent in funding from its 2019 core resources, which follows a 60 percent increase for 2018. Germany is currently the largest government donor to UNDP.

Germany – which assumes a seat in the UN Security Council on January 1, 2019 as a non-permanent member for 2019-2020 – has also confirmed that it will become a “launch partner” in supporting UNDP’s pioneering and groundbreaking launch in January 2019 of Accelerator Labs in 60 developing countries.…