News from Eritrea
Nigerian officials say the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on the economy and social distancing have tripled the number of mental health cases. In response, Nigeria has launched the first toll-free, 24-hour helpline staffed by trained psychologists and counselors. Timothy Obiezu reports from Abuja.
Source: Voice of America
The National Association of Eritrean War Disabled Veterans (NAEWDV) has in the past 30 years of independence spent 132 million Nakfa in rehabilitation of 6 thousand 110 of its members.
Indicating that the members were rehabilitated with various mid and small scale businesses and plants, the Chairman of the National Association of the Eritrean War Disabled Veterans, Mr. Gebreberhan Iyasu stated that the association has also organized various vocational training programs including weaving, beauty salon, auto mechanics, electronics, basic computing programs among others.
Pointing out that the Association has created micro-credit and saving program aimed at enabling disabled veterans residing in rural areas to become financially self-supportive, Mr. Gebreberhan said that over 51 million Nakfa was distributed to over 5 thousand 200 members.
Regarding the health of members, Mr. Gebreberhan went on to say that the association is exerting strong effort to ensure the health and mobility of the veterans.
He further noted that the association gets financial and material support from branch organizations in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Germany, the USA, UK and other nations.
Stating that supporting the war-disabled veterans is not to be left to the association and the Government alone, Mr, Gebreberhan, called for the integrated and reinforced participation of the society and other stakeholders.
The National Association of the Eritrean War Disabled Veterans was established on October 1993.
Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea
President Cyril Ramaphosa of the Republic of South Africa, King Willem-Alexander of the Kingdom of the Netherlands as well as President Vladmir Putin of Russian Federation sent messages of congratulations on the occasion of the 30th Independence Day anniversary.
In their messages, the leaders wished good health to President Isaias Afwerki and peace and prosperity to the Eritrean People.
In his message King Willem-Alexander of the Kingdom of the Netherlands said that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic represents an unprecedented global challenge and wished that the Eritrean people have strength, courage and health.
President Vladmir Putin on his part expressed confidence that the bilateral relations between the two countries will continue to further develop for the wellbeing of the two nations and for the benefit of strengthening regional stability and security.
Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea
Ethiopia’s conflict-hit Tigray region is facing a horrifying situation with people dying of hunger, health services destroyed and rape “rampant,” the WHO chief, himself from the region, said Monday.
“The situation in Tigray, Ethiopia, is, if I use one word, horrific. Very horrific,” World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops into Tigray in November after accusing the once-dominant regional ruling party of orchestrating attacks on federal army camps.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Abiy declared victory later that month when the army entered the regional capital Mekele.
But fighting continues and the six-month conflict has sparked allegations of massacres and rape by Ethiopian forces and troops from neighboring Eritrea.
Tedros pointed out that some five million people in the region are now in need of humanitarian aid, and especially food aid.
“Many people have started dying actually because of hunger, and severe and acute malnutrition is becoming rampant,” he said.
In addition, hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced from their homes with over 60,000 fleeing into Sudan.
At the same time, health services have been looted and destroyed, he said, adding that “the majority of them are not functioning.”
Aid access key
The WHO chief also condemned indiscriminate killings and the widespread use of sexual violence in the conflict.
“Rape is rampant. I don’t think there was that scale anywhere else in the world actually,” he said.
Asked about the COVID-19 situation in his home region, Tedros said there were no services to rein in the disease, but said it is not a priority given the other crises.
“For the most part, we’re not even in a position to discuss about COVID, to be honest, because there are more pressing issues.”
One of the most urgent problems to address is getting full access for humanitarian workers and for aid.
World leaders and aid agencies have repeatedly called for full humanitarian access to the crisis-wracked areas as fears grow of impending disaster.
On Friday, the European Union condemned the ongoing blocking of aid to the region, denouncing “the use of humanitarian aid as a weapon of war.”
WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan warned Monday that “access to victims in Tigray remains highly unpredictable.”
This, he said, was creating “a huge barrier to access to the populations that need our help.”
With most health facilities destroyed, the U.N. health agency was concerned about rising risks of cholera, measles and other outbreaks, he said.
“We have also issues of continuing to get (cholera) vaccines in,” he pointed out, stressing the need to “get those doses in there” and to plan immunization campaigns “to avert a cholera disaster.”
Source: Voice of America