Photo : UNICEF
NIAS Area Studies
AFRICA MONITOR
Photo : UNICEF
IN BRIEF
UNICEF outlines dire hunger situation; calls for widening gaze from Ukraine
On 7 June, UNICEF warned of an "explosion of child deaths" in the Horn of Africa if the international community fails to tackle an impending hunger disaster. The UNICEF’s Deputy Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa said 386,000 children in Somalia require immediate treatment for acute malnutrition. This figure is higher than the 340,000 children who needed treatment during the 2011 famine. Further, the Regional Director said 1.7 million children across Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia need immediate treatment for severe acute malnutrition. The UNICEF official maintained the issue will not be addressed "if the world does not widen its gaze from the war in Ukraine." The UNICEF warning comes amid a consecutive failure of four rainy seasons in two years and likely failed monsoons next October-December. ("'Explosion of child deaths' imminent in Horn of Africa if world does not act immediately - UNICEF," UNICEF, 7 June 2022)
Cameroon: Nine civilians killed by soldiers, says government
On 7 June, the government said soldiers had killed nine villagers in the Northwest region; the victims included an 18-month-old child. The government termed the soldiers’ actions “manifestly disproportionate” and “hasty.” However, the Defence Ministry said the soldiers acted in self-protection after villagers refused to cooperate in a search for a missing comrade. The Ministry said four soldiers had been arrested and an investigation had been launched. (“Cameroon says soldiers killed nine villagers in "disproportionate" use of force,” Reuters, 7 June 2022)