News headlines in April 2023, page 17

NAIROBI, Apr 07 (IPS) - The disease burden and distribution of mycetoma—a neglected tropical disease—are not very well understood. However, it is known to affect people in Sudan, Senegal, Mauritania, Kenya, and Niger, as well as people in Nigeria, Ethiopia, India, and Cameroon. Cases have also been reported in Djibouti, Somalia, and Yemen.

WASHINGTON DC / NEW YORK, Apr 07 (IPS) - As World Health Worker Week draws to a close on April 7, health organizations from around the world have been celebrating women’s vital role in the health workforce and sharing stories about the enormous value they bring to all areas of health and care.

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, Apr 07 (IPS) - The uncertainty that’s the hallmark of a democratic election was absent on 26 March, the day Cubans were summoned to appoint members of the National Assembly of People’s Power, the country’s legislative body. A vote did take place that day – people went to the polls and put a ballot in a box. But was this really an election? Cubans weren’t able to choose their representatives – their only option was to ratify those selected to stand, or abstain.

There is just one LGBTI+ community and health centre in El Salvador, and it has become a refuge for many people who have been expelled from their homes, simply because of their sexual identity.

Cairo, Apr 06 (IPS) - Egypt intends to sell shares in 32 state-owned businesses within a year, including three banks, two military-owned businesses, and numerous businesses in the energy and transportation sectors. This is part of the administration's efforts to reduce the role of the state in the economy and attract foreign capital.

NEW YORK, Apr 06 (IPS) - With schools now reopened around the world, countries are called to take transformative action on education financing to recover and accelerate learning for all children, especially the poorest and most marginalized.

As the world marks the grim anniversary of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, during which Hutu and others who opposed the massacre were also killed, the UN Secretary-General has said that a generation since those horrific events, “we must never forget what happened – and ensure future generations always remember.”

The Vatican’s rejection of the 500-year-old Catholic decree used to justify the seizure of indigenous lands by colonial powers, known as the ‘Doctrine of Discovery’, has been welcomed by an independent UN human rights expert as “an important step towards reconciliation and healing”. 

The UN on Thursday condemned the multiple rockets fired into Israel from across its northern border with Lebanon, urging “all actors to exercise maximum restraint”, following several days of rising tension and violence, centred around Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque.

Athletes are pushing for a more equitable world, both on and off the playing field – one of the messages coming out of the UN on Thursday, the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace.