The EU foreign and defence ministers will debate Russian aggression against Ukraine in their joint session. The ministers will focus on the EU’s military support for Ukraine, the security commitments and the development of the defence industry.

“Supporting Ukraine is extremely important to us. Finland has provided security commitments for Ukraine, and we will continue our active support accordingly. Finland’s bilateral military support has already reached EUR two billion,” says Minister for Foreign Affairs Valtonen.

With regard to the situation in the Middle East, the foreign ministers will discuss the increasingly tense regional situation, the role of the EU, the humanitarian situation in Gaza, access to humanitarian aid and the revival of the political peace process.

“The dangerously heightened tensions in the Middle East need to be de-escalated. The situation is a cause for grave concern. We hope that both parties will refrain from any action that may heighten tensions further. As far as Gaza is concerned, we support a swift humanitarian ceasefire, full access to aid and immediate release of hostages,” says Minister for Foreign Affairs Valtonen.

The discussion on Sudan will focus on the humanitarian situation, which has deteriorated during Sudan’s year-long conflict, the serious threat posed by the conflict to regional stability and the EU’s measures to support ceasefire and mediation efforts.

Minister Valtonen will also attend a high-level security and cooperation forum, to be held in connection with the Council meeting, with the countries of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC).

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland.

“This contribution is undoubtedly a relief for the most vulnerable households in the refugee settlements,” said Abdirahman Meygag, WFP’s Country Director in Uganda. “We are grateful to the United States Government for supporting our efforts to provide food assistance to displaced families who have lost everything.”

Since the beginning of 2024, close to 40,000 newly arrived refugees have been registered in Uganda. Most of them are women, children, and older persons from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan. In 2023, 130,000 new refugees were registered. Since 2014, the number of refugees in Uganda has quadrupled from 390,000 to 1.6 million, the highest number in any African country.

Many of the newly arriving refugees are fleeing conflict in South Sudan, DRC, Somalia, and Sudan, reaching the border on foot or by bus. Despite a progressive asylum refugee support policy, refugees in Uganda have limited livelihood opportunities to sustain themselves and continue to depend on humanitarian assistance, yet the gap between the needs and funding availability has grown steadily.

“As the largest humanitarian partner in Uganda, we are committed to supporting refugees in Uganda through emergency food assistance,” said Daniele Nyirandutiye, USAID Mission Director in Uganda. “As part of our response, we are pleased to partner with the World Food Programme to assist the Government of Uganda’s refugee response efforts and will continue to support both urgent relief and longer-term resilience-building efforts.”     

In the face of limited resources and following extensive consultations with refugees and key stakeholders, WFP is now prioritising the most vulnerable refugees for food assistance. WFP supports 1.3 million out of 1.6 million refugees in Uganda with monthly food and cash assistance. Refugee households categorised as extremely vulnerable receive 60 percent of a standard food ration. Less vulnerable families receive 30 percent, while those who are categorised as not vulnerable have been weaned off food assistance and connected to long-term livelihood opportunities. All new arrivals receive a 100 percent food ration for the first three months.

The U.S. is the largest donor to WFP. In Uganda, USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance has already contributed over US$300 million to WFP from 2020 to 2023 to support refugees with food and cash transfers and building smallholder farmers’ resilience through agriculture market support.

The World Food Programme urgently needs an additional US$110 million to support and sustain its emergency operations in Uganda up to the end of the year.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Food Programme (WFP).

The 23rd Annual Scientific Conference, organized by the Kenya Pediatric Association (KPA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health’s Directorate of Family Health, convened at the Pride Inn Paradise Hotel in Shanzu, Mombasa, from April 16th to 19th, 2024. 

 The event was inaugurated by Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Affairs, H.E Dr. Hon Musalia Mudavadi, who reiterated the government’s dedication to providing high-quality maternal, newborn, and child health services. 

 Hon. Mudavadi stressed the significance of investing in children, particularly during their first 100 days, as pivotal to human capital development and indicative of the nation’s future prosperity. 

He pledged to advocate for maternal and child health initiatives, emphasizing their importance in national development agendas.

Leading the Ministry of Health delegation was Dr. Issak Bashir, representing the Cabinet Secretary of Health. 

The delegation comprised officers from various divisions, including Newborn and Child Health, Adolescent Health, Immunization, NASCOP, Health Informatics, Nutrition, and Quality Assurance.

Themed “From Data to Practice: Harnessing Technology to Optimize Healthcare from the Neonate to the Adolescent,” the conference served as a platform for pediatricians, childhood equipment manufacturers, and stakeholders in pediatric healthcare to converge.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Health, Kenya.

Approval of the evaluation process of the Yaoundé Code of Conduct and the maritime safety and security architecture of the Gulf of Guinea to mark the 10th anniversary of the said process. This was one of the recommendations of the 4th annual meeting of the heads of institutions of the Interregional Coordination Centre (ICC) held on 18 April 2024 at the headquarters of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission in Abuja, Nigeria.

The meeting, which was preceded by a meeting of experts held on 16 and 17 April 2024, was an opportunity for participants to take stock of the ICC’s operations and examine the prospects for its revitalisation. At the organizational level, the participants noted a low level of implementation of the activities planned in the ICC’s four-year action plan, due to the inadequate financial contributions of the ICC’s Member States and Institutions.

Mindful of this reality, they adopted the Centre’s 2024 budget, which includes concrete activities and the financing of current statutory appointees, in order to breathe new life into the Centre. To this end, they reiterated their determination to initiate discussions with Member States to mobilise their contributions on time, which are essential to the smooth running of the Centre. To address the financial challenge facing the Centre, participants renewed their commitment to ensuring that their respective institutions fully play their part in the current process of revitalising the ICC.

To ensure that this process runs smoothly, they pledged to fill the vacant positions to guarantee the proper functioning of the Centre. They therefore agreed to rotate the positions allocated to the three institutions that make up the ICC, namely ECOWAS, the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the Gulf of Guinea.

They also agreed to take appropriate steps to recruit competent senior staff to these positions and to ensure that they assume duty within the required timeframe.

At the end of the meeting, participants conferred the rotating chairmanship of the Annual Meeting of Senior Officials of the ICC on the President of the ECCAS Commission, Gilberto Da Piedade Verissimo.

Taking over the reins of the rotating presidency from his counterpart at the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Alieu Touray, the President of the Ceeac Commission expressed his satisfaction with the outcomes of the Abuja meeting. “I have no shadow of doubt that our combined efforts will guarantee the attainment of the set objectives, albeit these are largely dependent on the financial and material resources associated with them”, Gilberto Da Piedade Verissimo stated.

Achieving these objectives, he said, will ensure the continued existence of the ICC, and give States and organisations the satisfaction of having provided a solution or the beginning of a lasting solution to the phenomenon of maritime crime in the Gulf of Guinea.

In his opening remarks, the outgoing Chairman of the Annual Meeting of Senior Officials of the ICC, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Alieu Touray, praised the institutional actions, collective responses and individual contributions of the ICC Member States that have led to the decline in piracy and armed robbery attacks in the Gulf of Guinea.  “According to the International Maritime Bureau, incidents of piracy and armed robbery, both actual and attempted, have shown a downward trend, from 31 in 2015 to 18 in 2021 and 15 in 2022.  The incidence of piracy and armed robbery has decreased further to 6 attacks in the first quarter of 2024 in the Gulf of Guinea”, remarked Dr Omar Alieu Touray.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).