Musings From Abroad

Children in Central Africa Republic most impoverished in the world, according to UNICEF

Published

5 months ago

July 3, 2024

According to UNICEF, the three million children living in the Central African Republic are among the most disadvantaged in the world. The nation is very vulnerable to a humanitarian crisis due to widespread malnutrition, limited access to healthcare, and insecurity.

According to the UN Children’s Agency, about 40% of the nation’s children suffer from chronic malnutrition and half of them lack access to health care. Few people have access to hygienic food, clean water, or both.

The situation of the children in the African nation has become “painfully invisible” due to the attention that the war in Gaza and other crises have garnered worldwide, UNICEF representative Meritxell Relano Arana told reporters in Geneva.

“The three million girls and boys of the Central Africa Republic face the highest registered level of overlapping and interconnected crises and deprivation in the world,” she said.

Following a peace agreement reached in February 2019 between the government and fourteen armed groups, violence in the Central African Republic (CAR), one of the world’s poorest nations, decreased.

However, the situation is still unstable because large areas of the country are still uncontrolled.

With nearly 7 out of 10 people living on less than $2.15 per day, the international poverty limit for extreme poverty, the CAR has one of the highest rates of poverty in the world. Even if they spend their whole household budget on food, more than half of them are food impoverished, meaning they cannot buy enough food.

Musings From Abroad

Brazilian meatpacker JBS invests $2.5 billion in Nigeria, builds six facilities

Published

2 days ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Brazilian meatpacker JBS says it has inked a memorandum of understanding with the Nigerian government for a $2.5 billion investment plan that will include the construction of six new plants in the African nation.

Three of the plants would deal in poultry, two in beef, and one in pork, according to a statement from JBS.

In accordance with the memorandum of understanding, JBS stated that it would develop a five-year investment plan in Nigeria, which would include budget estimates, feasibility studies, and an action plan for the development of the local supply chain.

The Nigerian government would then guarantee the sanitary, regulatory, and economic conditions required for the project’s viability, JBS continued.

Musings From Abroad

China’s Xi meets with Morocco’s Crown Prince

Published

2 days ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Morocco’s official media reports that Chinese President, Xi Jinping, visited Morocco briefly on Thursday.

According to Morocco’s MAP, Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan welcomed Xi in Casablanca. The visit demonstrated the close ties of camaraderie, collaboration, and solidarity between the Moroccan and Chinese peoples, it said.

China’s official broadcaster, CCTV, said that Xi and Hassan had a “cordial conversation” at the airport after being received by the Crown Prince and Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch.

After attending the G20 Summit in Brazil, Xi paid the visit.

In recent years, China has increased its investments in Morocco’s rail and infrastructure. Morocco is desirable for Chinese electric car battery manufacturers because of its proximity to Europe, free trade agreements with important EU and US markets, and an established automotive sector.

Morocco was chosen by Chinese EV battery company Gotion High Tech in June to establish Africa’s first gigafactory, which will cost $1.3 billion in total.