COVID-19: Angola records four more cases of community transmission. A two month-old baby tests positive for covid-19

A new outbreak of infection with the new coronavirus has been recorded in Luanda. "COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION"

The ministry of health reported today in a press conference that in the last 24 hours, 4 more cases of community transmission were registered in the country, totaling 77 confirmed positive cases.

These are two men (one aged 16 and another aged 35) and two women (one aged 25 and another aged 49), thus bringing the number of cases of  transmission to 49.


From the laboratory work, more than 10,000 samples have been collected to date, of which 77 are positive, 8,195 are negative and the rest are still being processed.

A two-month-old baby tests positive for covid-19

A two-month-old baby, resident in the Hoji-ya-Henda neighborhood, Cazenga municipality, in Luanda, who tested positive for Covid-19. According to the Minister of Health, who was updating the pandemic situation in the country, this case is under investigation, because the mother has no Covid-19, but had contact with positive cases. 

“The child was tested positive, there have already been many cases of disagreement by the form of contagion, with patients of high viral load who lived with wives and children, but were not contaminated, " she said.

The outbreak of covid-19

The first cases of covid-19 are manifesting only now after two months. There was negligence on the part of the government for having sent home passengers that came from Portugal and fulfill the quarantine at home. These passengers violated the prevention rules, thus contaminating many people. 

The most frightening thing is that the government decided to open schools next month, because teachers from private schools are claiming for their salaries. This will put the lives of many people at risk. 

Angola does not have any distance learning system. Moreover, the Internet is very expensive and not all teachers as well as students have digital literacy, no matter how much they try to do video conferencing through the zoom app, it is not working at all. Online class in Angola has been a huge failure.

Private institutions require students to pay tuition fees so that teachers can have salaries. Students refuse to pay tuition because they are sitting at home without having classes and schools are closed.

The jobs of the parents of many of these students have also been affected by Coronavirus, they are all at home without working. Where are they going to get money to pay for their kid’s tuition?

UN and other organisations are moving from conference rooms to online spaces

For the past few weeks the UN and other organisations are moving from conference rooms to online spaces. This is somehow triggering a profound change in the way diplomacy is conducted.

Although the Internet has remained resilient. Internet Society mentioned, "there is no single “Internet” to catastrophically fail."

Speaking about #diplomacy, does online platforms need to offer stability, security as well as centuries-old rules of protocol in diplomacy?

The voice of young African feminists against COVID-19

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN MUST STOP

The world is battling against a pandemic claiming many lives across nations and distorting global trade, travel and economies. The coronavirus disease, (COVID-19) has become a global emergency considering the effects on global growth.  

As the pandemic is further affecting employment, education and the mental health of African youth, we acknowledge that COVID-19 is also bringing to light the profound gender disparity in the various sectors. Several studies have predicted an increase in cases of Gender-Based Violence as a result of the lockdowns as victims are trapped with their abusers without adequate assistance. 

The voice of young African feminists must be a crucial part of the conversation. Particularly, those who are caught in the digital divide. Rural and marginalized young women are mostly not connected and therefore miss out on the empowerment of the digital revolution. This exclusion also impacts the development field, as young women may not have the opportunities to communicate how COVID19 is affecting their realities, and alternative solutions to this pressing global challenge. In addition, the mainstream narrative portrays the challenges and achievements of women without a critical insight into the intersection of barriers they face. 

Therefore, we want to draw attention to Young African Women’s struggles, advocacy and achievements in fighting the global pandemic COVID19 and amplify their voices and actions.

Opportunity for africans: Paid internships in the United Nations

2020/2021 Internships at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

Application Deadline: Ongoing https://bit.ly/2TKD4rb

This internship programme is aimed at graduate students and is available at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights – OHCHR. These internships are intended to:

increase the intern’s understanding of current human rights issues at the international level and give them an insight into the work of the United Nations and OHCHR in particular; and

provide OHCHR and the United Nations Human Rights mechanisms with the assistance and contribution of outstanding young students or graduates.

Requirements

Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher);

Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor’s level or equivalent);

Have graduated with a university degree (as defined in 3.1 (a) and (b) above) and, if selected, must commence the internship within a one-year period of graduation, as provided for in section 11.4 of the present instruction.