Globally, nine in ten girls complete their primary education, but only three in four complete their lower secondary education. In low income countries, less than two thirds of girls complete their primary education, and only one in three completes lower secondary school.
The reasons for girls of dropping out of school prematurely are severe. Our today's guest is Filomena, she will explain in detail the reasons why she dropped out of school.
Hello, good afternoon! My name is Filomena Marques, I'm going to talk a little about my life.
Why did I stop studying?
First of all, I stopped studying at the age of 25 when I was attending the 8th grade. I found a husband I made children with him. Unfortunately my husband never gave me that initiative to go back to school, we lived for a while but after we separated and I became single mother.
In the past I was with a partner who did not help me, never encouraged me to study. Every time I said that I would like to go back to school he would naive me, saying that I should stay at home to take care of the children.
I have three beautiful daughters thanks to God, I had to stay at home caring for them and do the housework. Sometimes my family and neighbors encouraged me to go back to study but it never worked for me, my schedule was full without space to study. Every mother knows that it is not easy to take care of the family and study at the same time. I was coming home too late from work.
When I turned 29 years old I decided to go back to study again, everything started going well, I saw myself with a new life for the future. Unfortunately with the emergence of this covid-19 pandemic everything complicated. Things are very difficult for me, I stopped studying again.
We need to understand the constraints faced by young girls when thinking about what can be done to improve educational opportunities for girls.The first issue relates to sexual and reproductive health aspects, where teenage girls might disproportionately drop out of school due to an increased risk of sexual exploitation, pregnancy, and (forced) marriage.
Governments worldwide have implemented school closures as a preventive measure to the spread of COVID-19. According to UNESCO, school closures have sent about 90% of all students out of school, among them more than 800 million girls. A substantial number of these girls live in the world As least developed countries where getting an education is already a struggle.
Do you have a personal experience with the coronavirus would you like to share? Or a tip on how your town or community is handling the pandemic? Don't miss this opportunity to bring girls back to school. Tell us your story!
Australia canceled an order for 51 million doses of a Covid-19 vaccine being developed by CSL Ltd. and the University of Queensland after trials ran into difficulties.
The government said Friday it’s replacing most of the CSL doses with more purchases of other planned vaccines. Australia has ordered an extra 20 million shots being developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca Plc, and 11 million more Novavax Inc. doses, the government said.
The CSL failure shows that despite the groundbreaking progress by Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. in producing an inoculation, the path to a successful vaccine remains difficult. Australia ands government had already sought to spread that risk by ordering shots from Pfizer and BioNTech SE, Novavax and AstraZeneca.
Even without CSL dosess doses, more than 140 million units of vaccines will be available in Australia, Health Minister Greg Hunt said. The country is home to about 26 million people. “This is one of the highest ratios of vaccine purchases and availability to population in the world,” Hunt said. “So we "re in a strong position.”
CSL said it would not progress to phase 2/3 clinical trials. It said a small component of the vaccine comes from the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, and while that posed no risk of infection, some trial participants had false positive tests for HIV.
The potential for this to happen was anticipated before the trial, and participants had been pre-warned, CSL said.
CSL Won Trt Progress Covid Vaccine Candidate to Phase 2/3 Trials
“It is generally agreed that significant changes would need to be made to well-established HIV testing procedures in the health-care setting to accommodate rollout of this vaccine,” the company said.
CSL shares fell 3.2 percent to Australian $ 291.78 at 12:37 p.m. in Sydney. The stock is up almost 6 percent this year.
Vaccines are proving key to reopening the world economy nine months into the worst pandemic in a generation. The UK and US have approved the Pfizer shot, and other countries are scrambling to secure deals and authorize vaccines for public use.
For Australia, yet to sign off on any shot, a widely distributed inoculation would allow the country to ease some of the most restrictive border curbs in the world.
Professor Paul Young from the University of Queensland said that although it was possible to re-engineer the vaccine, the team didn’t have the luxury of time. “Doing so would set back development by another 12 or so months, and while this is a tough decision to take, the urgent need for a vaccine has to be everyone prioritys priority.
Britain’s borders are set to reopen with the Port of Dover saying inbound lorries are now coming into the UK and the French government pledging to ‘resume movement’ as soon as possible after a coronavirus travel ban plunged the country into chaos.
Dover closed to all freight vehicles leaving the UK for 48 hours after France imposed an inbound travel ban from 11pm last night amid the spread of the mutant Covid-19 strain which plunged London and the South East into Tier Four.
Some 10,000 lorries a day travel through Dover, which accounts for 20 per cent of all goods brought and sold in UK, and there were fears the French shutdown would lead to shortages of fresh food and the coronavirus vaccine.
Thousands of lorries that were meant to travel across the English Channel on Monday were told to stay away from Kent ports and HGVs turning up at Dover this morning were greeted with glowing signs saying ‘French borders closed’ and were turned away.
However, officials in Dover confirmed inbound freight was still coming in, playing down fears of hauliers staying away to avoid being ‘marooned’.
The French government has also now released a statement saying that movement between the country and the UK would resume ‘within hours’.
In a post shared on Twitter by the French Embassy in the UK, French Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said: ‘In the next few hours, at European level, we’re going to establish a solid health protocol to ensure that movement from the UK can resume.
‘Our priority: to protect our nationals and our fellow citizens.’
The travel ban led to people and goods from the UK being blocked from entering France via air, sea or the Channel Tunnel with fresh food left to rot on roads and in traffic queues.
Queues of lorries on the M20 in Kent after France shut its borders from the UK following the discovery of the new super covid mutant strain
It also led to concerns that the chaos could disrupt supplies of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine to the UK which is made in Belgium – with military aircraft set to airlift supplies if the ban lasts for longer than 48 hours.
The ban added to several pre-existing issues already gripping the ports, including stockpiling fears over a No-Deal Brexit, increased demand for goods over Christmas and a lack of shipping containers amid the coronavirus pandemic.
It also triggered panic-buying, with shoppers queueing at supermarkets from 5.50am this morning to stock up on essentials following the news. Despite the travel ban later being lifted, panic-buying continued up to lunchtime.
shoppers queueing at supermarkets from 5.50am this morning to stock up on essentials following the news.
Sainsbury’s has warned of several popular items being unavailable over the coming days: ‘If nothing changes, we will start to see gaps over the coming days on lettuce, some salad leaves, cauliflowers, broccoli and citrus fruit – all of which are imported from the Continent at this time of year. We hope the UK and French governments can come to a mutually agreeable solution that prioritises the immediate passage of produce and any other food at the ports.’
Shellfish producers in Scotland also said they had tonnes of perishable products stranded on roads as the French border was closed.
Despite the chaos, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps insisted people ‘wouldn’t notice’ any supermarket shortages: ‘The absolute key is to get this resolved as soon as possible. I’ll be speaking again to my opposite number Jean-Baptiste (Djebbari) later this morning.
‘There’s a meeting taking place actually right now in Europe about it, in order to co-ordinate approaches. It’s not really in anybody’s particular interest to not have hauliers going across, not least because they are mostly European hauliers and the goods are mostly theirs, so they will not want them perishing any more than we would want the border closed.’
He also attempted to calm fears about the wider impact of the French decision: ‘The supply chain is pretty robust in as much as you get variations in supply all the time. For the most part, people won’t notice it.’
Mr Johnson faced demands to recall Parliament to address the crisis, which follows the introduction of a new Tier 4 level of lockdown on London and large parts of south-east England.
He will hold talks with Ministers today as he chairs the Government’s Cobra civil contingencies committee amid warnings of ‘significant disruption’ around the Channel ports in Kent.
Kent Police implemented Operation Stack to ease congestion, while the Department for Transport said the disused Manston Airport was also being prepared as another contingency measure against the anticipated level of disruption, with plans to store 4,000 stranded HGVs there.
Countries including France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Austria, Denmark, Ireland, and Bulgaria announced restrictions on UK travel following the outbreak of the new strain across South East England.
India announced this morning that all flights from Britain would be suspended until December 31 and Hong Kong is also due to ban all flights from midnight. Asian nations including Japan and South Korea said they were closely monitoring the new strain.
Australia said on Monday it had detected cases of the new virulent coronavirus strain. Two travellers from the UK to Australia’s New South Wales state were found carrying the mutated variant of the virus.
French health minister Olivier Veran said on Monday that it was possible the news strain was already circulating in France, although recent tests had not detected it in the country.
‘It is entirely possible that the virus is circulating in France,’ Veran said, after his country introduced the ban on British lorries.
Among those at the Port of Dover are 80 workers who had travelled down from the West Midlands on a coach to go home for Christmas. They are now stuck for at least next two days and have nowhere to stay, with all hotels closed.
It comes as:
The Food and Drink Federation warned of ‘serious disruption to UK Christmas fresh food supplies and exports’
Italy said the mutant strain had been detected in a traveller who recently returned to the country from the UK
The British Retail Consortium warned closure of France to UK traffic would create ‘difficulties’ for UK trade
Nicola Sturgeon said it was ‘imperative’ the UK Government sought an extension to Brexit transition period
Ireland has imposed a 48-hour ban on flights from Britain while ferries would be restricted to freight only
Heathrow Airport descended into chaos as hundreds of passengers scrambled onto the last flight to Dublin
Health Secretary Matt Hancock admitted the new Tier 4 restrictions may have to remain in place for months
The UK reported a further 35,928 cases yesterday as the mutant strain caused a 94.8% rise in infections.
Transport Secretary Grant Shaps insisted that vaccines not be affected by the travel ban, telling Sky News today: ‘Most vaccine doesn’t come via what is called ‘Ro-Ro’, roll-on, roll-off, which is what we are talking about here.
‘In other words, it’s not usually accompanied by a driver, by a haulier. It comes on those containers. To put this into context, there are about 6,000 vehicles we would expect, just under in Dover today, probably 4,000 would have gone across from Dover, just under about 2,000 on the Eurotunnel.
‘But there is probably something like 32,000 units that would have been the daily total, so the vast majority – including virtually all the vaccine – actually comes via container and there are good supplies in the meantime. So this won’t have an impact on the vaccination programme.’
Mr Shapps admitted that France’s ban on freight hauliers was ‘slightly surprising’, adding: ‘Immediately as soon as the French said, perhaps slightly surprisingly that they would stop hauliers, rather than just passengers, we were in touch with a group known as the Kent Resilience Forum. They are well used to planning for exactly these kind of circumstances.
‘We will be opening up Manston as a lorry park today and providing welfare for some of those drivers as well, while also being in very close contact with the French over what will happen next.
‘The Kent Dover-to-Calais Eurotunnel, what we call the short straits, is probably about 20% of goods going to and from, in and out of the country.
‘But it’s not the mainstay. Most goods actually come in and out by unaccompanied containers and those will continue to flow.’
Asked about what the shortages could be, Mr Shapps said: ‘Obviously we don’t want these links to be closed for too long, but it’s not unusual for them to be closed and disrupted.
‘In the short term it’s not a specific problem. But of course the key is to get it resolved.’
The chief executive of the Road Haulage Association (RHA), Richard Burnett, said the disruption could cause problems with ‘fresh food supply’ in the run-up to Christmas.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘With it being so close to Christmas we’re looking at 48 hours at this point in time in terms of the restrictions, we’re likely to see Operation Stack building in terms of numbers of vehicles on the UK side and that might be a deterrent for EU hauliers to want to come so close to Christmas and end up being stranded here, that’s part of the challenge that we’re facing today.’
Food and Drink Federation chief executive Ian Wright said last night: ‘Tonight’s suspension of accompanied freight traffic from the UK to France has the potential to cause serious disruption to UK Christmas fresh food supplies and exports of UK food and drink.
‘Continental truckers will not want to travel here if they have a real fear of getting marooned. The Government must very urgently persuade the French government to exempt accompanied freight from its ban.’
He told BBC Breakfast this morning: ‘The problem is the return journey of drivers coming to the UK. If they cannot be guaranteed either that they will get out of the UK because of the congestion or that they will be able to secure a return journey full of whatever product it is, that’s going to make it much more unlikely for them to come in the first place.
Economic fallout from COVID-19 continues to hit lower-income Angolans the hardest. Half of adults who say they lost a job due to the coronavirus outbreak are still unemployed.
Our today's guest is Luisa, she will share with us her life experience during the time of Covid-19.
Hi, my name is Luiza, I'm going to talk about how the coronavirus has affected my life.
Coronavirus has affected my life in several ways. Many people say that this disease does not exist but for me covid-19 exists. We are living in a very difficult time, we do not have jobs, in order for people to move from one place to another has been almost impossible, we have to protect ourselves by washing our hands with water and soap and always use masks.
I advise those people who say that the Coronavirus does not exist to change their way of thinking - I have a different point, because even the Bible says that in last times there will be many diseases and one of them is this coronavirus.
Have you noticed any difference in your life before and after the coronavirus?
There is a lot of difference. Before we move normally, but now we cannot move.
My life is very difficult, to move around the city is very critical. We must obey the laws that the government has implemented avoiding agglomerated places, always using the mask and sanitize the hands often. These positive covid-19 case results that we have been watching on television are real. The coronavirus disease does exist.
How did it affect your family's finances?
It affected heavily, we have no jobs, we have no money, in generally our life has become very difficult.
This is the first and the only Coronavirus show in Angola where the most ordinary citizens show their brilliant talents.
The heroes of the program are the most ordinary citizens - they share with the audience their songs, poems and real stories of how the Coronavirus pandemic affected their lives.
We launched the “Corona Voice show” campaign to provide a space for young women and men around Angola to share their views, experiences and initiatives.
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Your sponsorship will help the most affected people by covid-19 to take the first step out of poverty.
Angola has recorded, in the last 24 hours, the recovery of 74 Covid-19 patients, 18 new infections and a death.
The information was released Sunday evening in Luanda by the secretary of State for Public Health, Franco Mufinda.
Delivering the daily Covid-19 update briefing, Franco Mufinda said those recovered have ages from one to 81 years.
The official added that the recoveries have been recorded in the capital, Luanda, with 69, and central Cuanza Sul province (05).
The new positive cases of Covid-19 have been detected in Luanda (08), central Huambo province (04), northern Zaire (04), southeastern Cuando Cubango and central Bié with one each.
The list of the sick includes ages from 18 to 63 years, 12 males and six females.
Angola’s Covid-19 overall figures so far show 16,644 positive cases, 387 deaths, 9,592 recoveries and 6,665 active patients.
Sudan and Ethiopia will hold negotiations next week to delineate their shared border, a statement from Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s office said on Sunday.
The talks will be held on Tuesday, a week after Ethiopian forces reportedly ambushed and killed Sudanese troops along the border.
“Hamdok and his Ethiopian counterpart Abiy Ahmed on Sunday discussed the meeting of the committee for delineating the borders which will be held on December 22,” the statement said.
The two leaders met on the margins of a summit under way on Sunday in Djibouti of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East African regional bloc comprising eight countries. Hamdok is the current head of the IGAD.
A cross-border attack by Ethiopian forces and rebels last Tuesday killed at least four Sudanese troops and wounded a dozen others in the Abu Tyour area in eastern Sudan’s Gadarif province.
Sudan’s state-run news agency SUNA on Saturday said its military had deployed “large reinforcements” into the province to reclaim territories controlled by Ethiopian farmers and rebels in Sudan’s al-Fashqa border area.
The troops would stop at the borderline according to the 1902 deals between Sudan and Ethiopia, SUNA reported.
Tuesday’s cross-border attack in Abu Tyour came amid weeks-long fighting in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region that has pitted the federal government against regional authorities.
The Tigray fighting has sent more than 52,000 Ethiopian refugees into Sudan, most of them into Gadarif province.
At the start of the clashes in Tigray, Sudan deployed more than 6,000 soldiers to its border with Ethiopia.
Ongoing border clashes
The attack in Gadarif was the latest by Ethiopian forces and rebels on Sudanese troops and people over the past several months, and has strained ties between the two neighbours.
The sides have held talks in recent months to encourage Ethiopian farmers to withdraw from Sudan’s al-Fashqa border area, which they have cultivated for years.
Following the attack, the head of Sudan’s ruling sovereign council, General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, travelled to Gadarif and spent three days there overseeing the deployment of heavily armed troops to the border area, according to a senior military official.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief the media.
Addis Ababa was keen to downplay the importance of the incident, saying it did not threaten the relationship between the two countries.
“Such incidents will not break the bond between our two countries as we always use dialogue to resolve issues. Those fanning discord clearly do not understand the strength of our historical ties,” Prime Minister Abiy tweeted on Thursday.
The Netherlands has banned flights carrying passengers from the United Kingdom after Dutch authorities found the first case of the new, more infectious coronavirus strain that is circulating in England.
The Dutch government, in a statement early on Sunday, said the ban will remain in place until January 1.
“An infectious mutation of the COVID-19 virus is circulating in the United Kingdom. It is said to spread more easily and faster and is more difficult to detect, ”the health ministry said in a statement.
The Dutch public health body, the RIVM, therefore “recommends any introduction of this virus strain from the UK be limited as much as possible by limiting and / or controlling passenger movements”.
The ministry said a case study in the Netherlands “at the beginning of December revealed a virus with the variant described” in the UK.
Experts were looking at how the infection happened and whether there were related cases, it added.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte saids cabinet Dutchs ordered the ban on flights from the UK as a “precautionary” measure, the ministry said, adding that the Dutch government is reviewing other modes of transport.
“Over the next few days, together with other EU member states, the government will explore the scope for further limiting the risk of the new strain of the virus being brought over from the UK,” it added.
The Netherlands is under a five-week lockdown until mid-January with schools and all non-essential shops closed to slow a surge in the virus.
The ban on UK flights comes after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and scientists announced on Saturday that the new strain of coronavirus identified in the country is up to 70 percent more infectious. But Johnson said the new variant is not thought to be more deadly and vaccines should still be effective.
The British prime minister also said London and southeast England, which are currently in the highest level of a three-tier system of rules, would now be placed in a new Tier 4 level.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was in close contact with British officials and would update the public “as we learn more about the characteristics of this virus variant and any implications”.
