Category: General

The PDGE reached the province of Bioko Sur to present its political programme, which it will implement over the next 7 years if it wins the general elections on 20th November.

The rally took place on Wednesday 16th November, during the penultimate phase of the campaign in Luba, following visits to the provinces of Kie-Ntem, Djibloho, Centro Sur, Wele-Nzas, Litoral and Annobón.

During the rally, which brought together militants and sympathisers from Luba, Riaba, Batete, Moka and the surrounding villages, Nguema Obiang Mangue, in addition to reminding them that the PDGE candidate has worked for more than 30 years to achieve the development that the country is currently enjoying, asked them to renew their trust in his political party, in order that it could continue to work for a better Guinea.

As the founder of the political grouping, the Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea Candidate is promoting social stability, territorial integrity, respect for human rights, and an assurance of peace and political stability in the country.

With this vision the PDGE is once again contesting the general elections, and asking for the votes of the southern population of the island of Bioko, as the best option for the further development of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea.

Source: Official Web Page of the Government

The PDGE electoral campaign commission in Ivory Coast, led by the General Coordinator, Pablo Edú Etoho Obono, after visiting various points in the country to meet party militancy, held a meeting on Sunday 13th November at the diplomatic headquarters in the country. The rally was attended by militants and sympathisers this political grouping, in addition to Equatoguineans living in Abidjan. They all attended the rally to hear the message from Brother Militant Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Founding President and PDGE Candidate at the upcoming elections on 20th November.

The rally was also attended by the accredited Republic of Equatorial Guinea ambassador to Ivory Coast, Bernardino Mba Ondo Mikue, officials from the diplomatic headquarters, and other guests from the diaspora.

Following a reading of the message from the PDGE’s Founding President, the entire Equatoguinean colony in Abidjan said a big yes “to continuity, progress and political and social stability”. The meeting ended with cocktails provided by the electoral commission for the militancy and all Equatoguineans attending the meeting.

Source: Official Web Page of the Government

A number of international observers are now in the country to observe the presidential, legislative and municipal elections on 20th November.

On Thursday 17th November, they went to the People’s Palace in Malabo to exchange views with the President of the Republic, Head of State and Government and current PDGE candidate for the Presidency of the Republic, H. E. Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.

The group includes the African Union observers led by the former President of Guinea Bissau, José Mario Vaz, and the delegation of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), led by Maria Do Carmo Silveria, former Prime Minister of São Tomé and Principe.

During talks, H. E. Obiang Nguema Mbasogo briefed the observers on the electoral process underway in the country, in which three parties are running for the Presidency of the Republic: the PDGE in coalition with fourteen political groupings, the CPDS and the PCSD.

Source: Official Web Page of the Government

The Equatorial Guinea Ambassador in Brussels, Carmelo Nvono-Ncá, concluded his European briefing tour on the upcoming elections in Equatorial Guinea at one of the European Union headquarters.

Specifically, the Ambassador met Rita Laranjinha, Director General for Africa from the European Commission European External Action Service (EEAS). During the meeting, the Ambassador reported on the successful trajectory of PDGE candidate President Obiang in recent years, who “has been able to transform a totally ruined country into one of the most modern, developed African nations,” the diplomat said. “In the 1980s Equatorial Guinea had practically nothing,” he added.

Equatorial Guinea began exploiting its oil resources in the 1990s, although the activities reached a peak in 2005. “In less than 20 years, Equatorial Guinea became a different country in every way. Everything has improved,” said Nvono-Ncá.

“And I speak not as an Ambassador, but as an ordinary citizen who recognises a job well done. A vote for Obiang will be a vote for recognition of all this work”.

For her part, the Director General called for the Equatoguinean population to vote freely and for the electoral process to ensure transparency.

The EU praised the calm atmosphere in which the election campaign is taking place, despite isolated incidents in the run-up to the campaign.

Source: Official Web Page of the Government

Approximately every three years, the UNDP places high-level professionals at the head of the organisation in the country, in order to lead cooperation between the Government and the body. In this context, the new UNDP Resident Representative, Betty Wabunoha, officially presented her credentials before the Government of Equatorial Guinea, which was represented by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Simeon Oyono Esono Angué.

During the meeting, the two authorities exchanged views on the country’s priorities and how the two can continue to operate in order to achieve excellent results that will help Equatorial Guinea to achieve its Horizonte 2035 National Development Plan and the United Nations 2030 Agenda, as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Equatorial Guinea have been cooperating and working together for 46 years in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Regarding the profile of the new Resident Representative, Betty Wabunoha is a Ugandan national with extensive experience in the work and mandate of the United Nations through the UNDP, and she has worked for more than 20 years at senior management and international development levels.

She has 15 years’ experience at senior management level in the UNDP, having worked in Lesotho, Nigeria, Angola and Tanzania.

She has worked on strategic policy management, leadership and vision in complex development situations, including peace-building and conflict management. She also has excellent negotiation skills, a capacity for political engagement in order to increase motivation in interventions, and organisational impact and visibility, including effective communication.

As UNDP Resident Representative, she has successfully led and strengthened the agency’s position in implementing a unified sustainable development programme within the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF). Furthermore, she has provided strategic leadership for the UN Country Team in her dual role as UNDP Resident Representative and United Nations Resident Coordinator (2021), guiding joint programmes and ensuring coordination for development.

Source: Official Web Page of the Government

The electoral process for the elections of the 20th November in our country is crossing borders and has reached the United States of America, where the Vice Consul from the General Consulate of Equatorial Guinea in Houston has handed out voting cards to the militancy resident in Texas, Houston; militancy that, for the most part, is for the Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea.

During the presentation, Martina Masugu Oyana, Equatoguinean Vice Consul in Houston, called on those present to vote on the 20th.

As a loyal member of the governing party, Masugu Oyana was not lacking in praise for the PDGE.

The Vice Consul also gave instructions for the speedy distribution of the material prior to the date of the election, in order to avoid at all costs any possible feelings of delay on the part of militants living in Houston.

Vidal Ondo Nchama, PDGE Deputy General Coordinator in the United States of America, was in charge of receiving the electoral material for the Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea electorate.

Source: Official Web Page of the Government

SHARM EL SHEIKH, 16 November 2022 – UNICEF is launching a new climate financing initiative to enhance countries’ climate resilience and disaster preparedness for children and youth and bolster protection for children from the impacts of future climate-related disasters.

The Today and Tomorrow initiative is an integrated climate change finance solution that, for the first time, combines funding for immediate climate resilience and risk prevention programmes for children today, with an innovative use of risk transfer finance provided by the insurance market for cyclone disasters tomorrow. The combined financing platform is designed to help countries address the current and growing impacts of the climate crisis while preparing for future emergencies and rapidly responding to them when they occur.

“The risks of climate change are no longer hypothetical. They are here. And even while we work to build communities’ resilience against climate disasters, we have to become much better in pre-empting risks for our children,” said Karin Hulshof, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director for Partnerships. “We know more climate disasters are in the making. We just do not know where or when they will hit.”

Children and youth are a critically vulnerable population group that is among the most affected by disaster risk and climate change, including the effects of extreme weather events such as cyclones. Last year, UNICEF’s Children’s Climate Risk Index estimated 400 million children (nearly 1 in 6 children globally) are currently highly exposed to cyclones.

In its initial three-year pilot, UNICEF’s Today and Tomorrow will focus on eight countries in four global cyclone basins – Bangladesh, Comoros, Haiti, Fiji, Madagascar, Mozambique, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. To take this effort forward, UNICEF is raising $30 million for the initiative and is calling for additional private and public partners to take action and join UNICEF in helping to close the intensifying humanitarian financing gap for disaster protection for children and youth.

Climate harm in childhood lasts for life and perpetuates and deepens inequality and poverty across generations. However, the unique needs of children are not directly addressed by existing Risk Transfer mechanisms. This leaves a global humanitarian financing gap, or ”Child Protection Gap”, that encompasses hundreds of millions of children and youth.

UNICEF’s Today and Tomorrow is the first pre-arranged and event-based climate disaster risk financing mechanism that specifically targets this Child Protection Gap, with full support for the Tomorrow portion of the risk transfer instrument, secured from the German and UK governments under the newly launched G7-V20 Global Shield against Climate Risks.

“We are pleased to support UNICEF in advancing the world’s first child-centred financial protection tool for climate-related hazards and show the new G7/V20 Global Shield Against Climate Risks at work,” said Heike Henn, a Director at the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). “We expect that UNICEF’s Today and Tomorrow Initiative will deliver in three areas: first, increased uptake of ex-ante risk financing solutions by governments through knowledge sharing and increased familiarity with risk financing instruments; second, improved institutional and operational shock resilience of development institutions, and third and most importantly, closing the disaster risk protection gap for the most vulnerable people, especially children and mothers.”

“The UK is proud to be a partner in the new Global Shield against climate and disaster risks, and to co-fund the Global Shield Finance Facility,” said Rt. Hon. Andrew Mitchell, Minister of State in the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. “We strongly support bringing pre-arranged and trigger-based financing to the humanitarian sector, and I’m delighted that the Facility will expand its work as part of the Shield, including this new grant to UNICEF to enable them to protect up to 15 million children, young people and their families across Africa, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific and respond rapidly if tropical cyclones hit.”

Cyclones and the disasters they trigger, such as floods and landslides, represent the fastest-growing category of climate-influenced disasters and are a major cause of losses and damages worldwide. UNICEF’s research has shown that investments that reduce exposure to and negative impacts from cyclones and other hazards can considerably reduce overall climate risk for millions of children.

“UNICEF is the first UN institution, as well as one of the largest humanitarian organisations worldwide, to take out a bespoke disaster risk coverage for the protection of children, youth and parents, especially mothers,” said Simon Young, a Senior Director in the Climate and Resilience Hub at WTW, the advisory that designed the insurance solution. “As such, UNICEF is pioneering proof of concept for other organisations in the field. The decisive action by UNICEF can be a catalyst for more efficient, reliable, and quicker humanitarian crisis finance.”

As well as pressing governments and big businesses to rapidly reduce emissions, UNICEF urges leaders to take immediate action to protect children from climate devastation by adapting the critical social services they rely on. UNICEF also urges parties to find and fund solutions to support those who will face climate losses and damages beyond the limits to which communities can adapt.

Source: UN Children’s Fund

Between July and September, an estimated 119,039 refugees and migrants, including 10,821 children, arrived in Greece, Italy, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro through the Balkan and Mediterranean routes.

To date, 19,200 children have been reached with child protection services, around 23,072 have gained access to education, while 2,906 schoolteachers have been trained on inclusion of refugee/migrant children. 3,779 children and mothers have accessed health and nutrition services and 239,970 people have been reached with messaging on prevention and access to services.

The number of new refugees and migrants continues to increase due to conflict and political crises, socioeconomic effects of wars and the pandemic, food insecurity and the impact of climate change, stretching capacities of host governments to sustain equal access to quality basic services. Gaps include accommodation and sanitation facilities, health and protection services, learning opportunities, measures to prevent and address gender-based violence and care and support for unaccompanied and separated children.

While UNICEF has US$ 26.9 million available against its US$ 42 million appeal, a funding gap of 22 percent remains. UNICEF appreciates generous contributions from its donors and requires continued support to meet critical needs.

Situation in Numbers

148,000 – estimated # of children in need (UNICEF HAC 2022)

79,700 – estimated # of children to be reached (UNICEF HAC 2022)

119,039 – estimated # of arrivals in Q3 2022 in Greece, Italy, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro

17,483 – estimated # of unaccompanied and separated children present in Greece, Italy, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina

Funding Overview and Partnerships

By the end of September, UNICEF’s 2022 Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) appeal for the Refugee and Migrant Response in Europe is 78 percent funded (US$ 32.6 million). This includes US$ 5.7 million carry over from 2021, and US$ 26.9 million received in 2022 from the European Union (EU), UNICEF National Committees in Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden and pooled Global Thematic Humanitarian funds. Funding received has enabled UNICEF and partners to sustain critical health and nutrition, child protection and education services, provide urgent non-food items (NFIs) and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) supplies, and realize youth engagement and social behaviour change activities.

UNICEF appreciates the generous contributions from its donors. Continued, flexible and timely resources are critical to enable UNICEF to support essential, evidence-based, national responses addressing immediate needs and mitigating longer-term impacts on vulnerable refugee and migrant children in Europe. While generous contributions have been received, they are not provided equally for the different countries. Funding gaps remain particularly high for Montenegro (97%) and Bulgaria (95%), with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Italy also remaining above 75%, which has significantly hindered the progress against targets in critical areas.

UNICEF continues to work with national authorities, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), International Organization for Migration (IOM), and other United Nations (UN) agencies, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), civil society organizations (CSOs), and faith-based leaders to ensure the rights of children and families on the move are protected. Inter-agency coordination continues to enable effective emergency response, relocation, and country-specific initiatives to ensure protection and basic services for populations in need. Working directly with Governments and EU institutions, UNICEF and partners are developing and delivering unified and coordinated messages and policy positions, while advocating for key child rights issues faced by refugee and migrant children.

Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

Between July and September, an estimated 119,036, refugees and migrants, including 10,821 children, arrived in Greece, Italy, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. This presents a 195 per cent increase compared to the same period last year. Arrivals came mainly from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burundi, Iran, Pakistan, Syria, and North Africa. Although many new arrivals, particularly in the Western Balkan countries, continue to move on to other countries, they still require shelter and services for their initial days or months, to address their most urgent needs.

As of the end of September 2022, over 243,900 refugees and migrants are estimated to be present in the six countries covered under this HAC, including 44,614 children with their families and 17,483 children who are unaccompanied and/or separated.

The increase in arrivals of refugees and migrants, alongside the domestic socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, energy and food crises, continue to put pressure on national systems in hosting countries, stretching government capacities of to sustain equal access to quality basic services for all refugee and migrant as well as host communities. Gaps include overcrowded reception facilities, generating additional challenges in providing adequate sanitation and hygiene facilities, sufficient access to health and protection services and learning opportunities for children and families; insufficient measures to prevent and address gender-based violence (GBV), which put women and girls at risk and inadequate identification and protection mechanisms and limited availability of alternative care and legal guardianship options, which exacerbate the vulnerability of unaccompanied and separated children.

Source: UN Children’s Fund