- GO
Fri, Sep 29, 2023 page3
- Taiwan to help children’s rights group in Kenya
- By Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporter
-
Taiwan is to work with Swiss children’s rights group Terre des Hommes to help Kenya fight its worst drought in 40 years, the International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) said yesterday.
The fund is to launch the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) program in vulnerable communities in Garissa, Kenya, with the Swiss organization on Sunday, ICDF secretary-general Li Chao-cheng (李朝成) said at a press briefing.
Having faced five consecutive rainy seasons with below-average rainfall, east Africa has since 2020 been facing its worst drought in more than 40 years, Li said.
Farmers prepare to transport bags of rice following a poor harvest due to the worsening drought in Mwea, Kenya, on Nov. 30 last year. Photo: Reuters
In Kenya, the drought is affecting a vast area, with about 6.4 million people in need of humanitarian assistance — the most in the past 10 years, he said.
The drought has caused food shortages and sharp reductions in people’s incomes, as well as had a devastating impact on the safety and sanitation of local water sources, he said.
The program aims to help local health institutions improve water supply, sanitation, waste management and environmental cleaning to meet the international standards set by the WHO and UNICEF, he said.
The program is to assist with the construction, repair or improvement of WASH-related facilities at 10 local health institutions, and establish facility operation and maintenance practices, he said.
The institutions are to be provided with maintenance tools and equipment, and their staff members are to receive WASH training, he added.
It is hoped that the institutions can improve their WASH facilities and properly implement infection prevention and control to reduce the risk of vulnerable patients becoming infected or developing more severe illness, he said.
It is the first development-oriented humanitarian aid program created by the fund to tackle long-term humanitarian crises such as climate change, aiming to reduce vulnerability by tackling long-existing structural problems, he added.
In other developments, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is to work with the Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association to send economic and business missions to the Middle East, South America and Africa to strengthen economic and trade cooperation, as well as supply chain partnerships, Department of International Cooperation and Economic Affairs Director-General Vivian Lien (連玉蘋) said yesterday.
The missions are to travel to Paraguay, Argentina, Egypt, Jordan and Somaliland in the next two months to seek business opportunities and promote investment through trade shows and one-on-one trade negotiations, she said.
Key industries of focus during the trips would include smart healthcare, logistics, food and agricultural products, textile processing, and jewelry and accessories, she said.
Comments will be moderated. Keep comments relevant to the article. Remarks containing abusive and obscene language, personal attacks of any kind or promotion will be removed and the user banned. Final decision will be at the discretion of the Taipei Times.
- Most Popular
- You might also like
-
Chinese boat seized after colliding with coast guard 2023-09-29
The coast guard on Friday took a Chinese fishing boat and the 17 people on board into custody, after it rammed into a patrol boat while attempting to flee. A 100-tonne coast guard vessel at about 8am discovered a Chinese fishing boat illegally operating in waters about 11 nautical miles (20.4km) northwest of Hsinchu, the Hsinchu offshore flotilla of the Coast Guard Administration said. The crew refused to allow law enforcement to board the ship and attempted to flee, it added. The coast guard vessel and another ship chased the fishing boat for about a half hour, during which time the Chinese boat
-
VP Lai warns of Chinese attempts to ‘annex’ Taiwan 2023-09-28
Vice President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that Beijing was trying to “annex” Taiwan, while China said its recent series of drills near Taiwan are aimed at combating the “arrogance” of separatist forces. The Ministry of National Defense earlier this month said that it had observed dozens of Chinese fighters, drones, bombers and other aircraft, as well as warships and the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong, operating nearby. The increased frequency of China’s military activities has raised the risk of events “getting out of hand” and sparking an accidental clash, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said last week. Asked about the spurt
By Bernard Orr and Roger Tung
-
China proves no two systems: academic 2023-09-25
China’s Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong has asked foreign consulates in Hong Kong to submit details of their local staff, which is more proof that the “one country, two systems” model no longer exists, a Taiwanese academic said. The office sent letters dated Monday last week to consulates in the territory, giving them one month to submit the information it requires. The move followed Beijing’s attempt to obtain floor plans for all properties used by foreign missions in Hong Kong last year, which raised concerns among diplomats that the information could be used for
By Chen Yu-fu
- Chinese military exercises detected in Fujian bay 2023-09-25
‘ABNORMITY’: News of the military exercises on the coast of the Chinese province facing Taiwan were made public by the Ministry of National Defense on Thursday Taiwan’s military yesterday said it has detected the Chinese military initiating a round of exercises at a bay area in coastal Fujian Province, which faces Taiwan, since early yesterday morning and it has been closely monitoring the drills. The exercises being conducted at Fujian’s Dacheng Bay featured an undisclosed number of People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) warplanes, warships and ground troops, the Ministry of National Defense said in a press statement. The ministry did not disclose what kind of military exercises are being conducted there and for how long they would be happening, but it did say that it has been closely watching
-
Copyright © 1999-2023 The Taipei Times. All rights reserved.
