The corona infection is spreading rapidly around the world and the news is rocketing. Our programme coordinators monitor what is happening in the project countries and in the global South. This is where they give their reading recommendations: These are the most important news items on the corona crisis in the Global South.
Mozambique gets creative with handmade anti-virus gear - Global Voices
Cloth masks, reusable protective equipment, and traditional baths to relieve minor symptoms - these are some of the solutions found by Mozambican authorities and citizens as cases of COVID-19 continue to mount in the cash-strapped country. There have been 80 cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Mozambique so far, northern province of Cabo Delgado, according to the Ministry of Health, and no deaths.
Pandemic, Confinement and Repression in El Salvador - News Pool Latin America
The President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, has issued a shooting permit to the national police and the army to arrest (and kill them if they resist arrest) members of the gangs he calls Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), 18-Revolucionarios and 18-Sureños on the streets.
Bolsonaro scans for lockdown and supports suspected lawbreakers
The extreme right-wing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro wants to lift the lockdown as quickly as possible and is attending a demonstration against the restrictions. The statistics of the deaths do not seem to interest him. For the sake of completeness: Brazil counts today, 22.4.20, a total of 43 368 infected persons, of which 24325 have recovered and laments 2761 dead. These are at least the official figures according to the John Hopkins Institute.
It is possible that the demonstrators whom the president visited violated the law, writes Stern. They loudly advocated a military intervention against the parliament. Bolsonaro has previously spoken out several times in support of the past military dictatorship, its torture and crimes.
Supreme Court expected to investigate Bolsonaro-investigation
The Brazilian Supreme Court is expected to investigate possible violations of the law in a demonstration against the current corona restrictions in which President Jair Bolsonaro participated on Sunday. Chief Justice Alexandre de Moraes spoke out in favour of such an investigation on Tuesday.
G20 debt deferral is all well and good, but CS has to go along with it!
The Group of 20 leading economic powers (G20) is giving developing countries a breather. They can repay the total of 20 billion US dollars later and can invest in health care. However, this only applies to the debts with the G20 central banks, not to private creditors such as corporations or banks. This is to change, because these loans are just as heavy. In the case of Mozambique Crédit Suisse (CS) must now follow suit and cancel the already illegitimate loan of one billion! Mozambique already groaned under the consequences of the hurricanesnow the pandemic is threatening to break out.
Between Virus Chair and Neoliberal Bank
Between Virus Chair and Neoliberal Bank
It was mainly European tourists* and then travellers from the USA who brought the coronavirus to this region, where the epidemic at the end of March 2020 is still largely in its early stages. Weak and partially privatized health care systems, in mostly highly indebted countries with a large part of the population without formal employment and with weak social security systems, give bad omens for the coming months.
Young People Struggle To Access ARVs During Lockdown
Zimbabwe and South Africa are under curfew. We are receiving reports from countries where HIV/AIDS-positive young people are no longer allowed to go to their health centres to pick up their medicines. This can be very dangerous, as without medication the HIV virus can become stronger and weaken the immune system.
Young People Struggle To Access ARVs During Lockdown - HealthTimes
YOUNG People Living with HIV have raised alarm over their struggle to access life saving Antiretroviral drugs and other key sexual reproductive health (SRH) services from health institutions during the lockdown period.
We feel abandoned: HIV positive Tanzanian brace for COVID-19
Arusha, Tanzania - If Mwanyika Thomas had a choice, she would lock her inside her small home and not venture outside at all. "I have to leave my house to get money for food. But if I didn't have to, I would never leave," the 48-year-old said.
"So differently Latin America fights the Corona crisis"
In Latin America, the corona crisis reaches countries in different situations. The Tagesspiegel keeps us up to date on the situation in some South and Central American countries, including our project country Nicaragua. Scenes such as those described by the Tagesspiegel from Ecuador will unfortunately soon be part of everyday life in other countries as well.
Latin America is fighting the corona crisis in so many different ways
A picture from the port city of Guayaquil in Ecuador makes the rounds: "I called the emergency number and got no help," it says on a cardboard box. Underneath it lies a corpse wrapped in a blanket on a park bench, red flowers on its chest, a parasol clamped into the bench.
"courage to take unusual measures"
In addition to the Tagesspiegel article above, this report from other Latin American countries is recommended. Deutschlandfunk Kultur describes the fast and thorough reaction of El Salvador, where we are active with projects. The solidarity of Cuba, which sends its well-trained doctors to other countries to treat corona patients - even to Italy - should also be emphasized.
Corona crisis in Latin America - courage to take unusual measures
Unacceptable and extremely irresponsible: this is what migration expert Gerald Knaus says about the situation of refugees on the Greek islands under the current aggravated circumstances of the coronavirus. Lesbos in particular is a ticking time bomb. More In the region Bihać in Bosnia the corona crisis is turning the already desperate situation of the refugees into a tragedy.
"'We'll die of hunger first': Despair as Zimbabwe lockdown begins"
In Zimbabwe the first corona falls are now occurring. But the country has been in crisis for quite some time now, because of crop failures a famine is threatening. All the more the poor population is now at risk, as they have to search for food with great effort every day and have to travel in crowded buses.
Read articles at Aljazeera.com
"How Corona fake news endangers lives in Nigeria"
Only those who know how the coronavirus is transmitted and how it can be killed can protect themselves. In Africa, false information about remedies and treatments is circulating: Sitting in the sun or having lots of sex should help. Others even claim that African blood is completely immune. For the Nigerian authorities, this opens up a second front: they are fighting not only against the virus, but also against the false information.
Read articles by the time and on the same topic at the ARD newsreel
"Covid-19 and the lessons we learned from Aids - getting it right in South Africa"
Almost 3 million people have died of HIV/AIDS in South Africa to date. The pandemic dug deep wounds into South African society, because the disease was and is connected like no other with shame, guilt and stigmata, also for the relatives of the dead.
Signs of fear, which are now being reawakened by the coronavirus. History must not repeat itself. We must learn from the mistakes of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Because only mit solidarity, the virus can be stopped.
We'll die of hunger first: Despair as Zimbabwe lockdown begins
Harare, Zimbabwe - It was still early on Sunday morning when Stewart Dzivira, his wife and their two-year-old son, jumped on a bus in Glen View, a densely populated suburb of Harare, headed into Zimbabwe's capital.
"When gangs are good for your health"
The Brazilian favelas are of little concern to the government. "If the government doesn't get it right, organized crime will take matters into its own hands", this news reaches the inhabitants of the famous slum "City of God". It imposes a curfew, which it enforces with patrols More than President Bolsonaro is doing against the Corona pandemic.
Read article at the Süddeutsche Zeitung
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In addition to the most important news on the corona crisis in the global south, terre des hommes schweiz provides information on the situation in its Project countries. Here you can find all important information.
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