Aslihan Arslan, Senior Economist, Research and Impact Assessment Division, IFAD and Zoumana Bamba, IITA Country Representative, DR Congo
Jun 29 2020 (IPS) – Warnings at the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic that Africa could be hit by a wave of up to 10 million cases within six months thankfully now seem unfounded, although it is still far too early to be over-confident.
The World Health Organization said on May 22 that the virus appears to be “” on the continent, with a lower mortality rate and a slower rise in cases than other regions. However, three weeks later WHO warned that the and noted that it took 98 days to reach 100,000 cases and only 19 days to move to 200,000 cases.
Supported by the European Journalism Centre*
Viraj from India, in a squat where he has been living for three months near Velika Kladusa, Bosnia. He hopes to join family in Italy. February 2022. Credit: Chiara Luxardo
Bihać, Bosnia, Apr 19 2022 (IPS) – Responding to several shouts Viraj emerges from the ruins of his shelter in northwest Bosnia. He is originally from India but is now squatting near Bihać in what remains of a house abandoned since the 1990s Balkans war.
“I was in the bathroom,” says Viraj although there is no such facility. The building doesn’t even have windows, just gaps exposed to a freezing wind. Collapsing walls are patched wit…