UNCTAD Opens First Training Centre to Promote Consumer Protection in Middle East and North Africa Region MyZA

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UNCTAD Opens First Training Centre to Promote Consumer Protection in Middle East and North Africa Region:

UNCTAD opened in Beirut on 5 April its first consumer protection training centre for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, in cooperation with the Lebanese Ministry of Economy and Trade.

The UNCTAD MENA Programme, supported by the Swedish government, aims to promote economic integration in the region through the adoption of legislation and policies for competition and consumer protection, and through the promotion of gender equality, anti-corruption and good governance, for the period 2015-2020.

The training centre will serve as the focal point for planning, coordinating, and implementing in the region UNCTAD’s capacity development activities in Arabic and French for such consumer protection issues as product safety, risk assessment, e-commerce, financial services, tourism and misleading advertisement. The aim is to address existing training needs in the region and respond to the demand for UNCTAD training in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Yemen while bringing the region’s training volume on par with those of other regions.

The UNCTAD MENA regional training centre highlights the shared commitment between UNCTAD and the beneficiary member States to use technical assistance and training as vehicles for economic stability and inclusive growth.

The training centre will offer courses and seminars for government agencies, private companies, sectoral regulators, academia, and associations and institutions working on consumer protection issues in the eight aforementioned countries. It will build upon UNCTAD’s in-depth experience with capacity development and draw on its proven track record of delivering technical assistance on institution building.

The UNCTAD MENA Programme, supported by the Swedish government, aims to promote economic integration in the region through the adoption of legislation and policies for competition and consumer protection, gender equality and anti-corruption, for the period 2015-2020.

Distributed by APO on behalf of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

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UNFPA donates ambulance towards the reduction of maternal and neonatal mortality among Somali women and newborns:

UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund today handed over an ambulance, donated by the People of Japan, to the Ministry of Health in Somaliland as part of collaborative efforts to support programmes aimed at reducing maternal and neonatal mortality and related morbidity among Somali women and newborns. The Government of Japan supports health-strengthening systems for Somali people through UNFPA.

The UNFPA Representative, Mr. Nikolai Botev, thanked the Japanese Government for being a reliable partner in the quest to ensure that no woman or child dies during birth.

Mr. Botev called on the Government of Somaliland to continue prioritising strengthening health systems stating that combined efforts should bear fruits in saving the lives of Somali mothers and newborns especially at this time when the current drought is posing more challenges to many and especially pregnant women.

“The challenges in transporting pregnant women to district or central hospitals in emergency cases have contributed to high maternal deaths as well as fistula cases in many instances and the donation of the ambulance today is therefore very timely,” said the UNFPA Representative for Somalia.

Mr. Botev reiterated UNFPA’s commitment to support the investments in a safer and brighter future for the Somali mothers and children and pledged to continue supporting programmes, which can yield enormous dividends for sustainable development.

Somaliland State Minister in the Ministry of Health His Excellency Mohamoud Adan Jama expressed Somaliland’s gratitude to the People of Japan and UNFPA for the donation. He called upon the Government of Japan and UNFPA to expand the assistance and partnership to benefit more Somali people.

Distributed by APO on behalf of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

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Statement by the United Nations on Recent Violence at Kumasi Circuit Court:

The United Nations has consistently drawn attention to the negative role of vigilante groups in the two leading political parties of Ghana.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, and the Resident Coordinator of the UN system in Ghana, Christine Evans-Klock, have followed with consternation the acts of impunity perpetrated by the Delta Force vigilante group in the aftermath of December 2016 elections. They are particularly concerned that these political militants invaded the premises of Kumasi Circuit Court on 6 April 2017, and freed their members standing trial for assault on the Regional Security Coordinator on 24 March 2017. These acts are likely to tarnish the image of Ghana as a model of democracy and the rule of law.

The two UN officials outrightly denounce these reprehensible acts that are the latest in a series of similar incidents since the end of the December 2016 elections in Ghana.

They welcome positively the unambiguous condemnation of these acts by the government and expect that all necessary measures will be taken to investigate these actions and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Distributed by APO on behalf of United Nations (UN).

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