Maternal mental healthcare in Ghana, and other news (04 Sep 2018)

Every Tuesday we highlight some of the international development stories from across the globe that have caught our attention.

• The Northern Regional Alliance of Maternal Mental Health has been established in Ghana to help ‘mainstream, educate, and advocate for improved maternal mental healthcare for pregnant women and girls in the region’. Read more in Ghana News Agency.

• Alistair Burt, the UK Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Office, has reiterated the need for accountability for what the persecution of the Rohingya people, as the UN fact-finding mission report delivers clearer evidence. Read more in The Daily Star (Bangladesh) and The Daily Observer (Bangladesh).

• Sixty boreholes and hand pumps have been constructed in primary healthcare centres in Bauchi State, Nigeria. Part of the Sanitation, Hygiene, and Water in Nigeria (SHAWN) project and implemented by UNICED, these should reduce water-related diseases in the area. Read more in PM News Nigeria.

• Start-up businesses will be supported in Nigeria through a new investment of £70 million from the UK. This programme should create 100,000 jobs and raise the income level of around 3 million Nigerians. Read more in Business Day Online.

• The UK has also announced support to the growth of solar technology companies in Africa, to provide clean energy to off-grid households and impact over 11 million people. Read more in Business Day Online.

• All US funding the UN aid programme for Palestinian refugees will be cancelled, as part of the US’s recalculation of foreign aid spending. Read more in The Straits Times.

• As Nepal experiences a post-conflict era, have development agencies neglected funding for judicial bodies in favour of strengthening government? Read more in the Kathmandu Post.

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