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A6 WORLD NEWS
Friday 5 august 2022
Efforts intensify to reach 10 trapped coal miners in Mexico

SABINAS, Mexico (AP) — passed and the water is still
Efforts to rescue 10 min- very high.”
ers trapped in a collapsed A small chapel was set up
and flooded coal mine in outside the mine where
northern Mexico intensified family members could pray
Thursday with hundreds of for the miners’ rescue.
people involved in the op- Bishop Alonso Garza from
eration, authorities said. the Piedras Negras diocese
The collapse occurred af- complained that condi-
ter the miners breached a tions for miners continued
neighboring area filled with to be bad and called on
water on Wednesday, offi- the government and com-
cials said. panies to improve safety.
Authorities had not report- “Each time that a tragedy
ed any contact with the like this happens they say
trapped miners since the yes and unfortunately now
collapse. no.”In June and July of
The miners are trapped be- 2021, cave-ins at two Co-
tween two 200-foot deep National Guards stand along the road that leads to where miners are trapped in a collapsed and ahuila mines claimed the
mine shafts more than half flooded coal mine in Sabinas in Mexico’s Coahuila state, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022. lives of nine miners.
flooded with water, Un- Associated Press Mexico’s worst mining ac-
dersecretary of Defense cident also occurred in
Agustín Rádiala Suástegui hospitalized. the collapse, relatives of since the day before to re- Coahuila on Feb. 19, 2006,
said Thursday. Rescuers Authorities had initially re- the trapped miners waited move water from the flood- when an explosion ripped
were working to pump wa- ported nine trapped miners in the shade of a tree out- ed shafts, but the water re- through the Pasta de Con-
ter out of the flooded mine. Wednesday, but revised side the mine. Police and mained high. chos mine while 73 miners
A National Guard plane that number to 10 on Thurs- soldiers with rifles restricted “No one can go in,” Torres were inside. Eight were res-
was expected to arrive day. access to the mine. said. “We have to first try to cued with injuries including
Thursday with six special The mine is in Sabinas, Alfredo Torres, cousin of pump out all of the water, serious burns. The rest died
forces scuba divers who about 70 miles southwest of one of the trapped miners, get it out, so the miners can and only two of their bod-
could enter the mine when Eagle Pass, Texas. The mine said he had been volun- go in to rescue their co- ies were recovered.
conditions allow. began operations this year, teering in the rescue effort workers. He said that so far López Obrador’s adminis-
Civil Defense Coordinator and the local government since Wednesday. Wear- there had been no contact tration promised two years
Laura Velázquez said that said it had not received ing a plastic helmet and with the trapped miners. ago to recover the remain-
five miners had managed any complaints or reports clothes and boots coated He said he still hoped to find ing 63 bodies, a highly
to escape the collapse. of previous incidents. in mud, he said they had them alive, but recognized technical endeavor that
Three of them remained More than 24 hours after been using small pumps that “many hours have has still not begun.q

WHO Africa sees 10-year growth in healthy life expectancy

The gain exceeds that had “greater disruptions” 20 years, out-of-pocket
of the average global to essential health services expenditure has increased
healthy life expectancy in Africa compared to oth- in about 15 countries,” the
that increased by five years er regions may also affect official further said of the
over the same period, Dr. the continent’s healthy life health situation in Africa,
Makubalo said, attributing expectancy estimates. urging nations to do more
it to better essential health Health systems across the to improve access to es-
services, improvement in continent have been over- sential health services. A
health service coverage, stretched mostly by the case in point for countries
in productive and mater- COVID-19 pandemic but recording massive gains is
nal health and in health also by other disease out- Botswana where universal
services to tackle infectious breaks such as monkeypox, health coverage is “the
diseases. Despite the prog- cholera and Lassa fever. cornerstone of our devel-
ress made, “we certainly Countries such as Nigeria, opment and our response
have a lot to do and we the continent’s most popu- or approach to health care
Residents of the Malawi village of Tomali wait to have their
young children become test subjects for the world’s first vaccine seem to be ready to move lous nation, are battling as delivery in the country,”
against malaria, on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019. together,” the WHO Africa many as five of these out- according to Moses Kitele
Associated Press official said, warning that breaks. with Botswana’s Ministry of
life expectancy in the Afri- To improve the health sys- Health. “We have made
By CHINEDU ASADU riod. can region is still below the tems beyond the pre-pan- some strides in attaining
Associated Press The healthy life expectan- global average of 64 years. demic levels and achieve UHC (universal health cov-
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Af- cy in the region “rose by al- “Unless countries strength- “quality, equitable and erage) particularly with re-
rica recorded a ten-year most ten years to stand at en and make greater in- accessible services for all,” gards to minimizing the fi-
growth in its healthy life 56 years in 2019 compared vestments in the develop- a major step would be in nancial hardship,” Dr Kitele
expectancy from 2000 to with 46 years in the year ment of health systems boosting public health fi- told the briefing, citing a
2019, the World Health Or- 2000,” Dr. Lindiwe Makub- as well as implementing nancing, Dr. Makubalo recent WHO-funded study
ganization Africa office alo, assistant regional Di- effective catch-up plans, said, noting that only seven which shows that less than
said Thursday, exceeding rector for WHO Africa, said these life expectancy gains countries in the region fund 1% of the households in Bo-
the global average and at an online briefing, citing could easily be lost,” she more than half of their an- tswana face catastrophic
progress seen in any other the new WHO’s State of said, warning also that the nual national health ex- health spending associat-
region over the same pe- Health in Africa report. COVID-19 pandemic which penditure. “Over the past ed with health care.q