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A28 WORLD NEWS
Friday 22 May 2020
Locusts, COVID-19, flooding pose ‘triple threat’ in Africa

By RODNEY MUHUMUZA "extremely alarming" be-
Associated Press cause new swarms will form
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) from mid-June onward, co-
— Locusts, COVID-19 and inciding with the start of the
deadly flooding pose a harvest season for many
"triple threat" to millions of farmers.
people across East Africa, The World Bank's new $500
officials warned Thursday, million program will benefit
while the World Bank an- affected countries in Africa
nounced a $500 million pro- and the Middle East, and
gram for countries affected Uganda, Kenya, Djibouti
by the historic desert locust and Ethiopia benefit from
swarms. an initial disbursement of
A new and larger genera- $160 million. Some of the
tion of the voracious in- money will go directly to
sects, numbering in the bil- farmers as cash payments.
lions, is on the move in East Plans to help Yemen and
Africa, where some coun- Somalia are at an "ad-
tries haven't seen such an vanced stage," the bank
outbreak in 70 years. Cli- said.
mate change is in part to "This food supply emer-
blame. gency combined with the
The added threat of CO- pandemic and economic
VID-19 imperils a region In this Saturday, Feb. 1, 2020 file photo, ranger Gabriel Lesoipa is surrounded by desert locusts shutdown in advanced
that already was home to as he and a ground team relay the coordinates of the swarm to a plane spraying pesticides, in economies places some
Nasuulu Conservancy, northern Kenya.
about 20% of the world's Associated Press of the world's poorest and
population of food-inse- most vulnerable people at
cure people, including mil- that is called the only ef- south of the Sahara Desert, locusts, or enough crops even greater risk," World
lions in South Sudan and fective control. he said. Chad, Niger and to feed about 5 million Bank Group president Da-
Somalia. "We're not in a plague, Mauritania could be af- people, said Dominique vid Malpass said in a state-
Yemen in the nearby Arabi- but if there are good rains fected — another burden Burgeon, FAO's director of ment. The recent floods in
an Peninsula is also threat- in the summer and unsuc- for a region under growing emergencies, "but it is only parts of East Africa have
ened, and United Nations cessful control operations, threat from extremist at- one part of the equation." killed nearly 300 people
officials warn that if locusts we could be in a plague by tacks. The number of locusts con- and displaced 500,000,
are not brought under con- the end of this year," said The FAO is preparing to in- tinues to grow despite the slowing locust control work
trol there, the conflict-hit Keith Cressman, senior lo- crease its appeal for aid control efforts, and if that and increasing the risk of
country will remain a reser- cust forecasting officer with to $310 million as the liveli- work is not sustained, the the virus' spread, according
voir for further infestations in the United Nations Food hoods of millions of people combined threat with CO- to the International Federa-
the region. and Agriculture Organiza- across Ethiopia, Kenya and VID-10 and flooding "could tion of Red Cross and Red
Lockdowns imposed for the tion. elsewhere are at stake, in- have a catastrophic ef- Crescent Societies.
COVID-19 pandemic have Now there's a risk that the cluding farmers and herd- fect," said FAO director- "We are facing an unusu-
slowed efforts to com- locusts could make their ers. general Qu Dongyu. ally complex humanitarian
bat the locusts, especially way in the coming months Already about 400,000 The FAO in its latest assess- situation," Simon Missiri, the
imports of the pesticides into West Africa's sprawling hectares of land have ment says the situation in group's Africa director, said
needed for aerial spraying and arid Sahel region just been protected from the parts of East Africa remains in a statement.q

Guatemala president fumes over infected deportees from U.S.

dent Alejandro Giammat- assurances from U.S. au- cases from previous flights
tei said Thursday. "Guate- thorities. where it appeared some
mala is an ally of the Unit- The last flight with deport- had been tested and cer-
ed States, but the United ees who tested positive in tified as negative a week
States is not Guatemala's Guatemala arrived May before their departure.
ally. They don't treat us like 13 from Alexandria, Louisi- Giammattei said the in-
an ally." Giammattei is the ana. Officials have said 16 fected deportees were
first of the region's leaders of them have tested posi- creating "serious prob-
to speak out against the tive. lems" in his country's al-
U.S. policy that has sent A U.S. Immigration and ready overloaded health
thousands of deportees Customs Enforcement system.
back to their countries spokesperson confirmed "The United States has
since the pandemic be- this week that all 65 mi- helped other countries
A woman crosses an street that's empty due to a tight lockdown gan. grants aboard that flight including with ventila-
in Guatemala City, early Friday, May 15, 2020. Guatemala has confirmed had been tested prior to tors and to us nothing has
Associated Press 119 deportees arrived with departure. Fifteen more come, not even chopped
By SONIA PÉREZ D. tration over the U.S. con- COVID-19 from the United Guatemalans scheduled corn," he said during an
Associated Press tinuing to send deportees States. The country has to be on that flight tested online appearance with
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — infected with COVID-19 suspended the deporta- positive and were returned the Atlantic Council's Adri-
Guatemala's president to a country struggling to tion flights on several oc- to detention facilities enne Arsht Latin America
questioned his country's manage the crisis. casions after infected pas- where they were isolated Center. "We don't feel very
relationship with the Unit- "This of allies with the Unit- sengers were detected, from other detainees. grateful for the way we
ed States, revealing frus- ed States isn't true," Presi- but resumed them after Guatemala has identified have been treated." q