The aid was halted on 30 March 2023 in the Tigray region following the discovery of "widespread and systemic" diversion of substantial food supplies intended for the starving populace.

The suspension was broadened to cover all of Ethiopia in early June.

"Millions of people have been without food for three months, severely impacting the health and safety of those already traumatised and deprived from a two-year war and extended drought," emphasised Alistair Dutton, Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis.

While other essential aid such as nutrition programmes for women and children, safe drinking water and support for agricultural activities and development continues, the cessation of food distributions is further endangering lives, particularly those of the elderly, the unwell, children and internally displaced persons.

"People are dying from starvation. In recent weeks, hunger has claimed hundreds of lives in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region due to food scarcity. This is neither humane nor moral," Dutton continued.

He added that theft and corruption in food aid must not be tolerated.

A comprehensive investigation is necessary he says - "Those responsible should be held accountable. To prevent future diversions, it is necessary to have strong, transparent accountability mechanisms in place."

Caritas is echoing the pleas of several Ethiopian religious leaders.

In a joint letter to the Ethiopian Government, USAID and the WFP, Cardinal Berhaneyesus and Rev. Kes Yonas warned that further delays in food aid delivery will only exacerbate the crisis for those in need.

Patriarch Abune Mathias and Bishop Tesfaselassie Medhin also expressed their concerns about the severe suffering caused by the suspension of this crucial support.

Dutton concluded by saying that while USAID and WFP have stated that food assistance will resume only when robust monitoring measures are in place.

"People cannot wait. Essential aid must reach those in need immediately, as every day is crucial", says Dutton.

Source

• Caritas Internationalis

Allegations were made in late July against senior members of the organisation, which AFP news agency reported involving "sexual misconduct, nepotism, retaliation, discrimination and other abuses of authority for personal gain".

Middle East media have this week reported that MFAT has already pulled its funding of the agency pending a report into the allegations - due in October.

However, MFAT clarified New Zealand's current stance on UNRWA in response to a report from the Israel Institute of New Zealand. The Institute recently produced a report looking at MFAT's dealings with UNRWA, much of which is based on analysis of internal MFAT documents released under the Official Information Act.

On Thursday an MFAT spokesperson confirmed to New Zealand's 1 NEWS that media reports in the Middle East are incorrect, and said funding has not yet been formally suspended.

"The Ministry will review the findings of the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) report once the investigation is complete and after that point provide advice to the Minister of Foreign Affairs on future funding," an MFAT spokesperson said.

"We expect UNRWA to cooperate fully with the investigation and to report on the investigation's findings and recommendations."

New Zealand has contributed a total of $2.5 million to UNRWA in the period January to June 2019, and the next core funding payment is due in March next year.

New Zealand contributed more than $6.4 million to UNRWA over the past ten years, and recently committed to adding $3 million over the next few years.

Source

• jewishpress.com
• middleeastmonitor.com
• tvnz.co.nz
• 1.org.nz
• Image: english.ahram.org.

While responding to pleas from villagers on Saturday, Bainimarama said if Government handed out assistance to a certain church group, others would follow suit.

He said this could not be done because Government did not have the funds just to assist religious groups but funds for all Fijians to improve livelihoods.

Turaga ni yavusa Bucaisau, Ratu Alipate Lautiki asked Mr Bainimarama for a boat and outboard engine to help transport villagers to church on Sundays.

Mr Bainimarama said if he approved it, other churches would also ask and costs could be exorbitant.

Bainimarama made his views known at the opening of the $4.39 million Coqeloa bridge outside Labasa on Friday.

Earlier this year in an address at the 25th Asia‑Pacific Parliamentary Forum Bainimarama says his government is very proud of the significant strides they have made to address social and economic inequality in Fiji.

He says ten years ago, Fijian society was riddled with institutional biases on the basis of religion, ethnicity, gender, provincialism and socioeconomic status.

Bainimarama says while it is a work in progress, they have knocked down many long-standing barriers to equal opportunity and have laid out a clear progressive path for national development.

He says the Fijian people stand more united and more prosperous than at any time in their history.

Source

• fijitimes.com
• fijivillage.com
• Image: radionz.co.nz

Less well known is Churchill's response that Stalin "might have mentioned a number of legions not always visible on parade".

Indeed, the reach and influence of the Church are not easily described by statistics alone, yet the raw statistics are staggering enough.

The Church operates more than 140,000 schools, 10,000 orphanages, 5,000 hospitals and some 16,000 other health clinics.

Caritas, the umbrella organisation for Catholic aid agencies, estimates that spending by its affiliates totals between £2 billion and £4 billion, making it one of the biggest aid agencies in the world.

Even these numbers only tell half the tale.

Caritas does not include development spending by a host of religious orders and other Catholic charities, while most of the 200,000 Catholic parishes around the world operate their own small-scale charitable projects which are never picked up in official figures.

Establishing like-for-like comparisons is hard, but there can be little doubt that in pretty much every field of social action, from education to health to social care, the Church is the largest and most significant non-state organisation in the world.

A sceptic might point out that influence can be both positive and negative.

So, for example, it might be queried whether the Church's work in education or health would be more effective if control was switched to the state.

In some ways, this is the wrong question - in much of the developing world, if the Church was not involved, the services would not be provided at all.

But there is a good deal of research which has attempted to compare the performance of Catholic provision of education or health with that of other providers and, in general, Catholic institutions come out rather well.

The health analyst Kenneth White, of Virginia Commonwealth University, found Catholic hospitals in the US to be on average more efficient than equivalent secular hospitals.

This was a particularly remarkable finding given that he also discovered evidence that Catholic hospitals, reflecting their mission to reach out to disadvantaged communities, were providing more compassionate care and stigmatised services (to groups that often face discrimination) than other providers. Continue reading

Sources

• Catholic Herald, article by Professor David Paton, who holds a chair in industrial economics at Nottingham University Business School
• Image: Restless Pilgrim

Archbishop Diego Padrón of Cumaná slammed President Nicolás Maduro's lack of "moral authority".

"The interests of the government are not the interests of the country," said Archbishop Padrón.

The archbishop is head of Venezuela's bishops' conference.

Continue reading

New Zealand provides 600-thousand US dollars a year to fund Nauru's justice system.

New Zealand's Foreign Minister, Murray McCully, says he's deeply concerned about recent developments but doesn't want to put Nauru's judicial system under any further pressure by pulling aid.

"If we were simply to depart the scene, then that leaves the Australians carrying effectively all of the burden and also means we put under further pressure the judicial systems we're already concerned about."

"So our starting point is always to find a way of dealing with the issues and finding a way forward rather than pulling the plug on what is not a big development initiative," said McCully.

But former Chief Justice Geoffrey Eames, who resigned after not being allowed to return to Nauru from his Australian base, says that's a weak response.

"It should not be supporting it, it should be saying 'this is an absolutely appalling abuse of power.' I think the minister has got to make himself so plain to the present government that they accept that a change must occur and unless something is done, well, New Zealand is propping up a system that is simply unjust."

Three opposition MPs have been arrested and charged, while other MPs have had their passports suspended following protests at parliament last week, which the government has dubbed a riot.

The government has also controversially banned Facebook and passed laws to curb protests and public assembly.

Source

• radionz.co.nz
• radionz.co.nz

Refugees, prisoners, the homeless, the sick and the elderly benefitted from the aid.

Direct Vatican aid helped 8000 people in 2014, along with religious communities which used it for basic needs or building renovation work.

The donations are generally modest, because the Vatican hopes to reach as many people as possible, explained Bishop Diego Giovanni Ravelli, from the papal almoner's office.

Pope Francis has made the plight of the homeless and other marginalised groups one of the defining themes of his papacy.

Fundraising initiatives have multiplied with the pontiff even auctioning off gifts from visiting heads of state.

Continue reading

They say the cyclone, and subsequent aid, are a precursor to a major event that was foretold to take place next year.

The island of Tanna in Vanuatu is known for its peculiar set of new religious movements, including what are popularly known as cargo cults.

Cargo cult followers believe an adherence to American military protocols will bring back goods, equipment and a bountiful lifestyle that was in abundance during World War II.

Followers of the John Frum movement worship the man who promised a life of prosperity during the American military's presence on the island during the second world war.

They routinely raise a flag in the village and march with makeshift wooden rifles over their shoulders like the long-gone soldiers used to.

Tearfund worker, Andrew Finlay, came to Tanna in the wake of Cyclone Pam.

He says while the beliefs were hard for the western world to understand, their importance to the community should not be undervalued.

Source

• Stuff.co.nz
• Image: i0.wp.com/militaryhistorynow.com

Gender ideologies from the wealthy Western world are being imposed on developing nations by tying them to foreign aid and education,

Archbishop Palmer-Buckle of Accra, Ghana, affirmed that what Pope Francis recently described as "ideological colonialism," meaning efforts by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international agencies to force the developing world to adopt a liberal sexual ethic on matters such as abortion and contraception, is not just a hypothesis.

"It's very real, 100 percent. The pressure is definitely there," he said. "It's coming from the World Bank, the [International Monetary Fund], the [United Nations] Population Fund … all of them come with these ideologies."

"It's so secular, it's almost anti-religious, and it's espoused by all these agencies and NGOs," he said, and that when he led Ghana's smaller Koforidua diocese in the 1990s, he was responsible for four hospitals and 11 clinics, with a client base that was 85 percent non-Catholic and concentrated among the country's poorest and most rural people.

Yet he couldn't get UN support, because his facilities didn't distribute contraception or offer abortion.

"I couldn't get money to take care of malaria because we didn't have the right positions on gender and so on," he said.

Nigerian Archbishop Kaigama decries aid linked to unwanted population control measures with international organisations linking financial aid to population control.

He stressed that what is being offered to the Africans—condoms and artificial contraception—is not what they want.

"We want food, education, good roads, good health and so on," he said, adding "but we are given certain things and we are expected to accept just because we are poor."

Bishop Emmanuel Badejo of Oyo, Nigeria, is convinced African nations are under threat from what Pope Francis has called an "ideological colonization" that is seeking to destroy the family.

It's so bad, he says, that the United States has made clear it will not help Nigeria fight the Boko Haram terror group unless the country modifies its laws regarding homosexuality, family planning and birth-control.

Bishop Paul Kariuki of Kenya, chairman of the Conference of Catholic Bishops' health committee, who were shocked to find a tetanus vaccine aimed at women in their childbearing years was laced with a birth control hormone called beta human chorionic gonadotropin.

The government insists the vaccine is safe. So too does the World Health Organization and UNICEF. The two groups issued a statement saying the vaccine, which has been used by 130 million women in 52 countries, is safe.

"These allegations are not backed up by evidence, and risk negatively impacting national immunization programs for children and women," the WHO and UNICEF statement said.

"What is immoral and evil is that the tetanus laced with HCG was given as a fertility regulating vaccine without disclosing its abortion and contraceptive effect to the girls and mothers," said Dr. Wahome Ngare, a member of the Kenya Catholic Doctors Association.

Antibodies produced by this combined vaccine neutralize natural HCG from the fertilized egg and lead to shedding, in other words it is an abortifacient and this tetanus/b-HCG vaccine induces antibodies which provide prolonged infertility.

If you want our help then hold your nose and take the medicine!

• Joe Hannah

Just when I was mulling the "what can I give other than a goat" issue over, I came across Unicef's Ebola kit.

Now that's a charity Christmas gift that is timely. The $55 pack contains soap, gloves, chlorine and protective gear for one health worker in affected areas of Africa. Continue reading

The church's Tonga Service Centre Manager Howard Niu says they have signed with local contractor Oregon Pacific International to carry out the construction.

Mr Niu says the houses will be provided to members of the church.

He says the church will provide the core of a house.

"We're talking about a 4.8 metres by 3.6 metres to start with. The government and the World Bank donating the other half of it."

"Especially for the most vulnerable group, if you're 65 and above, and or whether handicapped or have more than eight in the family."

The money to support this project comes from the Latter-day Saints' humanitarian fund, to which Church members and others from around the world, including Tonga, donate.

The joint Church and Government humanitarian project will also focus on training locals on Ha'apai in building and other trade skills, as well as support families as they create and maintain family and community vegetable gardens.

Source

• Radio New Zealand International
• mormonnewsroon.org.nz
• Image: mormonnewsroom.org.nz

After the disaster struck, almost every affected family was left having to build a shelter for themselves.

A permanent housing strategy has been developed but it's yet to get Cabinet approval.

Temotu Premier Fr. Charles Brown Beu has expressed his gratitude to Red Cross, World Vision, UNDP, Oxfam, Live and Learn and all other organisations that have assisted.

"We just don't have the manpower or experience to completely manage everything on our own right now," he said.

Patterson Fakavai, the Director of the Solomons' Architecture and Building Division says the communities have generally shown great resilience but many still don't have a place to call home.

To assist with recovery and on-going disaster risk management, UNDP has provided the Temotu Provincial Disaster Council with extra support through its Pacific Risk Resilience Programme (PRRP).

A spokesperson from the UNDP in Solomon Islands says a lack of expertise within the National Disaster Management Office, the NDMO, has delayed the recovery for tsunami victims in Temotu province.

Source

• Solomon Star
• Radio Australia International
• Radio New Zealand International
• Image: Radio New Zealand International

Mr Mugabe, said to be a practising Catholic, told a Chinese television interviewer that he resents Western aid because it always depends on conditions like accepting homosexuality.

He praised Beijing for being "very constructive" in its assistance towards Zimbabwe, the Telegraph reported.

"Whereas Europe and America, when they give little funding assistance to countries they always attach conditions," he said. "And that is our objection."

Earlier this year, at his daughter's wedding, the Jesuit-educated Mr Mugabe reportedly told guests: "We don't accept homosexuality here. God made men and women so they can bear children."

Mr Mugabe also recently said that Zimbabwe would not allow any gay diplomats into Harare, and regularly refers to gay people as "pigs" and "dogs".

The Zimbabwean leader went to China to try and bail out his country's bankrupt economy.

He returned home without any cash or even soft loans, but signed a handful of expensive deals to support ongoing infrastructural repairs and power generation as well as a pledge for a new coal mine.

During his TV interview, Mr Mugabe told viewers that China went into African projects using joint ventures whereas European businesses would not share their profits and had colonial attitudes.

At the end of last year, Mr Mugabe's Zanu PF party unveiled a five year economic blueprint to create more than two million new jobs with investments of up to NZ$30 billion.

Economists say the latest deals with Beijing would be very expensive, as Chinese insurers rate Zimbabwe as extremely high risk.

Late last year, Zimbabwe's Catholic bishops issued a pastoral letter calling for their country to engage more with the international community and lamenting how polarised it is.

Despite being blessed with abundant natural resources and highly skilled people, there were no signs of improvements in Zimbabwean life that could improve people's prospects, they said.

Zimbabwe was once one of the most prosperous of African nations, but it is now one of the poorest, with policies said to redistribute land and natural resources leaving them in the hands of a ruling party elite.

Sources

• The Telegraph
• Ecumenical News
• Image: Huffington Post

The Foreign Aid budget will be cut by 7.9 Billion dollars over five year

Extent of cuts to Australian aid to the Pacific unknown

Archie Law, executive director, ActionAid Australia says Australia is "not one of the world's least generous donors, because they're coming from a pretty good place, where the aid budget has been built up with bipartisan support over the last 7 or 8 years"

"But they've done a pretty good job at knocking us back a few pegs and the plans that they've outlined as far as the 7.9 Billion dollar cuts over five years will certainly send Australia hurtling towards the lower echelons of aid givers in the world." Continue reading

Reuben Mete, who's Director of the Youth Desk for the church is calling for the aid programme to be resigned.

He says that obtaining funds is difficult, and those running the programmes in PNG want to exercise too much control. Listen to interview

The results of the World Giving Index survey - organised by the UK-based Charities Aid Foundation - reveal that New Zealanders are second only in giving to Americans, and tied at number two with Canada and Myanmar.

According to the index, 40 per cent of New Zealanders volunteered their time in the past year - up from 38 percent in 2012. Continue reading

The European Union contributes aid to many nations of the South Pacific.

The Brussels-based Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community, said action was needed "given the systematic and increasing violations of freedom of religion by some governments and non-state actors".

Continue reading

Funds to 17 June totalled $1,000,271.60, including $51,129.80 from schools. However, donations continue to come in from some parishes and schools, so the total will rise even higher.

"Last year, Lent donations exceeded $900,000 for the first time," says Director Julianne Hickey. "Now, New Zealanders have gone even further. I find it incredible and energising to see this commitment to alleviate suffering. From the ‘widow's mite' contribution of people providing a few dollars a week through the Lenten envelopes, to one-off contributions of thousands of dollars: all are appreciated, all are valued, and all show the Catholic community's caring heart of concern for the poor."

"Lent is our single largest fundraiser of the year, comprising nearly a third of our public donations," says Hickey.

‘These contributions enable us to respond immediately when disaster hits, such as the cyclones that hit Samoa and the Philippines last December. They support long-term programmes helping poor communities meet their needs, such as for better water and education in the Solomon Islands.

"At home, high-quality advocacy work has continued, including prompting decision-makers to consider the common good and impact on the poor of new legislation on housing and resource management. Our Justice Leadership Days with senior secondary students around the country encourage a truly Catholic response to global justice issues by our young leaders.

"These funds will contribute directly to work such as immediate emergency help following natural disasters for our Pacific neighbours. Also the leading advocacy work here in New Zealand, prompting decision-makers to consider the common good and impact on the poor of new legislation on housing and resource management. As well as valuable contribution to the formation of our young people with Justice Leadership Days with senior secondary students around the country encouraging a truly Catholic response to global justice issues by our young leaders."

The Bishops have also thanked all those who "contributed their prayer, time, talent and treasures to the Bishops' Lenten Appeal."

"Our heartfelt thanks to all those who've contributed in different ways to raise this amount. It is made possible through prayer, support, publicity, encouragement and hard work by countless people, and today we would like to acknowledge and thank one and all, says Archbishop John Dew on behalf of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference

Despite the challenging financial times we live in, together we've raised these funds which will go a long, long way to carrying out the Church's work of promoting social justice and full human development, bringing hope to the world's poorest and most vulnerable people.

Today as we mark this milestone, we are reminded that the parable of the widow's mite is evident today as we see the fruits of all the generous donations from those who contributed a few dollars to thousands of dollars, all are valued and all are the result of generosity," says Archbishop Dew

"The more that is raised, the more that the Church can do to put God's love in action, bringing the Gospel to life in very real and practical ways."

Caritas Aotearoa/New Zealand released a short ‘thank you' video online for their supporters in acknowledgement of their efforts. The video showcases some of the places and people who benefit from donations to Caritas. Our latest Caritas Updatenewsletter out this week also profiles recent work achieved.'

Source

• Caritas Aotearoa/New Zealand
• Image: Caritas Aotearoa/New Zealand

"Within Syria, Caritas is distributing food," Laura Sheahan of Caritas told CNA. "It's been a little hard in terms of cooked food because it's difficult to even get fuel in Syria, but we're providing things like sandwiches. Meanwhile, Boy Scouts are distributing some of the food in places like Aleppo and Homs."

Caritas Internationalis is the Catholic Church's confederation of charitable and development agencies. Overall, it is helping more than 13,000 Syrians affected by the present crisis.
 
The armed revolt against President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, which began in March 2011, shows no sign of abating. Continue reading

He says there are signs that Russia's recent aid projects in the Pacific were designed to buy support for its territorial claims in Europe.

Russia has made development aid commitments to tiny Tuvalu and Nauru, apparently in exchange for their recognition of Russia's stance on the Georgian territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Russia is keen for other countries to join it and a handful of its allies in recognising them as independent states.

"I think to be seeking recognition or, in a sense, bringing the issue of Abkhazia and South Ossetia to the Pacific ... is concerning," Mr Marles said.

Russia is not the only Big power active in the Pacific. Japan, the third largest donor in the Pacific, after Australia and the United States is concerned about the growing influence of China.

Source

• The Australian
• Image: EastAsiaForum