Excluded Headlines: Thousands of Nigerians sue Shell, water ATMs being used in Ghana ..
Stay up to date on the global news stories the US- and Eurocentric media overlooks, with journalist and author, Tamara Pearson.
In this week’s overlooked, downplayed, and boycotted stories about the Global South:
Ghana: Private companies finding new inhumane ways to sell water – Some 5 million of Ghana’s 31 million people lack access to clean, safe water. People in poor and rural communities often aren’t connected to the water supply, and so private water companies are selling water to them using water ATMs; automated water vending machines accessed with a water card, which people top up with money. Source.
Tunisia: Super low election turnout, food shortages – There are shortages of some foods and medicines in Tunisia, while others are not available at all. Some shops are rationing products like sugar, milk, butter and cooking oil. A 10% inflation rate also means people aren’t able to buy as much as before, and many are now eating once a day. Meanwhile, Tunisia also held its second round of parliamentary elections on Sunday, with just 11.3% of voters turning out. Source, source.
Nigeria: 13,000 people sue Shell for oil spills – People in Ogale, in the Niger Delta region, where there have been 55 oil spills in the past 12 years, are taking Shell to the High Court in London. The Ogale residents filed on January 27, joining existing claims from the Bille community. Shell’s oil spills have contaminated local water supplies, and caused environmental destruction, deaths, and diseases. Source.
South Sudan: Healthcare system strained by high conflict and violence levels – More and more patients in hospitals in South Sudan have weapon wounds, as armed conflict there increases. The conflict is also impacting food distribution, and therefore leading to food shortages. Though a peace agreement was signed in 2018, the military and armed groups are still attacking each other, in violence that is often prompted by elites with economic interests at stake. Source, source.
Equatorial Guinea: First woman PM - Manuela Roka Botey was appointed by the country’s president to the position of prime minister on Tuesday, becoming the first woman to hold the role. Source.
West Africa: Half the medicines are unusable – Up to 50% of medicines in the Sahel region of Africa are fake or substandard. Counterfeit or low-quality medicines are either not working, or causing toxic side effects, including deaths. Vendors, pharmaceutical employees and police make money from selling such medicine. Source.
Argentina: Long drought is impacting the economy – Three years of drought in Argentina are seeing rivers and groundwater dry up, and vegetable and livestock crops are being affected. The country’s exports this year will be reduced by US$8 billion as a result, leaving the state with less taxes to spend on social needs. Source.
Pakistan: Inflation reaches 48-year high – Inflation in Pakistan is now at 27.55%, the highest since May 1975. Following devastating floods, the country is facing high external debt, and few countries willing to offer bailouts at non-abusive rates. Source.