Global Initiative Bi-weekly site updates

                                      January, 03rd to January 16th, 2025

Malawi

IsraAID Malawi launches emergency response amid refugee influx  IsraAID Malawi announced Thursday that they were launching an emergency response amid an influx of refugees and asylum seekers fleeing political violence in Mozambique. Protests and violence ignited following Mozambique’s presidential election in October, leading thousands to seek refuge in neighboring countries.

Based out of the organization’s long-term mission in Malawi, IsraAID will work with local partners and government officials to support urgent needs of newly arrived asylum seekers in Nsanje district. The organization has begun distributing hygiene and sanitation supplies and is assessing additional needs across the six evacuation centers in the district.

Malawi struggles to feed thousands amid refugee crisis

Thousands of people have fled Mozambique to neighboring Malawi, seeking refuge from the nation's deadly post-election unrest. The exodus follows the confirmation of the ruling Frelimo party's win in the October vote by Mozambique's Constitutional Council last week.
The opposition denounced the result as fraudulent, and the top court's rubber-stamping triggered violent protests, vandalism and looting. Ellen Kaosa is one of over 13,000 Mozambicans who sought refuge in Malawi's southern border district of Nsanje. She and some of her family members fled on the day the court validated the election results.

 Kenya

Ruto promises to address issues facing Moi University
The financial and management challenges facing Moi University will soon be resolved, President William Ruto on Friday, January, 10 announced. The President said he has set up a committee to assess the magnitude of the issues facing the institution and recommend solutions. “We will put in place an efficient management team and allocate it enough resources so that Moi University can thrive like the other public universities,” he said. Ruto made these remarks at Ngeria Technical Training Institute in Kapseret Constituency, Uasin Gishu County, where he commissioned its state-of-the-art ICT lab at the institution. Additionally, President Ruto noted that the government is on track in laying the 100,000km of fibre optic cable, connecting 100,000 public institutions to the internet.

Kenya faces funding challenge as record number of students qualify to join universities
The government is facing a major financial challenge as it tries to accommodate a record number of students who have qualified for university education following the release of the 2024 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam results. A total of 246,391 candidates have attained the minimum entry grade of C+ and above, marking a sharp increase from 201,133 in the previous year. This surge in university qualifiers, while a sign of academic success, is putting immense pressure on the state's education budget. The 2024 increase, which represents an additional 45,258 students compared to last year, raises concerns over how the government will fund these candidates. Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba acknowledged the challenge but did not clarify whether the government would continue its automatic sponsorship policy for all students.

Rwanda

African School of Governance a welcome development

As Rwanda prepares to host the prestigious Africa School of Governance which will officially open its doors this week, a momentous opportunity arises to cultivate the next generation of leaders who will steer the continent towards a prosperous and equitable future that Africans deserve. Located in Kigali, the school is a graduate-level institution designed to offer world-class public policy, and engagement programmes to meet the diverse needs of leaders across Africa. This institution has the potential to be a beacon of excellence, producing visionary leaders equipped with the knowledge, skills, and ethical compass to navigate the complex challenges facing Africa today.

Lebanon

Lebanon: New president sparks hope for Mideast stability With the election of Lebanon's new president Joseph Aoun on Thursday (January 9), a two-year period marked by a political vacuum under a previous caretaker government has ended. "Aoun was seen as the candidate that can bring stability after much instability in Lebanon," Kelly Petillo, a Middle East researcher at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), told DW.

And yet, the election "was not easy" she said. "In an initial round of voting, Aoun didn't manage to secure the 86 votes needed to pass a candidate as president," Petillo explained. The political Hezbollah faction as well as its parliamentary ally, the Amal Movement, had abstained from voting, she said. Lebanon's military wing of Hezbollah is considered a terrorist group by several countries, including the US and the European Union. In contrast, its political wing is represented in parliament and is heavily involved in social welfare issues.

Israel and Hamas ‘closer than ever’ to ceasefire deal, Qatari mediators say

Ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas are at the closest point to date, said Qatar on Tuesday, fuelling hopes to an end of bombing in the Gaza Strip. "This is the closest point we have been to a deal over the past months," Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari told a press conference in Doha. He said Qatar and other mediators the US and Egypt were able to minimise disagreements between Hamas and Israel. "The talks that are ongoing now are on the final details of reaching an agreement,” he said. Qatar has handed overdrafts of a possible ceasefire agreement to both Hamas and Israel, he said. However, Mr Al Ansari cautioned against setting expectations too high until there is a formal ceasefire announcement.

South Africa

UNHCR Southern Africa Region External Update
The situation in Mozambique remains tense amidst an ongoing political crisis following October’s contested election results. While there has been a marked reduction in the violence and unrest during the last week of December, the situation remains unpredictable.

On 4 January, UNHCR conducted a joint mission with Mozambique’s National Institute of Refugee Assistance (INAR) to the Maratane refugee settlement in Nampula province, where   over 1,000 refugees and asylum seekers previously living in nearby Nampula city have sought refuge. In consultation with refugee leaders, UNHCR is working with partners provide to assistance, while screening and registration are ongoing.

Vietnam

Vietnam Education Sector Aims to Meet Asia’s Advanced Standards in Five Year

Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long has signed a decision approving the national education development strategy until 2030 with a vision to 2045, with an aim to ensure that Vietnam’s education sector meets advanced standards of Asia in five years and those of the world in 10 years.

Under Decision No. 1705/QD-TTg, the strategy’s objectives is to modernize Vietnam’s education system, build on and enhance the nation’s good traditions, adopt global civilizations, foster the comprehensive development of Vietnamese people, and meet the requirements of socio-economic development in the new era. It aims to actively participate in and adapt to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the latest advancements in science and technology, with a focus on morality and personality education, maximizing each individual’s potential and creative abilities, laying the foundation for achieving the goal of a prosperous, democratic, fair, and civilized nation with happiness and prosperity.

South America

Latin America: trends and predictions for 2025
The fading dominance of the ‘big four’ study destinations, Trump’s second presidential term and currency fluctuations in Latin America all promise to shape the region’s international higher education landscape in the coming year. 

While GDP is predicted to grow across the region, fluctuating exchange rates in Latin America are expected to increase student demand for more affordable education options including more online education. Inter-regional university partnerships in Latin America are also set to rise.