In progress at UNHQ

AFR/975-PI/1591

UNITED NATIONS LAUNCHES NEW WEEKLY RADIO PROGRAMME ON AFRICA

23/06/2004
Press Release
AFR/975
PI/1591


UNITED NATIONS LAUNCHES NEW WEEKLY RADIO PROGRAMME ON AFRICA


The United Nations Department of Public Information announces the launch tomorrow, 24 June 2004, of “UN and Africa”, a new weekly radio programme dedicated to Africa and issues relevant to the continent.  This new 15-minute English-language programme covers topical, relevant, current-affairs-related stories about what the United Nations is doing for, in, and about Africa.


UN and Africa will speak to ordinary people and challenge top officials as the programme tackles all the key political, humanitarian, security, health, development and other issues facing African countries:  HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, peacekeeping, NEPAD (the New Partnership for Africa’s Development), sustainable development, South-South cooperation and others.


The maiden edition will feature an exclusive interview with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan answering all the tough questions about the crucial issues facing Africa today, including the current humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan, and the serious challenges of United Nations peacekeeping in Africa, especially in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.


UN and Africa is edited and presented by Ben Dotsei Malor of United Nations Radio and is available free of charge to broadcasters and listeners.


United Nations Radio currently distributes its live daily news programme in the six official languages -- Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish -- to over 150 partner stations in 75 countries.  United Nations Radio also broadcasts 19 weekly feature programmes in a total of 13 languages to over 1,500 stations worldwide, through the Internet, satellite and shortwave, and reaches a global audience of approximately 200 million people.


For more information on the new programme, please visit http://www.un.org/unandafrica/; or contact Audio-Visual Promotion and Distribution, Multimedia Resources Unit, telephone: (917) 367-5007, fax: (212) 963-6869, or e-mail: nagumo@un.org.


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For information media. Not an official record.