Day: April 21, 2022

Key Updates

• High-level visits to Niger: In February, Niger received visits from the Director General of IOM and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and in a separate mission, the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs.

Both delegations met with the president and other high-ranking government officials and made site visits, including to Agadez.

• Anti-smuggling operation in Niger: In January, the Nigerien police arrested approximately twenty people in Niamey and Maradi in connection to smuggling of migrants. They were implicated in document fraud and the organization of plane transport to Europe using these false documents

• Senegal FRONTEX proposal: During a visit to Senegal by a delegation from the EU, the Commissioner for Home Affairs proposed an operational deployment of Frontex to Senegal. Should the Senegalese government accept the EU’s offer, it would be the first time Frontex would operate outside of Europe with its own personnel. Senegal’s Interior Minister has agreed to undertake “technical discussions” on the offer.

• Cross borders movements and internal displacement continue unabated in the region: In the first quarter, some 17,677 people entered Niger’s western regions of Tillabéri and Tahoua from Mali. During the month of March, ongoing violence and banditry in northwestern Nigeria drove around 8,629 people into the Maradi region of Niger. In Burkina Faso the first quarter of the year saw the second biggest spike in internal displacement since the beginning of conflict there, with 160,000 people displaced in January alone.

• Canary Islands arrivals: There was an increase in irregular arrivals to Spain in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the corresponding period of 2021. The majority of these were to the Canary Islands, which as of 31 March had documented 5,871 arrivals, a 71% increase over the first quarter of 2021.

• Expulsions into Niger: Based on figures from the NGO Alarme Phone Sahara, some 8,207 people were expelled from Algeria to Niger in the first quarter of the year.1 While exact numbers are not clear, hundreds of people were also expelled from Libya into Niger during this period.

Source: Mixed Migration Centre

Key Updates

• Land and sea arrivals to Italy and Spain from North Africa through the Central (CMR) and Western Mediterranean Routes (WMR) increased by 13% compared to the same period in 2021.

• Data from the Spanish Ministry of Interior show an increase of land and sea arrivals in the first two months of 2022 of 73.2% compared to the same period last year. According to the Ministry’s figures, more than 98% of these arrivals were registered by sea, with most arrivals registered at the Canary Islands.

• According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in Q1 of 2022 3,094 refugees and migrants were intercepted by the Libyan Coast Guard (LCG) and returned to Libya.

• 410 refugees and migrants were reported dead or missing in the Mediterranean in Q1, of which 373 were along the CMR and 37 along the WMR. This marks a slight increase compared to the same period in 2021.

• In March, media reported on Germany’s announcement that it would no longer participate in the support and training of the LCG in Libya, carried out by the European Union (EU) since 2016, citing cases of mistreatment of intercepted and returned migrants and ‘‘unacceptable behaviour’’ by authorities.

• The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) warn that combined effects of conflict, economic crisis, and poor harvests are significantly affecting people’s access to food and will likely double the number of people facing acute hunger in Sudan to more than 18 million people by September 2022, having the potential to impact on erupting and resource-driven conflicts and forced internal and cross-border displacements.

Source: Mixed Migration Centre

More than 1 million children in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi have now received one or more doses of the world’s first malaria vaccine, thanks to a pilot programme coordinated by WHO. The malaria vaccine pilots, first launched by the Government of Malawi in April 2019, have shown that the RTS,S/AS01 (RTS,S) vaccine is safe and feasible to deliver, and that it substantially reduces deadly severe malaria.

These findings paved the way for the historic October 2021 WHO recommendation for the expanded use of RTS,S among children living in settings with moderate to high malaria transmission. If widely deployed, WHO estimates that the vaccine could save the lives of an additional 40 000 to 80 000 African children each year.

More than US$ 155 million has been secured from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance to support the introduction, procurement and delivery of the malaria vaccine for Gavi-eligible countries in sub-Saharan Africa. WHO guidance is available to countries as they consider whether and how to adopt RTS,S as an additional tool to reduce child illness and deaths from malaria.

“As a malaria researcher in my early career, I dreamed of the day we would have an effective vaccine against this devastating disease,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “This vaccine is not just a scientific breakthrough, it’s life-changing for families across Africa. It demonstrates the power of science and innovation for health. Even so, there is an urgent need to develop more and better tools to save lives and drive progress towards a malaria-free world.”

Prospects for new interventions

RTS,S is a first-generation vaccine that could be complemented in the future by other vaccines with similar or higher efficacy. WHO welcomes progress in the development of R21/Matrix-M and other malaria vaccine candidates in early clinical development. The successful completion of clinical trials for these vaccines will be important to assess their safety and efficacy profiles. WHO also welcomes the news from BioNTech, manufacturer of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, that it aims to develop a malaria vaccine using mRNA technology.

In the field of vector control, a number of new tools and technologies have been submitted to WHO for evaluation. Should they demonstrate efficacy in controlling the disease, WHO will formulate new recommendations or amend existing ones to support their deployment. These include, for example, new types of insecticide-treated nets, spatial mosquito repellents, gene-drive approaches and sugar baits designed to attract and kill *Anopheles *mosquitoes.

There are also new medicines in the pipeline. WHO welcomes the recent approval by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration of dispersible tablets of single-dose tafenoquine for the prevention of P. vivax malaria among children. Tafenoquine has also been approved for use in adults by the US Federal Drug Administration and by drug regulatory bodies in other countries, including Brazil, Peru and Thailand. As a single dose, tafenoquine is expected to support patient adherence to treatment. The current standard of care requires a 7- or 14-day course of medication.

A number other antimalarial medicines with new modes of action are being developed for the treatment of uncomplicated and severe malaria. Ganaplacide-Lumefantrine, currently in a Phase II clinical trial, is the first non-artemisinin combination therapy and could be an asset in fight against emerging drug-resistant malaria in Africa.

In addition to drug resistance, WHO has reported other pressing threats in the fight against malaria, such as mosquito resistance to insecticides, an invasive malaria vector that thrives in urban and rural areas, and the emergence and spread of mutated P. falciparum parasites that are undermining the effectiveness of rapid diagnostic tests. Innovation in tools and strategies will be critical to contain these threats, together with a more strategic use of the tools that are available today.

More investment needed

According to the 2021 World malaria report, global progress in reducing malaria cases and deaths has slowed or stalled in recent years, particularly in countries hardest hit by the disease. The report notes the need for continued innovation in the research and development of new tools if the world is to achieve the 2030 targets of the WHO malaria strategy.

Funding for malaria-related research and development reached just over US$ 619 million in 2020. An average annual R&D investment of US$ 851 million will be needed in the period 2021–2030.

Making better use of the tools we have now

Reaching global malaria targets will also require innovations in the way that currently available tools are deployed. Through the ” High burden to high impact” approach, launched by WHO and the RBM Partnership to End Malaria in 2018, countries hardest hit by malaria have been collecting and analysing malaria data to better understand the geographical spread of the disease.

Instead of applying the same approach to malaria control everywhere, they are considering the potential impact of tailored packages of interventions informed by local data and the local disease setting. These analyses will enable countries to use available funds in a more effective, efficient and equitable way.

Source: World Health Organization

Due to extraordinary weather in 2018, Desert Locusts increased rapidly in 2019 and spread from the Near East to Southwest Asia and the Greater Horn of Africa, causing a Desert Locust upsurge to develop in early 2020 – the most devastating in the past 25 years. The upsurge posed an unprecedented risk to livelihoods and food security in some of the most food insecure countries in the world.

FAO and its partners mobilized more than USD 230 million that allowed ground and aerial operations to treat 2.3 million ha in the Horn of Africa and Yemen in 2020 and 2021. Up to 20 aircraft were deployed simultaneously, supported by hundreds of ground teams, and more than 1.4 million locations were surveyed. These collective efforts averted 4.5 million MT of crop losses, saved 900 million litres of milk production, and secured food for nearly 42 million people. The commercial value of the cereal and milk loss averted is estimated at USD 1.77 billion.

The response included three key pillars:

(1) surveillance and curbing the spread of Desert Locust

(2) safeguarding livelihoods and promoting recovery

(3) coordination and preparedness of the rapid surge support

FAO’s Office of Evaluation conducted a real time evaluation across three phases spread over one year. Each phase covered specific aspects of the response:

Phase I focused on leadership, management and coordination of the response and was conducted between June to October 2020.

Phase II focused on results as well as management and operations at country level.

Phase III drew lessons for future operations and FAO’s work on Desert Locust in the Region.

Phases I and II highlighted the significant contributions made by FAO across the full spectrum of preparation, surveillance and control of locust swarms and livelihood protection in the Horn of Africa and Southwest Asia.

Phase III found several areas for potential improvement in the future, in order to better prepare for, and respond to, future Desert Locust upsurges in the Horn of Africa and Yemen.

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Higher education has many advantages for refugees, both in terms of personal development, socio-professional integration, and self-reliance, and in terms of their contribution to the society of their country of asylum and/or origin. However, higher education opportunities remain very limited for most young refugees worldwide, particularly in West and Central Africa.

UNHCR is committed to achieving enrolment of 15% of young refugee women and men in higher education by the year 2030 – the 15by30 target. Based on current population data, achieving 15% enrolment in 2030 will mean that approximately half a million young refugee women and men will be participating in an enriching academic life, compared to only 90,000 today.

To support progress towards the 15by30 target, UNHCR has developed a strategic roadmap built around five higher education pathways, to offer strategies for optimizing, coordinating, and expanding opportunities: (i) national university enrolment; (ii) technical and vocational education and training (TVET); (iii) connected higher education programmes; (iv) tertiary education scholarships; and (v) complementary education pathways for admission to third countries.

Among initiatives to improve refugees’ access to higher education, connected learning holds great promise for durable solutions for refugee youth.

Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

The medical reports of the ousted president were falsified, a member of the plaintiffs’ lawyers said Wednesday after al-Bashir appeared wandering in the halls of a Khartoum hospital.

Recently, activists posted on social media videos showing former president Omer al-Bashir in good health visiting some hospitalised people in the army’s Alia hospital.

The videos sparked widespread controversy about the reality of his illness.

A plaintiffs’ attorney said that the military component deliberately moved al-Bashir from prison to the hospital where he has been held after medical speaking severe deterioration in the former president’s condition.

“The appearance of the ousted Omer al-Bashir, wandering in good health in the hospital confirms that the medical reports claiming a deterioration of his health -to take him to hospital and justify his absence from the court- were fabricated, incorrect, forged and invalid,” Moez Hadrat a member of the plaintiffs’ bar.

The lawyer called the court to take legal measures against the doctor who forged the medical report.

He revealed they have already submitted a request to the court to provide them with a copy of the medical reports on al-Bashir’s condition as they intend to demand his return to prison and appearance in court.

Al-Bashir and a number of his aides have been absent since last December from a court trying the plotters of the Islamist June 30, 1989 coup.

After a military coup in October 2021, the Sudanese Islamists have been reinstated in the civil service and security apparatus.

Also, they have more political visibility in the official media and take political initiatives.

The defence lawyers submitted a petition to the court to release the suspects who are 70 years and above. Also, they want a special bail for all those whose charges do not constitute the death penalty.

Source: Sudan Tribune