Day: June 7, 2022

Highlights

• The Russia-Ukraine conflict has driven up already high global agricultural commodity prices. Fertilizer prices have also reached all-time highs both in the global and domestic markets, casting a serious shadow on 2022 cereal harvests and food insecurity in the Eastern Africa Region.

• Fertilizers prices increased two-fold (more than doubled) from their levels a year ago in the region within two months the Ukraine Invasion. This unfortunately coincided with the 2022 main season crop planting that disrupted farming. There has also been a hike in fuel prices region-wide, rising by 17-75 percent in April 2022 year-on-year, the steepest increase observed in Burundi, Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, and South Sudan. This has impacted farmers ability to use farm machinery and transport and will further reduce their ability to grow sufficient crops this year.

• WFP estimates that be the cereal production during the 2022 cropping year could potentially decrease by 16% yearon-year because high fertilizer and fuel prices. The total 2022 cereal production will be about 37.8 million MT, down from 45.2 million in 2021. This represents about 7.2 M crop production – There is a likelihood of the number of food insecure people in the region rising by nearly 6-7 million by the end of the year solely because of the reduced crop production because of the fertilizer price increase and attendant reduction in use.

• The cereal production estimates are conservative and could potentially be higher especially in Somalia, belg producing areas of Ethiopia and marginal agricultural areas in Kenya that have been worst affected by the ongoing drought conditions in the Eastern Horn of Africa.

• The highest decline in cereal production will be in Ethiopia (21%), Kenya (12%) and Sudan (16%) while marginal reduced in the rest of the countries given relatively low use of fertilizers by the latter. This implies that fertilizer price inflation will likely magnify food insecurity in these countries more than in the rest.

• Reduced domestic cereal availability will likely result in more food imports to bridge the gap putting additional pressure on already weaker local currency resulting in higher food inflation in the short run and adding to food security concerns in the region. Higher food prices combined with low household stocks will further compromise household purchasing, limiting physical and economic access to food. Affected farmers and majority of poor urban and rural households relying on markets will be the worst hit. There is a likelihood of the number of food insecure people in the region rising to more 100 m by the end of the year.

Source: World Food Programme

Heal of the Sovereign Council in Sudan Tuesday called on the various political forces to join a dialogue process facilitated by the African Union, IGAD and UNITAMS.

The Trilateral Mechanism will launch on Wednesday the Intra-Sudanese dialogue which will take place without the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) leaders who consider that the process is designed to satisfy all the benchmarks set by the coup leaders.

In a speech to the Sudanese on Tuesday night, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan described the process as a “historical opportunity” to achieve the desired democratic transition.

“I hope and request the various components involved in this dialogue to participate and not hinder sustaining transition and democratic transformation,” he said.

“Because the nation and its people deserve to rise above our differences, and put them above all our partisan, regional or personal demands,” he further added.

Hours before his speech, the National Umma Party (NUP) issued a statement confirming their rejection to attend this meeting as it had been decided with their allies in the FFC groups.

“The party will not participate in any dialogue that has no defined goals and parties, according to an agreed political process,” reads a statement issued by the NUP.

On October 25, the military leaders ousted the FFC government and imposed a state of emergency following a rift over the agreed rotation of the Sovereign Council and the implementation of the security sector reforms.

Already before the coup, the military leaders pressed Hamdok to dissolve the FFC government and to form a cabinet including members from outside FFC groups.

The FFC groups say that the process should lead to the formation of a civilian government to implement the reforms paving the way for democracy.

Al-Burhan renewed the pledge of the military to enforce the outcome of the dialogue conference and to remain away from the political scene.

US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Molly Phee and Saudi Ambassador to Khartoum, Ali bin Hassan Jaafar met with the Sovereign Council military committee headed by Lt Gen Mohamed Hamdan Hemetti to discuss the dialogue process.

“The Military Committee affirmed during the meeting its full support for the efforts of the trilateral mechanism facilitating the political process between the Sudanese parties,” said the Sovereign Council.

Also, the director of the North America Department at the Sudanese foreign ministry Kamal Bashir told reporters that the meeting agreed to support the efforts of the facilitating mechanism to reach an agreement over the formation of a transitional civilian government.

For her part, Phee posted a tweet saying she and the Saudi Ambassador held a meeting “With the military’s negotiating mechanism to urge real progress towards a civilian-led government and support for the AU-UN-IGAD process”.

Speaking to Al-Jazeera TV, FFC leadership member Yasir Arman stated that Phee understood their refusal to take part in the process.

He added that for a political process to be meaningful it should be “based on the right foundations”.

Besides the FFC, the Resistance committees and the Sudanese Communist Party also declined to participate in the political process

Source: Sudan Tribune

This is a story-based case study of the status, opportunities and challenges of education in South Sudan.

• 2.8 million children are out of school

• 190 schools closed due to flooding

• 1 in 3 schools have no access to safe drinking water

• 3.6 million people need educational support

• 4.5 million children suffer from hunger, affecting their ability to learn

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, schools were closed for 14 months that increased a lot of issues among children.

World Vision has supported 40,151 children to enrol and attend school, and 150,000 were provided with school meals through the feeding program supported by the World Food Programme.

Source: World Vision