Day: February 22, 2023

UNITED NATIONS— The UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan dispatches patrols to support the 2018 revitalized peace agreement among competing factions, a UN spokesman said.

“In Eastern Equatoria, the mission reinforced the capacity of community members, particularly youth, to peacefully resolve conflicts,” said Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. “They engaged with state and county officials, as well as with the South Sudan Council of Churches to help prevent intercommunal violence.”

Peacekeepers also patrol the area between Tseretenya and Ikotos to reduce tensions among communities and improve security, Dujarric said.

In the greater Tonj area, the mission, known as UNMISS, launched the second phase of a project funded by the South Sudan Multi-Partner Trust Fund for Reconciliation, Stabilization, and Resilience. The aim is to restore peaceful coexistence through dialogue on local priorities, he said.

The spokesman also said that in preparation for the coming rainy season, UNMISS deployed all-terrain vehicles in Jonglei state to ensure a nimble and robust response to possible emergencies, including in flood-prone areas that were previously inaccessible.

Separately, the UN Refugee Agency, with 108 humanitarian and development partners, has appealed for 1.3 billion U.S. dollars to protect and assist the 2.2 million South Sudanese refugees living outside their homeland, said Dujarric.

The funds support South Sudanese refugees and their local host communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda, he said.

He said the agency noted that the appeal comes amid a worsening economic outlook across the region. The long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ripple effects of the conflict in Ukraine have pushed up fuel and food prices and increased unemployment.

“This support will be crucial in meeting refugees’ most immediate needs in host countries, including shelter, education, health and food assistance,” said the spokesman.

Source: Nam News Network

Researchers in Kenya say they’ve detected an invasive mosquito that can transmit malaria in different climates, threatening progress to fight the parasitic disease. Kenya’s Medical Research Institute this week urged the public to use mosquito nets and clean up areas where mosquitos can breed.

Kenya has detected the presence of a new malaria carrier, which was first discovered in the region in Djibouti in 2012.

The new carrier, the Anopheles stephensi mosquito, transmits plasmodium vivax, the parasite the causes the deadliest type of malaria.

Bernhards Ogutu is a chief researcher at Kenya Medical Research Institute. He says it was only a matter of time before the mosquito was discovered in the country after it appeared in Ethiopia and South Sudan.

“We’ve not been able to pick plasmodium vivax which is found in Asia and Kenya. It’s there in Ethiopia and this vector can also transmit it,” said Ogutu. “So that will also look at whether we might have plasmodium vivax in coming up with this new vector showing in our place. Vivax is more difficult to treat in that you can get treated and real up because it keeps staying in the body and the liver.”

Malaria affects over 229 million people each year and kills over 400,000 people, according to the World Health Organization.

More than a quarter of a million children die in Africa each year as a result of the mosquito-borne disease, including over 10,000 in Kenya.

Ogutu expresses concern for urban residents, saying that the new carrier may feed on poor environmental management systems.

“So the fact that this can survive in urban areas where water is not clean and that can transmit, that’s the worry people are having. For the time being its to monitor and see to what extent we are going to have its spreading and what impact it will be having,” said Ogutu.

Redentho Dabelen is a public officer in the Marsabit County town of Laisamis, where the vector was discovered.

He says experts are going to communities to teach people how to protect themselves from the disease.

“To sensitize them and teach them how to prevent themselves from the vector bites. We are trying to spray the houses,” said Dabelen. “We are trying to tell them about the disease through the community health volunteers and if they get infected they go to the hospital.”

According to the researchers, the population should continue to use malaria control tools such as sleeping under mosquito nets and practicing good environmental management and sanitation.

In 2021, the WHO approved a malaria vaccine for children aged five months to two years that has been shown to reduce child deaths.

Source: Voice of America

A new report by the Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker (STPT) states that the “December 2018 revolution created space to pursue major economic reforms. However, that space was abruptly taken away by the October [2021] coup. Today the economic situation is grim and is likely to worsen if military rule continues.”

Published on February 20, the Political Gateway for Salvaging the Sudanese Economy report argues that some progress was made during Sudan’s transition phase until October 2021, focusing on the country’s political and economic environment.

Nonetheless, “mismanagement of the economy has reversed this progress and exacerbated the cost-of-living crisis, price hikes, and recession. The near-term outlook is extremely uncertain, as Sudan’s economic prospects are tied to its political situation – which is currently in disarray, and reaching a political agreement is complex.”

“2019 to 2021 Transitional Government pursued a home-grown program of reforms aimed at stabilising the economy, improving competitiveness, and strengthening governance, in line with the SMP.” The International Monetary Fund Staff-Monitored Program (SMP) aimed to exempt the country’s debts and allow Sudan to obtain finance for major development and production projects.

“These reforms began to achieve progress,” culminating in Sudan being delisted from the US List of State Sponsors of Terrorism (SSTL) in December 2020.

“In August 2021, inflation declined by 35 points for the first time in more than a year and this decrease continued in the following months in response to fiscal consolidation efforts,” notes the report.

In an interview with Radio Dabanga on September 15, economic expert Sidgi Kaballo explained that a decrease in inflation does not equal a decrease in prices; inflation rates are still high (above 100 per cent) so prices are doubling monthly, further increasing the economic hardships of many Sudanese.

Sudan’s chronic trade deficit decreased from USD 5.8 billion in 2020 to USD 2.8 million in 2021, a roughly 50 per cent decrease, “following the exchange rate unification and the resultant improvement in net exports and shifting of resources towards official markets and the improvement of external transfers.” In addition, “external sector performance was robust, with the current account deficit narrowed to 50 per cent.”

Coup aftermath

“Recession and reduced household purchasing power are major concerns in the aftermath of the coup, and will likely drive Sudan’s economic growth rate into negative territory.”

The report warns that macroeconomic imbalances have returned due to a widening trade deficit, loss of foreign funding, economic mismanagement, the international community stalling the debt relief process, and rolling back support for the private sector.

“Many donors immediately stopped consideration of new funding and halted the disbursement of already allocated funds following the coup. As a result, Sudan lost some USD 4.6bn in foreign aid.” The widening trade deficit is “mainly due to a nearly fivefold increase in petroleum imports.”

“The coup has also allowed mismanagement of the country’s natural resources, especially gold, to continue,” according to STPT. Before the October 2021 coup, Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok and his allies began investigating the military’s assets with the goal of rooting out corruption and converting military enterprises into tax-paying businesses. It is estimated that Sudan’s military controls about 80 per cent of the country’s economy.

Future resilience

The STPT report gives recommendations for Sudan in order to “lay the groundwork for fostering economic resilience,” including the long-awaited political framework agreement between the military junta and more than 40 parties, movements, and professional groups.

“The recent framework agreement creates new hope that a civilian transitional government can be put in place and that reforms can be resumed. Ultimately, however, Sudan’s prosperity will require the implementation of policies that set the stage for a sustainable recovery and high-quality growth.”

The report recommends redefining the role of government in the economy, engaging in a far-reaching set of reforms and building resilience over time to a range of shocks, and engaging with the International Monetary Fund and World Bank once a new transitional government has been formed. A new anti-corruption commission is also recommended, along with investment in work, health, and education sectors to secure Sudan’s future.

Source: Radio Dabanga

“Over 418,000 people were newly displaced across the country in 2022 due to conflict and natural disasters such as flooding and fires,” according to a report published by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) on Monday.

The overview of internal civilian displacement in Sudan reported that “most of the displacement was registered in Blue Nile (30.6 per cent), followed by West Darfur (22.8 per cent) and South Darfur (11.2 per cent)” in 2022.

New displacement was mainly caused by conflict. 21 incidences were recorded by DTM across the country in Darfur, Kordofan, and Blue Nile region.

Gerrit Kurtz wrote an article for the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in September about ongoing conflicts in Darfur. “Sudan is still a long way from a new transition process under a functioning non-military leadership with broad popular support.?The security forces have effectively ruled since their coup in October 2021 and have only appointed a caretaker government.”

Incidents of tribal fighting in West Kordofan increased early June when fierce fighting in Lagawa left nine people dead and overwhelmed a new camp for the displaced near Delling in South Kordofan. End May, at least six people were killed in the violence that broke out between two Hamar clans.

In Blue Nile region, inter-communal violence led to the displacement of at least 66,000 people. Early February, activist Salah Ed Dalil told Radio Dabanga that the food and living conditions of the displaced people in Ed Damazin are “tragic.”

The clashes originally started in mid-July south of El Roseires when indigenous El Funj, El Hamaj, and Berta tribesmen attacked Hausa families in the area. The violence flared up again in September and October.

About 103,000 people were displaced due to river flooding (68 per cent) or flash floods (38 per cent) during the 2022 rainy season. The DTM report notes that “river floods are a common feature of the Nile basin and anticipated by many local communities in Sudan which base their livelihoods around agriculture and fishing. Regardless, many river floods remain destructive, particularly among urban centres.”

The rainy season in the southern parts of Sudan usually?starts in May and reaches Khartoum in June-July. It lasts up to September, with the peak of rains and ?ooding observed between August and September in the past years. Flooding occurs every year in Sudan.

South Darfur and El Gezira were hit particularly hard last year. In El Managil, El Gezira, the Sadagaat Charity Organisation reported late August that “despite the great efforts made to help our people affected by the floods in El Managil, the team of the Sadagaat Charity Organisation and several other parties, has not been able to reach the people in the area, because the floods destroyed a number of roads”.

146 people died and 122 were injured due to flooding and torrential rains since June, the National Council for Civil Defence reported in October.

Source: Radio Dabanga

The local authorities in Kapoeta South County have said that 3 girls, aged 14 to 15, were on Tuesday morning shot and critically injured while they were fetching water in the Namurunyang area.

The injured girls are Naci Nachek, 14, Itau Omoru, 14, and Nokuta Lowi, 15, and are receiving treatment at Kapoeta Hospital.

Juma Justine Apei, the acting commissioner of Kapoeta South County, told this publication on Tuesday afternoon that the attack was carried out by an armed youth from the neighboring Budi County.

“Today (Tuesday) at 9 am, there were some children who were pumping water from a borehole in Namurunyang, young girls aged about 14 years and the person who shot and injured them is from Didinga,” he charged. “He attacked and shot them using a gun and broke all their legs but did not kill them. These children are now with me in the hospital in Kapoeta. I called my colleague in Budi County and asked him to arrest the perpetrator.”

Apei cautioned the Toposa, Buya, and Didinga youth against killing innocent people.

“If you want cattle, go and search for it but do not kill women who go to cut grass, those fetching water, and those mining gold.” He said. “These are just innocent hungry people looking for ways to survive.”

Meanwhile, Kokol Michael, the SPLM-IO nominated Member of Parliament representing Budi County in the state assembly, condemned the attack and tasked the government to investigate the matter and bring the perpetrators to book.

He urged the t Toposa and Didinga communities to desist from targeting innocent girls and women in their localities.

“These attacks and killings are not good and had ceased. Such criminals need to be followed and apprehended,” he said. “The two communities have been living together without reports of killings of girls or women and they should continue co-existing like before.”

Source: Radio Tamazuj