Author: Web Desk

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and the Vice President for Service Cluster, Hussein Abdelbagi Akol on Friday discussed ways to improve service delivery by rehabilitating roads across the country.

The Presidential Affairs minister, Barnaba Marial Benjamin attended the meeting.

While addressing reporters, Abdelbagi said the meeting focused on addressing challenges facing the region, citing food security and flooding.

A meeting, he added, was also held with community leaders and chiefs to discuss their role in promoting peaceful coexistence with neighboring communities.

Last year, aid agencies warned that 7.7 million people will not have enough to eat from April to July 2023, while 1.4 million children will be malnourished.

The warning is contained in the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) released by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Food Programme (WFP).

Hunger and malnutrition, it said, are on the rise in areas affected by flood, drought and conflict and some communities are likely to face starvation unless aid is sustained, and climate adaption measures are scaled up.

The UN agencies underscored the urgent need for funding, warning that they will be unable to preposition humanitarian assistance in time for the next year, which could push millions of families even deeper into hunger.

Source: Sudan Tribune

Egypt has relinquished plans to hold a meeting in Cairo between the signatories of the framework agreement and the non-signatories, Sudan Tribune learnt on Saturday.

The head of the Egyptian intelligence service Abbas Kamel was in Khartoum on January 2, where he discussed their plan to bring the Sudanese political forces together to agree on a roadmap to end the political crisis caused by the coup of October 2021.

But the signatories were not enthusiastic saying it was too late as they have already launched the final phase and called on Cairo to press two holdout groups to join them.

“Egypt changed its position, and this is a positive development towards the completion of the final phase of the political process,” a senior Sudanese politician told Sudan Tribune on Saturday under the cover of anonymity.

The political leader whose party is one of the signatories stressed that Egypt supports the framework agreement and the ongoing political process in Sudan.

Amani Al Taweel an Egyptian expert on Sudanese affairs stated on January 10, that her country mainly wants to ensure the unity of the divided Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Mohamed Osman al-Mirghani.

The two sons of the old and sick DUP leader are divided, one is supporting the framework agreement and the other is opposed and joined the non-signatories.

Al Taweel who is a senior researcher in a government centre stressed that the current process would deepen divisions of their historical political ally and weaken its weight after the elections.

After the collapse of the former regime in April 2019, Cairo played the card of the military component and backed the coup.

In addition, Egypt declined calls to join the Quad which was set up by the U.S. to press the military to restore a civilian government in Sudan after the coup.

Source: Sudan Tribune

Algerian Prime Minister Ayman Benabderrahmane (C), FIFA President Gianni Infantino (R) and President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Patrice Motsepe attend the opening ceremony of the 7th African Nations Championship (CHAN) at Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers

ALGIERS, Jan 14 (NNN-Xinhua) — The seventh edition of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) kicked off at Nelson Mandela Stadium in Baraki locality, southern Algiers on Friday.

Host Algeria beat Libya 1-0 through Aymen Mahious’ 57th-minute penalty in the tournament opener.

Algerian Prime Minister Ayman Benabderrahmane declared the championship open, in the presence of several international sports personalities and big world football names, including FIFA president Gianni Infantino and president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Patrice Motsepe.

In his opening remarks, Benabderrahmane welcomed all teams and guests to the tournament as he paid tribute to late Nelson Mandela.

The biennial tournament, which was first staged in 2009 in Cote d’Ivoire, runs from Jan 13 to Feb 4 this year.

The Nelson Mandela Stadium was almost full as fans attended the opening ceremony with a musical show animated by famous African singers, in addition to a show that displayed the Algerian culture.

On Thursday, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune inaugurated the Nelson Mandela Stadium which was named after the late South African President and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela in tribute to his legacy.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

A new report finds nearly a billion people in the world’s poorer countries are treated for often life-threatening conditions in health care facilities that lack a reliable electricity supply. A joint report by the World Health Organization, the World Bank, and the International Renewable Energy Agency, “Energizing Health: Accelerating Electricity Access in Health-Care Facilities,” has just been issued.

Health officials say electricity access in health care facilities can make the difference between life and death.

Heather Adair-Rohani is Acting Unit Head, Air Quality, Energy and Health at the World Health Organization. She says it is critical that health care facilities have a reliable, always functioning electricity supply available.

“Imagine going to a health care facility with no lights, with no opportunity to have a baby warmer functioning,” said Adair-Rohani. “To have medical devices functioning and powered all the time. It’s absolutely fundamental that we have this electricity. This is an often-overlooked infrastructure aspect of health care facilities that are desperately needed to continue to provide care to those most vulnerable populations in low- and middle-income countries.”

The report finds more than one in 10 health facilities in South Asia and sub-Saharan African countries lack any electricity access. It adds power is unreliable for half of all facilities in sub-Saharan Africa.

It notes electricity is needed to power the most basic devices such as lights and refrigeration as well as devices that measure vital signs like heartbeat and blood pressure. It says increasing the electrification of health-care facilities is essential to save lives.

Adair-Rohani adds it is important to maintain these systems once they are installed to ensure their reliability and functionality.

“Reliable decentralized renewable electricity in health care facilities can really ensure the resilience of climate change for health care facilities so that they can provide care in the most dire circumstances and provides emergency preparedness so that yes, indeed, when there is a hurricane or floods or what have you, they still are able to have some form of power to provide emergency care as needed,” said Adair-Rohani.

Authors of the report say healthcare systems and facilities increasingly are affected by the accelerating impacts of climate change. They say decentralized sustainable renewable energy solutions are available. For example, they note solar photovoltaic systems are cost-effective and clean and can be rapidly deployed on site.

The authors say building climate-resilient health care systems can meet the challenges of a changing climate while ensuring the delivery of quality health care services.

Source: Voice of America