Category: General

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), agencies and the government have brought together feuding groups in Magwi County of Eastern Equatoria State (EES) for reconciliation, peace talks and discussed how to improve basic services.

A spokesperson for the UN Secretary General said the UN mission in South Sudan would help promote further talks between the local security forces and communities to reduce tensions and restore stability in the area.

Last week, UN peacekeepers wrapped up a fact-finding mission to Magwi County in South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria State, as part of efforts to lower tensions between farmers and cattle herders over a lack of resources.

Since February, skirmishes have led to the deaths and injury to dozens of civilians, as well as sexual violence and displacement of some 20,000 people.

Cattle rustling and raiding have been among the causes of conflict in South Sudan’s communities prompting even some UN agencies and other organizations to launch a robust campaign against the practice.

Source: Sudan Tribune

ABUJA— The ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict resulting in the disruption of wheat exports has pushed wheat prices higher by 60 percent in Africa, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Akinwunmi Adesina has said.

Adesina, in a meeting with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, said the conflict would create global problems, particularly for Africa, which imports a huge percentage of its food from the two countries.

“Already, the price of wheat has gone up about 60 percent. Maize and other grains will also be affected. There may be a fertilizer crisis, as there would be about a 2 million metric tons deficit. And that will affect food production by about 20 percent,” he said, noting Africa will lose up to 11 billion U.S. dollars worth of food.

“And coming shortly after COVID-19, that would be rather serious,” the Nigeria-born Adesina said, disclosing the AfDB has developed a 1.5-billion U.S. dollars Africa Emergency Food Plan, which is now awaiting approval by the AfDB’s top management.

To avert a food crisis on the African continent while mitigating the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he said the AfDB plans to help farmers in Africa cultivate wheat, maize, rice sorghum, and soybeans through the plan.

Speaking specifically of Nigeria, Adesina, a former minister of agriculture in the West African country, said in the wet season of 2022, at least 5 million smallholder farmers would be helped to cultivate 1 million hectares of maize, 1 million hectares of rice, and 250,000 hectares of sorghum and soybeans, respectively.

“In total, our support will help Nigeria to produce 9.5 million metric tons of food,” he said, adding “we want to ensure Nigeria won’t feel the impact of the food crisis.”

Buhari gave plaudits to the AfDB for planning ahead of whatever negative consequences may come from the Russia-Ukraine conflict in terms of food security.

“We are very much aware of the need for food security, and to encourage our local farmers, that was why we closed our borders for about two years to curb smuggling. We made some progress,” he added.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

South Sudan President Salva Kiir is in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi to attend burial of former Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki.

The former Kenyan leader died near Nairobi last week. He was 90.

Kiir was seen off at Juba airport by First Vice President, Riek Machar, several ministers, top security and military officials as well as presidential advisers.

The South Sudanese leader is among those expected at Kibaki’s funeral service due at Kenya’s Nyayo National Stadium on Friday from 8:00am-2:00pm.

Kiir, who declared three days of national mourning with flags flying at half-mast across South Sudan, described Kibaki as “a courageous statesman who earned respect of his peers because of his work on regional stability”.

“President Kibaki took a principled stance in his pursuit of dignified and practical politics throughout his political career. In opposition, his practical approach to politics kept the torch of accountability on Kenyan institutions,” Kiir said in a statement.

He added, “When he became President, the economic policies he enacted set Kenya on the path of sustainable development that will be built on by successive governments.

A number of African leaders are expected to grace the Friday’s event.

Sworn in as Kenya’s third president on December 30, 2002 and served until April 9, 2013, Kibaki will reportedly be remembered for spearheading free primary education, infrastructure developments in transport and energy, and increasing the availability of and access to healthcare.

Source: Sudan Tribune

BRAZZAVILLE— Africa is facing an explosion of preventable diseases due to delays in vaccinating children, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said, with measles cases jumping 400 per cent.

Twenty African countries reported measles outbreaks in the first quarter of this year, eight more than in the first three months of 2021.

The Africa region recorded almost 17,500 cases of the highly contagious virus between January and March.

The WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) announced Wednesday in Geneva that measles cases surged by nearly 80 per cent worldwide this year, warning that the rise of the “canary in a coal mine” illness indicates that outbreaks of other diseases are likely on the way.

Most of the outbreaks were in Africa and the eastern Mediterranean.

WHO’s Africa regional bureau said outbreaks of other vaccine-preventable diseases have also become more common on the continent.

Some 24 African nations confirmed epidemics due to a variant of polio in 2021 – four more than during the previous year.

Thirteen countries had epidemics of yellow fever last year, up from nine in 2020 and three in 2019.

“Inequalities in accessing vaccines, disruptions by the Covid-19 pandemic, including a huge strain on health system capacities, impaired routine immunisation services in many African countries and forced the suspension of vaccination drives,” WHO said.

“The rise in outbreaks of other vaccine-preventable diseases is a warning sign,” WHO’s regional director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti told an online briefing.

“As Africa works hard to defeat Covid-19, we must not forget other health threats,” she added.

The measles virus attacks mainly children with the most serious complications including blindness, brain swelling, diarrhoea and severe respiratory infections.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

Sudanese authorities finally released 11 leading members of the suspended Empowerment Removal Committee (ERC) on Wednesday, including its alternate chairman, Mohamed al-Faki Suleiman, after a two-month arrest.

Their release comes one day after the release of Khalid Omar Youssif, former Minister of the Cabinet Affairs in the civilian government, which the military dissolved on October 25, 2021.

Last Monday, the judge of the General Court of Northern Khartoum, refused to renew the detention of ERC members due to the lack of evidence.

However, the prosecution refused to release them, saying that there was a new lawsuit against some of them and demanded the payment of 50 million Sudanese pounds for the others.

In a statement extended to the Sudan Tribune, the defence team of the detainees said they had submitted an appeal demanding the release of the detainees on regular bail.

The appeal judge accepted the request and decided to release the detainees on regular bail.

Tariq Kandyk a member of the Defence team confirmed to the Sudan Tribune the release of 11 members of the Empowerment Removal Committee.

He added that three others remain in jail, including al-Tayeb Osman, and Abdallah Suleiman, because their case was linked to another wanted person the police failed to arrest until now.

The freed leaders, among others, are alternate chairman of the committee and former members of the Sovereign Council, Mohamed al-Faki Suleiman, lawyer Wagdi Salih and Taha Osman, as well as Awad Karendis, Head of the Executive Office of the Unionist Alliance, Babiker Faisal.

UNITAMS Head Volker Perthes welcomed the release of the ERC figures.

“Their release eventually follows the decision by the responsible judge that there are no grounds for their detention,” he added in a tweet posted on Wednesday.

For his part, Wagdi Salih vowed to take to the streets again after 76 days of detention.

“We renew our oath that we will remain the servants of our people, and do not forget that these streets are the ones that brought us to positions of responsibility,” Salih tweeted after his release.

Immediately after the coup of October 2022, General Abdel Fattah al Burhan suspended the committee tasked with the dismantlement of the former regime.

After that, the Supreme Court cancelled dozens of decisions taken by the committee to dismantle the National Congress Party organizations and companies. Also, the court reinstated the sacked Islamists to the civil service and decided to activate their frozen bank accounts.

Source: Sudan Tribune