Africa

A tax dispute has led to a shortage of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs and HIV testing kits in Kenya.

People in conflict-affected areas of South Sudan collect food from WFP (WFP/eter Testuzza Photo)

April 8, 2021 (JUBA) - The World Food Programme (WFP) on Thursday said it is cutting food rations for nearly 700,000 refugees and internally displaced people in South Sudan, citing the significant funding gaps.

The WFP Representative in South Sudan, Matthew Hollingworth said effective from April, refugees and internally displaced people will start receiving 50 per cent of a full ration, from 70 per cent.

“It is a very painful decision to take from the hungry to give to the starving, but this is the reality; because of the alarming rise of food insecurity in remote locations, WFP has to reduce the size of its rations in some communities, including refugees and internally displaced people, who are in a less precarious situation,” he explained.

The agency said its resources in South Sudan are stretched thin at a time when levels of food insecurity are at their highest in a decade and donors are grappling with the economic impact of COVID-19.

“We must try to save the lives of those likely to face famine during the lean season if they do not receive sufficient assistance. WFP simply does not have enough resources to provide full rations to all of those in South Sudan who rely on our assistance to survive,” said Hollingworth.

WFP said it urgently needs $125 million for its food assistance operations for the next six months to provide food in sufficient quantities, including larger food rations for refugees and the displaced.

Those affected reportedly include some 440,000 internally displaced people in Bentiu, Bor, Juba, Malakal, Mingkaman and Wau as well as nearly 260,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia and Sudan, who rely on WFP assistance to meet most of their food needs.

The situation remains dire across the country as almost 7 million people or 60 per cent of the population are struggling to find enough food each day, aid agencies say.

South Sudan has been struggling to recover from five years of a civil war that killed almost 400,000 people, according to reports. A coalition government formed in February last year between President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar is implementing a revitalized peace agreement that is behind schedule, while deadly violence continues in parts of the country.

(ST)

April 8, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The death toll from tribal violence in West Darfur State has risen to 125, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD) said in a statement on Thursday.

Fresh clashes between the Arab Rizeigat and Masalit communities erupted in the capital of West Darfur State on Saturday 3 April despite the deployment of troops in the region to prevent such violence.

"The CCSD recorded further 38 deaths and 17 wounded, bringing the total death toll to 125 deaths and 208 wounded," said the medical group.

The new Inter-communal fighting displaced over 109,000 people and generated new needs.

For its part, the government declared a state of emergency in the state and deployed more troops to prevent escalation of the violence.

The UN humanitarian coordination office (OCHA) in Sudan said the intercommunal fighting has affected the distribution of humanitarian assistance to some 700,000 people in West and Central Darfur states.

Citing the government Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC), the OCHA said that two internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps and four gathering sites have been partially burnt during the recent attack.

The death toll and number of IDPs are likely to increase as more information becomes available.

The security forces that patrol El Geneina have been authorized to open fire if needed to stop the tribal attacks and to collect weapons.

The West Darfur Governor Mohamed Al-Doma Thursday blamed the transitional government for not implementing the state of emergency.

"There is a carelessness towards (the situation in) the state, and I feel injustice as a result of this negligence," added the governor who is a member of the Massalit group.

Also, he said that these gunmen who committed the recent attacks came from Chad.

"These militias can be dismantled according to a plan in which the countries of the region participate. The United Nations can also participate in the protection of civilians, he said.

(ST)

April 8, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - A Senior Sudanese official rejected an initiative by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to settle the border dispute with Ethiopia saying it aims to divide the claimed Al-Fashaga area between the two countries.

"The UAE wants to divide our land and we will not accept that," said Malik Agar member of the Sovereign Council and SPLM-N faction leader in remarks delivered during an event at the Horn of Africa Studies and Research Center in Khartoum on Wednesday.

Agar is the first Sudanese official to speak about the content of the UAE initiative which was disclosed by the Sudanese cabinet last month. Also, Khartoum dispatched the foreign and defence minister to Abu Dhabi to discuss the initiative without elaborating on it.

"The UAE wants to distribute our land. This is a biased initiative that will cast its shadow and repercussions on the region," added the former rebel leader who hailed from the Blue Nile region bordering Ethiopia.

According to several Sudanese officials, the UAE proposed to withdraw the Sudanese troops from the border areas that it has controlled since November 2020, divide the income of the UAE investment projects in Al-Fashaga by 40% for Sudan, 40% for the Emirates and 20% for Ethiopian farmers.

Agar said that there were no Ethiopian claims in the past but the ousted regime created this crisis.

His statements allude to the reported deal between the former president and the late Ethiopian leader Meles Zenawi providing to prevent the Eritrea-supported Sudanese rebel groups from sneaking into Sudan through his country. In return, al-Bashir allows the Ethiopian farmers to cultivate a fertile area.

"I was leading a rebellion and I know well that what is happening now is nothing but the creation of myths," he said about the claims by the government of Abiy Ahmed who reconciled his country with Eritrea.

Al-Burhan who spent most of his career in the border army repeats everywhere that al-Bashir was responsible for the current crisis because he had ordered to abandon the border military stations and redeploy troops leaving the Al-Fashaga area to Ethiopian farmers and their militias.

The border dispute gave al-Burhan an opportunity to increase his popularity as the army retook control of 95% of the Sudanese border.

The crisis dashed hopes for a regional economic market in the Horn of Africa after the end of a 20-year border conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

(ST)

The UN and partners are “following with deep concern” new reports of violations against civilians in northern Mozambique, the UN Spokesperson said on Thursday. 

Kenyans urge potential lenders to stop giving the government money over fears of growing debt.

The humanitarian situation in Tigray, Ethiopia, remains “dire”, the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General said on Wednesday.  

The failure of Libya to investigate the unlawful arrest and torture of a women’s rights activist is a clear rights violation, the UN’s Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), said on Wednesday.

Victim blaming continues to trap survivors of sexual and gender based violence in a cycle of trauma.

In a bid to represent African culture, Chioma Inyang set out to wear an Ankara-styled gown on her wedding day.

Days of tribal clashes in Sudan’s West Darfur have left scores dead and thousands fleeing their homes, the UN envoy to the country said on Tuesday. 

Levels of hunger in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are at a “staggering” record high, now affecting one-in-three people, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday. 

Support for climate adaptation in Africa is crucial, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday in appealing for greater action to provide renewable energy to hundreds of millions who still lack access to reliable and affordable electricity.

With a deteriorating security situation in central and northern Mali, the UN peacekeeping chief told the Security Council on Tuesday that ‘blue helmets’, the Malian Defence and Security Forces, continue to suffer repeated attacks and significant losses, while some large towns “live under constant threat from armed groups”.  

Seafarer Mohammed Aisha has been living on an abandoned cargo ship for four years, part of that time completely on his own.

Fifty-eight women and children of more than 600 who were abducted last year during vicious intercommunal fighting in South Sudan, have been reunited with their families, the UN Spokesperson told reporters on Monday.  

Kenyan Josephine Muchilwa lost her chef's job and then her business but is now trying something else.

Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman hits a stunning 193 but South Africa win the second one-day international by 17 runs to level the series.

Survivors and their family members recount what happened when Islamist militants targeted Palma.

Egypt's pioneering ship captain has been targeted over false rumours about her role in the incident.