KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — More than 1,000 people have died from Ebola in eastern Congo since August, the country’s health minister said Friday as hostility toward health workers continues to hamper efforts to contain the second-deadliest outbreak of the virus.
Health Minister Oly Ilunga told The Associated Press that four deaths in the outbreak’s epicenter of Katwa helped push the death toll to 1,008. Two more deaths were reported in the city of Butembo.
The outbreak declared almost nine months ago already had caused the most deaths behind the 2014-2016 outbreak in West Africa’s Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia that killed more than 11,000 people.
A volatile security situation and deep community mistrust have hampered efforts to control the epidemic in eastern Congo. Ebola treatment centers have come under repeated attack, leaving government health officials to staff clinics in the hotspots of Butembo and Katwa.
International aid organizations stopped their work in the two communities because of the violence. A Cameroonian epidemiologist working with WHO was killed last month during an assault on a hospital in Butembo.
Insecurity has become a “major impediment” to controlling the Ebola outbreak, Michael Ryan, WHO’s health emergencies chief, told reporters in Geneva earlier Friday.
He said 119 attacks have been recorded since January, 42 of them directed at health facilities, while 85 health workers have been wounded or killed. Dozens of rebel groups operate in the region, and political rivalries in part drive’s community rejection of health personnel.
“Every time we have managed to regain control over the virus and contain its spread, we have suffered major, major security events,” Ryan said. “We are anticipating a scenario of continued intense transmission” of the disease.
WHO has said the most recent Ebola outbreak remained contained to eastern Congo even as the number of cases rises in a dense, highly mobile population near the border with Uganda and Rwanda.
Showing posts with label Africa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Africa. Show all posts
Friday, May 3, 2019
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
South Sudan government forces, allies killed hundreds of civilians -UN
GENEVA (Reuters) - At least 232 civilians were killed and 120 women and girls raped in “scorched earth” attacks by South Sudan government troops and aligned forces in opposition-held villages earlier this year, the U.N. human rights office said on Tuesday.
A United Nations investigation identified three commanders suspected of bearing the “greatest responsibility” in the violence in Unity state between April 16 and May 24 that may amount to war crimes, it said in a report.
Elderly and disabled civilians were burned alive in the attack on 40 villages, which appeared aimed at driving out opposition forces, it said. A further 132 women and girls were abducted in the assault that forced 31,140 people to flee.
“The perpetrators ...must not be allowed to get away with it,” said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein in a statement.
Reiterating his call on the government and African Union to establish a hybrid court for South Sudan, he said the soldiers and aligned forces slit elderly villagers’ throats, hanged women for resisting looting and shot fleeing civilians.
“The brutality and ruthlessness of the attackers as described by the survivors suggests that their intent was to take a ‘scorched earth’ approach, killing or forcibly displacing people, burning their crops and homes, punishing and terrorising them to ensure that they never return,” U.N. human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a briefing.
The U.N. report said opposition forces had also carried out armed attacks that caused civilian casualties.
A United Nations investigation identified three commanders suspected of bearing the “greatest responsibility” in the violence in Unity state between April 16 and May 24 that may amount to war crimes, it said in a report.
Elderly and disabled civilians were burned alive in the attack on 40 villages, which appeared aimed at driving out opposition forces, it said. A further 132 women and girls were abducted in the assault that forced 31,140 people to flee.
“The perpetrators ...must not be allowed to get away with it,” said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein in a statement.
Reiterating his call on the government and African Union to establish a hybrid court for South Sudan, he said the soldiers and aligned forces slit elderly villagers’ throats, hanged women for resisting looting and shot fleeing civilians.
“The brutality and ruthlessness of the attackers as described by the survivors suggests that their intent was to take a ‘scorched earth’ approach, killing or forcibly displacing people, burning their crops and homes, punishing and terrorising them to ensure that they never return,” U.N. human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a briefing.
The U.N. report said opposition forces had also carried out armed attacks that caused civilian casualties.
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
Eritrea and Ethiopia 'open door of peace' after first talks in 20 years
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Long-time foes Eritrea and Ethiopia “opened the door of peace” on Tuesday after the first high-level visit from Asmara to Addis Ababa in nearly two decades, raising hopes for an end to one of Africa’s most intractable military stand-offs.
In a highly symbolic move, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Ethiopian Airlines would restart flights to Eritrea for the first time since 1998 when conflict erupted between the two nations over their disputed border, with diplomatic relations broken off ever since.
Tuesday’s visit comes after Abiy said this month he would honor all the terms of a peace deal, suggesting he might be ready to settle the border dispute, a move welcomed by Eritrea.
“Today is a day of joy because two identical peoples and two generations have been separated throughout that period. But through struggles, we have opened the door of peace,” said Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh.
Abiy said he hoped the dispute would end with this generation and reiterated his willingness to accept the transfer of territory.
In a highly symbolic move, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Ethiopian Airlines would restart flights to Eritrea for the first time since 1998 when conflict erupted between the two nations over their disputed border, with diplomatic relations broken off ever since.
Tuesday’s visit comes after Abiy said this month he would honor all the terms of a peace deal, suggesting he might be ready to settle the border dispute, a move welcomed by Eritrea.
“Today is a day of joy because two identical peoples and two generations have been separated throughout that period. But through struggles, we have opened the door of peace,” said Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh.
Abiy said he hoped the dispute would end with this generation and reiterated his willingness to accept the transfer of territory.
Sunday, May 13, 2018
26 killed in rural Burundi attack amid tensions over president's bid to keep power
- Twenty-six people were killed and seven wounded in an attack in a rural area of Burundi, the country's security minister said Saturday, calling it the work of a "terrorist group" he did not identify.
Speaking at the scene, Alain Guillaume Bunyoni told reporters that 24 people were killed in their homes Friday night and two others died of their wounds at a local hospital.
He gave no further details about the attack in the Ruhagarika community of the rural northwestern province of Cibitoke.
The attack came shortly before a May 17 referendum that could extend the president's term. It was not immediately clear if the attack was related.
One survivor told the Associated Press the attackers came around 10 p.m. local time and "attacked households and set fire on houses." Some victims were hacked with machetes and others were shot or burned alive, she said.
Her husband and two children were killed, she said. She spoke on condition of anonymity, citing safety concerns.
This East African country has seen deadly political violence since early 2015 when President Pierre Nkurunziza successfully pursued a disputed third term. An estimated 1,200 people died.
Now Burundians are being asked to vote on a proposed constitutional change to extend the president's term from five years to seven, which would allow Nkurunziza to rule for another 14 years.
Campaigns ahead of the referendum have been marred by hate speech, with one ruling party official sent to prison after he called for those who oppose the referendum to be drowned.
The United States earlier this month denounced "violence, intimidation and harassment" against those thought to oppose the referendum and expressed concern about the "nontransparent process" of changing the constitution.
Human Rights Watch has noted "widespread impunity" for authorities and their allies, including the ruling party's youth wing, as they try to swing the vote in the president's favor.
Many in Burundi, a poor country that still relies heavily on foreign aid, worry that a new round of bloodshed will follow the referendum, no matter its results.
Already more than 400,000 people have fled the country since the political unrest began in April 2015, according to the United Nations.
Nkurunziza, a former rebel leader, rose to power in 2005 after Burundi's civil war, which killed about 300,000 people. He was reelected unopposed in 2010 after the opposition boycotted. He said he was eligible for a third term in 2015 because lawmakers, not the general population, chose him for his first term.
Campaigns ahead of the referendum have been marred by hate speech, with one ruling party official sent to prison after he called for those who oppose the referendum to be drowned.
The United States earlier this month denounced "violence, intimidation and harassment" against those thought to oppose the referendum and expressed concern about the "nontransparent process" of changing the constitution.
Human Rights Watch has noted "widespread impunity" for authorities and their allies, including the ruling party's youth wing, as they try to swing the vote in the president's favor.
Many in Burundi, a poor country that still relies heavily on foreign aid, worry that a new round of bloodshed will follow the referendum, no matter its results.
Already more than 400,000 people have fled the country since the political unrest began in April 2015, according to the United Nations.
Nkurunziza, a former rebel leader, rose to power in 2005 after Burundi's civil war, which killed about 300,000 people. He was reelected unopposed in 2010 after the opposition boycotted. He said he was eligible for a third term in 2015 because lawmakers, not the general population, chose him for his first term.
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
New Ebola outbreak declared in Democratic Republic of the Congo
The WHO said that it was working with the country's government to clamp down on any potential for the disease spreading, following an Ebola outbreak in in the northern part of the country last year.
“Working with partners and responding early and in a coordinated way will be vital to containing this deadly disease,” Peter Salama, WHO deputy director-general of emergency preparedness and response, said in a statement.
Out of five patients tested in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, two results came back positive for Ebola and more are being tested, according to WHO officials.
This is the ninth outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo since the virus was discovered in 1976.
In the last five weeks, 17 people overall have died of suspected viral haemorrhagic fever, which is caused by several viruses, including Ebola.
The WHO is releasing $1 million from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies in an effort to stop Ebola from spreading to nearby provinces and countries. The current outbreak is in Bikoro, in the northwestern part of the country.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo saw an outbreak of Ebola last year, and was “quickly contained,” according to the WHO, which attributed this success to the quick testing of blood samples, announcing the outbreak early, a rapid response from health authorities and more.
Officials have sought to quickly clamp down on Ebola following an outbreak in West Africa in 2014 that garnered attention worldwide and resulted in over 11,000 deaths.
Friday, April 20, 2018
Swaziland king renames country 'the Kingdom of eSwatini'
BBC - There are not many people in the world who are able to change the name of a nation. But King Mswati can - he is one of the world's few absolute monarchs.
King Mswati III of Swaziland announced on Wednesday (April 19) that he was renaming the country "the Kingdom of eSwatini".
The monarch announced the official change in a stadium during celebrations for the 50th anniversary of Swazi independence.
The celebrations also marked the king's 50th birthday.
The new name, eSwatini, means "land of the Swazis". The change was unexpected, but King Mswati has been referring to Swaziland for years as eSwatini.
It was the name the king used when he addressed the UN general assembly in 2017 and at the state opening of the country's parliament in 2014.
He explained that the name had caused some confusion, saying: "Whenever we go abroad, people refer to us as Switzerland."
King Mswati III of Swaziland announced on Wednesday (April 19) that he was renaming the country "the Kingdom of eSwatini".
The monarch announced the official change in a stadium during celebrations for the 50th anniversary of Swazi independence.
The celebrations also marked the king's 50th birthday.
The new name, eSwatini, means "land of the Swazis". The change was unexpected, but King Mswati has been referring to Swaziland for years as eSwatini.
It was the name the king used when he addressed the UN general assembly in 2017 and at the state opening of the country's parliament in 2014.
He explained that the name had caused some confusion, saying: "Whenever we go abroad, people refer to us as Switzerland."
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Party for everybody: Ghana celebrates 61 years of Independence
Ghanaweb.com - The Republic of Ghana today Tuesday, March 6, 2017, turns 61 years since it attained independence on from British after over 100 years of colonial rule.
Formerly known as the Gold Coast, Ghana was the first Sub-Saharan African country to become independent on the back of Ghana’s first President and his Pan-African ethos, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
The celebration will be marked with the traditional march past and parade at the iconic Black Star Square. The march will feature the usual active participation of school children alongside security personnel.
Parades will also be held simultaneously across all the regional and district capitals across the country.
President Nana Akufo-Addo will take the national salute, deliver a speech of solidarity to Ghanaians and light the perpetual flame. But in the regional capitals and districts, representatives of the President will take the national salute and read the President’s speech.
President Muhammadu Buhari has arrived in Ghana to attend the country’s 61st independence anniversary celebrations today at the Independence Square.
President Buhari is the only foreign leader invited to the historic event as the special guest of honour.
The Nigerian leader is scheduled to address the august gathering. The statement further said that President Buhari will use the unique opportunity to reaffirm the long-standing warm relations between the peoples and governments of both nations.
He will also underscore Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening the bilateral ties in furtherance of democracy, good governance, and overall development not only in the West African sub-region but also the African continent.
The president and his delegation, which includes, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, and the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, will return to Abuja after the celebrations on Tuesday.
Saturday, January 27, 2018
Tanzania: Plans to auction 3.5 tonnes of hippo teeth sparks outrage
independent.co.uk - Wildlife conservation groups have criticised plans by Tanzanian authorities to auction 3.5 tonnes of hippo teeth next week. They said the move could increase poaching.
Licensed dealers will be able to bid for 12,500 pieces of hippo teeth at the tourism and natural resources ministry in the city of Dar es Salaam, wildlife authorities in the east African nation said.
Conservationists said the sale could encourage the killing of the creatures, which are classified as “vulnerable” on the international “red list” of endangered species.
There are up to 130,000 hippos in sub-Saharan Africa, according to estimates.
But the animal has become increasingly threatened by a demand for their meat, skin and teeth as well as habitat loss.
A regulated trade in hippo parts is allowed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Their teeth are carved for ornaments and sold in parts of Asia.
The bones predominantly come from Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi, according to CITIES data.
Even though some countries still have healthy populations, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) "discourages the consumption of hippopotamus ivory and are disappointed to see auctions such as this taking place,” said Colman O'Criodain an expert in wildlife trade at the organisation. ContinueReading
Thursday, January 25, 2018
Cape Town heads for 'Day Zero' as water supplies dwindle
itv.com - The water supply in Cape Town will be cut off within weeks if residents do not start to ration their usage, officials in the city have warned.
April 12 has been dubbed "Day Zero" - the moment the taps will run dry as South Africa battles to deal with its worst drought in almost a century.
Levels of usable water in the dams surrounding Cape Town have been dropping by 1.4 per cent a day, and currently stand at around 17.2 per cent.
When they hit 13.5 per cent - estimated for April 12 - the pipeline will be shut down and the city's four million residents will have to queue up each day for their supply from one of 200 water collection points.
A number of trial water collection points have been set up already, and are popular with people trying to stock up.
The daily ration has been set at 25 litres. A single flush of a toilet uses around 15 litres.
Strict limits on water usage have been in place for months, asking residents to stick to 87 litres a day - but many people appear to have ignored the warnings.
"Despite our urging for months, 60 per cent of Capetonians are callously using more than 87 litres per day," she said.
"It is quite unbelievable that a majority of people do not seem to care and are sending all of us headlong towards Day Zero.
"We can no longer ask people to stop wasting water. We must force them." ContinueReading
Monday, January 22, 2018
‘Blaxit’: African Americans Moving To Africa To Escape Racism
- Digital marketer Muhammida el-Muhajir moved from New York City to Ghana to escape America's "incessant racism and prejudice" and thousands of others are doing the same, Al Jazeera reports.
From Al Jazeera:
Accra, Ghana - They have come from the big cities of San Francisco, Chicago, and New York. Thousands of them. And many refuse to return.
A new wave of African Americans is escaping the incessant racism and prejudice in the United States. From Senegal and Ghana to The Gambia, communities are emerging in defiance of conventional wisdom that Africa is a continent everyone is trying to leave.
It is estimated that between 3,000 and 5,000 African Americans live in Accra, the Ghanaian capital. They are teachers in small towns in the west or entrepreneurs in the capital and say they that even though living in Ghana is not always easy, they feel free and safe.
el-Muhajir told Al Jazeera why she decided to make the move:
"I grew up in Philadelphia and then New York. I went to Howard, which is a historically black university. I tell people that Ghana is like Howard in real life. It felt like a microcosm of the world. At university, they tell us the world isn't black, but there are places where this is the real world. Howard prepares you for a world where black people are in charge, which is a completely different experience compared to people who have gone to predominantly white universities."
From Al Jazeera:
Accra, Ghana - They have come from the big cities of San Francisco, Chicago, and New York. Thousands of them. And many refuse to return.
A new wave of African Americans is escaping the incessant racism and prejudice in the United States. From Senegal and Ghana to The Gambia, communities are emerging in defiance of conventional wisdom that Africa is a continent everyone is trying to leave.
It is estimated that between 3,000 and 5,000 African Americans live in Accra, the Ghanaian capital. They are teachers in small towns in the west or entrepreneurs in the capital and say they that even though living in Ghana is not always easy, they feel free and safe.
el-Muhajir told Al Jazeera why she decided to make the move:
"I grew up in Philadelphia and then New York. I went to Howard, which is a historically black university. I tell people that Ghana is like Howard in real life. It felt like a microcosm of the world. At university, they tell us the world isn't black, but there are places where this is the real world. Howard prepares you for a world where black people are in charge, which is a completely different experience compared to people who have gone to predominantly white universities."
Read the rest HERE
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
Kenya Marks 54 Years of Independence Under Shadow of Divisive Poll
Nairobi — Kenyans from all walks of life have began streaming into the Moi International Sports Centre (M.I.S.C) in Kasarani where President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to lead the nation in marking the 54th anniversary of the country's independence.
The gates to the 60,000 seater Stadium were open from 7 am.
This is the first public holiday President Kenyatta will preside over after he was sworn-in to serve his second term as president of the Republic last month.
During the celebrations there will be a military parade and the ceremonial trooping of the colour will be conducted by the Kenya Air Force command from Moi Air Base in Eastleigh, Nairobi, traditional dances and the ceremonial raising of the Kenyan flag.
According to the Government Spokeman Erick Kiraithe, The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) formation will also host the President's Guard of Honour and lead other armed and disciplined forces commands in a march-past, as well as pull off the fly-past.
Meanwhile, security has been beefed in the city as the country prepares to commemorate Jamhuri Day.
A spot check by our crew observed heavy deployment of police officers with the Central Business District conducting patrols both on foot and in their patrol vehicles.
For instance on Moi Avenue near the Tom Mboya Statue, National Youth Services personnel and a joint consignment of Kenya Prison and Administration Police officers could be seen warding off any gathering converging at place that usually plays host to the Bunge la Wananchi.
Nairobi police boss Japheth Koome has warned that police will not allow any other public gathering in the city and urged Kenyans to converge at the Moi International Sports Complex, Kasarani for national celebrations to mark Jamhuri Day. (ontinueReading
The gates to the 60,000 seater Stadium were open from 7 am.
This is the first public holiday President Kenyatta will preside over after he was sworn-in to serve his second term as president of the Republic last month.
During the celebrations there will be a military parade and the ceremonial trooping of the colour will be conducted by the Kenya Air Force command from Moi Air Base in Eastleigh, Nairobi, traditional dances and the ceremonial raising of the Kenyan flag.
According to the Government Spokeman Erick Kiraithe, The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) formation will also host the President's Guard of Honour and lead other armed and disciplined forces commands in a march-past, as well as pull off the fly-past.
Meanwhile, security has been beefed in the city as the country prepares to commemorate Jamhuri Day.
A spot check by our crew observed heavy deployment of police officers with the Central Business District conducting patrols both on foot and in their patrol vehicles.
For instance on Moi Avenue near the Tom Mboya Statue, National Youth Services personnel and a joint consignment of Kenya Prison and Administration Police officers could be seen warding off any gathering converging at place that usually plays host to the Bunge la Wananchi.
Nairobi police boss Japheth Koome has warned that police will not allow any other public gathering in the city and urged Kenyans to converge at the Moi International Sports Complex, Kasarani for national celebrations to mark Jamhuri Day. (ontinueReading
Kenya In Depth:
Monday, November 27, 2017
Video of migrants sold in apparent slave auction in Libya provokes outrage worldwide
AOL.com - After a video surfaced showing migrants apparently being sold at auction in Libya, people worldwide have been calling for action.
Last week, CNN published a report on modern slavery in Libya, featuring a video that reportedly was shot in August and appeared to show a man selling African migrants for farm work.
“Big strong boys,” the man said in the video, according to a CNN narrator. “400 … 700 … 800,” he called out the mounting prices. The men were eventually sold for about $400 each, CNN reported. The Libyan government said it has launched an investigation into slave auctions in the country.
Following the CNN report, demonstrators took to the streets in Paris and other cities last week to express their outrage, and Libyans showed their solidarity on Twitter with the hashtag #LibyansAgainstSlavery.
Several world leaders spoke out as well. The chairman of the African Union, Guinean President Alpha Condé, called it a “despicable trade ... from another era” on Friday. The U.N. Support Mission in Libya said Wednesday that it was “dismayed and sickened,” and is “actively pursuing” the matter with Libyan authorities.
“I am horrified at news reports and video footage showing African migrants in Libya reportedly being sold as slaves,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said to reporters on Monday. “Slavery has no place in our world, and these actions are among the most egregious abuses of human rights and may amount to crimes against humanity.”
Guterres called for the international community to unite in fighting the abuse and smuggling of migrants, notably by increasing avenues for legal migration and enhancing international cooperation in cracking down on smugglers and traffickers.
However, rights advocates caution that real action may be slow in coming. “People are rightfully outraged,” Human Rights Watch researcher Hanan Salah told Reuters of CNN’s video on Monday. “But don’t hold your breath that anything real is going to happen.”
There are more than 45 million people worldwide who are victims of modern slavery, including forced labor and human trafficking, according to a September report from the human rights group Walk Free Foundation.
In Libya, migrants have become particularly vulnerable to human trafficking. The country functions as the main gateway for Africans to reach Europe, but it is also one of the world’s most unstable, mired in conflict since dictator Muammar Gaddafi was ousted and killed in 2011.
Hundreds of thousands of migrants fleeing poverty or conflict travel to Libya each year, hoping to set off from the country’s coast to Europe. Once in Libya, they find themselves at the mercy of smugglers operating the dangerous boat passages across the Mediterranean.
Operating without many constraints, smuggling networks have adopted ruthless methods ― often killing, torturing, extorting and detaining migrants at will. The Libyan government does not have the means nor the commitment to crack down. European countries’ efforts to keep migrants from their own borders have forced the travelers to take ever greater risks to reach the continent. (ontinueReading
Friday, November 24, 2017
Militants kill more than 230 at Sinai mosque in Egypt's deadliest attack
CAIRO, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Militants killed more than 230 people at a mosque in North Sinai on Friday, detonating a bomb and gunning down worshippers in the deadliest such attack in Egypt's modern history, state media and witnesses said.
No group immediately claimed responsibility, but since 2013 Egyptian security forces have battled an Islamic State affiliate in the mainly desert region, and militants have killed hundreds of police and soldiers.
State media showed images of bloodied victims and bodies covered in blankets inside the Al Rawdah mosque in Bir al-Abed, west of El Arish, the main city in North Sinai.
Worshippers were finishing Friday prayers at the mosque when a bomb exploded, witnesses said. Around 40 gunmen set up positions outside the mosque with jeeps and opened fire from different directions as people tried to escape.
"Four groups of armed men attacked the worshippers inside the mosque after Friday noon prayers. Two groups were firing at ambulances to deter them, said Mohamed, a witness.
The public prosecutors' office said in a statement 235 people had been killed and 109 more wounded.
No group immediately claimed responsibility, but since 2013 Egyptian security forces have battled an Islamic State affiliate in the mainly desert region, and militants have killed hundreds of police and soldiers.
State media showed images of bloodied victims and bodies covered in blankets inside the Al Rawdah mosque in Bir al-Abed, west of El Arish, the main city in North Sinai.
Worshippers were finishing Friday prayers at the mosque when a bomb exploded, witnesses said. Around 40 gunmen set up positions outside the mosque with jeeps and opened fire from different directions as people tried to escape.
"Four groups of armed men attacked the worshippers inside the mosque after Friday noon prayers. Two groups were firing at ambulances to deter them, said Mohamed, a witness.
The public prosecutors' office said in a statement 235 people had been killed and 109 more wounded.
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Mugabe resigns under military pressure after 37 years as Zimbabwe’s leader
washingtonpost.com HARARE, Zimbabwe — Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s leader for nearly four decades, resigned on Tuesday, a week after the military moved to sideline him from power, according to the speaker of the country’s Parliament.
The capital erupted in cheers, with crowds pouring into the streets and citizens giving high-fives to soldiers.
Mugabe’s departure marked the end of a tumultuous reign that spanned the country’s independence through its economic collapse.
His exit marks a historic moment that will echo across Africa, where Mugabe was among the last surviving heroes of the anti-colonial struggle to remain in power.
In the end, the world’s oldest head of state was a victim of his own party. After years of purging members of his inner circle, Mugabe had alienated the leaders of Zimbabwe’s military, who detained him and seized control of the country’s government.
The resignation was announced after Mugabe’s former vice president called for him to heed the “clarion call” to step aside and parliament opening impeachment proceedings.
The demand by the influential former vice president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, marked his first public statement since the military’s takeover last week that was widely expected to pave the way for Mnangagwa to replace Mugabe.
But Mugabe remained defiant for days and the military gave mixed signals about its next move — further clouding an already confusing tumble of events since the military intervened last week against the 93-year-old president.
On Monday, Zimbabwe’s military appeared to open the door for Mugabe to somehow stay in power during a transition period.
During the impeachment debate, some Parliament members cheered as the list of accusations was read, including claims that Mugabe attempted to “usurp constitutional” control by seeking to make his wife, Grace Mugabe, his successor.
An alliance between the military and Mnangagwa was at the core of a plan to replace Mugabe, who has ruled since the country became independent from Britain in 1980. (ontinueReading
Saturday, October 21, 2017
WHO names Mugabe 'goodwill ambassador', universe outraged
- Doctors, medical personnel and donors -who fund much of Zimbabwe’s health services - are outraged that President Robert Mugabe has been named a “goodwill” ambassador by the World Health Organisation.
Mugabe was declared a “goodwill ambassador” by the organisation earlier on in the week in Uruguay, a move that sent shock waves throughout the medical community.
A donor based in the city of Bulawayo reacted in shock to the news.
“We have stunting in about 30% of kids under five at present in our part of the world.
“How can WHO do this? Let’s go to Mpilo Hospital? (The main state hospital in Bulawayo) Let’s look at the clinics? Why are ARV’s short? Why are there so many very hungry kids in this province, every day. Hundreds of thousands of them. It’s disgraceful.”
He asked not to be named to protect his contacts in the provincial health system.
A provincial health official from northern Zimbabwe also expressed shock at the news, saying he could not understand how the WHO had given an award to Mugabe when kids continued to go hungry.
“We know what is going on, and there isn’t even safe water at some schools around here. We have no drugs. The clinics have nothing as well. There is malaria here," he said.
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) meanwhile, has described the WHO award to Mugabe as “laughable.”
Zimbabwe has had a long history of poor health service, being plagued by cholera, a shortage of drugs and a failing health system.
The country experienced the world’s lowest life expectancy after 26 years of Mugabe’s rule. In 2006, WHO recorded that women were only expected to live until they were 36, and men to 37.
By that time it was almost impossible, politically, for donors to operate in Zimbabwe but the World Food Programme (WFP) was feeding millions of people as Mugabe and his colleagues had destroyed agricultural production.
The collapsed economy also meant that most state hospitals were closed by mid 2008.
Mortuaries had unreliable electricity, and the stench at state hospitals was often bad, particularly in eastern city of Mutare where the city council had to hire a bulldozer to dig a mass grave in order to bury rotting, uncollected corpses of poor people whose families could not afford to bury them.
After extreme political violence aimed at the (MDC) following its victory in the 2008 elections, the second worst cholera epidemic in the world broke out, affecting Harare mainly.
Water supplies in the bankrupt city had broken down after years of lack of maintenance, and a shortage of cash for purification chemicals resulted in many people digging wells at their homes to find water.
The very same water however, was often polluted by sewage from the unstable, collapsing sewage system.
More then 100 000 people then caught cholera, of which about 6 000 died.
Organisations like Oxfam said the high death rate had some of its roots in the population’s poor nutritional status at that time.
People died - literally in front of reporters' eyes - day after day, in the crumbling old ‘locations’, particularly in the west of the city where people were drinking water infected with faeces.
Donors, including churches, put in boreholes while NGOs and MDC MPs went house-to-house, trying to educate people on ways to find clean water, as well as offering families free graves when they were overwhelmed by so many deaths.
Zanu-PF was nowhere to be seen, but army doctors, Doctors without Borders (MSF) as well as some state and municipal nurses, appalled at what they saw, worked long hours at the emergency cholera clinics set up by donors around the city.
All this while the State tried to prevent reporters from interviewing victims at emergency cholera treatment centres.
Staff from the UN’s Office of the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, from Pretoria also descended upon Harare when the cholera epidemic started and told journalists they were appalled at Zimbabwe’s failed health service.
Some of them were critical of some of their mute, comfortable UN colleagues assigned to Harare, who seldom spoke up about gross human rights abuses which gripped the country for several previous years.
In 2009, an inclusive government came to power, which included the MDC. At that time most hospitals were closed.
There were no drugs and women could not give birth in public hospitals.
The inclusive government attracted many donors who brought in experts to get hospital doors open again and provide drugs for many HIV sufferers, particularly in rural area; as a result, hospitals doors opened again.
Despite all these efforts, the country's health service remained a cause for concern.
While life expectancy, maternal deaths and infant mortality rates saw an improvement from 2009 figures, the health system continued falling apart.
The Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare, the only teaching hospital, closed down its toilets on the ground floor.
Three months ago, several nurses at the hospital told Independent Newspapers they had nowhere to live within the hospital any more as toilets were broken down.
The mortuary was not working properly at that time either. The hospital looks and is, largely derelict.
Four major hospitals - Harare Central, Parirenyatwa, United Bulawayo Hospitals, and Mpilo Central - all have critical shortages of drugs.
Mpilo Central "has below 50% of its requirements,” the hospital revealed in a recent statement.
Most patients, even the poorest, meanwhile, often have to find money to pay for drugs at state hospitals.
So dire is the state of the country's hospitals, Mugabe himself refuses to use them when seeking treatment, opting to consults doctors in Singapore.
The president spends hundreds of millions of rands several times a year on medical treatment, using one of only three Air Zimbabwe planes to fly to Asia to get treatment for his eyes; this despite Zimbabwe having good eye specialists.
Senior Zanu-PF officials also choose to seek medical treatment in other countries, with the likes of vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa opting to seek treatment in South Africa.
The same can be said for cancer treatment, with patients having no access to chemotherapy.
Update: WHO revokes Mugabe goodwill ambassador role
Mugabe was declared a “goodwill ambassador” by the organisation earlier on in the week in Uruguay, a move that sent shock waves throughout the medical community.
A donor based in the city of Bulawayo reacted in shock to the news.
“We have stunting in about 30% of kids under five at present in our part of the world.
“How can WHO do this? Let’s go to Mpilo Hospital? (The main state hospital in Bulawayo) Let’s look at the clinics? Why are ARV’s short? Why are there so many very hungry kids in this province, every day. Hundreds of thousands of them. It’s disgraceful.”
He asked not to be named to protect his contacts in the provincial health system.
A provincial health official from northern Zimbabwe also expressed shock at the news, saying he could not understand how the WHO had given an award to Mugabe when kids continued to go hungry.
“We know what is going on, and there isn’t even safe water at some schools around here. We have no drugs. The clinics have nothing as well. There is malaria here," he said.
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) meanwhile, has described the WHO award to Mugabe as “laughable.”
Zimbabwe has had a long history of poor health service, being plagued by cholera, a shortage of drugs and a failing health system.
The country experienced the world’s lowest life expectancy after 26 years of Mugabe’s rule. In 2006, WHO recorded that women were only expected to live until they were 36, and men to 37.
By that time it was almost impossible, politically, for donors to operate in Zimbabwe but the World Food Programme (WFP) was feeding millions of people as Mugabe and his colleagues had destroyed agricultural production.
The collapsed economy also meant that most state hospitals were closed by mid 2008.
Mortuaries had unreliable electricity, and the stench at state hospitals was often bad, particularly in eastern city of Mutare where the city council had to hire a bulldozer to dig a mass grave in order to bury rotting, uncollected corpses of poor people whose families could not afford to bury them.
After extreme political violence aimed at the (MDC) following its victory in the 2008 elections, the second worst cholera epidemic in the world broke out, affecting Harare mainly.
Water supplies in the bankrupt city had broken down after years of lack of maintenance, and a shortage of cash for purification chemicals resulted in many people digging wells at their homes to find water.
The very same water however, was often polluted by sewage from the unstable, collapsing sewage system.
More then 100 000 people then caught cholera, of which about 6 000 died.
Organisations like Oxfam said the high death rate had some of its roots in the population’s poor nutritional status at that time.
People died - literally in front of reporters' eyes - day after day, in the crumbling old ‘locations’, particularly in the west of the city where people were drinking water infected with faeces.
Donors, including churches, put in boreholes while NGOs and MDC MPs went house-to-house, trying to educate people on ways to find clean water, as well as offering families free graves when they were overwhelmed by so many deaths.
Zanu-PF was nowhere to be seen, but army doctors, Doctors without Borders (MSF) as well as some state and municipal nurses, appalled at what they saw, worked long hours at the emergency cholera clinics set up by donors around the city.
All this while the State tried to prevent reporters from interviewing victims at emergency cholera treatment centres.
Staff from the UN’s Office of the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, from Pretoria also descended upon Harare when the cholera epidemic started and told journalists they were appalled at Zimbabwe’s failed health service.
Some of them were critical of some of their mute, comfortable UN colleagues assigned to Harare, who seldom spoke up about gross human rights abuses which gripped the country for several previous years.
In 2009, an inclusive government came to power, which included the MDC. At that time most hospitals were closed.
There were no drugs and women could not give birth in public hospitals.
The inclusive government attracted many donors who brought in experts to get hospital doors open again and provide drugs for many HIV sufferers, particularly in rural area; as a result, hospitals doors opened again.
Despite all these efforts, the country's health service remained a cause for concern.
While life expectancy, maternal deaths and infant mortality rates saw an improvement from 2009 figures, the health system continued falling apart.
The Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare, the only teaching hospital, closed down its toilets on the ground floor.
Three months ago, several nurses at the hospital told Independent Newspapers they had nowhere to live within the hospital any more as toilets were broken down.
The mortuary was not working properly at that time either. The hospital looks and is, largely derelict.
Four major hospitals - Harare Central, Parirenyatwa, United Bulawayo Hospitals, and Mpilo Central - all have critical shortages of drugs.
Mpilo Central "has below 50% of its requirements,” the hospital revealed in a recent statement.
Most patients, even the poorest, meanwhile, often have to find money to pay for drugs at state hospitals.
So dire is the state of the country's hospitals, Mugabe himself refuses to use them when seeking treatment, opting to consults doctors in Singapore.
The president spends hundreds of millions of rands several times a year on medical treatment, using one of only three Air Zimbabwe planes to fly to Asia to get treatment for his eyes; this despite Zimbabwe having good eye specialists.
Senior Zanu-PF officials also choose to seek medical treatment in other countries, with the likes of vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa opting to seek treatment in South Africa.
The same can be said for cancer treatment, with patients having no access to chemotherapy.
Update: WHO revokes Mugabe goodwill ambassador role
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Plague outbreak leaves 57 dead, more than 680 infected in Madagascar
(CNN) The plague outbreak in Madagascar is continuing to spread at unprecedented rates, with 57 deaths and more than 680 cases.
The latest figures are from October 12. An estimated 329 of these cases, and 25 deaths, were in the capital, Antananarivo.
The cases, reported by both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Bureau for Risk and Disaster Management (BNGRC) in Madagascar, include probable and suspected cases as well those that have been confirmed by laboratory tests.
While the country experiences regular outbreaks, with an estimated 400 cases of plague each year, this time things are very different, experts warn.
This year, health officials report the infections started much earlier than usual, and they're occurring in new areas, including urban settings. They've also seen an unexpected number of cases of pneumonic plague, which transmits more easily from person to person.
Of the 684 cases reported as of October 12, 474 were pneumonic plague, 156 bubonic and 1 septicemic plague. A further 54 were unspecified, according to WHO.
Of Madagascar's 114 districts, 35 have reported cases of plague, including at least 10 cities.
Council workers clear garbage during the clean-up of the market of Anosibe in Antananarivo. Rats are porters of fleas which spread the bubonic plague and are attracted by garbages and unsalubrity.
Plague is caused by infection with the bacterium Yersinia pestis and is typically spread through the bite of infected fleas, frequently carried by rats, causing bubonic plague. Symptoms include painful, swollen lymph nodes, called bubos, as well as fever, chills and coughing.
Pneumonic plague is more virulent or damaging and is an advanced form characterized by a severe lung infection. The infection can be transmitted from person to person via airborne droplets -- coughing or sneezing. The incubation period is short, and an infected person may die within 12 to 24 hours.
Both forms can be treated with antibiotics, making early detection a priority.
Occasionally there can be cases of septicemic plague, where the infection has spread to a person's bloodstream and can cause bleeding and necrosis of tissue, turning it black.
The government has mobilized resources to spray schools and other public places to fight fleas and rodents and curb the spread of infection. People have also been lining up at pharmacies in the capital -- some wearing face masks -- to get medications or protection.
To further reduce the spread of the disease, public schools are closed and the government has forbidden public gatherings, according to the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC). (ontinueReading
The latest figures are from October 12. An estimated 329 of these cases, and 25 deaths, were in the capital, Antananarivo.
The cases, reported by both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Bureau for Risk and Disaster Management (BNGRC) in Madagascar, include probable and suspected cases as well those that have been confirmed by laboratory tests.
While the country experiences regular outbreaks, with an estimated 400 cases of plague each year, this time things are very different, experts warn.
This year, health officials report the infections started much earlier than usual, and they're occurring in new areas, including urban settings. They've also seen an unexpected number of cases of pneumonic plague, which transmits more easily from person to person.
Of the 684 cases reported as of October 12, 474 were pneumonic plague, 156 bubonic and 1 septicemic plague. A further 54 were unspecified, according to WHO.
Of Madagascar's 114 districts, 35 have reported cases of plague, including at least 10 cities.
Council workers clear garbage during the clean-up of the market of Anosibe in Antananarivo. Rats are porters of fleas which spread the bubonic plague and are attracted by garbages and unsalubrity.
Plague is caused by infection with the bacterium Yersinia pestis and is typically spread through the bite of infected fleas, frequently carried by rats, causing bubonic plague. Symptoms include painful, swollen lymph nodes, called bubos, as well as fever, chills and coughing.
Pneumonic plague is more virulent or damaging and is an advanced form characterized by a severe lung infection. The infection can be transmitted from person to person via airborne droplets -- coughing or sneezing. The incubation period is short, and an infected person may die within 12 to 24 hours.
Both forms can be treated with antibiotics, making early detection a priority.
Occasionally there can be cases of septicemic plague, where the infection has spread to a person's bloodstream and can cause bleeding and necrosis of tissue, turning it black.
The government has mobilized resources to spray schools and other public places to fight fleas and rodents and curb the spread of infection. People have also been lining up at pharmacies in the capital -- some wearing face masks -- to get medications or protection.
To further reduce the spread of the disease, public schools are closed and the government has forbidden public gatherings, according to the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC). (ontinueReading
Saturday, May 13, 2017
New Ebola outbreak declared in Democratic Republic of Congo
- The World Health Organization has confirmed an Ebola outbreak in a remote forested part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the first in that country since 2014. At least nine people are suspected of being infected, and three have died.
The outbreak has raised alarms about the possibility of a new epidemic.
"An investigation team led by the Ministry of Health and supported by WHO and partners has deployed and is expected to reach the affected area in the coming days", said Peter Salama, WHO's executive director for emergencies, in a statement.
The WHO said it was informed on Tuesday of a cluster of undiagnosed illness and deaths, including hemorrhagic symptoms, in the northeastern part of the country, bordering the Central African Republic. On Thursday, the DRC's health ministry informed WHO that of five laboratory samples tested, one tested positive for Ebola virus at a laboratory in Kinshasa. That confirmed case was one of the three people who died.
The Ebola infection was confirmed from tests on a group of people exhibiting symptoms since April 22 in the province of Bas-Uélé in northeast DRC.
The ministry said it is beginning to trace the contacts of those who may have been infected and that it is issuing protective kits for the health workers involved.
"Our country must confront an outbreak of the Ebola virus that constitutes a public health crisis of international significance," the ministry said.
On April 22, the confirmed Ebola victim drove across part of the vast province on motorbike to reach medical care. He had blood in his vomit and stool. There are conflicting accounts of whether he was able to reach the regional hospital in Likati. A sample of his blood was taken to Kinshasa, but because Bas-Uélé is so remote, it took 10 days before the sample arrived in Kinshasa, the capital, and was tested.
By that time, both the original patient and the driver of the motorbike who took him to the hospital, his brother, had died, according to Alima, a medical humanitarian organization working in the country.
The body of the original patient was taken back to his village for burial, and a follow-up ministry health team later identified six others who had fallen ill in the same village, according to officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who are participating in coordination meetings but not yet been asked to provide epidemiological or laboratory support.
The health workers who treated the patients without protective gear are now also in grave danger of contracting the disease. Because the confirmed case traveled across Bas-Uélé, contact tracers will now have a more difficult task ahead of them, seeking and isolating possible Ebola cases in at least two disparate villages, according to Alima.
But health personnel dispatched to the region are hopeful that the outbreak will mirror previous, limited Ebola outbreaks in the country.
"There will be more cases, but it is more likely to look like other outbreaks in Congo, a smaller outbreak, ending faster," said Susan Shepherd, Alima's medical coordinator.
"It's very isolated there," said Silvain Yuma, chief of staff at the ministry of health
One of those previous outbreaks was in the neighbouring province of Haut-Uélé in 2012. There were 41 cases there and 18 deaths. The outbreak lasted for around four months.
DRC officials said the confirmed infection involved the Zaire strain, which was the most common one present during the 2014-15 outbreak. Scientists are in the late stages of developing a vaccine that targets that specific strain, and it is likely to be made available for use if the outbreak is found to be large enough to warrant such an intervention. The vaccine has not yet been approved the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but could be made available under an emergency use authorization.
An agreement between Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and Merck, the developer of the vaccine, ensures that the vaccine is available in case of an outbreak, said Gavi's chief executive, Seth Berkley, in a statement. "The fact that this is a country that has experience dealing with Ebola should give us hope that we won't see a pandemic on the scale of the 2014 outbreak that hit West Africa," he said.
The WHO and others will determine if and when deployment of vaccine into this outbreak is warranted. The WHO has previously said it was preparing to make an initial 300,000 doses of the vaccine available in case of an outbreak. (ontinueReading
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Famine strikes in South Sudan, as people in four countries face starvation
LATimes.com - The South Sudanese government and humanitarian agencies on Monday (21) declared a famine in parts of the country, which has been devastated by three years of war.
The announcement comes as international aid agencies are overwhelmed by catastrophes unfolding in four countries.
The United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan said Monday that 100,000 people “are already starving” in the country. In some areas in Unity state, in the north of the country, more than 30% of the population are suffering acute malnutrition.
U.N. humanitarian agencies warned that 275,000 children were at risk of starving to death unless there is a rapid increase in humanitarian aid.
“Famine has become a tragic reality in parts of South Sudan and our worst fears have been realized. Many families have exhausted every means they have to survive,” said Serge Tissot, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s representative for South Sudan. Those affected “are predominantly farmers and war has disrupted agriculture. They’ve lost their livestock, even their farming tools. For months there has been a total reliance on whatever plants they can find and fish they can catch.”
After more than two decades of war, South Sudan won independence from Sudan in 2011 following a referendum. The world’s newest country, it relies on oil to survive, but inherited a shattered and neglected infrastructure. To make matters worse, billions of dollars went missing after independence because of rampant government corruption.
Just 18 months after independence, South Sudan plunged into a civil war that has destroyed the trust among different ethnic groups and undermined the fragile government.
The declaration of the famine followed a report by the government and humanitarian agencies called the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, which regularly examines several measures of famine, including mortality rates.
South Sudan’s National Bureau of Statistics chairman, Isaiah Chol Aruai, acknowledged the problem and called on the international community to scale up aid in coming months.
The U.S. Famine Early Warning Systems Network recently warned of an “unprecedented” need for emergency food assistance globally, with four famines or threatened famines. There is famine in parts of Nigeria and South Sudan, and famine threatened in Somalia and Yemen.
Internationally, the need is staggering: 70 million people in 45 countries will need food aid this year, according to the U.S. network.
The two worst crises — in Nigeria and South Sudan — are man-made, caused by fighting and insecurity. In other countries, such as Somalia, the worst drought in decades has led to successive crop failures and mass deaths of cows, goats, sheep and other animals.
Nearly 5 million South Sudanese, or 42% of the population, are facing dire hunger or starvation, according to the Integrated Food Security report, and the number of people in crisis is expected to rise to at least 5.5 million by midyear, when South Sudan’s lean season sets in.
The conflict in South Sudan has seen people flee their homes and has cut trade routes with neighboring countries such as Uganda and Kenya. Food prices have soared by 800%, putting food out of the reach of impoverished families. Thousands of refugees have sought shelter in camps in Uganda.
Unity state is particularly fragile, having been one of the states most affected by a civil war between rival factions of the governing party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement. The fighting broke out in December 2013 and efforts to forge a peace deal collapsed last year.
The catastrophe is most severe in the towns of Leer, Koch and Mayendit, which have grappled with extreme hunger, along with fighting, massacres and gang rapes, over the last two years. In Leer and Koch, many people have had to survive on waterlily roots in recent years. Much of the violence has been carried out by government soldiers, along ethnic lines, according to human rights organizations, although both sides have committed atrocities.
In some of the more accessible areas of South Sudan, such as Bahr el Ghazal, international humanitarian assistance has helped to avert famine.
“It is of paramount importance that assistance not only continues in 2017, but scales up in the face of mounting food insecurity across the country,” the Integrated Food Security report says.
The report notes “a narrow window of opportunity during the dry season to pre-position and deliver humanitarian assistance to prevent drastic increases in food insecurity through the lean season that peaks in July.” It also cautions that the pressure on humanitarian resources could leave South Sudan with insufficient food aid to turn the famine around.
A further problem was lack of access for humanitarian agencies because of the conflict.
“This famine is man-made,” said Joyce Luma, country director for the World Food Program in South Sudan, which has seen its facilities looted on several occasions by armed groups. “WFP and the entire humanitarian community have been trying with all our might to avoid this catastrophe, mounting a humanitarian response of a scale that quite frankly would have seemed impossible three years ago.”
But she warned that without peace and security, “there is only so much that humanitarian assistance can achieve.” (ontinueReading
The announcement comes as international aid agencies are overwhelmed by catastrophes unfolding in four countries.
The United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan said Monday that 100,000 people “are already starving” in the country. In some areas in Unity state, in the north of the country, more than 30% of the population are suffering acute malnutrition.
U.N. humanitarian agencies warned that 275,000 children were at risk of starving to death unless there is a rapid increase in humanitarian aid.
“Famine has become a tragic reality in parts of South Sudan and our worst fears have been realized. Many families have exhausted every means they have to survive,” said Serge Tissot, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s representative for South Sudan. Those affected “are predominantly farmers and war has disrupted agriculture. They’ve lost their livestock, even their farming tools. For months there has been a total reliance on whatever plants they can find and fish they can catch.”
After more than two decades of war, South Sudan won independence from Sudan in 2011 following a referendum. The world’s newest country, it relies on oil to survive, but inherited a shattered and neglected infrastructure. To make matters worse, billions of dollars went missing after independence because of rampant government corruption.
Just 18 months after independence, South Sudan plunged into a civil war that has destroyed the trust among different ethnic groups and undermined the fragile government.
The declaration of the famine followed a report by the government and humanitarian agencies called the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, which regularly examines several measures of famine, including mortality rates.
South Sudan’s National Bureau of Statistics chairman, Isaiah Chol Aruai, acknowledged the problem and called on the international community to scale up aid in coming months.
The U.S. Famine Early Warning Systems Network recently warned of an “unprecedented” need for emergency food assistance globally, with four famines or threatened famines. There is famine in parts of Nigeria and South Sudan, and famine threatened in Somalia and Yemen.
Internationally, the need is staggering: 70 million people in 45 countries will need food aid this year, according to the U.S. network.
The two worst crises — in Nigeria and South Sudan — are man-made, caused by fighting and insecurity. In other countries, such as Somalia, the worst drought in decades has led to successive crop failures and mass deaths of cows, goats, sheep and other animals.
Nearly 5 million South Sudanese, or 42% of the population, are facing dire hunger or starvation, according to the Integrated Food Security report, and the number of people in crisis is expected to rise to at least 5.5 million by midyear, when South Sudan’s lean season sets in.
The conflict in South Sudan has seen people flee their homes and has cut trade routes with neighboring countries such as Uganda and Kenya. Food prices have soared by 800%, putting food out of the reach of impoverished families. Thousands of refugees have sought shelter in camps in Uganda.
The catastrophe is most severe in the towns of Leer, Koch and Mayendit, which have grappled with extreme hunger, along with fighting, massacres and gang rapes, over the last two years. In Leer and Koch, many people have had to survive on waterlily roots in recent years. Much of the violence has been carried out by government soldiers, along ethnic lines, according to human rights organizations, although both sides have committed atrocities.
In some of the more accessible areas of South Sudan, such as Bahr el Ghazal, international humanitarian assistance has helped to avert famine.
“It is of paramount importance that assistance not only continues in 2017, but scales up in the face of mounting food insecurity across the country,” the Integrated Food Security report says.
The report notes “a narrow window of opportunity during the dry season to pre-position and deliver humanitarian assistance to prevent drastic increases in food insecurity through the lean season that peaks in July.” It also cautions that the pressure on humanitarian resources could leave South Sudan with insufficient food aid to turn the famine around.
A further problem was lack of access for humanitarian agencies because of the conflict.
“This famine is man-made,” said Joyce Luma, country director for the World Food Program in South Sudan, which has seen its facilities looted on several occasions by armed groups. “WFP and the entire humanitarian community have been trying with all our might to avoid this catastrophe, mounting a humanitarian response of a scale that quite frankly would have seemed impossible three years ago.”
But she warned that without peace and security, “there is only so much that humanitarian assistance can achieve.” (ontinueReading
Saturday, January 28, 2017
Gambians celebrate new president's arrival after veteran ruler flees
BANJUL (Reuters) - Thousands of people lined the streets of Gambia's capital Banjul on Thursday (Jan.26) to welcome home new President Adama Barrow days after authoritarian leader Yahya Jammeh fled into exile under pressure from regional forces.
Barrow, a former real estate agent, won a Dec. 1 election but Jammeh refused to step down, forcing his opponent to be inaugurated at the Gambian Embassy in neighbouring Senegal.
Clad in a long white African tunic, Barrow smiled as he stepped out of a small plane and walked down a red carpet to greet hundreds of diplomats and officials lined up to greet him. Immediately afterwards, fighter jets from the West African ECOWAS regional force passed overhead.
"A new page in Gambian history is being turned," said Mohamed Ibn Chambas, U.N. Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel, who helped negotiate Jammeh's exit, shortly before accompanying Barrow to Banjul.
Barrow's surprise ballot box victory and the determination of Western and African countries to uphold it is being celebrated as a moment of democratic hope for Africa.
Yet, diplomats say tiny Gambia was an easy target and that regional armies are unlikely to venture into bigger countries to oust authoritarian rulers with more powerful allies than Jammeh.
Regional leaders helped thrash out a deal last Saturday for Jammeh to fly to exile in Equatorial Guinea as thousands of ECOWAS troops closed in after 22 years of increasingly repressive rule in Gambia, marked by alleged torture and killings of opponents.
Jammeh's political demise is a relief to many people in the small, sliver-like West African country and the U.N.'s Chambas promised assistance in investigating human rights abuses.
Swiss police detained longtime former Gambian interior minister Ousman Sonko near the Swiss capital of Berne on Thursday after a complaint filed against him by non-governmental organisation Trial International.
In the weeks following Jammeh's decision to reject the election outcome in early December, Barrow was seen as vulnerable and was protected by unarmed volunteers until he relocated to Dakar.
During his absence, he was unable to return home for his son's funeral after a dog attack.
He has asked the 7,000-strong West African military contingent to remain in Gambia for another six months, Chambas said on Thursday. An ECOWAS official said they were studying the proposal.
The Gambia, a tiny riverine nation surrounded by Western ally Senegal on three sides, has a bloated army for its size but so far there have been no signs of resistance to ECOWAS forces.
However, lingering questions remain as to the loyalty of the Republican Guard, thought to number about 400, who in the past protected Jammeh from coup attempts.
The whereabouts of members of alleged assassination squads known in Gambia as the "Junglers" were not known. (Source)
Barrow, a former real estate agent, won a Dec. 1 election but Jammeh refused to step down, forcing his opponent to be inaugurated at the Gambian Embassy in neighbouring Senegal.
Clad in a long white African tunic, Barrow smiled as he stepped out of a small plane and walked down a red carpet to greet hundreds of diplomats and officials lined up to greet him. Immediately afterwards, fighter jets from the West African ECOWAS regional force passed overhead.
"A new page in Gambian history is being turned," said Mohamed Ibn Chambas, U.N. Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel, who helped negotiate Jammeh's exit, shortly before accompanying Barrow to Banjul.
Barrow's surprise ballot box victory and the determination of Western and African countries to uphold it is being celebrated as a moment of democratic hope for Africa.
Yet, diplomats say tiny Gambia was an easy target and that regional armies are unlikely to venture into bigger countries to oust authoritarian rulers with more powerful allies than Jammeh.
Regional leaders helped thrash out a deal last Saturday for Jammeh to fly to exile in Equatorial Guinea as thousands of ECOWAS troops closed in after 22 years of increasingly repressive rule in Gambia, marked by alleged torture and killings of opponents.
Jammeh's political demise is a relief to many people in the small, sliver-like West African country and the U.N.'s Chambas promised assistance in investigating human rights abuses.
Swiss police detained longtime former Gambian interior minister Ousman Sonko near the Swiss capital of Berne on Thursday after a complaint filed against him by non-governmental organisation Trial International.
In the weeks following Jammeh's decision to reject the election outcome in early December, Barrow was seen as vulnerable and was protected by unarmed volunteers until he relocated to Dakar.
During his absence, he was unable to return home for his son's funeral after a dog attack.
He has asked the 7,000-strong West African military contingent to remain in Gambia for another six months, Chambas said on Thursday. An ECOWAS official said they were studying the proposal.
The Gambia, a tiny riverine nation surrounded by Western ally Senegal on three sides, has a bloated army for its size but so far there have been no signs of resistance to ECOWAS forces.
However, lingering questions remain as to the loyalty of the Republican Guard, thought to number about 400, who in the past protected Jammeh from coup attempts.
The whereabouts of members of alleged assassination squads known in Gambia as the "Junglers" were not known. (Source)
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Turkey: Erdogan asks Tanzania to act against Gulen network
Dar es Salaam (AFP) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday Jan. 23 asked his Tanzanian counterpart John Magufuli to take action against the network of an exiled cleric he blames for last year's failed coup.
The Hizmet movement run by US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, is linked to a network of schools across the world, including in Africa, and the Turkish president is rallying leaders on the continent to help him fight the influence of his longtime rival.
"The party that wants to overthrow me isn't only in Turkey... I am convinced that Tanzania will from now on take measures against this terrorist organisation," Erdogan said after meeting Magufuli.
It was not clear what action he had asked Tanzania to take against the schools, which are believed to be affiliated with Gulen's movement. They are extremely popular among the country's middle class and often among the best performing schools.
Turkish officials accuse Gulen of using his vast private education network to build influence and of running a "parallel state" inside Turkey.
Gulen, a former Erdogan ally, vehemently denies the allegations. A reclusive figure, he has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999.
Hizmet describes itself as promoting Islam through charity efforts and educational work in countries stretching from Turkey to Africa and Central Asia to the United States. (ontinueReading
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