Kajo-Keji Drivers Union and some Civil Society Organizations in the county have met to form a committee to maintain the Kajo-Keji-Juba Road.

Speaking to Radio Miraya, Member of Parliament in the National legislative Assembly representing Kajo-Keji County, Mary Kiden Kimbo, said it is important for the local population to start building the road, so that government will support them.

Kiden added that the committee that will be formed will open a bank account and start fundraising for maintenance of the road.

A senior Doctor in Juba teaching Hospital says the hospital lacks equipment for storing blood.

Dr. Wani Mena revealed to Radio Miraya that, there are people willing to donate blood for emergency, but they cannot store it.

He also said the hospital suffers constant electricity cuts, which makes it difficult to store blood.

"We don't have a large capacity to store blood if people were to donate. What we have is not really a blood bank as such. The laboratory has small fridge that can store about thirty to probably fifty units of blood and that is not a blood bank in itself. For that reason our capacity is not big enough for us to store blood. We also suffer from lack of regular electricity. In order to store blood you must maintain the blood at certain temperature all the time and that requires regular electricity which is erratic. So these two factors make it difficult for Juba Teaching Hospital and may be other hospitals in South Sudan to maintain a blood bank that can provide or make blood available if is needed by a patient".

Meanwhile the President of Juba Rotary Club Deng Mathach Deng has urged the Ministry of Health to finalize the legal framework on voluntary blood donation to enable the Rotary Club go out for campaigns.

Mathach added that Juba Rotary Club is ready to supply Juba Teaching Hospital with solar fridges for storage of blood. However, he said "the government should exempt them from paying tax". He added "We are now making a project of bringing blood solar fridges to the hospital that will help them store blood. From there we will start campaigning for blood donation. If we get the exemption as from today, in two days they can be in the hospital."

Juba Teaching Hospital has built a blood bank, but it is not well equipped with the necessary tools for storage of blood.

Highlights

• Rains continue to pound much of region

• Great Lakes crisis unabated

• Burundi, Eritrea suffer from “extremely alarming” hunger

• Food security expected to improve in Ethiopia as primary harvest starts

• Concerns over increased insecurity across Kenya

• Flooding affects tens of thousands in central Somalia

• Oxfam warns Somalia’s food crisis likely to worsen in coming months

• Massive flooding to affect food security and livelihoods in South Sudan

• Kenya Law on Internally Displaced Persons passed

• Uganda officially declares end of Ebola outbreak; response ongoing in DRC

Snapshot, 8 to 15 October

This week, flooding caused by heavy rains affected more than 1.3 million people in Nigeria. Flooding also affected more than five million people in Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab in Pakistan and around 226,000 in Bogra State in Bangladesh. A heavy tropical cyclone hit the south-west coast of Bangladesh on 11th October 2012 displacing 20,000 people and affecting more than 100,000. Armed violence continued to escalate in Syria with heavy fighting occurring in Homs, Daraa, Deir Ezzor, Idlib, Latakia, Aleppo and Damascus.

Contents:

1. SITUATION UPDATE

2. LOGISTICS COORDINATION

3. TRANSPORT SECTOR

4. STORAGE

5. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT/ASSESSMENTS

SITUATION UPDATE

Humanitarian Update

• Health concerns for the refugee populations in Upper Nile State continue and to datepeople have died as a result of Hepatitis E outbreak since the beginning of September.

• Arrivals into South Sudan have significantly slowed during the month of September, with approximately 4,000 new refugees into Unity and Upper Nile States.
Humanitarian actors anticipate a sharp increase in refugee and returnees following the end of the rainy season.

• Approximately 260,000 people have been negatively affected by flooding across South Sudan, with the most significant interventions needed in Jonglei. The Logistics Cluster response to the Jonglei flooding was to rapidly deploy one Mi8 MTV heavy lift helicopter and move over 40mt of supplies to villages throughout the State, in cooperation with OCHA and partners on the ground.

• Insecurity continues to impact humanitarian operations in Jonglei State; however the Logistics Cluster is prepared to respond once the area is accessible with further airlifts as required.

YUSUF BATIL REFUGEE CAMP, South Sudan, October 15 (UNHCR) – UNHCR staff and health workers in camps across Africa, including Sudanese nurse Dafala Baruk, will today be stressing the vital importance of cleanliness for refugees in harsh environments.

Monday is Global Handwashing Day, launched in 2008 to stress the importance of cleaning before eating or after going to the lavatory as a key approach to disease prevention.

The health message has particular meaning for Baruk, a refugee from Sudan's Blue Nile state, because his brother-in-law lies ill with hepatitis E in South Sudan's Yusuf Batil refugee camp, one of four in Maban County, Upper Nile state. It's also been embraced by other refugees, including children, who will on Monday perform catchy songs with the core message.

"On Global Handwashing Day, the message to wash one's hands will be reinforced in camps around Maban County," said UNHCR Public Health Officer Pillar Moreno. "We hope that in a short period of time, handwashing will become second nature before the preparation of food or after using latrines.

Moreno added that "this small but essential practice will help them survive and remain on the safe side of an outbreak like hepatitis E." With tens of thousands of people crossing the border from Blue Nile state into South Sudan's Upper Nile state, many in poor physical shape, such small precautions can become vitally important in averting the spread of viral diseases such as hepatitis and cholera.

Baruk's brother-in-law, Djamuri Madeer, fell ill with hepatitis two months after arriving in Yusuf Batil camp. Moreno explained that hepatitis was linked to poor and fragile hygiene and sanitary conditions and high population density in a camp can lead to outbreaks.

Transmitted orally or through faecal matter on unwashed hands, the incubation period for hepatitis E is between two weeks and two months. Most people recover with treatment, but it can be fatal for severe cases, while the mortality rate among pregnant women can be as high as 20-25 per cent.

Madeer has no idea when or where he could have contracted the virus, but he admitted not washing his hands regularly. He had also shown the telltale signs of jaundice, body pain, vomiting, fever and a general malaise.

Like other refugees, he went to the camp health clinic but also sought the services of a traditional healer. Moreno said Madeer's faith in traditional healers was common, while adding that this was helpful for health workers because it made traditional medical practitioners an important component of Maban County's health surveillance team and its outreach activities.

The messages promoted by Global Handwashing Day have been incorporated in health strategies and campaigns in the camps across Maban County.In addition to cleaning hands after going to the lavatory and before cooking and eating, messages have included the importance of consuming safe drinking water and of using latrines rather than doing one's business in the open.

Meanwhile, Moreno commended the network of community outreach workers who have helped track cases of suspected hepatitis. "As a result, the number of cases coming to the clinic with suspected hepatitis E has increased significantly, meaning that the response for medical health practitioners and the community by working together is helping to contain and fight the outbreak," she said.

"At present, the outbreak of hepatitis E appears to be under control, but this will not make us complacent," said Moreno. "We will continue reinforcing the message for people to wash their hands long after the day has ended."

By Pumla Rulashe in Yusuf Batil Refugee Camp, South Sudan

Monday, 15 October 2012 08:34 | Mabior Mach

A campaign to immunize women and girls against Tetanus, has been launched in Central Equatoria State.

The week-long campaign will see vaccinators move from home to home in Central Equatoria, immunizing women and girls between the age of 14 and 45 years against the disease.

The campaign is being conducted with support from UN children's organization (UNICEF) and the UN World Health Organization (WHO).

Speaking during the launch at Juba Girls Secondary School, the Chief of Health and Nutrition for UNICEF, Monjur Hossain, explained that Maternal Neo-natal Tetanus, is a major problem in South Sudan.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Governor of Central Equatoria State, Manase Lomole Waya, who was the chief guest at the launch, advised girls to avoid early pregnancy.

10 October 2012 – Juba: The South Sudan National Police Service (SSNPS) released two Quarterly Crimes Statistics reports detailing crime rates, trends, and analysis for the last two quarters on Tuesday 9 October 2012 at Juba Grand Hotel. UNDP and UNPOL, with funding support from the Government of Japan, provided technical support to the SSNPS at both the national and state level in the collection and analysis of crime statistics. Major General, Johanna Madikotsi Nkomo, UNMISS Deputy Police Commissioner stated “People may be asking why is it important that we are launching statistics. They are just numbers – but for the woman, child or man who is a victim of crime, they don’t seem themselves as a number.”

The Quarterly Crime Statistics reports have compiled data across nine states covering the types of crimes as well as comparisons between regions and the two quarters. These reports provide a foundation of evidence to understand the current context, enable policy makers to craft informed strategies and serve as a baseline to track progress. As explained by the Honourable Dr. Barnaba Marial, Minister of Information, this evidence base “will help a young country formulate policy to prevent, reduce and detect crimes and support greater effectiveness in delivery of justice services.” Major General Johanna Madikotsi Nkomo further elaborated that these reports are a management tool which can help Government to prioritize programmes to prevent crime, noting, “It will tell you crime is because there are no jobs, there is no education, it will tell the Government to support job creation initiatives and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports to start youth programs.”

The availability of reliable and relevant statistics is essential for planning the deployment of scarce resources within the criminal justice system. Mr. Balázs Horváth, Country Director, UNDP explained why they are critical: “Statistics provide a sound basis for dialogue on policies, decision making on the allocation of resources and the targeting of crime prevention and response mechanisms. They enable us to develop informed strategies and ensure that planning is based on evidence... In these times of austerity and limited resources, it is crucial for all of us to target scarce resources in the most effective way.” Thus, this data can serve as a tool for monitoring the professionalism of the SSNPS, identify new and emerging patterns of criminal behaviour, and allow development partners to better support the Government in the management of risk. Mr. Ishikawa Ryo, Government of Japan, explained how his country supports South Sudan in building capacity and stated, “In this respect, the report can play an important role as a great motivation for the esteemed SSNPS. I am sure that formulating the report can become a great step toward the security reform in this country.”

In December 2011, South Sudan began collecting data on crime at the state and county levels and to aggregate it into these quarterly crime statistics reports. The main source of data is records compiled by the SSNPS, and although there is a level of crime that goes unreported, there is no other reliable source of national crime statistics. Moreover, it is notable that the Government is beginning this data collection and analysis so early on. Having this type of information will enable the Government to take the appropriate steps to professionalize the SSNPS, protect citizens and foster secure communities. Honourable General Acuil Tito Madut, Inspector General of Police stated, “It was difficult to assess our successes and failures. Police success is measured by crime in a given locality....now our quality of work will only improve.”

The first launch of the Quarterly Crime Statistics reports for December 2011 – February 2012 and for March 2012 – May 2012 also included a detailed presentation on the key findings:

• Crime has a disproportionate impact on women

• In the six-months reporting period there has been a general overall decline in the number of major crimes (murder, grievous hurt, theft, housebreaking, and rape)

• Rates of misappropriate, trespassing and kidnapping have increased over 100% in the six-month reporting period while murder and theft have declined

• Both murder and offences to property are higher in states with low economic growth (Central Equatoria, Jonglei, Lakes and Western Equatoria)

Presenters also stressed that the collection of these statistics will enable better planning for longer term development, as there cannot be development or peace without security. Honourable General Alison Monani Magaya, Minister of Interior also added that these statistics are important for other development partners and Government ministries: “this does not only affect the security sector – it concerns all stakeholders... For an efficient administration of justice we all need to collaborate on crime prevention and rule of law.

Also in attendance were the Honourable Lt. Gen. Aleu Anyieny Aleu, Chairperson of Defence, Security and Public Order Committee and Chief Justice Chan Reec Madut, who stressed the interlinkage between crime prevention and the capacity to bring cases to trial in a fair and transparent manner. The presentation was followed by a brief question and answer period in which attendees asked questions pertaining to the methodology of collecting these statistics, SSNPS interventions as well as gave some suggestions on collecting crime statistics at the grassroots level.

October 15, 2012 (JUBA) - South Sudan president Salva Kiir said on Monday he would not accept his country returning to war with Khartoum over issues which can be addressed by dialogue.

Kiir’s comments came amid growing civil unrest in reaction to agreements signed by Juba and Khartoum on 27 September.

Police used live rounds on the streets of Juba to break up protests on Monday. Demonstrators, predominantly from the Greater Bahr el Ghazal region, are angered by what they perceive as the gifting of parts of their land to Khartoum.

The inclusion of a contentious 14 mile area in the Safe Demilitarized Buffer Zone in one of the agreements, argued speaker of the house, James Wani Igga, in a speech to parliament on Monday, “has to be crystal clear and properly underlined to leave no cloud or doubt and uncalled for speculations. This is not South Sudan alone. It includes some parts of Sudan at the border and at the border claimed or contested areas. It is not South Sudan alone.”

Kiir also emphasised the point that the agreement reached with Khartoum does not give them South Sudan’s land; it is a roadmap to finding a way of resolving the disputes between the neighbouring countries.

In reaction to the protesting at parliament, Kiir stated that “I will respect their opinions but I want to tell you that the 14 mile area which is generating concerns and row belongs to the Dinka Malual. This is a known fact. It was only the British which allowed the Reizigat in Darfur to use it for grazing their cattle.”

Kiir referred to British rule of Sudan which ended in 1956. During this time the colonial rulers gave specific powers to ethnic groups in order to further their ends. It is believed by some that the Reizgat ethnic group were given grazing rites to the region formerly known as the Munroe-Wheatley area.

The Dinka, on the other hand, are South Sudan’s most politically powerful ethnic group.

Kiir noted that the negotiating team did not have the mandate to give land to Khartoum and the purpose of the talks was to allow for oil exporting to resume. South Sudan halted production in January in a row with Khartoum over transit fees.

Keen to highlight his patriotic credentials, Kiir said, “I fought for more than 20 years [rebelling against the Khartoum government]. I do not know how long those demonstrating fought.”

He said he was criticized when he signed the Machakos protocol on self-determination in 2005 but those who were opposed to the provision celebrated the independence of the new nation in 2011.

He accused the same politicians who were critical of his signing of the protocol of inciting people to demonstrate, “to advantage their own interest. This is the way to get them. It is bad practice. Violence does not solve issues.”

He expressed his government’s commitment to continue pressing forward for peaceful solutions to areas contested by Khartoum but that there are certainties:

“We will not relinquish Panthou [Heglig]. It is home land of Panru people in Unity State. We will also not relinquish Hufra Nahas, Kifia Kinji, Joda, Magnes and many other areas which are historically part of this country,” said Kiir.

Backing Kiir, Igga stated that "if there is anybody against it, it is probably out of disinformation prior to keenly and meticulously perusing and studying the agreement document.”

South Sudan announced on 5 October that a committee would be formed to educate government officials and the civil population on the agreements reached with Khartoum.

Igga said that the purpose of the agreements is to restore peace, in order to create the correct environment for development to take place.

He said the importance of the planned buffer zone is that it would allow international monitors to assess the situation.

But General Garang Mabil, who has long been one a close military ally of Kiir’s, said those pushing for implementation of the agreement are not honest.

“I have said several times that the so called additional special arrangement inserted in article three of the security arrangement was unjustifiably inserted. The 14 mile area has never been part of Sudan. It is a known area for Dinka Malual. I fought there in seventies myself."

(ST)

10/16/2012 14:40 GMT

KHARTOUM, Oct 16, 2012 (AFP) - More than 600 people have been killed since rebels began an uprising in two Sudanese states last year, the interior minister said on Tuesday, but an analyst called the figure meaningless.

Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamed, giving a rare casualty count, said in a report to parliament that 296 people were killed in South Kordofan last year after fighting with rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) began in June.

Another 147 have died this year.

"Most of them are civilians," Hamed said, but he did not specify who killed them.

In Blue Nile state, where the ethnic and religious-minority SPLM-N has been fighting since September 2011, there were 159 fatalities last year and 41 so far in 2012, the minister said.

"There's no way of knowing how many people were killed," Magdi El Gizouli, a fellow at the Rift Valley Institute, told AFP.

"They're not credible," he said of the numbers, partly because the government cannot determine the number of deaths in areas that are not under its control.

Analysts say casualty figures from both sides in the war should be treated with caution.

But the United Nations has reported a steadily increasing number of hungry people fleeing the warzone for South Sudan, where more than 173,000 are now encamped.

Overall, the violence in South Kordofan and Blue Nile has displaced or severely affected hundreds of thousands of people, the UN says.

There have been repeated allegations, denied by Khartoum, that civilians have been bombed from the air.

SPLM-N spokesman Arnu Ngutulu Lodi had no figure for the number of people killed in South Kordofan and Blue Nile but called for an independent international inquiry into the issue.

"Now the rebels in South Kordofan and Blue Nile are targeting civilians," after they "lost their financial source" from South Sudan, Hamed told parliament.

Last week, the rebels launched an unprecedented artillery barrage on the South Kordofan state capital Kadugli, which official media said killed seven women and children.

The UN condemned the attack.

SPLM-N said it regretted any civilian casualties that may have been caused but said its artillery fire was self-defence in the face of government shelling and aerial bombardment of rebel positions.

The action came after Sudan and South Sudan in late September signed deals on security and cooperation that they hailed as ending their countries' conflict.

Among the pacts reached in Addis Ababa is agreement on a demilitarised border buffer zone designed to cut support for SPLM-N in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

Sudan and South Sudan fought along their undemarcated frontier in March and April, sparking fears of wider war and leading to a UN Security Council resolution ordering a ceasefire and the settlement of unresolved issues, under African Union mediation.

The SPLM-N battled alongside insurgents from southern Sudan who waged a 22-year civil war which ended in a 2005 peace deal leading to South Sudan's independence last July.

Khartoum accuses the government in Juba of backing the insurgents, and South Sudan in turn says Sudan has armed rebels in its territory.

str-it/dv

© 1994-2012 Agence France-Presse

Listeners call in to local radio stations after series on women’s rights starts airing.

By Simon Jennings - International Justice - ICC 15 Oct 12

A new IWPR radio programme discussing women’s rights in South Sudan has received a warm welcome from listeners in the region.

Nadhrat al-Shafafa, which means “Transparent View”, is a 15-minute weekly magazine show broadcast in and around the towns of Wau and Malakal, and in Gidel, north of the border in Sudan. It is produced in partnership by the Catholic Radio Network, CRN.

Launched in August, the weekly show has already covered issues affecting the daily lives of women in South Sudan, including alcoholism, forced marriage and abortion.

Nadhrat al-Shafafa consists of a mix of news, interviews and analysis, with an emphasis on women’s rights. It aims to provide women with a place where they can access independent information about the rule of law and women’s rights, and to stimulate debate through local radio in northern parts of South Sudan, on the border with Sudan. It provides an opportunity for people living in these volatile frontier areas to become better informed about issues facing their communities, and also to air their own views.

The content is gathered and recorded by IWPR’s and CRN’s female reporters in Wau, Malakal and Gidel.

The first programme, produced by a team of IWPR-trained reporters in Gidel, featured a woman called Romia Ismail, who is something of a role model as she manages to earn a living while caring for her family. She works as a midwife and farmer, while also single-handedly looking after her immediate and extended family and educating her children.

After the programme went out, listeners told the reporters in Gidel how much it had inspired them.

“I am impressed by Romia, who is able to work at the hospital, farm, and take care of her children,” one female listener commented. “This shows us that we can also do more jobs so that we provide for our families. This programme has opened my eyes, especially to the need to try to do something to help my husband take care of our family.”

Nadhrat al-Shafafa is broadcast by Radio Voice of Hope in Wau, Radio Voice of Peace in Gidel and Radio Saut al-Mahabba in Malakal. At the moment it is in Arabic, and there are plans to produce versions in the Dinka, Nuer, Shilluk and Tira languages.

In Malakal and Wau, the stations host live phone-ins after the programme to give listeners a chance to voice their opinions and address their concerns directly to representatives of local government and other relevant groups.

When they heard the first programme, men as well as women bombarded the radio stations with calls. Several listeners called for women to get more support for starting up small businesses or engaging in farming. Listeners also stressed the importance of female education for girls in South Sudan.

“The calls were too many and the time seemed not enough,” said Eva Batista, a reporter at CRN’s Radio Voice of Hope in Wau who also hosts the live phone-in. “It seems as if people have been waiting for such a programme. It shows that we are touching people’s lives.”

CRN believes the programme is already raising awareness among its audience, both female and male.

“The proposal of IWPR [to produce] women's radio magazines for our area is highly welcome,” Sister Mary Carmen, director of Radio Voice of Peace in Gidel, said. “Women feel relieved when they hear that people are voicing their struggles, [and] consider it a newly-opened door of hope which envisions change. On the other hand, some men explained that they were not aware of the extent to which women had been living with certain situations [and] injustices.”

Ahead of actual production, IWPR ran a ten-day training and mentoring course for the female broadcast journalists who are now working on the show.

A second phase of the training programme, led by IWPR producer Lucy Poni, was held in Malakal in September.

These training workshops taught reporters the basic skills of broadcast journalism, including research, interviewing and production techniques. The course also covered a variety of presentation formats, so that participants will be able to reach out to their audience and interact with it on complex issues via news bulletins, special reports, radio documentaries, public debates and phone-in talk shows.

Simon Jennings is IWPR’s Africa Editor.

Maize, sorghum, wheat, and groundnuts are the most important food commodities in South Sudan. Sorghum, maize, and groundnuts are the staple foods for the poor in most rural areas. Maize flour and wheat (as bread) are more important for middle-income and rich households in urban areas. Sorghum and maize are generally substitutable for one another but preferences are shifting towards maize over time, especially in the southern half of Southern Sudan. Groundnuts are important for the rural poor in Northern Bahr El Ghazal, Warrap, and Lakes states. Short-term sorghum is harvested in July – August in Greater Equatoria states and in September – October in Greater Bahr el Ghazal, Greater Upper Nile states and Jonglei states, and long-term sorghum in December – January particularly in Lakes, Western Bahr El Ghazal, Warrap, and Upper Nile states. Maize grain and flour from Uganda are available throughout the year because of the bi-modal rainfall pattern and carryover stocks. The main retail markets are in the state capitals, namely, Juba, Aweil, Malakal, Wau, Torit, Kuajok, Bentiu, Bor, Rumbek, and Yambio, but historical price data sets (2006-2010) are only available for Juba, Aweil, Malakal, and Wau only. The most important local wholesale market is in Renk, a mechanized cereal producing area in Upper Nile state. Aweil, Wau, Kuajok, and Bentiu are mostly supplied in cereals from Khartoum and El Obeid, while Malakal is also supplied by Renk through Kosti. In Juba, Torit, Bor, and Rumbek, cereal supplies mostly come from Uganda.

“A strange and rather magical time”

More than 170,000 refugees have crossed from South Kordofan and Blue Nile states in Sudan and are gathered in five camps in remote and inaccessible areas of South Sudan.

Since the first refugees arrived in November of 2011, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been the main provider of healthcare in the camps. As the situation worsened the MSF team made a ‘surge’ emergency response, focused on the most urgent lifesaving activities. This intervention has helped to significantly reduce the number of deaths in Batil camp. But this is still very much an emergency as the refugees are completely dependent on humanitarian assistance. The work to keep saving lives continues around the clock.

Roberto Scaini is a physician working with MSF in South Sudan. Here he shares his experience working a typical night shift at MSF’s field hospital in Batil refugee camp.

The night time is considered a critical moment in the field hospital here.

We start with a round of the wards so the doctors on the day shift can tell me about their patients. Last night we started with a man in the inpatient department who had just been brought in with suspect meningitis. We did a lumbar puncture, taking a sample of the spinal fluid, and the result was cloudy, which meant we needed to send it off for further laboratory tests. He was in critical condition.

Non-stop care

The other place I need to know about is the severely malnourished intensive care ward. Last night all the patients were stable apart from one girl who was extremely dehydrated and was having constant diarrhea. We have to give her a special fluid to replace what she’s losing with the diarrhea and vomiting. And we need to weigh her every hour because we are giving her a lot of this fluid, but we need to make certain that we are not overloading her system as that can be very dangerous. These children are so weak that we need to give them this fluid extremely slowly with a syringe. And you have to do this carefully all through the night, give fluid, check weight, wait, give fluid, check weight again…

Remaining focused

The patients who are not stable often become critically ill during the night. And that can be difficult. You need to keep totally focused on the most critical cases. If you leave a weak patient for too long, they can become really unstable and die.

In a way you get much more of a connection with your patients and the medical staff during the night shift. For me it’s a strange and rather magical time; everything is quiet after the rush and noise of the day, just the sound of the generator and the falling rain, and you get to pause for a minute and drink some coffee with your Sudanese and South Sudanese colleagues. In between emergencies you get to stop and think.

Sudden emergencies

But we always have some patients who are very ill and who can go from just about stable to seriously sick in just a few seconds. The other day a child we were treating for severe cerebral malaria started having convulsions. That was two hours of intense activity. When a child goes into seizure it can bring on a respiratory repression and so you have to stop the seizure immediately as the shortage of oxygen can bring about cerebral damage. We followed the usual emergency protocol for seizures, but then she stopped breathing. So we had to start manual respiration with a breathing aid, but this was difficult as she was having really bad convulsions, shaking and writhing around on the bed.

Difficult decisions

It was a hard decision to make because the drug to stop the seizures has a side-effect of lowering the breathing rate of the patient. We had to stop the seizure so we needed to keep giving the drug, even though it was having a bad effect on her breathing. After about 25 minutes we managed to stop the seizure, but this is really long for a seizure and the risk of cerebral damage was high. And throughout all this we were ventilating manually because if you stop ventilating for two or three minutes the patient could die.

Sometimes we are lucky

At one point I started thinking that this child was eight years old, the same age as my daughter. I think this somehow helped me to keep going, and I kept ventilating the girl for 40 or 45 minutes, which is really exhausting. And then suddenly her chest started to move and so I stopped and she was half-breathing. So I continued to support her breathing for a while and little by little she started breathing by herself. Throughout the rest of the night she was unconscious but stable.

The next evening, when I came back at 6 p.m., she was sitting and drinking. She stopped and smiled at me. She must have recognized me from the previous night. So I did some quick examinations and yes, her life was saved and it seemed without any obvious cerebral damage. I don’t believe in miracles, but sometimes we are lucky.

By Julius N. Uma

October 15, 2012 (JUBA) - As the world marked World Food Day on Tuesday, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) reiterated its commitment to reduce hunger and poverty levels among the vulnerable globally.

WFP Executive Director, Ertharin Cousin, in a statement, said the agency will work closely with communities, the civil society, governments and the private sector to end hunger, which it says is worsened by high food prices.

“WFP faces many challenges as we work to ensure that the hungry poor receive the right food at the right time,” said Cousin.

“From the Sahel region stricken by the third drought in recent years, to unrest in the Middle East, to communities whose imported staple foods have become inaccessibly expensive, WFP delivers life-saving food assistance where it is needed most,” he added.

Last year, WFP, the statement noted, reached almost 100 million people in 75 countries, including over 11 million children who received special nutritional support and 23 million children who received school meals or take-home rations.

In South Sudan, WFP has reportedly increased the emphasis on community-based activities to build resilience to shocks and longer-term food security so that communities don’t need food assistance in the near future.

“About a third of the 2.9 million people we’re targeting this year receive food assistance through asset-creating projects that include converting unused land into farmland, building roads for farmers to get their produce to market and constructing dykes that protect their crops from flood waters,” said Chris Nikoi, WFP country director.

He acknowledged hunger in South Sudan as “real” and urged the population in the young nation to switch from nutritious food to cheaper staples, and make decisions that help children especially under the age of two so that they are not prone to vulnerable to disease that rob them of their mental and physical potential.

“Can we build a South Sudan where every child can strive to realize their potential, freed from the blight of under-nutrition and weakness? Can we also build a South Sudan that does not need organisations like WFP?” Nikoi asked.

He further said, South Sudan, despite its enormous challenges, could focus on building community resilience and reinforcement livelihoods; strengthening institutions and systems for enhanced food production and market access; ensuring access to essential services and building leadership and national capacity to as remedies to reduce hunger.

At least 4.7 million South Sudanese, according to a UN assessment conducted early this year, remain food insecure, with up to one million reportedly at risk of facing severe hunger.

(ST)

Tuesday, 16 October 2012 08:44 Mabior Mach South Sudan

The International Office for Migration (IOM), is organizing the transportation of an estimated 1,100 returnees stranded in Renk, Upper Nile State.

The returnees will be transported to Juba, with their luggage on two barges.

IOM Information and Communication Officer, Samantha Donkin, said the barges are expected to leave Renk sometime next week.

"At the moment we have just over fourteen thousand four hundred stranded registered within Renk, over the past three weeks we have seen mobile units of returnees arriving at Renk, just one hundred and eighty five returnees and in that same time period over the past three weeks we had nine hundred and eighty one returnees departing the transit site at Renk and those returnees have left for areas within Upper Nile State," Donkin told Radio Miraya on Tuesday.

Donkin also added that starting next week, IOM will begin transporting an estimated 300 returnees from the Juba transit site to their home areas in the Greater Bahr el Ghazal region.

10/17/2012 12:39 GMT

by Abdelmoneim Abu Edris Ali

KHARTOUM, Oct 17, 2012 (AFP) - Sudan's parliament on Wednesday approved almost unanimously deals with South Sudan on oil and security that the two countries' presidents have hailed as ending their conflict.

"After discussion by the MPs, the general feeling of the assembly is to agree to those deals," parliament speaker Ahmed Ibrahim al-Tahir told deputies just before the vote.

Roughly half of the chamber's 350 MPs were present for the ballot, and only two of them voted against the agreements.

The late-September deals, signed by Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir and his South Sudanese counterpart Salva Kiir, came after the neighbours fought along their undemarcated frontier in March and April, sparking fears of wider war.

A UN Security Council resolution ordered a ceasefire and the settlement of crucial unresolved issues, under African Union mediation.

"We received a positive reaction from the international community expecting our signature on the agreement, and they believe we are a responsible state that is looking out for the benefits of its people," Foreign Minister Ali Karti told legislators.

He criticised Sudanese press criticism of the deals.

The South's government halted oil production in January after accusing Khartoum of theft in a long-running dispute over how much the impoverished government in Juba should pay for sending its oil through northern infrastructure for export.

The deals signed last month included agreements to ensure the resumption of oil exports, as well as progress on a financial package of about $3 billion that South Sudan offered Khartoum.

The package is compensation for the economically damaging loss of most of Sudan's oilfields when South Sudan separated in July last year.

They also reached a key agreement on a demilitarised border buffer zone, where troops must withdraw 10 kilometres (six miles) from the de facto line of control along the undemarcated frontier.

The zone aims to cut support for rebels which Sudan says are backed by South Sudan in the northern states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

A 22-year north-south civil war led to a 2005 peace deal and South Sudan's independence, but tensions over oil and other issues lingered.

At the signing in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Kiir said the overall agreement with Sudan "brings to an end the long conflict between our two countries."

Bashir said he would "seize the historic opportunity and journey towards building peace."

However, the leaders failed to strike a deal on the flashpoint region of Abyei as well as other contested border areas. Outstanding issues are to be addressed in future rounds of talks, officials have said.

str-it/srm

© 1994-2012 Agence France-Presse

Clare Castillejo, 17 October 2012

Internationally supported statebuilding processes offer an opportunity to address engrained gender inequalities and develop a state that is accountable to women. However, international statebuilding support has so far been largely gender blind, with the result that such opportunities are often missed.

This report examines how the international community can better integrate gender into its statebuilding support. In particular, it focuses on how international actors can promote the participation of women in the core politics of statebuilding, i.e. the negotiation of the political settlement, democratisation processes, the development of civil society’s voice and engagement with informal power. It argues that international actors must develop a more political understanding of gender in fragile contexts, including how gender inequalities relate to broader power interests and patterns of fragility. It recommends that international actors promote women’s participation in the most critical moments of statebuilding, combine support for institutional reform with measures to address the structural barriers to access faced by women, and support a broad and independent women’s civil society that can engage with statebuilding processes. The report also calls on international actors to take greater risks in engaging with the informal institutions that play such a central role in perpetuating gender inequalities in fragile contexts.

1) With seasonal rains ending and as vegetation dries out, locust swarms have formed in Chad and are expected to form shortly in Niger and Mali. Swarms are then expected to migrate towards the north as well as potentially into cropping areas in western/central Mali.

2) Torrential rain from localized thunderstorms caused flash flooding in portions of northern and southern Somalia during the past few weeks. During the next week, the risk for isolated, heavy rainfall has shifted to southern Ethiopia and bordering areas in Somalia. This may trigger localized flooding in many pastoral areas in the region.

3) Several weeks of above-average and heavy rains across southern Nigeria and the release of water from dams located in Cameroon have led to widespread flooding across the region resulting in the closures of highways, displacement of local populations and damages to infrastructure. With heavy rain forecasted, the risk for additional flooding is elevated.

4) Heavy downpours which occurred across Central Kenya during the past week have resulted in flooding in the Meru district which caused at least six fatalities. With a risk for localized thunderstorms and heavy downpours during the next week, additional flash flooding is possible.

17 October 2012 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon congratulates the Parliaments of South Sudan and Sudan for ratifying the cooperation agreements signed by the two African countries’ Presidents Salva Kiir and Omar al-Bashir, respectively, last month, according to Mr. Ban’s spokesperson.

“The Secretary-General urges both countries to now embark on the implementation of all the agreements they have signed and proceed immediately with the operationalization of their Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism,” the spokesperson added in a note to the news media today.

South Sudan became independent from Sudan in July last year, six years after the signing of the peace agreement that ended decades of warfare between the north and the south. However, the peace between the two countries had come under threat over recent months by armed clashes along their common border and outstanding post-independence issues that have yet to be resolved.

The cooperation agreements between the two countries were reached in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on 27 September, at talks held under the auspices of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel.

The talks were designed to enable the two nations to fulfil their obligations under a so-called roadmap aimed at easing tensions, facilitating the resumption of negotiations on post-secession relations and normalizing the relations between the two countries.

In the days following the agreements, the Security Council and the Secretary-General both welcomed the moves, with Mr. Ban commending Presidents Al-Bashir and Kiir “for demonstrating the statesmanship that made a comprehensive agreement possible, and for having once again chosen peace over war.”

In his statement, Mr. Ban’s spokesperson noted that the UN chief calls on both parties to continue their constructive engagement with the Panel, notably to agree on a process to settle the issue of remaining disputed and claimed areas and the determination of the final status of Abyei, a disputed region straddling the border area between Sudan and South Sudan.

“The UN stands ready to continue assisting the parties, in collaboration with partners,” the spokesperson added.