ITMILD

GENEVA — The United Nations says Sudan’s warring parties appear headed toward major clashes in the northern Darfur city of El Fasher, home to 2 million people and about a half-million internally displaced.

The office of the spokesperson for the U.N. secretary-general said in a statement Friday that “The Rapid Support Forces [RSF] are reportedly encircling El Fasher, suggesting a coordinated move to attack the city may be imminent. Simultaneously, the Sudanese Armed Forces [SAF] appear to be positioning themselves.”

The statement said the secretary-general’s personal envoy, Ramtane Lamamra, is working with the parties to de-escalate tensions in El Fasher.

At least 43 people, including women and children, reportedly have been killed in fighting in the northern Darfur city since April 14 when the RSF, backed by its allied militia, began a push to gain control of the city, the SAF’s last remaining stronghold in Sudan’s Darfur region.

Earlier, a spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged the parties to immediately halt violence in and around El Fasher.

Speaking from the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, Seif Magango warned that the fight for El Fasher, already raging outside the city for several weeks, may be taking a turn for the worse. 

“Reports indicate that both parties have launched indiscriminate attacks using explosive weapons with wide-area effects, such as mortar shells and rockets fired from fighter jets, in residential districts,” the spokesperson said. “Since early April, the RSF has conducted several large-scale attacks on the villages in western El Fasher mostly inhabited by the African Zaghawa ethnic community,” he said, noting that several Zaghawa villages have been burned down.

“Such attacks raise the specter of further ethnically motivated violence in Darfur, including mass killings,” he said.

Last year, fighting and attacks between the Rizeigat and the African Masalit communities in West Darfur left hundreds of civilians dead or injured, and thousands displaced from their homes.

The earlier Darfur conflict that erupted in 2003 between Arab and non-Arab communities killed at least 200,000 people and left a deadly legacy of mines and explosive remnants of war, which continue to wreak havoc on communities long after that war ended.

The new war between rival factions of Sudan’s military that broke out last year has left more than 18 million people facing acute food insecurity and uprooted nearly 9 million from their homes.

OHCHR spokesperson Magango said civilians trapped in El Fasher are afraid they will be killed if they try to flee the city.

“This dire situation is compounded by a severe shortage of essential supplies as deliveries of commercial goods and humanitarian aid have been heavily constrained by the fighting, and delivery trucks are unable to freely transit through RSF-controlled territory,” he said.

High Commissioner Türk is urging both parties to the conflict and their allies to grant civilians safe passage to other areas and allow safe and unhindered humanitarian aid to reach civilians in dire need.

For his part, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has reiterated his call on all warring parties “to refrain from fighting in the El Fasher area,” warning of devastating consequences for the civilian population that is “in an area already on the brink of famine.”
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For some African communities, the road to food security is traveled best by tractor. A company called Hello Tractor, supported by non-profit Heifer International, is enabling poor, smallholding farmers to rent or buy mechanized farm equipment that is helping them increase their productivity and profits. Mohammed Yusuf reports from the town of Rabuor in western Kenya.
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COTONOU, Benin — Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone launched large-scale malaria vaccine programs on Thursday under an Africa-focused initiative that hopes to save tens of thousands of children’s lives per year across Africa.

The three West African countries are the latest to participate after successful rollouts of routine malaria immunization for children in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, the global vaccine alliance GAVI said in a statement.

The World Health Organization-approved vaccine is meant to work alongside existing tools such as bed nets to combat malaria, which in Africa kills nearly half a million children under the age of 5 each year.

“This introduction … will help save lives and offer relief to families, communities and hard-pressed health systems,” said Aurelia Nguyen, GAVI chief program officer.

Benin has 215,900 doses of the vaccine, which will be available to children from around 5 months old, according to GAVI.

Sierra Leone has 550,000 doses and neighboring Liberia has 112,000 doses, it said.

At the official launch in Benin, which took place in the town of Allada, some 54 kilometers from the country’s largest city, Cotonou, 25 children received the vaccine.

“I came to have my children vaccinated against malaria. It’s important to me because when children get this malaria disease, we spend a lot of money,” said Victoire Fagbemi, a 41-year-old mother of four.

Another mother, Victoire Boko, who had her 10-month-old child vaccinated at the launch, said the health minister’s explanations about the vaccine in the local Fon language had allayed any anxieties she had about its safety. “When I get home, I will share the information … with my neighbors and friends,” she said on the sidelines of the launch.

The African region is home to 11 countries that carry approximately 70% of the global burden of malaria, according to GAVI.
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Goma, DR Congo — In the eastern reaches of the Democratic Republic of Congo, women entrepreneurs in Goma continue to catch the eye of the business world, thanks to their creativity and resilience. Thirty-year-old Deborah Nzarubara is one of Central Africa’s pioneers of beekeeping, repeatedly recognized worldwide for the quality of her honey and its contribution to environmental preservation.

Armed with courage and the desire to face down the myth that women and bees can’t cohabitate, she’s become a world-renowned beekeeper.

When she was growing up, she says, she loved just looking at bees. People used to tell her that a woman couldn’t be a beekeeper because if she tried to keep the bees, they’d leave. It wasn’t true.

For Nzarubara, the first step in changing the game was to create an association to raise awareness about the environmental value of bee protection, and then build a business around it.

When she saw that she was starting to produce a lot for her association, she says, the idea of setting up a business came to her. Today, with her company, Green Community Mind, or GRECOM, she sells honey and beeswax, transforms honey into ointments and organizes training courses for aspiring beekeepers.

More than 1,500 beekeepers have already been trained by GRECOM, including some 100 women such as Rehema Mapendo, who now feeds her family thanks to beekeeping.

Today, she says, she has at least eight hives from which she harvests honey. Selling it helps her pay school fees and meet other household needs.

Emmanuel Ndimwiza, an environmental expert, points out the vital ecological importance of bees, suggesting that Congolese lawmakers introduce legislation to protect the increasingly endangered species.

He says that bees play a major role in pollination, because without bees, you can’t have fruit. In pollination, bees move from flower to flower, fertilizing plants. Today, if bees were to disappear, as Albert Einstein once said, humanity would only have to wait four years before being definitively destroyed.

In recent years, GRECOM has won numerous continental and worldwide awards for its performance.
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nairobi, kenya — About 1,300 delegates and 400 companies participated in the fourth American Chamber of Commerce summit in Nairobi, Kenya, where Kenya’s president William Ruto says his country is ready for business — and means business.

“The 2024 summit’s theme — catalyzing the future of U.S. East Africa Trade and Investment intentionally — draws on the previous edition to develop a strategic platform for commercial advocacy, which will strengthen bilateral trade between Kenya and the U.S., as well as between our region and the U.S.,” said Ruto.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo participated in this year’s summit — which ended Thursday — saying it’s not enough to state the intentions of the United States to invest more and collaborate with Kenya.

“You also have to show up and that’s why I am here,” she said. “And when we show up, we also have to listen and learn.”

Raimondo announces US-Kenya partnership

In her first official trip to East Africa, Raimondo reiterated President Joe Biden’s December 2022 message that the U.S. is all-in on Africa. To that end, she said she traveled with 14 members of the President’s Advisory Council on doing business in Africa.

“Africa has changed the narrative and the companies that are here today know that,” said Raimondo. “And they reflect the optimism and the commitment from the U.S. business community about the opportunities in Kenya and across the continent.”

Raimondo also announced a partnership “to harness artificial intelligence, facilitate data flows and empower digital upskilling with Kenya.”

The partnership, she said, is the first of its kind with an African nation to promote the safe development and deployment of AI. In addition, seven private-sector deals on digital transformation and commitments were made involving companies including the NBA, CISCO, Pfizer, and Qualcomm.

Two new grants by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency were announced to expand semiconductor fabrication in Kenya and the construction of a fiber network along the railways.

Rebecca Miano, Kenya’s cabinet secretary with the Ministry of Investments, Trade, and Industry, told participants that Kenya should be a destination for investors and not only because of its young, educated and innovative workforce.

“We also have a green story: decarbonizing the world,” Miano said. “Kenya is a key player.”

Miano said that up to 95 percent of the electricity consumed in Kenya is renewable.

“We have a target to make it 100% in the next few years,” she said.

Summit explores tech, climate, energy

The two-day AmCham summit brought together businesses to stimulate commercial opportunities, said Maxwell Okello, CEO of AmCham Kenya.

This year’s summit focused on key areas such as the tech space, climate action and green energy, said Okello.

“I am sure you’ve walked around and seen the pavilion under the title ‘Digital Transformation Africa,’ which brings together technology ecosystems both Kenyan but American as well,” said Okello. “Secondly, we have shone the light on … matters related to climate action and green business because we know we need to be green as we are moving forward.”

Out of 400 companies at the event, Wandia Gichuru, CEO of Vivo Fashion Group, got a special shout-out from U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman, who said she was wearing a top made by Gichuru’s apparel company.

“We were very excited, not only she was wearing something Vivo, but she also made the announcement that we would be opening our very first U.S. store in Atlanta this May,” said Gichuru. “… and we hope that the ambassador and our president will visit the store while they are in the U.S. for the state visit in May.”

President Ruto is set to visit the United States next month in the first state visit since he was elected.
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Victorian dress was forcibly imposed on Namibia’s indigenous ǂNūkhoe women by German colonizers in the late 1800s. Despite the origins, these styles persist today as a symbol of resilience. Lee Garises reports from Windhoek, Namibia. Camera: Jesaya Abraham
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Juba, South Sudan — South Sudanese farmers who have relied on United Nations agencies operating in that country now say they are afraid of losing a ready market for their produce should the U.N. follow through on its threat to scale down operations in the world’s youngest nation. This comes after the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom expressed concerns about Juba’s decision to impose taxes on some commodities purchased by the U.N.

The United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan — UNMISS — has already scaled down its security operations in South Sudan.

U.N. Special Representative of the Secretary-General in South Sudan Nicholas Haysom says Juba’s move to enforce taxes on various services offered by the U.N. in South Sudan will lead to severe consequences, including cuts in aid and other humanitarian support.

“Our concern is that the authorities have blocked our fuel, and we are unable to implement our mandate, including important elements, which affect and support South Sudanese — including the delivery of aid and food to vulnerable communities,” he said.

A joint statement by the United States, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom accused Juba of imposing taxes on a range of approvals and fees, contrary to international practice and to South Sudanese laws. These include the E-Petroleum Accreditation Permit, customs charges, the electronic cargo tracking note, the laboratory test on food rations, and the security escort fee.

The U.N. warns this move has forced them to scale down operations in South Sudan, including security patrols, as a direct response to the action.

“We have reached an agreement that the blocking of these vehicles is unlawful, and that they should be released as soon as possible,” Haysom said.

He warned that the ripple effect will be felt far and wide. So far, more than 60-thousand people are losing access to health services after the U.N. stopped airdrop exercises.

South Sudan relies heavily on the U.N. for humanitarian aid.

Amos Valerio is the chairperson of the Gitikiri farmer cooperative in Western Equatoria state that supports local farmers by connecting them with a ready market. One of their key markets is the World Food Program, which has been buying farm produce from local farmers and then taking this food to millions of South Sudanese in refugee camps across the country.

“The fear we have right now is that if the U.N. withdraws from South Sudan, we will not have any partner again,” Valerio said. “We encourage the government to restore the U.N. to continue helping farmers and to continue with their activities in South Sudan.”

Louise Wilson Mbiro, a farmer from Gitikiri Boma in Western Equatoria state, said she fears losing her biggest buyer of maize seeds.

If the WFP leaves, farmers will not be able to sell the products they have already produced and those they were going to produce, she said, adding that the WFP’s presence and support encouraged farmers to produce more. 

Before the WFP started buying their seeds, Mbiro said life was very difficult, and she could only sell one kilogram of maize at 5,000 South Sudanese pounds, which was not helping at all.

But when WFP came, she said farmers could sell all their products at once, and get money in bulk, which was something that never used to happen. Currently, Mbiro said, she can sell 35 bags, and make 1 million South Sudanese pounds.

Albino Akol Atak, South Sudan’s minister of humanitarian assistance and disaster management, said the government is trying to find a way to remove the taxes on the U.N. 

“We are considering that as the contribution of [the] government of South Sudan to what they [the U.N.] are doing is exempt. Their operations including importation of some humanitarian asserts and any other equipment that are to be used to deliver services to the people of South Sudan.”

Akol Atak said the exemption is part of the government’s contribution to humanitarian assistance to its people. 

But the U.N. says its fuel trucks are still being held up at various depots and the border.

Unless the vehicles are released, Haysom said in a statement, the U.N. will stop most of its activities in South Sudan, including the support for vulnerable communities like refugees.

The U.N. currently plays a leading role in ensuring stability in South Sudan as the country gears up for its first-ever general election in December.
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WASHINGTON — The United States will send a delegation to Niger on Thursday to begin face-to-face talks with officials in Niamey on withdrawing the more than 1,000 American personnel in the military-ruled country.

Niger has been a key base for regional counter-terrorism operations, but the government — a military junta that ousted the country’s president last year — said in March it was ending a military cooperation agreement with Washington.

The United States said it had agreed to remove its troops last week and would send a delegation to Niamey within days.

As part of ongoing negotiations, U.S. Ambassador to Niger Kathleen FitzGibbon and a senior military officer for U.S. Africa Command, Major General Ken Ekman, will meet with ruling government representatives on April 25 “to initiate discussions on an orderly and responsible withdrawal of U.S. forces from Niger,” the State Department said Wednesday.

Other Defense Department officials will conduct follow-up meetings in Niamey next week, and Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell will travel there “in the coming months to discuss ongoing collaboration in areas of joint interest,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

He said the United States is proud of the security cooperation and “shared sacrifice” of U.S. and Nigerien forces, and that it contributed to stability in the region.

But since discussions began last year with the ruling National Committee for Safeguarding the Homeland (CNSP), “we have been unable to reach an understanding with the CNSP to continue that security cooperation in a manner that addresses the needs and concerns of each side,” Miller said.

This week U.S. officials said there have not yet been changes to troop levels in Niger, a linchpin in the U.S. and French strategy to combat jihadists in West Africa and the location of a $100 million American drone base.
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Nairobi, Kenya — The Kenyan government is threatening to withhold the salaries and union remittances of striking doctors after failing to reach an agreement with doctors’ union. 

“We will be asking our counsel to appeal to the court to review the orders that had been issued initially so that we are allowed to take the necessary action to ensure that Kenyans continue to enjoy health care services,” said Susan Nakhumicha, Kenya’s is cabinet secretary for health, after three days of negotiations.

Led by the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union, the doctors went on strike on March 15 to demand a commitment from the government to fulfill collective bargaining agreements signed in 2017. The work stoppage has paralyzed medical services in public hospitals across the country.

The government said it has addressed all issues raised by the medics — except for the salary of intern doctors — which union officials say is the deal breaker. 

“We are not at any point going to support exploitation of workers, we are not at any point going to support wage-slavery,” said Davji Atellah, the secretary-general of KMPDU. “Because we know that our vulnerable members, the intern doctors, once they are touched, once they are exploited, the next step would be the doctors working in the hospital; the next step will be the consultants. If you violate a document that is legal, like collective bargaining agreement, the part of doctor interns, which part of it is safe?” 

Lucianne Odiero, a final year medical student at the University of Nairobi, said the government’s move to reduce intern doctors’ salary is demoralizing. 

“The 70,000 shillings does not reflect the significant investment and research that interns have put in in their training and practice,” said Odiero. “And that just goes to show that the government does not really value and does not prioritize health care in the country.” 

Seventy thousand shillings equals about $520 per month. 

The ongoing strike has severely disrupted health services in public hospitals. The situation has been compounded by a strike by clinical and laboratory workers.

The strikes haver left patients such as Conceptor Oginga in Nakuru County struggling to access care from expensive private hospitals, leading to worsening chronic illnesses and even death. 

“The doctors’ strike is really bad because it has really affected a lot of people, especially people who are not able to support themselves financially,” said Oginga. “Like currently I’m sick and I’m unable to go to the hospital…the only thing I have managed to do is buy medicine over the counter.” 

Oginga said her friend lost a baby during birth because of the walkout. She appealed to the government to end the stalemate. 

“My message to the government is to just try to have a dialogue with the doctors so that they can have a common ground and they can go back to doing their job so that not so many people will be suffering the way they are suffering right now,” she said. 

Kenya’s health sector, which medical experts say is underfunded and understaffed, has seen a number of strikes over the years. A previous walkout in 2017 lasted 100 days. 

Patients such as Oginga said they hope a lasting solution is found soon. 
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