DR Congo: Ebola claims over 1,000 lives, Guterres commits ‘whole’ UN system, to help ‘end the outbreak’ (09.05.2019)

Mr. Guterres expressed concern over the number of new Ebola cases in the east of the DRC on Wednesday, reiterating UN support “for efforts to end the outbreak”.

NEW YORK, United States of America, May 9, 2019 – Now in its tenth month, the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has claimed more than a thousand lives, prompting Secretary-General António Guterres to throw the support of “the whole United Nations system” into stemming the spread of the deadly virus.

Mr. Guterres expressed concern over the number of new Ebola cases in the east of the DRC on Wednesday, reiterating UN support “for efforts to end the outbreak”.

“With important shifts in the response now being implemented, the Secretary-General has emphasized his commitment to a collective UN-wide approach, both in Kinshasa, where the UN is led by his special representative, and in the areas affected by the virus, where the response is led by WHO [World Health Organization], all in close liaison with Congolese leaders both in Kinshasa and eastern DRC”, said his Deputy Spokesperson, Farhan Haq, in a statement on behalf of the UN chief.

Mr. Guterres expressed his condolences to the victims’ families and reiterated that the full involvement and engagement of local people “remains the key to successfully controlling the outbreak”.

He also urged “all Congolese leaders to work together across parties and across communities to tackle the outbreak”.

“At this critical juncture”, Mr. Guterres underscored the need for “additional resources” and called on Member States and partner organizations “to ensure the responding agencies have the resources needed to succeed”.

The Secretary-General commended the Government, institutions and Congolese people themselves on the overall response so far, which has contained the outbreak to within parts of two provinces, which are home to multiple armed groups, which have been battling each other and Government forces for years.

He also applauded “the bravery of security, health and humanitarian workers who have put their lives on the line in a challenging environment marked by conflict and insecurity”, including attacks on Ebola Treatment Centres and healthcare facilities and recognized their work in vaccinating more than 100,000 people and saving the lives of hundreds who have contracted the disease.

Life-saving vaccinations

Meanwhile, amidst continuing violence, WHO experts (SAGE) have recommended new Ebola Vaccination Guidelines to address the challenges in stemming the virus.

Since the outbreak was declared in August 2018, WHO has said that despite the use of a highly efficacious vaccine, the number of new cases continues to rise, in part due to repeated violence, which has prevented response teams from immediately identifying and creating vaccination rings around all people at risk of contracting Ebola.

“We know that vaccination is saving lives in this outbreak,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, but “we still face challenges in making sure the contacts of every case receive the vaccine as soon as possible”.

“These recommendations account for ongoing insecurity and incorporate feedback from experts and from the affected communities that will help us continue to adapt the response”, he affirmed.

Among other things, new SAGE recommendations endorse pop-up and targeted geographic vaccination approaches, when appropriate; advise vaccinating the next level of people who may be exposed, such as in neighborhoods where cases have been reported within the past 21 days; and adjusting the current dose to ensure that the vaccine continues to be available to those at greatest risk of Ebola.

Russian Probe: Attorney General William Barr letter to President Trump to request him to make a protective assertion of executive privilege (08.05.2019)

RDC: MENCHA/UDPS – Memorandum du Mental Engage pour le Changement (MENCHA) Relatif a la Crise Politique au Sankuru (08.05.2019)

Opinion: What is Trump hiding in his IRS Tax Returns?

When your stonewalling into oblivion, there is only thing remaining, what is the person hiding? Especially if the guy is a public official, someone who represent the state for everyone else. Than, your supposed to be transparent without any connection to sources, which can stop you from serving the state. Alas, it is with this sense you can start to boggle, why the President of two years and campaign for longer time haven’t released his IRS Tax Returns.

This isn’t about vanity, that the Department of Justice and the Department of the Treasury, as neither the Attorney General William Barr or Secretary Steven Mnuchin are releasing it to the Congress. It is more secretive, than the nuclear codes or top secret intelligence that is shared with White House like nothing. This is how this administration operates, as there is no guidelines or need for protocol for the ones in close proximity of the President. However, to get the truth and the documentation the White House is supposed to abide the Committee’s of the Congress is nearly impossible.

Because of that, we have to wonder what the President is hiding. Is there some nuclear or criminal transactions his hiding? Is there questionable sources and fortunes hidden overseas, as the President is afraid of the public and the Capitol Hill knowing how earned his supposed fortune.

I am sure there are something so sinister, so dark and so damaging, that his paying his ex-wives to much in the settlements, that his foreign businesses aren’t profitable and the hotels only survives because he visits them everytime he can. Because, we only know the blown-up fantasy numbers and estimates he wants show the public. Not the real value of the properties and neither the profits. We don’t know if he even pay taxes. If he is capable of paying taxes and if the Trump Organization are able to pay their staff, maybe that is why he needs paperless workers at Mar-A-Lago in Miami to keep the golf-course a float.

He might be poorer than me, he might have a Kazakh Oil Csar that his owns so much money, that the Russians has to bail him out. We don’t know, because the President of the United States is afraid of being transparent and dropping the real deal. This shows his real intention of keeping people in the dark. He wants to Trump University the whole population. Give them all the shine and glory, but using unlicensed methods to trick the citizens. That is why he doesn’t deliver the IRS Tax Returns.

He doesn’t dare, doesn’t have the character or the posture to stand up and be brave. Because, he knows if the truth is released. His pretty fucked. His in such a hole, that even Ivanka smile cannot cover up the mess. Junior cannot even fake-grin or come up with lie that spins the news enough. This will not be locker-room talk or “on-both-sides”. No, this will be a burned bridge and no way to get back on land.

The President has such a secret, his willing to stonewall into oblivion. His secret is such a tragic mess, that even a Greek Tragedy cannot elope like this. His a fraud and fake, just like his tan. That is why the IRS Tax Returns are kept hidden and not released. He cannot unleash the dragon, than he will burn. Peace.

RDC: Declaration Politique de la Jeunesse Congolaise de la Diaspora (07.05.2019)

Cameroon: Clear ‘window of opportunity’ to solve crises rooted in violence – Bachelet (07.05.2019)

The announcement came after the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, concluded a visit to the West African country.

NEW YORK, United States of America, May 7, 2019 – The UN human rights chief on Monday welcomed Cameroon’s willingness to cooperate over finding workable solutions to “major human rights and humanitarian crises”, caused by months of serious unrest and violence across the west and north of the country.

The announcement came after the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, concluded a visit to the West African country. During three days of meetings and consultations in the capital, Yaoundé, she met President Paul Biya to discuss the human rights challenges facing the country, and initiatives the Government has taken to deal with them, as well as their broader linkages with peace, security and development.

 “I believe there is a clear – if possibly short – window of opportunity to arrest the crises that have led to hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people, as well as the killings and brutal human rights violations and abuses that have affected the northern and western areas of the country,” Ms. Bachelet said in a statement.

Warning that it will not be an easy process, Ms. Bachelet stressed that “it will take significant actions on the part of the Government, and substantial and sustained support from the international community – including us in the UN.”

With ten or more separatist movements in the North-West and South-West region, the situation could spiral “completely out of control, if measures are not taken to reduce tension and restore trust”, said Ms. Bachelet underlining that it’s essential to tackle root causes of violence, for the sake of long-term stability.

Reported cross-border incursions by armed groups and criminal organizations along Cameroon’s border with the Central African Republic (CAR), as communities continue to be terrorized and attacked by Boko Haram, and other extremist organizations, are a persistent challenge.

Cameroon is also hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Central African Republic and Nigeria.

“In several regions, civilians and soldiers have been killed and mutilated, and entire villages have been burned.  Children have been abducted and forced to join the armed groups and have even been utilized as unwitting suicide bombers by Boko Haram”, she said.

“In the two western regions, schools, hospitals and other key infrastructure has been targeted and destroyed by the various separatist groups; and government employees, including teachers who have dared to continue teaching, have been targeted and killed or abducted”, the statement said.

With everyone – Government, opposition and civil society – in agreement that Cameroon is facing the most serious set of crises it has seen in years, and that they need to come to an end as soon as possible, the statement added that “everyone can make important contributions to a drive for peace, if they can discuss options openly and freely.” 

The UN human rights chief also offered to provide advice and assistance to the Government, to help ensure military operations are in compliance with international human rights standards and violations are prevented, when military forces are engaged in counter-terrorism operations and combat against armed groups.

Saying that this was a first step to the restoration of peace and security, Ms. Bachelet concluded that “the stakes are high, not just for Cameroon itself, but for the whole region.

Vaccines are saving millions of lives of children in Somalia: urgent need to scale up routine immunization programme (07.05.2019)

Immunization saves millions of lives every year and is widely recognized as one of the world’s most successful and cost-effective public health interventions.

GENEVA, Switzerland, May 7, 2019 – From the moment we’re born, we’re all at risk of contracting diseases. So the question is, are we aware enough? Are we responsible enough? Are we immune enough? Not long ago infections like influenza, tetanus, chickenpox and measles were prolonged, painful illnesses, which often resulted in death. Immunization saves millions of lives every year and is widely recognized as one of the world’s most successful and cost-effective public health interventions.

The Expanded Programmme on Immunization (EPI) started in Somalia in 1978 with the support of WHO and UNICEF. Due to the prolonged conflict and instability Somalia’s health system, including immunization services, is very weak, fragmented and severely under-funded. Control of vaccine-preventable diseases remains a huge challenge in Somalia, due to the low routine immunization coverage and the continued inability to reach children in security-compromised areas, hard-to-reach areas, nomadic children and competing health priorities for parents other than immunization of children. Low routine immunization coverage and a history of serious outbreaks that have hit Somalia in the past are a strong reminder of the risks posed by large cohort of un-immunized children. Vaccine-preventable diseases are prevalent in Somalia and child mortality is 137 per 1000 live births.

Somalia has been providing the traditional 6 antigens in routine immunization and with the support of GAVI – the Vaccine Alliance and immunization partners like UNICEF and WHO. The country has introduced pentavalent vaccine in 2013 and inactivated polio virus vaccine in 2015 and plans to introduce measles-containing-vaccine second-dose (MCV2) in 2020. With the continuous support of GAVI, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Rotary International and other important donors immunization coverage has improved in recent years; however, Somalia has still not attained the desired levels of coverage.

To improve immunization coverage more efforts needs to be in place for integrated approach along with other programmes like nutrition, malaria, water and sanitation and communication programmes to complement the reach of immunization and improve coverage of all eligible children with equity.

Somalia faced a deadly measles outbreak in 2017; out of the 31 000 people affected, 83% were children under the age of 10. WHO Somalia’s Emergency Response team, Somali national authorities, and partners targeted 4.7 million children in the nationwide measles campaign. During this intervention, around 4.5 million children were vaccinated. As a result of the nationwide immunization campaign conducted, as of April 2019, Somalia witnessed a decline in the trend of cases reported this year. This steady progress can be attributed to partners’ commitment to strengthen routine immunization and to reach out to unvaccinated children to boost their immunity. However, Somalia’s children are still not out of danger – measles outbreaks are likely to spread in security-compromised inaccessible areas.

Somalia’s last outbreak of wild poliovirus, which occurred from 2013 to 2014, affected 194 children. Since then, as a result of mass and more focused immunization campaigns, and robust surveillance for polio symptoms to guide immunization activities, the country has been free of wild poliovirus. However, due to the challenges faced in reaching hard-to-reach areas, the country is currently experiencing 2 outbreaks of rare strains of the poliovirus, which have affected 13 children so far. The last nationwide polio campaign, conducted in March, vaccinated more than 2.7 million children under 5. More than 84 000 children were vaccinated for the first time.

Marked during the last week of April, World Immunization Week aims to promote the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against disease. WHO wants to assure parents and communities in Somalia that vaccines are safe, effective, and can lead to lifetime immunity from diseases.

While celebrating World Immunization Week with the theme “Protected Together: Vaccines Work”, Dr Mamunur Rahman Malik, WHO Representative for Somalia, called for scaling up the routine immunization programme in Somalia through working together with partners, communities and grass-root level organization. In 2018, Somali authorities, WHO and partners vaccinated more than 400 000 children against measles as part of routine immunization programme. Yet, about 170 000 children were missed or did not receive the first dose of measles vaccine last year. “Our priority is to reach out to all these children who misses the routine vaccine doses or remain unvaccinated owing to access or any other barrier. Leaving no child behind, we can ensure every child’s right to lead a healthy and productive life- if all who need to vaccinated are vaccinated in a timely way,” he stated.

In the last decade, Somali health authorities and WHO worked with Gavi and other key partners to strengthen routine immunization. This protected 2.4m children against 8 vaccine-preventable childhood diseases.

Somalia has shown remarkable progress in achieving good immunization coverage for some diseases that is realistically feasible to achieve in a fragile state, lot of works still need to be continued and scaled up to fill the immunization gaps through enhancing partnerships with other local stakeholders which is the key theme of this year’s World Immunization Week. Responding to outbreaks of measles or polio is a priority but can be prevented through achieving high coverage in routine immunization programme and also by reaching out to the children who do not receive any vaccine during the first year of their life.

Despite the gains made by vaccination over the years, there are still unvaccinated and under-vaccinated children in Somalia today. As a consequence, millions of children are being put at risk against vaccine-preventable diseases. As part of this year’s campaign, grass-root level vaccinators who spearhead all barriers to reach every child in inaccessible areas of the country were honoured as immunization heroes. Their roles in keeping children healthy and securing a safer future has been acknowledged throughout the country.

Makerere University – Department of Journalism and Communication: The Media is a Development Partner and Not Enemy of Government (07.05.2019)

RDC: Point de Presse de Martin Fayulu du Lundi 06 Mai 2019 en Rapport avec l’Invitation du Commissaire General Adjoint Charge de la Police Judiciaire (06.05.2019)

South Africa’s State-owned Oil Company Signs Deal to Explore Highly-prospective Oil Block B2 in South Sudan (06.05.2019)

South Africa today signed an exploration and production sharing agreement (EPSA) with South Sudan for Block B2.

JUBA, South Sudan, May 6, 2019 – South Africa’s state-owned oil company Strategic Fuel Fund (SFF) will own and operate Block B2; In 2018, South Africa agreed to invest $1billion into South Sudan’s energy infrastructure; South Sudan has the third-largest oil reserves in sub-Saharan Africa, estimated at 3.5 billion barrels, with just 30 percent of the country explored.

South Africa today signed an exploration and production sharing agreement (EPSA) with South Sudan for Block B2.

The deal – which is strategic for South Africa as an energy consumer – will see Block B2 operated by the state-owned Strategic Fuel Fund (SFF), the Ministry of Petroleum and Nilepet –  the national oil company of the Republic of South Sudan. This is the second EPSA signed since South Sudan gained independence in 2012 and shows progress for the country’s oil industry as production resumes at existing oilfields and new exploration begins.

South Sudan is an established, world-class petroleum producing region, whose territory includes a large part of the Cretaceous rift basin system that has proved petroliferous in Chad and Niger as well as Sudan. It currently produces 160,000 bopd, and aims to increase production capacity to 270,000 bopd by the end of the year. The country has the third-largest oil reserves in sub-Saharan Africa, estimated at 3.5 billion barrels, with just 30 percent of the country explored to date.

Under this new EPSA which includes a six-year exploration period, the SFF alongside Nilepet, will launch a comprehensive aero gravity survey exploration campaign, seismic acquisition and drilling wells with great prospectivity. The SFF will also invest in capacity building initiatives, training of South Sudanese citizens, investing in social and community development projects and ensuring local content and women empowerment.

“The petroleum resources of Block B2 are vast. For South Sudan to reach its target of bringing back production levels of around 350,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) and beyond, we need committed new entrants like the SFF,” said the Minister of Petroleum Hon.  Amb. Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth. “South Sudan has great potential, yet our country remains vastly under-explored, and we believe the entry of new players like the SFF will lead to new world-class discoveries very soon given the aggressive exploration program and great petroleum viability of Block B3. This will support South Sudan’s economic revival and improve trade with other African countries.”

“We are bullish about this strategic and unique opportunity into Block B2 with great petroleum potential. It provides South Africa with a chance to further strengthen its energy security while entering one of the top three most lucrative onshore oil and gas markets in Africa,” said Hon. Jeff Radebe, South African Energy Minister. “South Africa has supported peace and economic development in South Sudan since the country’s independence and this is the continuation of long-term cooperation between both our countries and people. Investment is key to guaranteeing the economic progress of South Sudan”

Last year, South Africa’s Department of Energy pledged to invest $1 billion into South Sudan’s petroleum industry, with the aim of securing affordable energy supplies for South Africa. The countries are now in talks to set up a 60,000 barrel per day refinery to supply oil products to the local market in South Sudan, as well as to secure exports to Ethiopia and other neighboring countries.

“SFF is looking forward to working with our partners in South Sudan to make discoveries on this block. We believe there are highly significant quantities of oil in Block B2. Our work program and acquisition of new seismic will reveal better information on various structures. We look forward to a few wildcats and appraisal wells in the near future. We are thankful to the Government of South Sudan for this opportunity,” stated Godfrey Moagi, acting CEO of SFF.

The B2 area includes productive parts of the Muglad Basin and is part of the 120,000km2 Block B which was split into three in 2012. There has been much interest in South Sudan’s Block B acreages since the entry of Oranto Petroleum to Block B3 in 2017.  Much of South Sudan’s oil and gas blocks are yet to be fully explored and resources assessed.

The CEF group is responsible for discovering solutions that will meet South Africa’s energy needs. Through its subsidiaries, the Petroleum Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa (PetroSA), Petroleum Agency South Africa (PASA), Strategic Fuel Fund (SFF), African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation (AEMFC) and iGas, the group also manages the operations and development of the country’s oil and gas assets.