Somalia: Jubaland Council of Elders letter to Ambassador James Swan (10.08.2019)

Somalia: Jubaland Independent Boundaries and Electoral Commission letter to Ambassador James Swan (10.08.2019)

Somalia: Statement on the IGAD Pre-Election Mission to Jubaland (08.08.2019)

Somalia: Abdizarak Fartaag letter to President Trump (06.08.2019)

Kenya: Notice of Motion – Kenya-somalia Maritime Boundary Dispute Resolution (06.08.2019)

Somalia: Press Statement on Jubbaland Elections (06.08.2019)

Sudan: No child should be buried in their school uniform – Statement by Abdullah Fadil, UNICEF Representative in Sudan (29.07.2019)

KHARTOUM, 29 July 2019 – “I am devastated about the fatal shooting that led to the death of at least five high-school children and scores of serious injuries in El Obeid, North Kordofan.

“We express our sincere condolences to the families, the students and the community.

“The children, aged between 15 and 17 years old, were protesting the commencement of the school year amid the political uncertainty in Sudan.

“No child should be buried in their school uniform.

“UNICEF urges all those involved in the violence to protect children at all times and keep them out of harm’s way, in line with their obligations under International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Principles.

“UNICEF calls on all parties to respect the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Sudan Child Act 2010 and refrain from committing grave violations against children, including the recruitment and use of children in armed forces or armed groups.

“UNICEF calls on the government to investigate and hold all perpetrators of violence against children accountable.

“UNICEF will continue to work with national partners and the international community to protect and uphold the rights of children in Sudan.”

Ethiopia, Somaliland and Puntland jointly plan for the synchronized HoA cross-border polio response (26.07.2019)

The overall objectives of this meeting were to review the 1st round implementation of synchronized cross-border activities between Somaliland, Puntland and Ethiopia.

GENEVA, Switzerland, July 26, 2019 – The second synchronized Horn of Africa cross-border polio coordination and micro planning meeting which was organized for district level health officials of Ethiopia and Somaliland and Puntland held from 16-18, July 2019 in Jigjiga city of Somali region in Ethiopia. The first synchronized cross border micro planning meeting was held in Hargeisa Somaliland from 12 to 13 June 2019 with great success where the lower level staffs were fully involved and engaged in the process of cross-border micro plan.This second synchronized cross-border meeting was attended by Ministry of Health National, Regional, zonal and woreda level officers, CORE Group, CDC, Rotary, WHO and UNICEF. The overall objectives of this meeting were to review the 1st round implementation of synchronized cross-border activities between Somaliland, Puntland and Ethiopia; to identify the gaps and challenges and discuss and develop the way forward to address the challenges; to review the preparedness activities of the cross border for the upcoming extended campaign of monovalent oral polio vaccine type2 (mOPV2) and to further update the cross border micro plans for both side of the borders to ensure all children would be reached.

The Somali Regional Health Bureau (RHB) Head, Dr. Yusuf Mohammed Ali in his welcoming remark said that “The RHB looks forward to continue working closely with the multitude of partners in Ethiopia and abroad, to make sure that every child is vaccinated to protect our children from Polio and other Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPD).”

Dr Anand Saumya from UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) in his remark also underlined the importance of this joint planning meeting and the synchronized campaign for a better outcome.

Mr. Christopher Alexander Kamugisha, the Coordinator for the global polio eradication initiative (GPEI) Horn of Africa Office on his behalf congratulated the Ethiopia and Somali Region teams for the successful completion of the first round mOPV2 vaccination and urged to use this planning meeting as an opportunity to share lessons learned and discuss how best to get prepared for the upcoming next rounds.

On the first day of this meeting that intended to review the first round mOPV2 implementation, the Somali Regional heath bureau presented the first round mOPV2 campaign implementation activities, challenges and way forwards in Jarar and Dollo zones which was officially launched on both zones on 24 and 25 June respectively and followed by the Somaliland and Puntland teams’ response presentation.

The next two days will focus on reviewing and updating the synchronized micro plans for the cross border areas for the next campaign. Some of the outcomes expected from this meeting includes updating synchronized micro plan at border crossing points, to reach common understanding and agreement on the dates for the cross-border polio outbreak response, strengthening the cross border community based surveillance for AFP and other diseases surveillance and strengthen the mechanism for timely sharing of AFP surveillance data and other disease events.

Somaliland: Press Statement on the Government of Somalia’s Approach in the Dialogue Process (19.07.2019)

African Union: Press Release – Situation in Somalia (16.07.2019)