Showing posts with label demand safe drinking water for all. Show all posts
Showing posts with label demand safe drinking water for all. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Sudan: Khartoum is still in total blackout, desperate need for humanitarian aid, basic essentials, electricity

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: Here is a message I received from a reader in Khartoum, Sudan last Sunday (Mar 10). Sadly, in short it says, Khartoum is still in total blackout, some neighbourhoods have had no electricity and water for over ten months, there is a desperate need for humanitarian aid.

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"I apologise for the delayed response due to the ongoing circumstances here in Khartoum. I’m in the capital Khartoum itself, which comprises tri-city Khartoum, Omdurman, and Bahri, the situation is challenging. 

Specifically, in Khartoum where the presidential palace and political sites are located, there are significant issues with connectivity, fuel, and basic necessities. 

The struggle for these essentials is real; for civilians of course, and while I won't claim they are readily available for civilians, some neighbourhoods have been without electricity and water for over 10 months. People have had to relocate from these areas to ones with better conditions.

To bridge the communication gap, people are resorting to satellite internet services, paying around three thousand Sudanese pounds per hour(~3 $) in some markets 

As for fuel, the current situation forces people to obtain it from the black market at considerably high prices when needed. and this situation since early days of war began in last April.

In certain areas, electricity has been absent for over 10 months, while in other regions, voluntary teams are working tirelessly by the hour to address neighborhood issues. These efforts extend to the east and south of Khartoum, as well as areas in Sharjah Nile, and Bahri. 

While some neighborhoods currently have electricity, others have been without it for an extended period. The struggle for safe and accessible water is equally challenging and in desperate need.

Concerning food, individuals are relying on their relatives outside Sudan or in relatively safe areas. Money is sent through bank accounts, managed with satellite internet, as Khartoum, along with several states, is currently in total blackout. In response, some neighborhoods are providing free meals to thousands of families in Khartoum. The desperate need for humanitarian aid is prevalent in these challenging circumstances."

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Related

Sudan Watch - March 08, 2024

UNSC adopts Resolution 2724 (2024) calling for cessation of hostilities in Sudan during Ramadan

THE UN Security Council on Friday (Mar 8) adopted a key resolution on Sudan, calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities in the war torn country during the month of Ramadan, which begins on Sunday. There were 14 votes in favour, 0 against, one abstention (Russia).

https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2024/03/unsc-adopts-resolution-2724-2024.html

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Sudan Watch - March 11, 2024

VIDEO news report from Khartoum, Sudan on the first day of Ramadan shows no cessation of hostilities

Mr AlMigdad Hassan, correspondent for AlArabiya News Channel has filed his video report direct from Khartoum, Sudan to his X account on the first day of Ramadan, March 11th. Sadly, the footage in his report copied below shows that the cessation of hostilities by the belligerents hasn't happened.

https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2024/03/sudan-video-news-report-from-khartoum.html

END

Saturday, August 12, 2023

UN chief: Access to clean, safe water is a human right

CLEAN WATER is not a privilege. It is a human right. Yet, 2 billion people still lack access to safe drinking water around the world. Ensuring access to clean & safe water supplies is essential for people to lead safe, productive & healthy lives.‌ -António Guterres (@antonioguterres) 4:01 PM Aug 10, 2023

[Ends] 

Friday, April 21, 2023

#NoToWar - Heroes aid Khartoum "You are welcome" - Hadhreen "We are present and ready to help"

Here is some heartwarming news. Warning: It brings tears to ones eyes.

Report from: BBC News

By Mohanad Hashim & Lucy Fleming

Published Friday 21 April 2023 c.11:26 GMT BST UK. Full copy:


Sudan fighting: The unsung heroes keeping Khartoum residents alive


As two generals slug it out in Sudan with little thought to the devastation they are causing, there is a whole grassroots network of people tirelessly helping those caught in the crossfire.


"Anyone know a family in need of foodstuffs within the borders of Omdurman al-Thawrat?" tweets a dental student in the capital, Khartoum. The message goes on to give out a number, saying flour, rice and pasta are available.


Khartoum and its surrounds has a population of around 10 million people and for nearly a week they have had no water or electricity, most hunkering down inside - away from windows in case of incoming fire. Most of the city's hospitals are closed and more than 300 civilians have been killed.


To get any supplies people must venture outside to find a shop that has some stock - and there are accounts of a dreadful stench now coming from the dead bodies that litter the streets.


WhatsApp groups, Facebook and Twitter are alive with offers of help for those who find themselves without food or medication or giving information about safe routes to leave the city. Most of them - and those messages with pleas for help - are accompanied by the hashtag #NoToWar.


"Currently, we have 750 food baskets available. One basket is enough for a family of six people," another Khartoum tweeter posts.


Others have been collating invaluable information, like a lengthy list sent out by @Jia_Elhassan about where water can currently be found in different areas of the city.


This message accompanies an address and phone number listed as one of five places in Omdurman: "Anyone who needs water, our house is open for them 24 hours."

REUTERS Image caption, People are desperate to find water with many areas cut off since Saturday


Someone else puts out a tweet with a photo of insulin pens available, along with his phone number.


'Terrified orphans at risk'


Much of this altruism is led by young volunteers operating at a local neighbourhood level by what are called "resistance committees". There are thousands of them across the country.


They have been the backbone of a pro-democracy movement that rose up following the ousting of long-time leader Omar al-Bashir in 2019, calling for a return to full civilian rule.

IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES

Image caption, Civilians are bearing the burnt of the fighting as rival military factions bombard each other


Their task has mainly been to organise peaceful protests against the military junta. Last Sunday, the co-ordinating body of Khartoum's resistance committees sent out a message to "revolutionaries in the neighbourhoods" asking them to prepare to help fellow residents.


In particular they were asked to form "medical rooms to deal with possible injuries", to monitor food supplies and "raise the slogan #NoToWar".


"The only ones to lose from war are the people, so let us unite to overcome that," the message said.


Small charities like Hadhreen, which translates from Arabic as "We are present and ready to help", have also been instrumental in trying to co-ordinate help for those in need.


When Nazim Sirag, who heads Hadhreen, heard about more than 300 terrified children at an orphanage in Khartoum in need of food, water and medicine. He tweeted: "We can't provide milk for new-born babies, everyone is afraid."


In response to our query via WhatsApp if any help had been found through his network, he says: "We are trying to reach them. Till now we failed. Everyone in Sudan is scared to go out," adding that the orphanage was in one of the "hot areas".


"Tomorrow we have [to] try early in the morning. Wish us luck."


Mr Sirag has been instrumental since the 2021 coup in liaising with Sudanese doctors unions in the diaspora as he sought to get medical help abroad for some of those injured in pro-democracy protests.


These diaspora medics have long been key to propping up Sudan's precarious health system over years of economic decline.


Mohamed Hamadto, a trauma surgeon and treasurer of the Sudan Doctors Union in the UK, told the BBC his group has tended to focus on training initiatives, but since the outbreak of violence last Saturday they had been raising funds to send to the main Sudanese Doctors Union in Khartoum and collecting supplies they hope to fly in when the situation allows.


So far they have received about £9,000 ($11,000) from donations - and this money will help the central doctors union buy supplies privately for clinics being repurposed on the outskirts of Khartoum as most of the city's 59 hospitals are now closed because of the fighting.


"These hospitals on the periphery need to be ready for increasing numbers of civilian victims," Dr Hamadto says, with some reports suggesting up to 600 people have now died.


As do small neighbourhood health centres.


"I was just speaking to one of my colleagues and she's trying to get her resistance committee to set up a local health centre so they can provide basic first aid to people who are injured because the area she lives in is bombarded heavily," he says.


This is in al-Siteen Street, not far from the airport and army headquarters where the battles are raging.


The Sudanese Doctors Union will then be able to provide bandages, fluids, antibiotics and other basics to her health centre for trauma injuries.


'My cousin broke my heart'


Relatives abroad are also focusing their help on the doctors.


"Everything is closed. There's zero point in sending money [to our family]," Ahmed Abdel-Elrazig, a third-year maths and economic undergraduate at the University of Toronto, told the BBC on Thursday.


"Right now it's the holy month of Ramadan. I was on a call to one of my cousins and they broke my heart - they told me that even after they broke their fast they still were hungry because they were rationing food.

IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES

Image caption, A week before the fighting, Ramadan revellers enjoyed the breaking of their fast. Now Eid prayers have been cancelled in many mosques


He is part of the Canadian university's Sudanese Students Union, set up last year with about 100 members. A few days ago the union put up a Sudan crisis crowdfunding page.


"We're trying to do our best to hit our goal right now to raise $10,000… so all injured civilians do have the medical attention that they do require. We're currently partnered with the Sudanese Doctors Union," he says.


"This is the bare minimum that we can do - I still feel extremely helpless."


Fellow student union member Fawzia Elhad, majoring in political science and psychology, agrees as she worries about her parents and siblings in Khartoum.


"There is a lot of uncertainty - and they don't know now whether to leave the capital."


Those in cities outside Khartoum are reaching out with offers of accommodation for people who do manage to leave - a journey fraught with danger.


"I am your brother from Rufa'ah and I can provide housing with 100 beds, electricity and water for people," someone 140km (85 miles) south-east of Khartoum in El Gazira state tweets.


An organiser in that state's capital, Wad Medani, sent out a list with the names and numbers of six people willing to provide "housing, food and everything" for those fleeing.


This warmth of spirit - such a stark contrast to the men in uniform - is best summed up by a youth group in Atbara, a city about 300km north-east of Khartoum, which posts a link to join a WhatsApp group to help receive those escaping from the capital, beginning with the words: "You are welcome."


View original: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-65344673

[Ends]

Sunday, July 14, 2019

Timeline and Profile of Sudan (BBC)

SUDAN, once the largest and one of the most geographically diverse states in Africa, split into two countries in July 2011 after the people of the south voted for independence.
The government of Sudan gave its blessing to an independent South Sudan, where the mainly Christian and Animist people had for decades been struggling against rule by the Arab Muslim north.

However, various outstanding issues - especially the question of shared oil revenues and border demarcation - have continued to create tensions between the two successor states.

Sudan has long been beset by conflict. Two rounds of north-south civil war cost the lives of 1.5 million people, and a continuing conflict in the western region of Darfur has driven two million people from their homes and killed more than 200,000.
Photo: Much of Sudan is arid (BBC caption/GETTY IMAGES)

To read more, click here: 
Read more profiles by BBC Monitoring

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Sudan's desertification. The future of wildlife and population growth on Earth will get worse

Sudan’s desertification
The great divide across Sudan is visible even from space, as this Nasa satellite image shows. The northern states are a blanket of desert, broken only by the fertile Nile corridor. Southern Sudan is covered by green swathes of grassland, swamps and tropical forest. 
Photo by Nasa/Caption by BBC/
Sudan Watch 8 Feb 2011 (eight years ago!) Sudan a country divided
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The future of wildlife on earth is going to get worse
SIR DAVID Attenborough, a world famous English broadcaster and natural historian and the writer and narrator of the most amazing nature documentaries ever made, is pessimistic about the future of wildlife on Earth. In an interview by Vox.com 12 April 2019 93-year-old Sir David says: 

“Things are going to get worse. Unless we act within the next 10 years, we are in real trouble. I find it hard to exaggerate the peril. This is the new extinction and we are half way through it. We are in terrible, terrible trouble and the longer we wait to do something about it the worse it is going to get.”

Here is a link to the Vox interview, in a tweet by climate change expert Paul E Dawson from Scotland, UK:
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Further reading

David Attenborough - Humans are plague on Earth
Humans are a plague on the Earth that need to be controlled by limiting population growth

Louise Grey, in her article published by The Telegraph UK 22 Jan 2013 (six years ago!)writes:

"The television presenter [Sir David Attenborough] said that humans are threatening their own existence and that of other species by using up the world’s resources.

He said the only way to save the planet from famine and species extinction is to limit human population growth.

“We are a plague on the Earth. It’s coming home to roost over the next 50 years or so. It’s not just climate change; it’s sheer space, places to grow food for this enormous horde.

Either we limit our population growth or the natural world will do it for us, and the natural world is doing it for us right now,” he told the Radio Times.

Sir David, who is a patron on the Population Matters, has spoken out before about the “frightening explosion in human numbers” and the need for investment in sex education and other voluntary means of limiting population in developing countries.

“We keep putting on programmes about famine in Ethiopia; that’s what’s happening. Too many people there. They can’t support themselves — and it’s not an inhuman thing to say. It’s the case. Until humanity manages to sort itself out and get a coordinated view about the planet it’s going to get worse and worse".” 

Source: The Telegraph 22 Jan 2013 (six years ago!)
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Water to spark future wars: UK
Drilling for Sudan’s drinking water is more important than drilling for oil
Darfur hand-pumps are on the frontline of peace building
Source: Sudan Watch 28 Feb 2006 (thirteen years ago!)

Thursday, November 26, 2009

South Sudan: Juba's public health inspector has ordered all trucks selling water in Juba payams to be painted light blue

Imagine the fevers and stomach pains.  News just in from Juba, southern Sudan says water retailers in Juba have been accused of using sewage tankers to transport drinking water. The public health inspector for Juba county, Sebit Amusa Tongu’n, has ordered all water-sellers to abide by public health regulations and is quoted in the following report as saying:
We have ordered all the trucks selling water in the Juba payams to be painted light blue"
Email report from Sudan Radio Service, Thursday, November 26, 2009:
(Juba) - Water retailers in Juba have been accused of using sewage tankers to transport drinking water.

Speaking to Sudan Radio Service in Juba this week, the public health inspector for Juba county, Sebit Amusa Tongu’n, has ordered all water-sellers to abide by public health regulations.

[Sebit Amusa Tongu’n]: “We have ordered all the trucks selling water in the Juba payams to be painted light blue. This is a strategy to make sure that people don’t get confused between trucks carrying water and ones carrying sewage. So I would like to tell the citizens of Juba, Kator and Munuki that if you see a truck which is being used to sell water that is not painted blue, you should take its number and report it to us."

Tongu’n also said that it is not clear where exactly some water retailers get their water.

He said all water retailers should fetch water at specified points along the Nile, at sites where the public health office treats water with chlorine.
Sudan Radio Service's news headlines will return soon at www.sudanradio.org. With thanks to

Charles Haskins
News Programming Advisor
Sudan Radio Service (SRS)
A project of Education Development Center
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