Sudan: ICRC’s first international shipment of humanitarian aid arrives in Port Sudan

News and photos released from

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Sunday 30 April 2023 - (SW Ed: yellow highlighting is mine) - full copy:

Sudan: ICRC’s first international shipment of humanitarian aid arrives in Port Sudan 

Geneva (ICRC) - Life-saving medical material departed from Amman, Jordan to Port Sudan today as part of emergency operations by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) following the outbreak of conflict in Sudan.

The 8 tonnes of humanitarian cargo includes surgical material to support Sudanese hospitals and volunteers from the Sudan Red Crescent Society (SRCS) who are providing medical care to people wounded in the fighting.

“Health-care workers in Sudan have been doing the impossible, caring for the wounded without water, electricity, and basic medical supplies,” said Patrick Youssef, ICRC’s regional director for Africa. “The logistics needed to bring in supplies amid an active conflict are extremely difficult, and we’re relieved to get this medical material into the country.”

The medical shipment includes anaesthetics, dressings, sutures and other surgical material that can treat thousands of people who may have been wounded by weapons. With hostilities still ongoing, ICRC teams will need guarantees of safe passage from the parties to the conflict to deliver this material to medical facilities in locations with active fighting, such as Khartoum.

 

Since commercial flights in Sudan were discontinued and civilian airspace became inaccessible, the ICRC has been working to overcome logistical and security challenges to help civilians in need who are trapped in the fighting. Delivering medical supplies to hospitals and helping them restore water and power lines remains its urgent priority.

The ICRC is grateful for the support of the authorities in Jordan -- where the ICRC has a major logistics hub -- who rapidly made an aircraft available to deliver this medical cargo. We also appreciate the cooperation shown by the civilian Sudanese authorities in charge of facilitating the arrival of aircraft with humanitarian goods and personnel on board.

The ICRC is sending a second airplane carrying additional ICRC medical supplies and emergency personnel.

The ICRC reminds the parties to the conflict to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law and to facilitate the work of medical and humanitarian personnel, treat detainees humanely and take all feasible precautions to avoid loss of life among civilians and damage to civilian objects and infrastructure.  

Note to editors: 

The ICRC has been present in Sudan since 1978 helping people affected by the conflict in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan. The ICRC’s work today, independently or in cooperation the Sudanese Red Crescent Society, includes supporting hospitals and health facilities with equipment and supplies, working with local water authorities on improving people’s access to clean water and supporting the authorities in providing rehabilitation services for people with disabilities.

                                              

Media contacts:
Alyona Synenko, ICRC Nairobi,
+254 716 897 265, asynenko@icrc.org

Crystal Wells, ICRC Geneva,
+41 77 963 75 74, cwells@icrc.org

Jessica Moussan ICRC Dubai,

+971 504 254 091, jmoussan@icrc.org 

Fatima Sator, ICRC Geneva,
+41 79 848 49 08, fsator@icrc.org

Imene Trabelsi, ICRC Beirut,
+961 3 13 83 53, itrabelsi@icrc.org

Alaa Nayel, ICRC Kuwait,
+965 966 73614, anayel@icrc.org

Matthew Morris, ICRC London,
+44 7753 809471 mmorris@icrc.org 

Galina Balzamova, ICRC Moscow,
+7 093 545 3534, gbalzamova@icrc.org

Frédéric Joli, ICRC Paris,
+33 6 20 49 46 30, fjoli@icrc.org

Yuriy Shafarenko, ICRC New York,
+1 917 631 1913, yshafarenko@icrc.org

Elizabeth Shaw, ICRC Washington DC,
+1 202 361 1566, egormanshaw@icrc.org

View original: https://www.icrc.org/en/document/sudan-first-international-shipment-humanitarian-aid-arrives-port-sudan

View Arabic version here: https://www.icrcnewsroom.org/story/ar/2052/sudan-icrc-s-first-international-shipment-of-humanitarian-aid-arrives-in-port-sudan

السودان: وصول أول شحنة مساعدات إنسانية دولية للّجنة الدولية إلى بورتسودان

[Ends]

Calling the UN and International Red Cross - Released Sudan official describes ordeal since coup arrest

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: I cannot understand why the UN is not ensuring that these prisoners are identified and visited by the International Red Cross or such like. Surely there are laws in place to protect prisoners.

According to the following report, a rights lawyer representing many of the detained estimated earlier this month that at least 100 Sudanese government members were rounded up in the early hours of the coup. 

Also, activists estimated hundreds of protesters and activists have also disappeared into undisclosed prisons. Saleh (pictured) himself is unsure of who else is being held, but remains worried for their safety.

Many were taken from their homes during the morning of Oct. 25 and have been since kept in undisclosed locations, with no ability to contact family or lawyers. Why isn't the UN helping with legalities? Read more in this report.

By ASHRAF IDRIS Associated Press (AP)

Published at www.abcnews.go.com

Dated 24 November 2021, 19:47

Released Sudan official describes ordeal since coup arrest

A Sudanese government official says he was kept in isolation for nearly a month after being arrested during a military coup that plunged the country into crisis

KHARTOUM, Sudan -- A Sudanese government official said Wednesday he was kept in isolation for nearly a month after being arrested during a military coup that plunged the country into crisis.

Faisal Saleh, an advisor to Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, told The Associated Press that security forces took him blindfolded from his home in the early hours of Oct. 25

“We were expecting that there was a military coup coming," said Saleh, who also served as minister of information from 2019 until earlier this year. ”We just didn't know how or when it would take place."

Saleh is one of dozens of government officials who have been locked up since the country's top general, Abdel-Fattah Burhan led a coup against the country's interim civilian government. It has upended plans for the country to transition to democracy, more than two years after a popular uprising forced the removal of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir.

Saleh was released late Monday [22 Nov] after 29 days of detention and immediately set about learning the events of the past month. He's still catching up and recovering from a chest infection that he contracted during his time in prison.

It remains unclear how many remain in detention, but in recent days activists' posts have indicated that several prominent opposition figures have been let go.

A rights lawyer representing many of the detained estimated earlier this month that at least 100 government members were rounded up in the early hours of the coup. The country's prime minister, Hamdok, was held under house arrest for weeks before being reinstated just days ago.

Activists estimated hundreds of protesters and activists have also disappeared into undisclosed prisons. Saleh himself is unsure of who else is being held, but remains worried for their safety.

Many were taken from their homes during the morning of Oct. 25 and have been since kept in undisclosed locations, with no ability to contact family or lawyers. The military leaders have also cut off mobile and internet communications across the country.

Saleh said after his arrest he was taken to a room locked from the outside, with a bed, dresser and toilet. He was given two meals a day and told he had access to a doctor if needed. He slowly concluded that he was being held in a military facility in Khartoum, the country's capital.

But his captors made one thing clear: He was only allowed contact with the guards who brought his food. He suspected colleagues of his were in the same building but had no way to know. Nor did he hear about the violence that followed the coup.

“I think being together with other people makes it easier,” said Saleh, who was also imprisoned under al-Bashir. “But this time I was alone, and I didn’t know what was happening outside the room.”

Since the takeover, protesters have flooded the streets in the biggest demonstrations since those that ended al-Bashir’s three-decade reign in 2019, and security forces have killed more than 40 demonstrators since the coup, according to doctors' groups.

Saleh is trying to acquaint himself with a new and frightening political landscape. He says he hopes soon to be able to sit down with his former boss. He is also calling for all detainees to be released, whether they are politicians or protesters.

“Only then we can look into the next steps,” he said.

The military reached a deal with Hamdok on Sunday [21 Nov] that would reinstate him as the head of a new technocratic Cabinet ahead of eventual elections. But the agreement has splintered Sudan’s pro-democracy movement, many of whom accuse Hamdok of allowing himself to serve as a fig leaf for continued military rule.

Saleh's account comes as the country slowly emerges from weeks of limited mobile and internet access.

On Wednesday, the internet advocacy group NetBlocks said that social media and messaging platforms were now fully functioning in the country for the first time since the coup.

View original: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/released-sudan-official-describes-ordeal-coup-arrest-81378472#

Sudan: Red Crescent prepares for possible election related violence - IFRC disbursed 394,035 Swiss francs from DREF

Sudan: Red Crescent prepares for possible election related violence
From International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
By Anne Wanjiru, Wednesday, 14 April 2010 (via ReliefWeb):

For many Sudanese, taking part in an election was almost like a reverie. Most of them had never been to the polls before. It is a learning experience, even for the leaders vying for electoral seats. The expectations of the 16 million registered voters, neighbouring countries and the international communities are high for Sudan's first multi party elections. If peaceful and successful, these will bring a nation ravaged by a quarter of a century of conflict closer to becoming a democracy.

Preparedness

Tensions, especially in the country's South have been high for months. The Sudanese Red Crescent, together with Movement partners, has been developing and putting into place contingency plans in the event of violence and civil unrest.

With authorities and humanitarian organizations recognizing that the risk for electoral skirmishes between supporters of various political groups was high in 14 states of Sudan, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) disbursed 394,035 Swiss francs (366,708 US dollar or 269,170 euro) from the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to support the Sudanese Red Crescent's election contingency planning and training scheme.

Close to 40,000 volunteers mainly in the high risk areas such as Jonglei, Blue Nile and Kordofan have received refresher training in emergency first aid as well as offering psychological support. They are on stand by for deployment in the event of civil unrest and election related violence.

Emergency communication equipment

One of the crucial elements of the Red Crescent's plan is having efficient emergency communication equipment installed and functioning. As the leading indigenous emergency response agency throughout Sudan, the Red Crescent has been requested to coordinate communication at national and state levels.

Sudan is the largest country of Africa measuring almost four times the size of France. Sharing of information between the headquarters of the Red Crescent in Khartoum and branches across a surface of more than 2.5 million square kilometres is a challenge but also the key to ensure quick response in case of an emergency.

The IFRC's information systems manager for Eastern Africa, David Kola, was sent to the country to give support in setting up the emergency telecommunications equipment. He visited 13 branches and 3 sub branches in 16 locations in the north. In just three weeks, he covered more than 7,500 kilometres of vast land in the Blue Nile, Dongola, Kadugli, Albara and Port Sudan regions to name just a few.

"In each branch, at least two volunteers were trained on how to handle the telecommunications equipment and will be the focal persons in responding. All emergency centres in the north and south are now running 24 hours a day and are well connected," says Kola.

Little infrastructure

The elections have been extended by another two days to give more time to the voters in the South, most of whom are illiterate and struggling with the complicated voting system that requires them to go through 12 different ballot papers. "The region's infrastructure is almost non-existent, devastated by years of civil war, making the elections process complex to say the least," says Kola.

"Telecommunication equipment was also installed in four branches in south Sudan. Thanks to our contribution, information can be relayed quickly. And, while we hope for the best we're prepared for the worst: any occurrence of violence will trigger an immediate response from trained Red Crescent volunteers," he adds.

Red Crescent Monitors HIV Rates in Eastern Sudan

SPEAKING to SRS at Wad Sharifay refugee camp on the outskirts of Kassala town on Wednesday, the Health Coordinator of the Sudanese Red Crescent Society, Dr. Badaradeen Badawi Mohammed, says that out of 600 tested people only 3 cases of HIV infection were reported. Full report here below.

Red Crescent Monitors HIV Rates in Eastern Sudan
From Sudan Radio Service (SRS) on Thursday, 18 February 2010:

(Wad Sharifay) - The Sudanese Red Crescent Society says that the rate of HIV infection in the refugees’ camps in Eastern Sudan is lower than the rates of towns like Kassala.

Speaking to SRS at Wad Sharifay refugee camp on the outskirts of Kassala town on Wednesday, the Health Coordinator of the Sudanese Red Crescent Society, Dr. Badaradeen Badawi Mohammed, says that out of 600 tested people only 3 cases of HIV infection were reported.

[Dr. Badaradeen Badawi Mohamed]: “At the VCT centre here more than 600 people have come to us and there are only three cases that were positive. There is cooperation between us and the Ministry of Health. If there are cases that need solutions, for example, a person may need antiretroviral drugs, we would refer them to the teaching hospital in Kassala where they receive treatment regularly. In fact now we need to carry out a survey in order to know the magnitude of the problem. Also we have a surveillance program where pregnant women come to the clinic and we take their blood samples and send it to the Federal Ministry of Health in order to test and record the rate of infection and truly we found out also that the rate was much lower than one percent in our camps. The rate of infection in camps is lower than in the city.”

Dr. Badawi denied accusations that the presence of refugees in Eastern Sudan is the cause of high rates of HIV prevalence in Kassala state.

[Dr. Badaradeen Badawi Mohamed]: “It is not true because refugees have been in camps years before HIV and AIDS were discovered. These refugees have been here in this area for more than thirty years. So they have been here before the disease was discovered but there are indicators among recent refuges and there was a need to carry out a survey amongst them in order to find out the prevalence rate. Of course the prevalence rate of HIV in Eritrea is higher than Sudan. Perhaps the new arrivals may have an impact but there is supposed to be an additional program for the new arrivals of refugees and they are now at the Shagarab area. There is an awareness programs and condoms are available at Shagarab."

He said the World Bank supports the HIV and AIDS awareness campaign amongst refugees in camps in Eastern Sudan through the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, IGAD.