♦ This week’s news in brief ♦
A compact weekly digest of Dabanga Sudan’s highlights of the news from Darfur and Sudan
A compact weekly digest of Dabanga Sudan's highlights of the news from Darfur and Sudan
♦ Darfur: Calls on state governments to take measures against cholera
August 1 – 2017 DARFUR / DELGO / RED SEA / SENNAR Local leaders and MPs in West and North Darfur have requested the health authorities to take measures to prevent the spread of cholera in the region.
During the past three days, 19 people died of the infectious disease in Murnei camp for the displaced in West Darfur. There is no doctor in the camp. Nine volunteer nurses are treating the patients. In North Darfur, at least four cholera patients died over the weekend. The isolation ward of Kabkabiya Hospital received 17 new patients, bringing the total number of cholera cases to 30.
North Darfur MPs have urged the state Health Minister to establish isolation centres in the villages, as many roads will be impassable during the rainy season and the patients will not be able to reach a hospital or clinic.
In the area of Delgo in Northern State, four gold miners died of cholera last week. The Delgo Hospital received 20 miners suffering from the disease. A medical source predicted cholera epidemic in the region. “There are about 30,000 people working in the region's traditional mining industry, in an environment lacking the most basic necessities of life, including clean drinking water.” Parents in the area have appealed on the state Ministry of Education to close the schools for fear of spreading cholera among the students.
In the most recent update, in early June, the federal Minister of Health reported that 14,659 people were infected with “watery diarrhoea”. 292 patients died. Mentioning the infectious disease by its real name is not allowed in Sudan. The security apparatus has repeatedly warned the press in the country not to cross this “red line”. Cholera “seems to be a stigma for the government,” a UK-based Sudanese specialist told Radio Dabanga in January.
♦ ‘Sudan spends less than 1.5% of GDP on education’
July 31 – 2017 KHARTOUM The Sudanese government has lifted its hand from education in terms of spending, says Dr Mohamed El Amin El Tom, a mathematician and lecturer at various Sudanese universities.
In an interview with Radio Dabanga’s Milafaat Sudaniya, El Tom said that at least 20 per cent of the state budget should be allocated to education. “The conventional spending on education by developing countries lies around 5 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP),” he said. “Tunisia spends 7 per cent of its GDP on education, while Sudan spends between 1 and 1.4 per cent on schooling of its population.”
El Tom further noted that though the government is neglecting the financial part of education, it continues to control the objectives and curricula.
“Most countries are very careful regarding the development or adjustments of the objectives of education and the school curricula, as not to influence the minds of the students. In Sudan, the development of the curricula lies fully in the hands of the authorities. The other stakeholders, the teachers, parents, students, and the society have no say.”
According to the researcher, “The government does not want a political, economic, and cultural transition in Sudan, so it leaves education as it is.”
More news from Radio Dabanga:
Nuba Reports: 'Rebel rift in Sudan's Blue Nile affects population'
August 1 – 2017 NUBA MOUNTAINS The leadership dispute within the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North has affected the various tribes of Blue Nile state, as the rebel factions fall for a large extent along ethnic lines, Nuba Reports stated in a new briefing on Monday. The SPLM-N leadership rift began in late ..
Sudan to combat 'cybercrimes on social media'
August 1 – 2017 KHARTOUM The Sudanese government's fight against social media and other electronic means of publication has raised concerns about further restrictions on civil freedoms in the country. Last week, Sudan’s Chief Justice Haydar Ahmed Dafallah announced strict regulations on electronic media. ..
Sudan becomes 39th province of Anglican Church
July 31 – 2017 KHARTOUM The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has declared Sudan a new province of the Anglican Church on Sunday. The archbishop installed Ezekiel Kondo Kumir Kuku as Sudan's first archbishop and primate in the All Saints Cathedral in Khartoum’s El Amarat district on Sunday. The ceremony..
Leaders of East Darfur warring tribes 'tansported' to Khartoum
July 31 – 2017 ED DAEIN East Darfur authorities transported 21 Rizeigat and Maaliya leaders to Khartoum on Sunday. The tribal leaders have reportedly been summoned by the Presidency. Dozens of militants from both tribes were detained in Keleikil. In South Darfur, the collection of illegal weapons from tribesmen ..
Amnesty Int. calls for release of deported Sudanese activists
July 29 – 2017 LONDON Three Sudanese activists who were deported from Saudi Arabia on 11 July were detained by officers of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) upon arrival in Sudan. They are currently being held at the NISS headquarters in Khartoum North. Amnesty International stated ..
Sudanese farmers: 'Sorghum prices unprofitable'
July 28 – 2017 EL GEDAREF Farmers from El Gedaref have criticised the new price offered by the Agricultural Bank for sorghum, which amounted to SDG270 ($40) for a sack. They describe the slight increase of SDG20 as unprofitable. A farmer from Galelnahal locality told Radio Dabanga that the new price ..
Sudan summons Libyan Charge D'Affaires over Kufra consulate shut-down
July 27 – 2017 KHARTOUM Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs today summoned the Libyan Charge D'Affaires to Sudan, Ali Muftah Mahroug, following yesterday’s announcement by the interim Libyan government of the closure of the Sudanese consulate in Kufra. The official Sudan News Agency (SUNA) reports ..
Sudan's National Congress Party denounces Darfuri student actions
July 27 – 2017 KHARTOUM The Leadership Office of Sudan's ruling National Congress Party (NCP) has announced “total rejection to using university compounds as scenes of destruction, torching and killing”. NCP Deputy Chairman, Engineer Ibrahim Mahmoud, made press statements after a meeting of the ..
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