UN Declares Famine in Somalia

This is according to the Agence France Presse-the  APF News Agency

The UN officially declared famine in two parts of southern Somalia Wednesday as the world slowly mobilised to save the 12 million people battling hunger in the region's worst drought in 60 years.

More than 10 million people in the Horn of Africa have been affected by the drought 

The United States urged the Al Qaeda-inspired rebels controlling the area to allow the return of the relief groups they expelled two years ago while aid groups warned many would die without urgent action and funding.

Somalia, which has been affected by almost uninterrupted conflict for 20 years and become a by-word for "failed state", is the worst affected nation but parts of Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Djibouti are also hit.

The Horn of Africa 

The United States urged neighbouring Eritrea, one of the most secretive countries in the world, to reveal the scope of its own food situation.

Famine implies that at least 20 percent of households face extreme food shortages, acute malnutrition in over 30 percent of people, and two deaths per 10,000 people every day, according to UN definition.

The Shebab expelled foreign aid groups two years ago, accusing them of being Western spies and Christian crusaders.

However, the UN last week airlifted in the first supplies since the group said it would lift restrictions on aid.

For further information on the issue visit the BBC page on the Horn of Africa drought. 

BBC's Drought in the Horn of Africa

South Sudan Profile: An Overview

The following is from the BBC with minor changes to be current, the following was originally posted BBC World News on July 8 2011: The BBC South Sudan country profile

South Sudan gained independence from Sudan on 9 July 2011 as the outcome of a 2005 peace deal that ended Africa's longest-running civil war.

An overwhelming majority of South Sudanese voted in a January 2011 referendum to secede and become Africa's first new country since Eritrea split from Ethiopia in 1993.

The new nation stands to benefit from inheriting the bulk of Sudan's oil wealth, but continuing disputes with Khartoum and a lack of economic development cloud its immediate future.

Geography

Formed from the 10 southern-most states of Sudan, South Sudan is a land of expansive grassland, swamps and tropical rain forest straddling both banks of the White Nile.

It is highly diverse ethnically and linguistically. Among the largest ethnic groups are the Dinka, Nuer and Shilluk.

Unlike the predominantly Muslim population of Sudan, the South Sudanese follow traditional religions, while a minority are Christians.

South Sudan celebration scene

History

As Sudan prepared to gain independence from joint British and Egyptian rule in 1956, southern leaders accused the new authorities in Khartoum of backing out of promises to create a federal system, and of trying to impose an Islamic and Arabic identity.

In 1955, southern army officers mutinied, sparking off a civil war between the south, led by the Anya Nya guerrilla movement, and the Sudanese government.

The conflict only ended when the Addis Ababa peace agreement of 1972 accorded the south a measure of autonomy.

But, in 1983, the south, led by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and its armed wing, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), again rose in rebellion when the Sudanese government cancelled the autonomy arrangements.

At least 1.5 million people are thought to have lost their lives and more than four million were displaced in the ensuing 22 years of guerrilla warfare. Large numbers of South Sudanese fled the fighting, either to the north or to neighbouring countries, where many remain.

The conflict finally ended with the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, under which the south was granted regional autonomy along with guaranteed representation in a national power-sharing government.

The agreement also provided for a referendum in the south on independence in 2011, in which 99% of southern Sudanese voted to split from Sudan.

Most South Sudanese sustain themselves through agriculture

Economy


Long based on subsistence agriculture, South Sudan's economy is now highly oil-dependent. While an estimated 75% of all the former Sudan's oil reserves are in South Sudan, the refineries and the pipeline to the Red Sea are in Sudan.


Under the 2005 accord, South Sudan received 50% of Sudan's oil proceeds, which provide the vast bulk of the country's budget. But that arrangement was set to expire with independence.


Despite the oil wealth, South Sudan is one of Africa's least developed countries. However, the years since the 2005 peace accord ushered in an economic revival and investment in utilities and other infrastructure.


Conflicts

Alongside the oil issue, several border disputes with Sudan continue to strain ties. The main row is over border region of Abyei, where a referendum for the residents to decide whether to join south or north has been delayed over voter eligibility.

The conflict is rooted in a dispute over land between farmers of the pro-South Sudan Dinka Ngok people and cattle-herding Misseriya Arab tribesmen.

Another source of conflict is the Nuba Mountains region of Sudan's South Kordofan state, where violence continues between the largely Christian and pro-SPLA Nuba people and northern government forces.

Inside South Sudan, several rebel forces opposed to the SPLM-dominated government have appeared, including the South Sudan Liberation Army (SSLA) of Peter Gadet and a force led former SPLA general George Athor. Juba says these forces are funded by Sudan, which denies the accusation.

South Sudan's Independence and breaking the bonds of colonialism

On Saturday South Sudan became the world's newest nation and African 54th country. 

Map  showing the established borders of Sudan and  South Sudan 

Sudan, 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 world's newest nation was born at midnight East African Time last Saturday. Independence marked the the climax of a process made possible by the 2005 peace deal that ended a long civil war.

The South's independence follows decades of conflict with the north in which some 1.5 million people died. 

South Sudan's independence following a referendum held in January 2011 in which nearly 99% of voters opted for separation from the rest of Sudan.

Saturday's independence ceremony was held at the mausoleum of the late rebel leader John Garang, who died just months after signing the peace deal with Mr Bashir that ended Africa's longest-running conflict. 

While we celebrate with South Sudan and look towards a bright future for the long suffering Southerners we must acknowledge that moving forward will be hard.  


South Sudan is in an oil rich region but is considered to be the most underdeveloped country in the world. 


South Sudan most now move to build basic infrastructure and amenities such as roads, schools, hospitals, schools and the like.  


However, I see good in all this. As a student of African history I am proud and happy that Sudan is the first country to break the artificial and forced boundaries established under colonial rule.   


In what is termed the "Scramble for Africa" also known as the Race for Africa and the Partition of Africa  was the process of annexation, colonization of African territories by Europe between 1881 to the start of the World War I in 1914. 


European imperialist created artificial boundaries and called them countries wherein ethnic groups and nation-states were forced to live within laws that did not fit the African personality. Such laws are exported from Europe ( such a the British common law that former colonies of Britain like Jamaica continue to struggle operate in). 




 After the 1960s the Decade of Independence for most African and Caribbean nations that were colonized these artificial boundaries were maintained and Sudan is the first nation to act to change from these colonial spatial definitions. 


I will watching closely to see how  South Sudan and Sudan adjusts. And I pray and wish them success as this may be the step needed to end the ethnic clashes that have plagued Africa since the end of official colonial rule. 


For the next few weeks Envasa will have a South Sudan post independence series as we monitor the transitional period. 


What do you think of the independence of South Sudan? Do you think other African countries can benefit from the Sudan-South Sudan model? or is it just too soon to tell?