The Job Fair 2024 of Chinese-Invested Enterprises in South Africa organized by the South Africa-China Economic and Trade Association (SACETA) took place in Johannesburg on April 16, 2024. Around 2 800 job seekers attended the fair, with many securing placements.

Opening the fair, Chargé d’affaires Li Zhigang said the job fair was an important step towards implementing the consensus reached by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping in their State meeting in South Africa in 2023. “China is ready to work with South Africa to help create jobs and promote development, so that the bilateral relations will bear more golden fruits in the golden era,” he said.

South African Minister of Social Development Lindiwe Zulu and Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Maropene Ramokgopa thanked SACETA for meticulously planning the event, and expressed their readiness to deepen exchanges and cooperation between China and South Africa in fields such as the economy, trade and social development. 

Head of SACETA Zhang Chaoyang, and representatives of Chinese-invested enterprises in South Africa and local employees also addressed the audience. 

Humile Mashatile, wife of deputy president, Paul Mashatile, also attended the fair.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of South Africa.

On April 18, Ambassador Du Xiaohui met with Dr. Oliver Kalabo, Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet of Zambia. Amb. Isabelle Lemba, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice and Chair of the Zambia@60 Steering Committee, was present.

Dr. Kalabo introduced the overall design of the celebration of Zambia’s 60 years of independence. Amb. Du said that 2024 is also the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between China and Zambia. China will work with Zambia to implement the important consensus reached by the two Heads of State and ensure the success of all the celebration activities throughout the year.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Zambia.

To strengthen regional cross-border Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) readiness during public health emergencies, Africa CDC, UNICEF, IFRC, and WHO (the Collective Service core partners) as well as IOM, READY and the UK-PHRST, organized a simulation-based training from 15th to 19th April 2024 in Mombasa, Kenya.

This training aims to bolster cross-border RCCE for coordinated emergency preparedness and response in the region. Participating countries include Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Given the interconnectivity and the frequent emergencies in the region, including public health outbreaks such as Ebola, Marburg, cholera, and yellow fever among others, enhancing cross-border collaboration is crucial.

“In addressing the challenges of health security in region, it is crucial to recognize the imminent risks posed by dynamic cross-border movement,” stated Dr. Lul Riek, Regional Director for the Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Coordinating Centres at Africa CDC. “Limited cross-border coordination and weak mechanisms for RCCE compound these challenges. By strengthening our regional collaborations and enhancing our RCCE strategies, we can more effectively deliver timely, clear, and culturally sensitive information that empowers communities to take informed actions during health crises.”

Over the past few years, RCCE has been a critical component in outbreak response in East and Southern Africa, particularly to support the social and behavioural change needed for the uptake of health interventions and effective emergency readiness and response. Through RCCE, communities are kept informed, a coordinated system is in place to manage risks, and evolving needs during crises can be managed. This shift began with preparedness activities during the 2018 Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak. Since then, initiatives including the Collective Service, through the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent emergencies in the region—have reinforced the critical role of collaboration between partners for the coordinated delivery of RCCE during health emergencies and the promise of leveraging community insights to inform and tailor other key pillars of a response.

“The urgency of our mission is heightened by a myriad of emergencies including missed vaccinations, conflict, climate sensitive diseases and climate-related disasters that increasingly threaten community resilience and livelihoods in the region. These disasters exacerbate vulnerabilities, particularly among dynamic and mobile populations and for children, presenting unique challenges to our response strategies. We need to continue to work together as response actors across pillars and borders to share and rapidly respond to recommendations emerging from community feedback and social science data, for more community-centred responses,” said Lieke van de Wiel, UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Deputy Regional Director.

Over the years, RCCE activities have evolved beyond one-way risk communication by Ministries of Health and partners. Today, the focus lies in coordinated approaches that engage affected communities, listen to their concerns, and harness both qualitative and quantitative data. Community feedback mechanisms, qualitative research, and data triangulation—across online/digital and offline channels—drive targeted responses. These efforts deepen our understanding of critical behaviors for outbreak response and promote preventive measures.

“Let us leverage the power of data and evidence-based practices to inform our decision-making processes and tailor our interventions including messaging to the specific needs of each community. By embracing innovation and utilizing new technologies, we can enhance our ability to gather, analyse, and utilize RCCE data effectively, thereby enhancing our overall response capacity.” Dr Daniel Langat, Head of Surveillance and Response, Ministry of Health Kenya.

By convening key government actors and public health partners, RCCE partners aim to develop standard operating procedures (SOPs), action plans, and training packages to improve RCCE readiness and data utilization for effective community-centered responses to outbreaks and disasters. This workshop is essential for ensuring the protection of children and vulnerable communities and maintaining essential services during emergencies.

Sophie Everest, UK-Public Health Rapid Support Team RCCE Specialist at the UK Health Security Agency said: “The UK-PHRST is delighted to be involved in this partnership of RCCE experts from across Eastern and Southern Africa to share technical expertise and facilitate scenario-based exercises to help strengthen community-led outbreak responses in the future. It is the first time Ministries of Health, Africa CDC, Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies, WHO and UNICEF colleagues from across these countries have come together to discuss and plan how to prioritise this work, and we look forward to supporting these plans moving forwards.”

As emergency response partners in the region navigate a complex landscape of health emergencies, exacerbated by climate change and conflict, RCCE remains a critical tool in bridging knowledge, collaboration and action, in support of resilience, preparedness, and community well-being.

Africa CDC and UNICEF, in collaboration with IFRC, WHO and UK-PHRST as well as other partners, are committed to spearheading additional cross-border RCCE capacity-building workshops, thereby reinforcing resilience, preparedness, and community well-being throughout the region.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

The Sudanese people have endured “unbearable suffering” since the conflict started just over a year ago when an outbreak of fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) “brutally interrupted the political transition”, Rosemary DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, said.

“This is a crisis of epic proportions; it is also wholly man-made,” she told ambassadors, stressing that both parties have failed to protect civilians.

Over 14,000 people have been killed and tens of thousands wounded, half the country’s population – 25 million people – need lifesaving assistance and more than 8.6 million people have been forced to flee their homes, including 1.8 million refugees.

Widespread atrocities

“Allegations of atrocities abound,” she said, citing reports of widespread use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, of the recruitment of children by parties to the conflict and of extensive use of torture and prolonged arbitrary detention by both parties.

She said the UN stands ready to redouble efforts with its multilateral partners – including the African Union, Intergovernmental Authority for Development, the League of Arab States and key Member States and partners – to help end hostilities and foster inclusive and effective international mediation.

She said the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, Ramtane Lamamra, has engaged with national, regional and international stakeholders to promote the coordination of mediation initiatives, and the recent humanitarian conference in Paris emphasised the need for unity of purpose and action to end the fighting in Sudan.

External actors fuelling war

At the same time, all warring parties must uphold their obligations under international law and adhere to the Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan, Ms. DiCarlo said, calling on all actors to exercise maximum restraint and avoid further bloodshed.

However the rival armies have been able to keep fighting in no small part thanks to the material support they receive from outside the Sudan, she said, adding that these external actors continue to flout the Council’s sanctions regime to support a political settlement and to fuel the conflict.

“This is illegal, it is immoral and it must stop,” she said. “At this critical moment, in addition to global support for aid, we need to redouble our efforts to achieve peace in the Sudan.”

‘The elephant in the room’

Echoing that point, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, High Representative for the Silencing the Guns initiative of the African Union Commission, said external interference has been “a major factor” stymying efforts to negotiate a ceasefire and to stop the war.

“External support in terms of supply of war materiel and other means has been the main reason why this war has lasted for so long,” he said via videolink from Post Sudan. “It is the elephant in the room.”

For its part, the African Union has been proactive, he said, recalling its swift action five days after the outbreak of fighting to form a mechanism to coordinate efforts as well as its subsequent drafting of a roadmap to peace and appointment of a High-Level Panel on Sudan.

Decades of development wiped out

Yet, the ongoing year-long war has already set Sudan back several decades, he said, adding that “it will take more than a generation to rebuild Sudan to its pre-war state.”

He said the war has also led to egregious violations of international human rights law, international humanitarian law and the laws governing the conduct of war.

“It must end,” he said, emphasising that the Jeddah process must speedily recommence with the full participation of the African Union to bring about an unconditional ceasefire to end Sudan’s suffering.

Humanitarian conditions worsening

Edem Wosornu, director of operations and advocacy at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that one year on, the outlook for the people of Sudan is “bleak”.

Extremely concerning levels of conflict-related sexual violence continue to be reported, and aid workers, health workers and local volunteers are being killed, injured, harassed and arrested with impunity, she said, speaking on behalf of UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths.

In addition, the spiralling violence in recent weeks poses an extreme and immediate danger to the 800,000 civilians who reside in El Fasher and risks triggering further clashes in other parts of Darfur, where more than nine million people are in dire need of assistance, she said.

Famine prevention plan

Meanwhile, food insecurity in Sudan has reached record levels, with 18 million people facing acute hunger, a number that is set to surge as the lean season fast approaches, Ms. Wosornu said, noting that OCHA had launched a famine prevention plan last week.

“If we are to avert famine, the parties must take urgent steps to facilitate humanitarian relief for all civilians in need, as required under international humanitarian law,” she said.

What is needed now is scaled up action to protect humanitarian workers to deliver lifesaving aid, more funds and more international engagement to silence the guns, she said.

‘The people of Sudan cannot wait’

“We need a fundamental change in the way we support Sudan,” Ms. Wosornu said. “The people of Sudan cannot wait another month, week or even day for their suffering to stop. Every day that passes puts more lives at risk.”

Expressing gratitude for pledges made at the recent Paris humanitarian conference on Sudan, she said funds must be disbursed as soon as possible and that “we have a very narrow window to respond”.

“Within the coming six weeks, we need to preposition lifesaving supplies before the rainy season starts in June. We need to get seeds into the hands of farmers before the planting season in June, and cash into the pockets of displaced people before they fall even deeper into hunger.”

While OCHA will “do everything we can”, Ms. Wosornu said “we cannot do this alone.”

“We need your help,” she told Council members. “Now is the time to act, before it is too late. Millions of lives depend on us.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN News.