Sudanese Initiative Launched to Protect Medics

Sudanese Initiative Launched to Protect Medics
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Sudanese Initiative Launched to Protect Medics

Sudanese Initiative Launched to Protect Medics

The Sudanese people are increasingly concerned with the spread of the new coronavirus, especially after a third person tested positive on Wednesday.

Many COVID-19 social awareness campaigns have been launched in the country.

Israa Adam Ahmed, the head of Builders Without Borders, a volunteer-based community service, pointed out that a greater burden falls on social workers to help in raising awareness to prevent matters from getting worse as the country already has a weak healthcare system.

Ahmed added that even developed states weren’t able to curb the pandemic.

Ahmed cautioned against non-compliance with the preventive guidelines, advice provided by health officials and decisions taken by local authorities.

She recommended social distancing, warning that public gatherings could lead to a catastrophic scenario in Sudan.

As for coronavirus social work done by Builders Without Borders, Ahmed said the group had carried out an awareness campaign in some of Sudan’s busiest markets.

During the campaign, volunteers distributed sterilizers to the public.

A number of doctors have launched the "Hanahmih" initiative, which aims to protect the medical staff working in hospitals from the risk of infection, and to provide protective masks and eyewear by collecting donations.

The head of the initiative, Dr.Manal Al-Duqair, said that the move started on social media and was successful in providing sterilizers and masks.

“Hospitals in Sudan need a (million) protective face masks. Deaths among Sudanese medics could match Italy and China if they are not protected,” Duqair said.

Young men and women in a number of Sudanese cities and villages have been active in sterilizing mosques, and providing sterilizers and disinfectants for pedestrians at transportation and road stations.

Sudanese pharmacist Fatima Mohamed Al-Hassan says that pharmacists are spending unremitting efforts to support the government.

In order to help with the scarcity of sterilizers, Hassan revealed that some pharmacists are producing sanitizers, locally distributing them to hospitals and the public.



Kurdish PKK Militants to Hand over First Weapons in Ceremony in Iraq

PKK militants in northern Iraq (Reuters)
PKK militants in northern Iraq (Reuters)
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Kurdish PKK Militants to Hand over First Weapons in Ceremony in Iraq

PKK militants in northern Iraq (Reuters)
PKK militants in northern Iraq (Reuters)

Dozens of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants will hand over their weapons in a ceremony in northern Iraq on Friday, marking a symbolic but significant first step toward ending a decades-long insurgency with Türkiye.

The PKK, locked in conflict with the Turkish state and outlawed since 1984, decided in May to disband, disarm and end its armed struggle after a public call to do so from its long-imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan, Reuters said.

After a series of failed peace efforts, the new initiative could pave the way for Ankara to end an insurgency that has killed over 40,000 people, burdened the economy and wrought deep social and political divisions in Türkiye and the wider region.

Around 40 PKK militants and one commander were expected to hand over their weapons at the ceremony in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah, people familiar with the plan said. The PKK is based in northern Iraq after being pushed well beyond Türkiye’s frontier in recent years.

The arms are to be destroyed later in another ceremony attended by Turkish and Iraqi intelligence figures, officials of Iraq's Kurdistan regional government, and senior members of Türkiye's pro-Kurdish DEM party - which also played a key role in facilitating the PKK's disarmament decision.

The PKK, DEM and Ocalan have all called on Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's government to address Kurdish political demands. In a rare online video published on Wednesday, Ocalan also urged Türkiye's parliament to set up a commission to oversee disarmament and manage the broader peace process.

Ankara has taken steps toward forming the commission, while the DEM and Ocalan have said that legal assurances and certain mechanisms were needed to smooth the PKK's transition into democratic politics.

Erdogan has said his government would not allow any attempts to sabotage the disarmament process, adding he would give people "historic good news".

Omer Celik, a spokesman for Erdogan's AK Party, said the disarmament process should not be allowed to drag on longer than a few months to avoid it becoming subject to provocations.