Calls for AU, UN to take action in Sudan’s Blue Nile State

NAIROBI, 12 June 2013 (IRIN) - The UN and the African Union must step forward and take decisive action to stop Sudan from committing war crimes against civilians in Blue Nile State, says a new Amnesty International report, dismissed as “false” by Khartoum. full report

Hunger drives hunt for gold in South Sudan's east

NANAKANAK, 10 June 2013 (IRIN) - Around 60,000 people are thought to be mining gold in South Sudan, using the bare hands they once used to harvest crops. In the new nation's east, where poor rains have caused widespread hunger, women, children and the elderly have joined the hordes of people seeking their fortune through this back-breaking labour. full report

Despite decade of innovation, much left to do on neglected tropical diseases

NAIROBI, 6 June 2013 (IRIN) - Ten years ago, the main treatment for kala azar - a disease that kills up to 40,000 people every year - was a 30-day course of injections, a difficult undertaking both for patients and for the poorly equipped health centres in the remote areas where many cases of the disease occur. Today, combination therapy has cut the treatment period to 17 days in some affected areas, but scientists and health officials continue to work towards developing a simple pill that would replace painful injections and further ease treatment. full report

Analysis: AU prepares its shock troops

JOHANNESBURG, 31 May 2013 (IRIN) - A newly sanctioned African Union (AU) force for quick deployment in conflicts such as in Mali is being promoted as a stop-gap measure ahead of the planned formation of the “rapid deployment capability” (RDC) African Standby Force (ASF). full report

Digital jobs offer skills, promise to Africa's unemployed youth

JOHANNESBURG/NAIROBI, 28 May 2013 (IRIN) - Although Africa’s economy has expanded rapidly in recent years, it has not kept pace with the growth of its youth population or their need for jobs. full report

South Sudan’s humanitarian crises overshadow development needs

JUBA, 27 May 2013 (IRIN) - A 2005 deal to end decades of civil war in southern Sudan led many to hope that conflict-related humanitarian relief would gradually give way to the peace dividend of development aid and economic growth. Eight years later, emergency needs in the now-independent South Sudan remain overwhelming, with aid agencies calling for more than a billion dollars to tackle them in 2013. full report

The long road home to South Sudan

RENK, UPPER NILE STATE, 6 May 2013 (IRIN) - George Malual Deng, 24, has spent two years stuck in a transit site waiting to return to his home in South Sudan’s Jonglei state. He is among 20,000 people who have made a home of sorts in the river port of Renk, waiting for a barge to take them further south. full report

Mary Venerato Laki, South Sudan returnee: "We want to go to our own homeland"

RENK-UPPER NILE STATE, 6 May 2013 (IRIN) - Years ago, Mary Venerato Laki fled conflict in South Sudan, moving north to Sudan, where she worked as a teacher for 42 years. But after a January 2011 referendum paved the way for South Sudan's independence, Mary, now a 60-year-old widow and sole guardian of four nieces, decided to move back home. full report

Conflict and returnees strain South Sudan food security

NAIROBI, 2 May 2013 (IRIN) - Food security in South Sudan is deteriorating in the face of ongoing conflict, high food prices, and the large-scale return of refugee and internally displaced families. full report