SUDAN POLITICAL ALERT: Human Rights Watch - Sudan Should Not Let COVID-19 Scuttle Transition

1/4/2020: Human Rights Watch - Sudan Should Not Let COVID-19 Scuttle Transition, by Mohamed Osman

Mohamed Osman, an Assistant Researcher for Human Rights Watch (HRW) Africa, calls for Sudan’s international donors to not let the coronavirus pandemic “become yet another obstacle to Sudan's transition,” and for Sudanese authorities to “focus on the most vulnerable.”

 Osman argues that the transitional government’s fight against the pandemic could be crucial to the transition, but warns that the precautionary measures taken to prevent the virus spreading “are not enough.”

 Osman points to Sudan’s “long list of poor and vulnerable populations,” including refugees and displaced communities in conflict zones “many of whom live in large camp settings,” as well as the many who work in the informal sector who “may not have the luxury of social distancing or staying home.”

 Osman therefore calls on Sudanese authorities to ramp up health services to crowded and under-serviced urban areas, provide water points and testing facilities, and increase public information about the virus.