According to the UN human rights office, OHCHR, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, held separate phone calls on Tuesday with Lt-General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces, and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads the rival Rapid Support Forces.

Diplomatic approach

Mr. Türk urged them both to act immediately – and publicly – to de-escalate the situation, said OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani, who noted that the UN rights chief had previously approached the rival generals in November 2022.

“He warned both commanders that fighting in El-Fasher, where more than 1.8 million residents and internally displaced people are currently encircled and at imminent risk of famine, would have a catastrophic impact on civilians, and it  would deepen intercommunal conflict with disastrous humanitarian consequences,” Ms. Shamdasani told journalists in Geneva.

“He reminded the commanders of their obligations under international humanitarian law to ensure strict compliance with the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution, and to put an end to any ongoing violations, as well as ensure accountability for violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law committed by their respective forces and allies.”

13 months of heavy fighting

Thirteen months of war in Sudan have left half of the population in need of humanitarian assistance – a staggering 25 million people, including 14 million children. Millions have been repeatedly displaced, becoming more vulnerable each time, and aid teams have warned repeatedly that famine is closing in, with the approach of the rainy season. 

The UN human rights office expressed concerns about the ongoing and lasting impact of conflict across Sudan, while highlighting the dire situation affecting civilians caught up in escalating violence in and around El Fasher in Darfur.

At least 58 civilians are reported to have been killed and 213 others since fighting dramatically escalated in the North Darfur town last week, OHCHR said.

Disease, famine closing in

Echoing concerns about the emergency situation, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, warned that diseases are closing in and people are “staring famine in the face”.

The UN-partnered response plan aims to reach and support 15 million of the worst-affected people but $2.7 billion is needed urgently to do so.

Today, humanitarians have received only 12 per cent of the total and without an immediate injection of funds, OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke warned that aid teams “won’t be able to scale up in time to stave off famine and prevent further deprivation”.

He added that funding would be used to “bring in more food, health services, shelter, water and sanitation, but also for prevention of sexual and gender-based violence, help to the victims, and support for the re-opening of schools for out-of-school children”.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN News.

Partnership involves events collocation; GITEX Africa (https://GITEXAfrica.com/) is regarded as the largest innovation and business tech startup event on the continent.

Smart Africa has signed a partnership agreement with GITEX Africa to organize the 2nd Ministerial peer exchange, the 3rd meeting of the Council of African ICT agencies (CAITA) alongside a training for the CAITA, in collaboration with the AFRALTI (African Advanced Level Telecommunications Institute (AFRALTI), and the inaugural Africa Digital Health Leadership Forum among other activities. Happening from 29th to 31st May 2024 in Marrakesh, Morocco, GITEX Africa is regarded as the largest tech and startup event in the continent. Venue provision, inviting participants, and visibility are among the deliverables agreed upon.

The Africa Digital Health Leadership Forum is a premier event, uniting distinguished leaders from the Health and ICT sectors, including entrepreneurs, investors, and policymakers to explore the transformative power of technology in shaping the future of healthcare in Africa. The one-day forum, jointly hosted by Smart Africa, Africa CDC and GITEX Africa, will feature interactive thematic sessions and networking event, and will take place on 31st May 2024. Additionally, the meeting of the Council of African IT Agencies (CAITA) is set for May 29, 2024.

“We are pleased to join forces with GITEX Africa to collocate high-level events including the first Africa Digital Health Leadership Forum. This is a crucial gathering to discuss digital infrastructure, governance models and frameworks affecting the digital health sector, and to develop solutions together,” said Smart Africa’s CEO, Mr. Lacina Koné.  

As part of the partnership, Smart Africa through the Smart Africa Digital Academy (SADA) will organize a Ministerial peer exchange and a training workshop for the members of the CAITA on the sidelines of GITEX Africa. The Ministerial peer exchange will bring to fore, the key learnings of some countries in Africa in their digital transformation journeys, while the training for the members of CAITA will address the importance of innovative thinking in digitalization with a focus on data, emerging technology and more. These activities will support the implementation of the Smart Africa Trust Alliance (SATA).

Trixie LohMirmand, CEO of KAOUN International, GITEX Africa and World Future Health Africa’s organiser, said: “As GITEX Africa returns for its highly anticipated second record-breaking edition alongside the debut of World Future Health Africa, we once again proudly celebrate our successful alliance with Smart Africa, creating new avenues for digital advancement, enhancing tech awareness and accessibility, and fostering cross-regional collaborations. As a platform to catalyse innovation, investments, relevant connections, and thought-provoking discussions, GITEX Africa 2024 has expanded its boundaries, presenting invaluable opportunities for public and private sectors alike to converge and play a pivotal role in the future of tech.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of GITEX Africa.

GITEX Africa Media Contact:
Tayce Marchesi – PR Executive
Tel.: + 971 58 552 3994
Tayce.Marchesi@dwtc.com

For more information, contact:
Yvan Guéhi, Head of Brand and Communications
Smart Africa Secretariat
​E-mail: comms@smartafrica.org

GITEX Africa on social media:
Facebook: https://apo-opa.co/3v1htkm
Instagram: https://apo-opa.co/43gcRU0
Twitter: https://apo-opa.co/3TJoQXf
LinkedIn: https://apo-opa.co/3VfTpoz
Youtube: https://apo-opa.co/3vcZI1p
Hashtag: #GITEXAFRICA

Follow Smart Africa on:
Website: www.SmartAfrica.org
Twitter: @RealSmartAfrica
Facebook: https://apo-opa.co/3NL7Dcu

About Smart Africa:
Smart Africa is an alliance of African countries, international organisations and global private sector players tasked with Africa’s digital agenda. The alliance is empowered by a bold and innovative commitment by African Heads of State to accelerate sustainable socio-economic development on the continent and usher Africa into the knowledge economy through affordable access to broadband and the use of ICTs. With a vision to create a single digital market in Africa by 2030, the Smart Africa Alliance brings together Heads of State who seek to accelerate the digitalization of the continent and create a common market. Launched in 2013 by seven (7) African Heads of State, the Alliance now has 39 member countries, representing over 1.1 billion people and over 40 Private Sector members committed to the vision and the advancement of Africa.

About GITEX Africa:
GITEX Africa (https://apo-opa.co/3K8cemA) is the largest and most influential tech and start-up event on the African continent, taking place from 29-31 May 2024 in Marrakech, Morocco. The 2nd landmark edition returns to the Red City, held under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI of the Kingdom of Morocco. Hosted by the Digital Development Agency (ADD), under the authority of the Moroccan Ministry of Digital Transition and Administration Reform, GITEX Africa’s expansion in 2024 is amplified by the debut of the co-located World Future Health Africa, accelerating the continent’s ascending tech-fuelled digital health revolution. The blockbuster duo is organised by KAOUN International, the overseas affiliate of Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), which organises GITEX GLOBAL in the UAE, the world’s largest and most trusted tech and start-up event.

CyberKnight, a leading cybersecurity advisory and value-added-distributor (VAD), headquartered in Dubai with local presence across the Middle East, proudly announces its expansion into Africa. To spearhead business development efforts on the continent, the Company has appointed Naoufal Mzali as the Regional Sales Director.

With over 17 years of experience in technology and cybersecurity, his strong engineering background, coupled with a successful track record in sales, makes Naoufal an asset to the CyberKnight team. As the newly appointed Regional Sales Director for Levant, Egypt&Africa, he will lead the charge in strengthening CyberKnight’s presence in the territory and fostering growth in the African cybersecurity market.

In addition to this significant milestone, CyberKnight is excited to announce its participation at GITEX Africa 2024, scheduled to take place in Marrakech from May 29th to 31st. This premier event presents a valuable platform for CyberKnight to highlight its thought leadership in Zero Trust Security, showcase its portfolio of market-leading solutions and deepen customer and  partner relationships with key stakeholders in Africa.

At GITEX Africa 2024, CyberKnight will join forces with some of its key technology partners:

Crowdstrike – EDR, Cloud Security&Threat Intel
Xage – Zero Trust Security for OT Environments (MFA/SSO)
Group-IB – Fraud Detection, ASM, DRP, Threat Intelligence&DFIR
NetWitness – NDR, UEBA,&Network Forensics
Fortra – Classification, DLP, PT, MFT, SEG, DMARC, CDR

“We are excited to enter this new chapter of growth with CyberKnight’s on-the-ground expansion into Africa. Since the company’s inception, we have been doing business opportunistically in multiple African countries from our HQ in Dubai. But now, our participation at GITEX Africa for the first time, underscores our commitment to delivering best-of-breed cybersecurity expertise to enterprise and government customers, as well as strategic partners across Africa. Moving forward, we will be building teams across the continent, starting with North Africa.,” commented Naoufal Mzali, Regional Sales Director at CyberKnight.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of GITEX Africa.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Olesya Pavlova
Olesya.pavlova@cyberknight.tech

About CyberKnight:
CyberKnight is a cybersecurity advisory and value-added-distributor (VAD) covering META region with on-the-ground presence in all key regional markets. Our ZTX (Zero Trust Security) methodology, based on the Forrester framework, incorporates emerging and market-leading cybersecurity solutions that protect the entire attack surface, by leveraging AI, threat intelligence and collective defence. CyberKnight helps security and risk teams at enterprise and government customers simplify breach detection, prevention, and incident response, while addressing regulatory compliance. CyberKnight’s Art of Cybersecurity Distribution business model enables strategic partners to achieve greater market penetration, return-on-investment, and time-to-value.

Energy Capital&Power (https://www.EnergyCapitalPower.com) – organizers of the upcoming Invest in African Energy (IAE) 2024 forum (www.Invest-Africa-Energy.com/) in Paris – has announced May 13-14 as the official dates of the 2025 edition of the forum. 

Following in the footsteps of this year’s forum – taking place later this month – IAE 2025 will continue to unite the global investment community and showcase Africa’s most dynamic energy and infrastructure projects. As traditional financial institutions restrict fossil fuel lending, IAE 2025 will focus on catalyzing new sources of capital – from development finance institutions and multilateral development banks, to private equity and pension funds – while promoting the role of diversified energy investment in Africa’s energy security, industrialization and energy transition. According to the International Energy Agency, Africa requires $200 billion per year in energy investment by 2030 to deliver universal and modern energy access.

IAE 2024 is an exclusive forum designed to foster collaboration between European investors and African energy markets. Taking place May 14-15, 2024, in Paris, the event offers delegates two days of intensive engagement with industry experts, project developers, investors, and policymakers. For more information, please visit www.Invest-Africa-Energy.com.

The African continent is home to a wide range of projects seeking capital and technology into 2025 and beyond. Recent offshore oil and gas discoveries in Namibia, Ivory Coast and South Africa – along with ongoing exploration of frontier resources in Uganda, Senegal, Mauritania, Mozambique and more – require sizable upstream investments in order to be developed. Major midstream infrastructure projects include the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, Mauritania-Mali Transmission Line and Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline, which are seeking technical and financial partners to carry out the construction of capital-intensive pipelines and connect energy resources to power-hungry markets.  

 In terms of Africa’s gas-processing capabilities, the continent is home to two major LNG facilities underway in Mozambique, the Richards Bay LNG terminal in South Africa, the Yakaar-Teranga Gas Project in Senegal, the second and third phases of the Gas Mega Hub in Equatorial Guinea, the Cap Lopez Terminal in Gabon, the Congo LNG Project in the Republic of Congo and the planned Tanzania LNG plant. According to the GECF, Africa’s energy demand is expected to increase by 82% by 2050, with natural gas accounting for 30% of the energy mix. Meanwhile, large-scale green hydrogen facilities have been launched in Namibia, Mauritania and Egypt, while Angola and South Africa are also exploring their respective potential for green hydrogen production.

“We are pleased to confirm the 2025 dates for the third edition of the Invest in African Energy forum, affirming Africa’s position as a global hotspot for energy investment and that significant financing is still required to ensure universal energy access on the continent. The forum serves as a critical project showcase, uniting the global investment community with African industry stakeholders and policymakers to get deals signed,” says Sandra Jeque, Event&Project Director of the IAE forum.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital&Power.