Government police arrive on a boat at Goma's port as U.N. peacekeepers watch on in December 2012 after the M23 withdrew from the town in eastern DRC. The U.N. has changed its mandate from a peacekeeping force to an intervention one starting early May. Credit: William Lloyd-George/IPS

By Stanley Karombo
JOHANNESBURG, Apr 24 2013 (IPS)

As the first of South Africa’s troops are expected to begin arriving in the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of the United Nations intervention force at the end of April, governance experts have welcomed the world body’s new mandate in the Central African nation.

According to Dr. Ola Bello, the head of the Governance of Africa’s Resources Programme at the South African Institute of International Relations (SAIIA), the bolstering of U.N. forces in the DRC is long overdue.

On Mar. 28, the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolved to move its presence in the DRC from a stabilisation and peace-keeping force to an intervention one.

“The core U.N. force has been too force-shy, as evident in the rebel takeover of Goma in late 2012,” Bello told IPS. The M23 rebels seized Goma in December 2012, but withdrew after a weeklong occupation of the town.

According to the U.N., more than 500,000 people have been driven from their homes in North Kivu, a province in eastern DRC, because of the rebel conflict.

U.N. Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) spokesperson Madnodje Mounoubai announced on local radio station Radio Okapi, which is backed by the U.N., that the resolution gave the 3,069-strong brigade the mandate to neutralise about 40 armed groups operating in the country. This would be done “with or without the Congolese army” with effect from early May, he said.

The neighbouring countries of Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa will be contributing troops to the force.

However, Omar Kavota, the deputy chair of the North Kivu civil society platform, told IPS that they condemned the transportation of South African arms through Uganda. Experts from the U.N. have accused Uganda and Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels.

According to Radio Okapi, the consignment from the Bloemfontein military base in South Africa was transported to Uganda and then the DRC.

Bello said that there were potential pitfalls to South Africa’s inclusion in the combat unit, as they could be perceived as not being neutral.

He added that South Africa was seen as being close to President Joseph Kabila’s government, “which could be interpreted as being anti-Rwanda and anti-Uganda.

“Confronting the M23 also carries some inherent risk since the rebel movement purports to (and in reality, does to some extent) represent the interest of ethnic Tutsis in eastern DRC.

“South Africa and the other (countries that are) committing these additional combat forces will have to be careful that their actions are not seen as taking sides in what is partly an ongoing internal conflict within the different regional and ethnic groups within the DRC,” Bello said.

However, questions have been raised about the Africa Union’s role in peace-keeping on the continent.

Bello said the AU, through its Peace and Security Council, and Africa Peace and Security Architecture, was in theory charged with the overall maintenance of peace in Africa.

“Performance has, however, been uneven with the modest success in Somalia, for example, (and has been) marred by precipitous failures elsewhere, such as in Darfur, Sudan, as well as with the AU’s marginalisation by Nato in the Libyan conflict.”

In 2003, civil war broke out in Darfur, leading to the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians. In 2006, a peace deal was signed between the parties through the assistance of the AU and in conjunction with the U.N. And in 2011, Nato assisted Libya with armed strikes during the uprising against former President Muammar Gaddafi (1969-2011). The AU had instead tried to bring a peaceful end to the rebellion and then later delayed recognising the new Libyan rulers.

Dr. Annie Chikwanha, a senior research fellow at SAIIA, agreed with Bello. She told IPS that the AU’s diplomatic approach may be designed to give member states a chance to resolve their own disputes but “experience in the countries where violent conflicts have erupted have shown that this ‘ideal’ solution does not produce the desired results.

“A more energised, collaborative and quick reaction approach is likely to yield better and more sustainable results in protecting citizens from their leaders,” she added.

Chikwanha said that the limitations placed by Chapter VIII, Article 53 of the U.N. charter, that no enforcement action shall be taken under regional arrangements or by regional agencies without prior authorisation from the UNSC, crippled the AU and made it appear ineffective.

“The AU has thus tended to appear on the scene after much of the killing (has taken place) since its diplomatic appeals would have failed to yield the desired results. Yet it has many other options it can use to prevent such catastrophes,” she said.

A lecturer of political science at the University of Zimbabwe, Professor Eldred Masunungure, echoed her arguments. “Disconnections in the institutional functioning of the different units in the AU system prevent the much-needed collaboration in resolving conflicts in general.

“Reaction time is slowed down by well-known incapacity to mobilise quickly a peace-keeping force to prevent the escalation of the conflicts and minimise civilian casualties,” Masunungure stated in a 2012 journal article, which he co-wrote with Chikwanha, titled “The African Union and Election-Related Conflicts in Africa: An Assessment and Recommendations”.

Chikwanha said that the Peace and Security Directorate within the African Union Commission was directly responsible for attaining the AU’s goal of building peace and security.

* Additional reporting by Taylor Toeka Kakala in Goma, DRC.

South Africa is leading in the scaling up of Kangaroo Mother Care, a lifesaving intervention that mothers can easily practice. Pictured here are Charlene Paul and her baby in front of their house, next to Athlone Training Stadium in Cape Town. Credit: Ann Hellman/IPS

By Stanley Karombo
JOHANNESBURG, Apr 23 2013 (IPS)

A young mother – who only wants to be identified as Karren – beamed as she nursed her newborn baby at the University of Witwatersrand’s Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, in Hillbrow, South Africa. 

It is her first pregnancy and Karren had to learn, from a qualified nurse, how to hold and care for her baby.

While Karren will soon be counting her baby’s happy milestones – first smile, first tooth, first step – each year three million children die within their first month of life from largely preventable causes such as prematurity, birth complications and infection, according to international charity Save the Children.

It is a major reason why, at the end of the year, South Africa will launch Global Newborn Action Plan, which aims to reduce the number of newborn deaths here.

But South Africa is leading in the scaling up of Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC), a lifesaving intervention that mothers can easily practice, according to Dr. Gary Darmstadt, director of family health at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“This was a paradigm-changing idea just a few years ago. No longer could we ignore the newborn period – excuses were gone. We now know of a number of simple interventions that have great potential to avert the top causes of neonatal death,” Darmastadt told IPS.

Kangaroo Mother Care is the act of holding a newborn with skin-to-skin contact. It usually facilitates breastfeeding, reduces the risk of serious infections and keeps the baby warm, thus reducing mortality of preterm infants by about half.

But these are some of the things that first-time mother Karren had to be taught. Studies estimate that if KMC was used widely with preterm babies, it could save more than 1,500 lives around the world each day.

Another critical intervention is the use of antenatal corticosteroids to help develop a preterm baby’s lungs so that he can breathe on his own. It is widely used in high-income countries with an estimated 90 percent coverage of indicated cases of women in preterm labour. If its use spreads in middle and low-income countries, it can save more than 1,000 newborn lives across the globe daily.

Darmstadt said that despite remarkable changes in the levels of understanding of newborn mortality and prevention methods, newborns continue to die and now account for more than 40 percent of all under five deaths.

“The number of newborns who die in sub-Saharan Africa has actually gone up in recent years, even while child and maternal deaths have fallen.”

In fact, an increase in preventing mother-to-child transmission and in paediatric HIV care and treatment services has made significant inroads in reducing under five mortality in South Africa.

But progress is hampered by weak health systems in heavily-affected countries, according to Dr. Lee Fairlie, a paediatrician at the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute (WRHI).

“HIV prevention has received increased attention. Child mortality has also benefited from progress in addressing HIV. However, more attention to postnatal feeding support is needed,” Fairlie said.

She also noted that there was a reduction in colliding epidemics such as HIV and tuberculosis; chronic illness and mental health; injury and violence; and maternal, neonatal, and child health. She also added that there was a 3.5 percent reduction in the mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

South Africa now has the world’s largest programme of antiretroviral therapy, and some advances have been made with the implementation of new TB diagnostics, and treatment scale-up and integration.

Dr. Vivian Black of the WRHI told IPS that the country’s health system still faces many challenges, including a shortage of health staff and an ineffective data collection system by health officials that could result in deaths going unrecorded. She pointed out that South Africa’s health authorities were negligent in failing to collect appropriately detailed information about maternal mortality that could guide policy.

“Some of the women don’t know their rights as patients. We have to encourage women to know their rights,” said Black.

But what can South Africa learn from other Sub-Saharan Africa countries?

Koki Agarwal, director of the Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program (MCHIP), a programme funded by the United States Agency for International Development, told IPS that South Africa can learn from the successes of other countries like Rwanda and Malawi in terms of reducing infant mortality. These countries have also introduced community health workers who monitor pregnant women and collect data on pre- and post-neonatal deaths.

South Africa needs to accelerate progress in newborn survival by galvanising efforts to mobilise governments, donors, local partners and communities to make newborn deaths a top priority.

Darmstadt concurred. He said Malawi’s health delivery system had the support of President Joyce Banda, who has “done a lot in providing primary health care as well as supporting KMC.”

Rwanda has also had great success in reducing maternal and child deaths. Because of a programme that encourages Rwandan women to seek antenatal care with skilled health practitioners and interventions like KMC, Rwanda is on track to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health.

There are eight MDGs, which were adopted by all U.N. member states in 2000 in order to curb poverty, disease and gender inequality.

Agarwal, an internationally renowned expert in safe motherhood and reproductive health who is also vice president of Jhiego, an affiliate of John Hopkins University, said nutrition interventions helped improve the chances of newborn survival.

“A woman’s nutritional status before and during pregnancy helps to define her own health, nutritional status and the survival of her baby at birth and beyond,” she said. “We know that encouraging women to come into care early in their pregnancy, ensuring they know their HIV status, and having them linked to appropriate interventions is the first step in eliminating mother-to-child transmission.”

Agarwal added that in Kenya, MCHIP was working to “guide mobilisation of community health workers in bringing pregnant women – and later their infants – into care.”

Opposition parties questioned the move to deploy the South African National Defence Force to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Credit: GovernmentZA/ /CC by 2.0

By Stanley Karombo
JOHANNESBURG, Apr 12 2013 (IPS)

Kholekile Dlamini has been devastated by the death of her son Xolani Dlamini, a South African National Defence Force soldier who died in the Central African Republic. Like many South Africans, she had not even been aware of the SANDF deployment to the resource-rich nation.

Xolani Dlamini, 27, was killed by Séléka rebels in the Central African Republic (CAR) almost three weeks ago during a Mar. 24 coup d’état that left 13 SANDF soldiers dead, 27 wounded and one missing.

Sobbing, his mother told IPS that the surviving members of her family were “saddened and shocked” by the untimely death of “Rifleman” – as Xolani Dlamini was affectionately known.

And as the SANDF announced on Tuesday Apr. 9 that all soldiers had been officially withdrawn from CAR, the South African government has kept a tight lid on information about the controversial deployment that was allegedly carried out to prevent former President François Bozizé from being ousted by rebels.

But as South Africa’s public still remain largely unaware of the activities of the mission, news broke on Sunday Apr. 7 that the country would soon be sending troops to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Opposition parties questioned the move and demanded that President Jacob Zuma inform parliament about the details of the deployment.

Professor Shadrack Gutto, a constitutional law expert at the University of South Africa, told IPS that with the events in CAR “still fresh in everyone’s minds, the rebels in the DRC will take advantage of this.”

South Africa agreed to send the troops after a March resolution by the United Nations Security Council called for the deployment of an intervention brigade in the DRC. The offensive aims to neutralise rebels, including the M23 rebel group, in eastern DRC.

“The president should come clean on the issue. He is obliged to tell the public the reasons for the deployment of the SANDF in CAR, rather than hide behind the facade of protecting national interests,” Gutto said.

However, South African presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj told IPS that parliament had been informed of the CAR deployment, and that the public’s right to know was taken into account. He said that on every occasion when deploying the SANDF, the president did so in line with constitutional requirements and informed parliament. He added that the president would continue to follow the constitutional requirements when deploying South African soldiers.

While SANDF spokesperson Brigadier Xolani Mabanga confirmed to IPS that South Africa would deploy more troops to the DRC by the end of April, he would not disclose how many.

But the military-hardened M23 rebel group tweeted that they would retaliate if they were attacked by the SANDF. Mabanga responded, saying that the SANDF would not be “deterred to carry out their international obligations because of an internet message. The SANDF will be ready to execute any task assigned to them.”

Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports by opposition parties have suggested that the CAR deployment was initiated to guard the ruling African National Congress’s (ANC) mining interests. The ANC has denied the allegation.

For five years, undisclosed numbers of SANDF soldiers assisted in propping up the fragile CAR government. The South African government said that this had been part of a bilateral agreement with the CAR government, signed in 2007 and renewed in 2012, to provide training to the CAR presidential guard.

David Zounmenou, Central Africa specialist at the Institute for Security Studies, told IPS that many observers believe “this is far from reality” and accused South Africa of deploying troops because of mining concessions.

“It is still difficult to verify the accuracy of these observations. The context in which the deployment took place was problematic. Bozizé was attacked by a coalition of rebel groups. And even though regional partners such as Chad, Gabon and Cameroon moved in early to stop the progress of the movement and forced them into negotiation, Bozizé had lost confidence in the regional mechanisms,” said Zounmenou.

“His initiative to invite South Africa in (to defend against the rebels) was not well appreciated. Indeed, with South Africa’s presence, he thought he was no longer vulnerable, became arrogant and disregarded the peace deal concluded in Libreville.”

Séléka had launched an offensive against Bozizé’s rule last December. It resulted in the Libreville Agreement, a peace accord signed in January between Séléka and Bozizé’s government.

However, Zounmenou believes that South Africa still has a role to play in peace-keeping missions on the continent.

But he warned that the country should always seek an international mandate from the U.N. before deploying and should operate within regional arrangements.

“South Africa also has to make sure that there is a peace to keep and that soldiers are sufficiently equipped to protect themselves,” he said.

But a question remains: What is the way forward for CAR?

Zounmenou said that CAR has an opportunity to chart a new course that breaks with the past remedies of electing coup leaders into democratically-elected governments.

On Apr. 4, the regional body, the Economic Community of Central African States, refused to recognise CAR coup leader Michel Djotodia as the country’s self-proclaimed president and made proposals to return the country to democratic order. The African Union (AU) also refused to recognise Djotodia’s power grab.

There is likely to be an 18-month transition period, which could see Djotodia filling the role as transitional president.

Alternatively, he could be elected as the transitional president and required to give up power after the period ends. According to the AU, coup leaders and leaders of transition governments should not be part of the electoral process.

But Zounmenou doubts if the latter will take place.