The Mental Health Impact of South Sudan's Conflict

Amnesty International published on 6 July 2016 a report titled "'Our Hearts Have Gone Dark': The Mental Health Impact of South Sudan's Conflict." It is available in English and Arabic.

The report describes the serious mental health impact of South Sudan's conflict to highlight the urgency that needs to be given to mental health services. It is based on interviews with 161 internally displaced South Sudanese, UN officials, donors, NGO representatives, and international and South Sudanese mental health professionals.

UN Monitoring Group Report on Somalia and Eritrea

The approved 330 page report of the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea has been released. It is my understanding that it does not differ significantly from at least two previously leaked versions of the report. The coordinator of the report was Canadian national Matt Bryden. He does not intend to coordinate the next report.

Based on the earlier leaked reports, the international press focused on two issues: massive corruption in the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the fact that Eritrea has significantly reduced its support for al-Shabaab.

For coverage of Eritrea's reduced support for al-Shabaab, click here to read Aaron Maasho's report in Reuters. For coverage of corruption in the TFG, click here to read Jason Straziuso's account in the Associated Press and click here to read the TFG's response as reported by the BBC.

If you are up to all 330 pages of the UN report, click here. It contains a wealth of information.