SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Radio Dabanga - Coronavirus: ‘Sudan needs a total lock-down for two weeks’

27/3/2020: Radio Dabanga - Coronavirus: ‘Sudan needs a total lock-down for two weeks’

 Radio Dabanga reports that Sudanese politicians and civil society activists have described the measures taken by the government to limit the spread of the coronavirus as “good, but incomplete.”

 Hafiz Ismail, the head of the NGO Justice Africa Sudan called for a two-week national lockdown, warning that the dusk-to-dawn curfew has no significant effect, given that most people leave their home in daytime.  

 The Communist Party of Sudan called for direct government support to reduce the impact of isolation measures on the informal sector, with “all capabilities of the state”, including military and security forces, utilised in combatting the spread of the coronavirus, and the ministries of Finance, Trade, Labour, Social Welfare, and Health providing funds to monitor and support vulnerable groups.

 The Communist Party also called for better inspection of workers conditions in factories, reduced working hours, and obligating business owners to heed occupational health guidelines.