South Sudan's civil war has caused 400,000 deaths

South Sudan’s civil war has caused the death of almost 400,000 people since 2013, an estimated half of whom died violently, a new report has estimated.

Most of the deaths occurred in north-east and southern regions of the country, peaking between 2016 and 2017, according to a scientific study published by The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine on Wednesday.

The findings of the latest study suggest that aid to South Sudan must be strengthened, the authors say.

“It is clear that the war has severely affected the health of the South Sudanese population, and that the humanitarian response to the crisis has been insufficient,” said Francesco Checchi, professor of epidemiology and international health at the London School of Hygiene.

South Sudan achieved independence in January 2011, the outcome of an agreement to end Africa’s longest running civil war.

But the optimism attached to the birth of a new nation quickly faded and by 2013 South Sudan had devolved into its own civil war.

A series of ceasefire agreements have failed to bring lasting peace. Ahead of the latest power-sharing agreement reached in July between President Salva Kiir and his deputy-turned-rebel leader Riek Machar, the US expressed skepticism that it would last.

"We are deeply concerned about the direction of the current peace process," the White House said in a statement.

South Sudan's political leaders “have not demonstrated the leadership required to bring genuine peace,” the statement continued. “We remain skeptical that they can oversee a peaceful and timely transition to democracy and good governance.”

The civil war has displaced more than four million civilians from their homes, over a third of the overall population. Two-thirds of the population are severely food insecure, and the humanitarian response in South Sudan is one of the largest worldwide, targeting six million people.

Professor Checchi said he hoped the study would spur action on one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. “Our estimates illuminate the human cost of the war and should spur warring parties and international actors to seek lasting conflict resolution.”

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South Sudan soldiers jailed for murder and rape in 2016 hotel raid

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Tuesday's fixtures

Group A

Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm

Iran v Uzbekistan, 8pm

N Korea v UAE, 10.15pm

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Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.

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Three ways to limit your social media use

Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.

1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.

2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.

3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.

'Brazen'

Director: Monika Mitchell

Starring: Alyssa Milano, Sam Page, Colleen Wheeler

Rating: 3/5

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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