Humanitarian news from Southern Sudan: Monthly digest - Feb 2007

Executive Summary

A severe meningitis outbreak has spread in several areas in Southern Sudan. Humanitarian partners are supporting the Government in the response. But some activities, such as returns and certain food distribution operations, have had to be temporarily halted. The cessation of hostilities agreement between the Government of Uganda and the "Lord's Resistance Army" (LRA) expired on 28 February, raising concerns of new insecurity

Although no serious attacks on humanitarian workers have been signalled in February, security incidents were reported in several states. In Jamam town (Upper Nile State), local tensions have reportedly resulted in 281 homes being burned and over 800 being looted. Three hundred households were left homeless and scattered in nearby villages, and some 1,000 were rendered highly vulnerable - both groups in urgent need of food aid and non-food items (NFIs).

Relief International and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the area are to conduct an inter-agency assessment in early March. The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has stocks of NFIs in Malakal, as well as education supplies, ready to be dispatched as needed; while the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) has already re-supplied the local clinic with medicines.

In some areas of Jonglei State, sporadic attacks by cattle raiders are still reported by villagers. On 18 February, in the village of Lualdit, gunshots were reportedly fired following one of these attacks, leaving one attacker dead.

The Cessation of Hostilities Agreement between the Government of Uganda and the "Lord's Resistance Army" (LRA) expired on 28 February. The next visit of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for LRA-affected areas, Joaquim Chissano, to the region is viewed as the possibility to move the peace talks forward. The talks aim at ending two decades of war and humanitarian crisis in Uganda; if they fail, this could have security and humanitarian implications for Southern Sudan, the Central African Republic (CAR), and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Meningitis continues to be of great concern. The outbreak has reached the epidemic threshold in several areas of Southern Sudan. From 29 January to 25 February, 1,194 cases of suspected meningitis were reported, leading to 60 known deaths, with a Case Fatality Rate (CFR) over this period of 5.03 %. This compares favourably with 1,049 suspected cases and 114 deaths reported in January [from 01 to 28 January], when the CFR was 10.87 %. This suggests that the response of the Government and the international community, through prevention and treatment, is working. The surveillance system has severe limitations however, which poses a major obstacle to a clear analysis of the epidemiological situation.

Over 100,000 people have so far been vaccinated in Southern Sudan (in particular in Warrap and Central Equatoria states). Humanitarian organizations in support of the Ministry of Health (MoH), are ensuring that necessary doses of vaccine are obtained. An application for provision of vaccines has been raised through the World Health Organization (WHO) with the International Coordinating Group (ICG) on vaccine provision in Geneva, for nearly 300,000 doses to cover five payams [districts] in four states (Central and Eastern Equatoria, Lakes, and Warrap), and an application from Médecins Sans Frontiéres - France (MSF-F) was submitted to the ICG for a further 300,000 doses to cover areas of Northern Bahr el-Ghazal State. Over 500,000 further doses have been requested by WHO and MSF-F, from ICG, to cover three payams of Juba County. In partnership with NGOs on the ground, WHO leads the effort so that all relevant organizations produce timely standard reports and surveillance data formats distributed by the MoH. A two-day training programme on outbreak investigation and response, conducted by WHO and the MoH, has been planned for 02 to 03 March, for surveillance focal points from all ten states. Through the Emergency Response Fund (ERF), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is ensuring that emergency response will be supported by funding projects for an amount between USD 60,000 to 80,000. As disease transmission is more common during the dry season, there are fears that it will continue to claim lives this year until May or June; it is hoped that thanks to the current efforts, the Government and humanitarian actors will be in a position to provide vaccination and treatment to the extents required.

Cases of acute watery diarrhoea (AWD), which may include cholera, continue to be reported almost exclusively in Central and Eastern Equatoria states, and in Upper Nile State. As of 04 March, 1,123 cases had been reported since the beginning of the year, with 29 deaths. In Juba, Médecins Sans Frontiéres - Spain (MSF-E) has almost completed the set up of a cholera treatment centre. Preventing the spread of the disease is the first priority for the agencies supporting the Government. The United Nations and partners are stepping up the prevention, including through chlorination of water tankers in Juba and Malakal as a first step.

The Annual Needs and Livelihoods Assessment (ANLA) for Southern Sudan led by the World Food Programme (WFP) was released in February; it indicates that food security should improve in 2007, with a 19 percent drop in food aid requirements from last year. This happened thanks to favourable rainfall and to new markets opening. The WFP estimates that 108,000 MT of food aid will still be required by 1.3 million people in the year; 60 % of which will be required by the chronically food insecure households during the April to July "hunger season".

In February, WFP was due to assist 159,646 beneficiaries with 3,641 metric tonnes (MT) of food, in various locations throughout Southern Sudan. Unfortunately, general food distribution had to be suspended in Northern Bahr el-Ghazal State due to the outbreak of meningitis: a government decree currently prevents people from gathering in one place, which halted WFP food distribution. In preparation for the rainy season, WFP is expanding its storage capacity to ensure that 42,000 MT of food are pre-positioned as close as possible to beneficiaries, based on predicted needs, and especially in areas that will become inaccessible during the rainy season.

The OCHA has continued training in February of "Emergency Response Teams" (ERTs) at state level. ERTs will be composed of national and international staff of humanitarian agencies and organizations, and the state government will be expected to be in charge of coordinating relief efforts in the event of natural and human-made disasters. During the month, two ERT trainings took place, targeting 30 team members from four states.

In its efforts for the protection of the most vulnerable, the United Nations organized on 20 February a one-day workshop on the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA). After claims of sexual abuse by international humanitarian staff, in particular against children, the workshop was aimed at promoting awareness of how to prevent and respond to alleged cases of SEA. The Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) and the United Nations are to set up a task force to address the problem, through the establishment of monitoring and reporting mechanisms, as well as awareness campaigns.

February saw the first organized returns in 2007 of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Khartoum and neighbouring areas to the South, with close to 1,000 IDPs arriving to Unity State out of the 6,600 expected. The journey from Khartoum takes three days, with overnight stops at way stations in Kosti and Kadugli. Reception committees established by the local authorities and communities, with support from international organizations, were in place to welcome returnees. Many residents gathered along the route singing and cheering to welcome the IDPs back home. A way station is being established in the state capital Bentiu to provide overnight assistance to returnees, which will allow the return of IDPs to areas further south in Unity State. The Government, along with the United Nations and partners, plan to assist up to 90,000 IDPs to return from the north (excluding Darfur) to the South during 2007.

Three other organized return operations of IDPs are planned for 2007 in Southern Sudan. For the operation from Wau County (Western Bahr el-Ghazal State) to Warrap State, registration started on 23 February. The movement will start over the next weeks, and will see the return of approximately 10,000 IDPs. The return of IDPs from South Darfur to Northern Bahr el-Ghazal State will begin in early March, as it has been delayed due to wet road conditions, and to the need to vaccinate IDPs against meningitis prior to the operation. In the return of ethnic Dinka IDPs from the Equatoria States to Bor (Jonglei State), a second movement took place on 02 February by barge chartered by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), carrying 312 IDPs.

The road between Aweil and Meiram in South Darfur has been nearly completed. The new road will make Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal State accessible throughout the year from Northern Sudan; this will boost local economic activities and improve access for humanitarian partners. This is particularly important now, as local communities prepare to receive returnees from South Darfur.

During February, organized voluntary repatriation of refugees took place from the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Kenya, numbering 876, 150, and 745 individuals respectively [up to 24 February]. Organized repatriation from Uganda is on hold due to the outbreak of meningitis in Northern Uganda. While organized repatriation from Ethiopia, which was on hold due to concerns about mine clearance of roads to be used, is due to resume on 26 February. During the month, spontaneous returns from CAR, DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda have been assisted, for a total of 803 individuals - a figure significantly lower than 2,080 such returns during January. The WFP provided food aid to over 4,000 Sudanese refugees who had returned from Ethiopia to Jonglei State, including food rations for most of the 1,035 youth, mostly male, who had spontaneously walked from Dimma Camp in Ethiopia to Boma (Jonglei State) last month.

Over 200 vulnerable people of the M'bororo ethnic group remain hosted at the Juba way station. The United Nations, IOM and partners, are finalizing preparations for their movement to Blue Nile State. There are logistic constraints however, and non-vulnerable individuals will move overland with their cattle. Immunization against measles took place in February for all members of the group aged six months to 15 years. In the north-eastern part of Southern Sudan, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) distributed 6,000 doses cattle vaccines in cattle camps ran by ethnic M'bororos.

If you have comments or questions, please contact:

Maurizio Giuliano, Public Information Officer, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Juba, Sudan

Email: giuliano@un.org

Telephone: +249-9-12179084