OCHA Situation Report
Russian Federation Information Bulletin
September 2004 Report
16 October 2004


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

I HIGHLIGHTS
International Aid Community Helps Beslan Victims

Humanitarian agencies represented in the North Caucasus (UN, ICRC and
NGOs) responded immediately to the tragic events in Beslan, North Ossetia
with relief items from available stocks in the area. On 3-4 September they
dispatched to hospitals in Beslan and Vladikavkaz medicines, first aid and
emergency surgery kits, blankets, mattresses, drinking water and other
items. WHO updated twice a day a list of incoming donations and provided
feedback to donors, along with conducting twice a day hospital assessments
in Beslan and Vladikavkaz. WHO also gave emergency funds to the Serbsky
Institute to provide psychologist and psychiatric posttraumatic care to
hostages and their families, the renovation of the Ministry of Health
medical and social psychological rehabilitation centre, in Vladikavkaz.
The UN remains in contact with the Government, ready to consider
addressing further needs.

Government Commission on Humanitarian Affairs the Sole Chechnya
Coordination Contact

An Inter-Agency mission to Grozny was conducted on 23 September 2004,
including UNDP, UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, WHO, UNSECOORD, OCHA and two donor
representatives from Sweden. The mission met Vice Prime-Minister of
Chechnya Ms. Belkiz Baidaeva and a number of deputy ministers and senior
officials from Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of
Economy, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Interior, and Migration Service.
The objective of the meeting was to resume regular coordination contacts
after a period of limited interaction due to insecurity. UN
representatives made brief presentations sector by sector on the status of
humanitarian operations and intentions for CAP 2005. Ms. Baidaeva
explained that the existing Government Commission on Humanitarian Affairs,
which she chairs, will be the sole coordination mechanism to liaise with
the humanitarian community. The posts of First Deputy Chairman and Deputy
Chairman have been introduced, taken respectively by Mr. Ahmed Ismailov,
Advisor to President Alu Alkhanov, and Mr. Mompasha Matchuev, who is also
the Chairman of the Chechen Committee on Forced Migrants. A division of
the latter committee with 9 staff members will act as Secretariat of the
Commission.

UN Missions into Chechnya Resume Apace

Seven missions to Chechnya were conducted by the UN in September. This was
a return to target levels following over two months of scaled back mission
scheduling. Among the September missions were agency operational missions
and a monitoring and coordination mission that included Mr. Lars-Gunnar
Wigemark, Minister of the Swedish Embassy in Moscow, and Mr. Richard
Cewers of SIDA.

II HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

Protection

As of 30 September 2004, a total of 43,133 internally displaced persons
from Chechnya (9,766 families) were registered for assistance in
Ingushetia in the database of the Danish Refugee Council (DRC). Of this
total, 16,720 persons were in Temporary Settlements (TS), and 26,413 in
private accommodation. From 1-30 September, the Chechen Forced Migrants
Committee reported the organized return of 272 persons (62 de-registered
in Ingushetia and registered for assistance in Chechnya). In addition,
UNHCR's implementing partner, Vesta reported 299 individual returns and 17
from Chechnya to Ingushetia. Vesta's Legal Counseling Center and Memorial,
UNHCR more partners, continued to provide assistance to IDPs for inclusion
on the Migration Department (MD) beneficiaries' lists as well as on
reported abductions and unlawful detentions. During the first two weeks of
September, 10 IDP cases obtained positive court decisions on restoration
in the MD beneficiary database. Vesta lawyers and UNHCR Protection staff
continued visiting temporary settlements in Ingushetia, informing IDPs
about their basic civil rights in accordance with RF legislation. As a
result, numbers of IDPs who approached Passport and Visa Service offices
to receive the sojourn registration as well as the MD of Ingushetia for
collection of food obligation increased.

Food

WFP distributed about 656 MT of food commodities among 58,929
beneficiaries in Ingushetia through DRC and Islamic Relief (IR) and some
938 MT - among 98,604 beneficiaries in Grozny Rural, Achkoi-Martan and
Sunzha districts of Chechnya through DRC, People in Need (PIN) and IR. DRC
distributed food parcels for 67,043 people in Chechnya (1,855 out of them
are returnees) and 37,548 people in Ingushetia. WFP through cooperating
partners DRC, Caritas Internationalis, Center for Peacekeeping and
Community Development (CPCD), Hilfswerk Austria (HWA), IR, Open Continent,
PIN and World Vision continued the school-feeding programme. The partners
to the schools delivered the food requirements for the rest of September
and also October by the end of September. In total, WFP partners
distributed 646 MT of food for the school feeding programme, which in
September was assisting 74,753 children in nine districts of Chechnya.
Four new preschool institutions were included in the programme at the
request of Ministry of Education. WFP's main partner in Food for Work
(FFW) programme in Chechnya, PIN, distributed about 363 MT of food
commodities to 12,695 beneficiaries who participated in the programme in
August. DRC food parcels were distributed among 12,750 school-children and
237 pre-school age children in Chechnya. PIN continued FFW projects that
were mainly focused on environmental improvement with about 13,500
beneficiaries implementing the activities in Chechnya. A pilot Food for
Training (FFT) project was continued by a new WFP CP, the local NGO
Women's Dignity, aimed at providing support to women who have experienced
psychological trauma and who are also economically underprivileged.
WFP-supplied food will be provided to 60 women after they have completed
the full course. Caritas Internationalis continued providing hot meals for
the most vulnerable population (newly increased to 1,600 beneficiaries
with the inclusion of a further 100 beneficiaries from the Association for
the Blind) in Grozny city. In September, WFP released some 13 MT of food
commodities to support this project.

Shelter

During September, UNHCR provided 76 box-tents to IDP families voluntarily
returning to Chechnya. Since the beginning of the program 708 box tents
have been distributed for Chechnya. A further 18 box tents were provided
to IDP families choosing to remain in Ingushetia. IRC conducted an
assessment of the destruction level of 60 houses and the Karbek sports
complex in the Oktyabrskiy district in Grozny, this will help determine
which houses qualify for a new shelter program. As for IRC shelter
activities in Ingushetia, maintenance work was conducted in the following
temporary settlements: Dzeyt, Tanzila, MTF, Sosnovy Bor and Aushev&=D1i -
Nazran, IngAvto and Agrosnab - Karabulak, MTF - Nasyr-kort, garages
Oskanova - Sleptsovsk, HPP and GUP Ingushskay a Plievo. Maintenance work
included the repair of roofs, walls, partitions, adjustment of floors and
laying gravel.

Health

UNICEF continues to monitor the immunization coverage and vaccine supply
in Chechnya and Ingushetia, including Grozny and Achkhoy-Martan district
as well as Nazran. The Chechen MoH carried out an immunization campaign
for measles, which covered only 68,737 children up to 4 years old, out of
a planned total of 103,766 (69.6% coverage) in Chechnya, due to the
shortage of vaccines. In cooperation with Hammer Forum and the Republican
Centre for Disease Prevention (RCDP) in Nazran UNICEF trained 399 women
residing in TACs in Grozny and 230 women from two temporary settlements in
Ingushetia under its Mother Empowerment Programme. The RCDP also reached
400 resident and IDP women in Nasyr-Kort village in Ingushetia. During the
sessions, each mother received brochures on breast-feeding practices and a
kit of soap and medical consumables. WHO donated Syphilis test systems,
condoms, and awareness literature to the Republican Aids Centre in Grozny
and Nazran and conducted an HIV/AIDS strategic meeting with the
representatives of the MoH of Chechnya/MoH of Ingushetia, UN agencies
representatives and NGO community to plan a survey on HIV/drug abuse in
Chechnya and organization of the World AIDS Day in Grozny. WHO continues
to support local NGOs "Serlo" and "Let's Save the Generation" (LSG) in
catering for adolescent mine victims and children in need of psychosocial
rehabilitation and WHO/WFP joint activity on regular provision of
supplementary food to patients of the TB hospital in Nazran. International
Medical Corps - IMC continued the implementation of its Emergency Care
Programs for IDPs in Chechnya and Ingushetia, serving by Curative, Child
Wellness and Pre-Natal Care Units 77 Temporary Settlements with 15, 346
IDPs (among them 1,843 children under 5) and 10 rural centres with 19,270
IDPs and 98,875 local inhabitants (among them 10,834 children under 5) as
indirect beneficiaries in Ingushetia, and 12 rural centres in Chechnya
with 7,669 IDPs and 59,608 local inhabitants. 18, 891 consultations were
performed by IMC Mobile Medical Teams - among them 11,684 curative care
visits and 2,840 pre-natal and 4,367 preventive care/monitoring
consultations for children under 5. IMC Emergency Care training teams
carried out 8 courses for IDP groups in Ingushetia.

Education

In September the UNICEF-supported rehabilitation was completed on one
kindergarten and 3 primary/secondary schools in Grozny, Shaami-Yurt,
Martan-Chu and Shalazhi villages of Urus-Martan district, Chechnya. Owing
to the programme, 1,450 children gained access to schools and 60 children
- to kindergartens. The rehabilitation of 8 additional schools in
Sernovodsk, Davydenko, Goyskoye, Oiskhar, Hambi-Erzi, Vedutchi, Ushkaloy
villages and Grozny - as well as of three kindergartens - is ongoing.
Through its implementing partners ARD, CPCD, HWA and PIN, as well as owing
to the Chechen and Ingush Ministries of Education, UNICEF proceeded with
the distribution of educational materials: 855,934 stationery items, 6,441
sets of Chechen textbooks and exercise books for 1st grade students. Over
10,000 posters on the Convention of the Rights of the Child, which had
been developed by UNICEF and World Vision International, were distributed
to regular and IDP schools in Ingushetia, schools in Chechnya as well as
to regional Education Departments. In addition, 20,331 recreational and
sport items were distributed to ECE centres, kindergartens and
primary/secondary schools in Chechnya and Ingushetia. Throughout
September, IRC conducted individual and group psychosocial therapy for
children, youth, parents and teachers in five schools in Chechnya. As part
of its informal psychosocial activities, IRC, along with 30 local sport
club volunteers, also organized sports activities in ten schools in
Chechnya in which 420 students participated and 590 attended.
Additionally, 3 - 4 youth clubs function in each school with 600 children
in attendance. IRC also continued its training sessions for psychosocial
counsellors and teachers on specific methods in psychosocial therapy for
children and youth. Also, this month IRC initiated a psychosocial
newspaper, which was distributed to teachers and parents. IRC's
implementing partner Vesta continued a vocational training programme on
the topics of accounting, English language, computer and tailoring in
which 70 youth were enrolled.

Water and Sanitation

UNICEF and the Polish Humanitarian Organization (PHO) continued the
purification (by 4 water treatment units) and distribution (at 180 points)
of safe drinking water to 90,000 residents in Grozny. A total of 16 trucks
delivered water on a daily basis to 26 health care facilities, 56
educational facilities and 98 other distribution points, including TACs
and residential areas. Water distribution has been conducted with an
average daily capacity of 583 cubic metres. IRC continued water delivery
in the Oktyabrskiy district of Grozny with a fleet of five trucks and
evaluated the condition of the existing water tanks and bladders. IRC also
conducted an evaluation of 100 of a total 225 latrines, which had
previously been built in Chechnya. IRC also began negotiations with
Grozvodokanal to set priorities for future assistance in water network
rehabilitation. IRC handed over three 5m3 water bladders to UNHCR for
installation in TAC's in Grozny. Water delivery and garbage and sewage
removal from IDP settlements continued. Maintenance of water points in
temporary settlements was conducted. IRC installed a 4,2 m3 water tank in
Plievo, and a 2 m3 water tank in the Kolosok kindergarten in
Sleptsovskaya, Ingushetia.

Mine Action

>From the beginning of the new school year, MRE instructors from NGO
"Voice of the Mountains" (VoM) resumed their sessions in schools of
Chechnya. During September, three teams of VoM have been working in four
schools in Shali district, covering 1,238 students, and in schools of
Borzoy and Aslambek Sheripov of Shatoy district, covering about 543
students. The State Chechen Theatre conducted one MRE drama presentation
for the population of Gekhi-Chu village in Urus-Martan district in
Chechnya. Approximately 300 children and adults participated in the show.
The Theatre and the local NGO "Let's Save the Generation" have reported
that 3 drama circles with 30 children involved, two in Gekhi-Chu and one
in Urus-Martan, have been created and local children have been rehearsing
MRE drama performances. As of end-September, 717 children under-18 have
been killed or injured by mines/UXO in Chechnya since 1995, according to
the UNICEF-supported victim incident database, IMSMA (Information
Management System for Mine Action).

Produced by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA)

Tel: (7095) 956-6405
Fax: (7095) 956-6355
e-mail: rezanov@un.org

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