OCHA Situation Report No. 13
Cote d'Ivoire
8 August 2005


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

I. Political and security situation

The pre-regrouping phase that was due to start on Sunday 31 July 2005 -
as per timeframe for the implementation of the Demobilisation,
Disarmament and Reintegration (DDR) process - did not take place, as
retaliation against the laws revised and adopted by presidential decree
on 15 July 2005. Forces Nouvelles do not consider these laws to be in
compliance with what agreed at the Pretoria Summit of 29 June 2005 and
contend that their content that was originally agreed upon has been
modified.

According to UNOCI Human Rights Division, on 22 July 2005 Defence and
Security Forces (FDS) patrolling in Duekoue discovered in a house three
rifles, a revolver, a camera and video tapes on military operations. Two
people were handed over to the public prosecutor's department in Daloa
for further investigation. The curfew initially set at 10 PM in Duekoue
was set back to 8 PM by military authorities. According to CIVPOL, an
armed attack perpetrated by four assailants on 25 July 2005 in a camp
near Glapoudi village (Guiglo-Blolequin road) caused two deaths (a
two-year-old and a three-year-old) and injured four people (a
nine-month-old baby, two women and a young man). The wounded were
treated at the Guiglo Hospital by MSF-France.

On Sunday 24 July 2005, Forces Nouvelles Secretary General promoted to
the rank of Brigadier General former Colonel Soumaila Bakayoko, Head of
FAFN and Colonel Michel Gueu, Minister for Sports. The Zone Heads were
also raised to the rank of Commander.

II. Humanitarian Situation

Humanitarian access

Movement of humanitarian workers along the various transit corridors has
become easier. However, already precarious conditions of roads and
bridges have become worst due to the rainy season. This makes it very
hard - sometimes even impossible - to ensure the provision of
humanitarian assistance to some western parts of the country, such as
the departments of Zou and Danane, in the 18 Mountains Region and the
Chantier Colonel area, in the Moyen Cavally Region. FAO is experiencing
serious difficulties in distributing agricultural inputs needed for the
current planting season.

IDP movements

There were about 3500 IDPs at the Duekoue catholic mission in the period
covered by the present report. IDPs from Fengolo who live either at the
Duekoue catholic mission or with host families are estimated to be 3000.
They have expressed their desire to return to their home areas but on
condition that their houses are rebuilt and/or rehabilitated. As of 29
July 2005, the managing committee of the Mie Gou Centre in Yamoussoukro
recorded approximately 619 displaced people of which 200 wish to return
to their home villages if security conditions are met and if assistance
-- in the form of basic items (" return kits") -- is provided.

Water and Sanitation

On July 28 2005, the NGO Solidarites officially handed over to HCR
relevant new water and sanitation and waste disposal facilities for the
Liberian refugees in the Peace Town camp in Guiglo. Such facilities
include two school latrine units, an incinerator and gutters. In
addition, twenty-five pumps, 74 latrines, 61 bathrooms, 1600 m of
gutters were also rehabilitated. Three waste disposal sites were also
rehabilitated and hygiene sensitisation campaigns were carried out. The
Peace Town refugee community will be responsible for the maintenance of
the facilities and for the implementation of sanitation-related
activities together with CARITAS, HCR's operational partner organization
in charge of this project.

CARE International indicated that 9 companies appointed for the
construction of 38 garbage dump sites in the town of Bouake have started
the construction works in the period covered by the present report.

Health, incl. Nutrition and HIV/AIDS

The NGO IDE Africa trained 480 "pupils-fathers/-educators" in Danane as
part of its action strategy against HIV/AIDS. This training activity
will be extended next week in Danane to include 200 more children who
were involved in or associated with the armed forces in various ways
(i.e. the so called "enfants associes"). Moreover, IDE Africa identified
200 HIV-infected people and 150 orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in
Man. With the support of CARE International, IDE Africa will care also
for people with opportunist diseases. Finally, this NGO received condoms
from MSF/Holland in support of its door-to-door and mass sensitisation
activities in the Danane region where 130 HIV-infected people and 90
orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) were reported.

>From 25 to 30 July 2005, nineteen Caritas (Diocesan Office for Human
Promotion) Supervisors and 108 Community Agents from 93 villages in the
sub-prefectures of Danane, Semien and Kouibly were trained by Helen
Keller International (HKI) and UNICEF in the fight against
onchocercosis.

OFDA has renewed its funding support to Save the Children-U.K. mobile
clinic program in Guiglo and Blolequin. Thanks to these new funds Save
the Children-U.K. will be able to resume the mobile clinic activities
suspended since March 2005 in the department of Grabo.

A meeting of all humanitarian agencies involved in food security and
nutrition interventions was held on 25 July 2005 to examine the reported
cases of malnutrition at the Therapeutic Nutrition Centre (TNC) in Man.
The humanitarian agencies decided to plan joint curative and preventive
activities in Bangolo and northern Danane where most of the cases
reported at the TNC originate from. Furthermore, ACF and MSF/Belgium
received food supplies from WFP to assist malnourished children treated
at Supplementary Nutrition Centres (SNCs) of Zouan Hounien, Bin houye
and Teapleu and at the TNCs of Man and Zouan Hounien.

Protection

During the reporting period, 900 Liberian refugees from Guiglo and Tabou
have voluntarily chosen to return to Liberia. The repatriation convoys
organized by HCR to this purpose headed to the regions of Maryland and
Nimba. To date, 8336 Liberian refugees have been repatriated from Cote
d'Ivoire since September 2004, with the support of HCR.

ECHO and KRAFT (an American company operating in Cote d'Ivoire) have
recently renewed their funding to Save the Children-U.K. for its project
targeting children involved in or associated with the armed forces
("enfants associes"). Thanks to these new grants Save the Children-U.K.
is planning to open new sites for its informal education activities in
the villages of Tinhou, Meo, Klaon, Sehibli, Pekanbli, and Zeaglo. In
addition, as part of its UNICEF-funded Cross-Border Monitoring Program,
Save the Children-U.K. carried out a project for the protection of
vulnerable children in 27 border villages in the Moyen Cavally and 18
Mountains Regions, together with 5 NGOs and 12 protection committees.

On Monday 25 July 2005, ICRC/Bouake conducted an induction course on
International Humanitarian Law for 32 WFP field staff from Bouake,
Bondoukou and Korhogo.

Education

IOM plans to rehabilitate a school building -- three classrooms, an
office for the Headmaster and a warehouse at the Nicla primary school -
to allow the enrolment of children from the IDP Temporary Hosting Centre
(CATD) into the first grade for the school year 2005-2006. The project
includes the construction of a school canteen equipped with a kitchen to
make the school eligible for the WFP school canteen program.

As reported by the School Rescue Committee in FN-controlled areas, the
Regional Director of National Education (RDNE) was in Korhogo from 22 to
29 July 2005. The Committee assisted the RDNE in collecting data on the
schools in the region for the preparation of the upcoming examinations
that are expected to take place in August 2005.

Food security

IOM distributed non-food items received from HCR to 446 returnees in
Guitrozon, one of the two villages affected by the incidents occurred in
Duekoue at the beginning of June 2005. HCR will continue providing
non-food items to future returnees in Guitrozon reported by IOM.
Moreover, WFP provided food assistance to 3583 IDPs currently sheltered
at the catholic mission in Duekoue and renewed its commitment to assist
future registered returnees in Fengolo.

On 29 July 2005, WFP/Man started the distribution of seeds and seed
protection rations to households in the towns of Sipilou and Facobly and
in surrounding villages and provided food supplies to the national NGO
IDE Africa (Initiative - Developpement - Africa) to assist 150
households affected by HIV/AIDS.

PAM/Korhogo's Lean Season Program implemented in partnership with
thirteen women associations and seven NGOs of the region started in the
second week of July 2005. The program aims at distributing 3074 tons of
foodstuffs to 4178 farmers in different vulnerable areas of Korhogo,
Tengrela, Ferke and Boundiali. Moreover, in June PAM/Korhogo started a
programme in support of subsistence production activities and
livelihoods in the towns of Korhogo and Ferke, in partnership with the
NGO Animation Rurale de Korhogo (ARK).
>From June to August 2005, 76 tons of foodstuffs, small tools,
fertilizers and corn seeds will be distributed each month to about 1000
farmers. ARK provided also hollow-rice seeds, small tools and
fertilizers to 1000 farmers.

In the second quarter of the year 2005-2006, FAO/Guiglo initiated a food
security program aimed at providing hollow-rice and corn to vulnerable
populations. The program targeted 3029 extremely vulnerable households,
more than one third of which are headed by women. FAO/Man carried out
also a post-distribution survey on 20% of beneficiary households in
Semien, Sipilou, Danane and Logouale. The preliminary results of the
study indicate that between 90 and 95% of the beneficiaries actually
planted the seeds they received. This positive outcome was made possible
by WFP action that contributed significantly to discourage the use of
planting seeds for human consumption.

III. Humanitarian Coordination

The project "Rehabilitation of water points self-managed by village
communities and improvement of knowledge, attitudes and practices on
hygiene and health" will soon be launched by Action Contre la Faim (ACF)
in the department of Korhogo. OCHA/Korhogo and the NGOs of the UNICEF
DHH (Human Hydraulics Management)-NGO partnership network are providing
technical support in the identification of villages to be targeted by
the ACF project in order to avoid duplications with other water and
sanitation activities implemented in the same region with the support of
UNICEF.

IV. Resource mobilization (at 31 July 2005)

No further contributions reported by the Financial Tracking Service
(FTS)

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