OCHA Situation Report No. 4
Sudan
3 September 2007


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Headlines

Oxfam is preparing to distribute 60,000 seedlings to communities in and around
Kabkabiya (North Darfur).

UNICEF and the State Ministry of Education reported increases in primary school
enrolment rates amongst children of nomadic families in North Darfur.

Key overall developments

The fifth batch of materials for humanitarian aid provided by the Chinese
Government for the conflict-affected region of Darfur was shipped on Friday 25
August from the port of Tianjin in north China. The materials - worth US $5.2
million - include cross-country vehicles, ambulances, medical instruments, and
mobile houses.

The Custodian of the Two Holly Mosques, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, extended
the work of the Saudi Red Crescent in Darfur.

During the month of July and August the United Nations Radio "Miraya" produced
- and through AMIS distributed - to Sudanese State Radios in El Fasher (North
Darfur), El Geneina (West Darfur), and Nyala (South Darfur) eight episodes of
its weekly radio programme 'Darfur: The Road to Peace'. The radio program
highlights activities related to peace-building and inter-tribal relations. To
date Miraya FM has produced and distributed 36 episodes of the program.

The High Level Committee - established by the Joint Communique between the
Government of Sudan and the United Nations on the Facilitation of Humanitarian
Activities in Darfur - announced on 01 September the completion of the
Directory of Procedures for NGOs in Sudan. The finalised document will provide
clear guidance to all NGOs on operating procedures throughout the Sudan and
will facilitate the smooth and efficient operation of humanitarian NGOs in
Darfur.

Needs and response by sector

Education

UNICEF provided school materials - including plastic roof sheeting to protect
against rain - to schools in Kass (South Darfur), benefiting 14,774 school
children.

In North Darfur, UNICEF and the State Ministry of Education reported increases
in primary school enrolment rates amongst children of nomadic families.
Children enrolled in classes in 2007 have reached 15,501 (40.6% of the primary
school nomadic population), compared to an enrolment of 11,598 in 2006. UNICEF
has been providing school materials and training teachers as part of its
commitment to expand education for nomadic communities.

Food Security and Livelihoods

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) organised a programme to
vaccinate a total of 80,000 animals in two locations (Kmunga, Saga) in the
Kabkabiya area (North Darfur), which are situated on the two main migration
routes. This program is carried out in cooperation with the North Darfur
Department of Animal Resources and Fisheries and with ICRC-trained Community
Animal Health Workers (CAHW). The livestock program aims at vaccinating animals
against the most frequent diseases, including sheep pox and anthrax. In the
last two weeks, some 10,000 animals were already vaccinated and the programme
is ongoing until completion next month.

Oxfam is preparing to distribute 60,000 seedlings to communities in and around
Kabkabiya (North Darfur). However, because much of the rural area round
Kabkabiya remains inaccessible, Oxfam distributed 510 questionnaires through
community committees in these areas, to try and assess current food security
concerns.

The World Food Programme (WFP) announced that during the month of July, it
provided food assistance to 3.1 million beneficiaries in Darfur. The increased
food distribution in Darfur (up from 2.5 million in June) was in response to a
rise in vulnerability of rural residents during the pre-harvest 'hunger gap'
season.

Health and Nutrition

North Darfur

In Abu Shouk Camp, UNICEF and the State Water Corporation (SWC) undertook
hygiene education activities for 308 school children. In the camp, 30 hand
pumps were cleaned, along with 13,978 jerry cans, as part of ongoing efforts to
prevent diarrhoeal disease outbreaks. Hygiene promotion activities reached
8,582 households in the camp.

Oxfam's public health team in Abu Shouk Camp has conducted approximately 7,000
home visits in the past two weeks to promote malaria preparedness, as well as
the hygienic handling and storage of water - given the potential rise in
diarrhoea in the rainy season. Oxfam also organised a clean-up campaign in the
camp - with more than 3,000 participants - as well as a campaign to encourage
jerry can cleaning in which 6,413 jerry cans were cleaned.

The Integrated Management for Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) community component is
being strengthened in Abu Shouk Camp. The World Health Organization (WHO),
State Ministry of Health (SMoH) and INGOs working in the camps conducted a
six-day training on the standard protocol of the IMCI community component. The
International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the German Red Cross (GRC) selected 87
community volunteers to attend the training.

South Darfur

As part of ongoing disease prevention activities supported by UNICEF, hygiene
promotion campaigns reached 956 persons in El Ferdous Camp, 1,022 in El Neem
Camp, 1,680 in Al Salam Camp, 677 in Khor Omar Camp, and 630 in Otash Camp.

West Darfur

In El Geneina, WHO held and 11 day IMCI Standard Case Management Course for 18
medical officers. The training will be followed by a 'knowledge, attitudes,
practices and behaviours' (KAPBs) survey to measure the knowledge and practices
of the IDPs in the camp with regards to the five major causes of morbidity and
mortality among children under five-years. The result will be used as a
baseline data for implementation of the strategy.

Non-Food Items (NFIs) and Emergency Shelter

Across Darfur, despite considerable and increasing challenges in terms of
access, the United Nations Joint Logistics Centre (UNJLC)-coordinated NFI
common pipeline (CP) has served to date, approximately 370,000 households
(amounting to 2.2 million persons) with essential items, including over 340,000
blankets and 444,000 jerry cans. In addition, the NFI CP has provided
approximately 285,000 pieces of plastic sheeting - a vital commodity especially
in the rainy season.

The UNJLC Darfur-CP served a total of 2,400 households over the reporting week,
all in South Darfur. Approximately 23,000 NFIs were distributed to newly
displaced and disaster-affected populations in the locations of Hereza, Nyala,
Sakali and Tiwal.

Oxfam has distributed NFIs to 190 recently arrived households in Shangil Tobayi
- including jerry cans, plastic sheeting, sleeping mats, blankets and sanitary
cloths. Plastic sheeting has also been distributed to nearly 6,000 existing
residents in Shangil Tobayi and the nearby Shadad Camp, who had not previously
received it.

Protection and Human Rights

UNICEF supported a training programme organised by the United Nations Mission
in the Sudan (UNMIS) in El Geneina (West Darfur), providing guidance and
technical advice to 24 police officers on working with children in conflict
with the law, focusing on international standards and best practice.

In Abu Shouk, As Salaam, and Zam Zam IDP Camps (North Darfur), UNICEF is
supporting the 'Binaa Charity Association' and the Cooperative Housing
Foundation International (CHF) to implement-awareness raising activities for
420 young people on the themes of HIV/AIDS, and gender-based violence.

UNDP organised a Rule of Law Seminar on "The role of customary law in the
promotion of rule of law and peaceful co-existence in Darfur" in Nyala (South
Darfur). Presentations addressed the status of customary courts in Darfur, the
relationship between the customary courts and the statutory courts; and the
traditional methods of problem-solving in Darfur. The seminar brought together
representatives of the judiciary, representatives of the attorney general's
office, lawyers, police, representatives of the legislative assembly, native
administration leaders, United Nations agencies, international NGOs, national
NGOs and civil society organisations. The seminar resulted in several
recommendations on a more effective role for customary law in promoting the
rule of law in Darfur.

In August, UNDP sent five law graduates to Khartoum to take the Bar
Examination. This followed a month of revision teaching sessions and a
competitive process to establish which graduates showed an enthusiasm and
interest, upon qualification, to work in the field of legal aid.

Water and Sanitation

In Haskanita (West Darfur) community, UNICEF has supported the construction of
400 new household latrines, as part of an ongoing Child Friendly Community
Initiative, benefiting some 2,800 people. The work included excavation and
building of superstructure by the community members themselves, with UNICEF and
the SWC providing the latrine slabs.

In Malliet town (North Darfur), UNICEF and the SWC rehabilitated 43 communal
latrines in partnership with local IDPs. A hygiene promotion campaign was also
conducted in Malliet, reaching 3,275 households. In Zam Zam Camp (North
Darfur), a similar partnership saw 60 new pit latrines being constructed at Zam
Zam 'B' School.

Oxfam has completed a new T45 water tank in Kabkabiya town (North Darfur), and
has laid a new 706 metre pipeline to connect it to the borehole. Oxfam is
already providing 12.7 litres of water per person per day in the town, and this
will further increase the supply.

If you have inputs for the next edition or questions and comments on this one,
or other media and public enquiries, please contact:

Nahla Zarroug, Information Analyst, United Nations, Khartoum, Sudan, Email:
zarroug@un.org, Telephone: +249-9-12160065

For other media and public enquiries, you may also contact:

Maurizio Giuliano, Public Information Officer, United Nations, Khartoum, Sudan,
Email: giuliano@un.org, Telephone: +249-9-12174454 Imad Hassanein, Media
Officer, United Nations, Khartoum, Sudan, Email: hassaneini@un.org, Telephone:
+249-9-12178035

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