Sierra Leone - DHA-07: 24 September - 10 October 1996
Sierra Leone - DHA-07: 24 September - 10 October 1996
BI-MONTHLY INFORMATION REPORT SIERRA LEONE - No. 7
Period covered: 24 September - 10 October 1996
1. On 26 September a meeting was convened to review a
draft report on vulnerability assessment produced by a
UNICEF consultant. The study identifies a series of
measurable indicators which could be used to determine
Sierra Leone s potential vulnerability to five types of
emergency: economic, security, political, food and health.
The main difficulty with this vulnerability assessment tool
is the collection of reliable statistical information as
much data is either unavailable or not readily released. At
the meeting it was recommended that a small task force be
created to monitor the progress of the project. It was also
recognised that the food aid technical committees based in
Freetown, Bo, Kenema and Makeni constituted the most
reliable source of information on the movement of displaced
populations.
2. Edra consultancy has recently submitted a detailed
study, commissioned by CCSL, to assess the resettlement and
rehabilitation needs of returnees to Pujehun district. The
purpose of the study was both to determine the physical
state of social and domestic infrastructure in the district
and to assess returnees' capacity for coping with and
participating in the rehabilitation process. Data was
collected through interviews with 300 people in the towns
of Pujehun, Gobaru, Potoru, Kundowahun and Bandajuma Sowa
as well as through discussions with Government, NGOs and
traditional leaders. The report's conclusions are
summarised as follows: a) Returnees' participation in the
rehabilitation of their communities is primarily limited to
agriculture and general labour as technical expertise (e.g.
carpentry, masonry) is not readily available, b) The main
concerns of returnees are security issues, food and water
and sanitation although the extent of concern differs in
each location. Copies of this report are available from
CCSL.
3. UNICEF has reported a contribution of USD 177,166 from
the Canadian Government in response to the UN Consolidated
Appeal. The contribution will support UNICEF's water and
sanitation and Children in Especially Difficult
Circumstances (CEDC) programmes.
Security
4. More information on the violence between the military
and the kamajors in Kenema district on 22 September has
emerged. Sierra Leone Red Cross (SLRC) has physically
identified the bodies of 25 soldiers, 18 kamajors and 3
civilians although it is generally believed that the true
death toll is much higher, possibly in the region of 200.
In an attempt to bring the situation under control a high
level delegation, including the Deputy Minister of Defense
and the Chief of Defense Staff, was despatched to Kenema on
23 September. Although the delegation was successfully able
to engineer a reconciliation between the kamajors and the
military which resulted in both sides celebrating in the
streets of Kenema, the future security of the area remains
distinctly uncertain.
5. There is increasing concern over the spate of robberies
which have taken place in Bo town recently. During the past
few weeks virtually every NGO operational in the area has
been targeted. Although the reasons for this dramatic
increase in criminal activity are not yet clear, it is
believed that the recent transfer of the ULIMO Task force
(which operates within the umbrella of the RSLMF) from
Matru Jong in Bonthe district to the vicinity of Bo town
may be a factor. The police have indicated that they are
unable to respond due to logistical constraints.
Food Aid
6. WFP-UNHCR conducted a Joint Assessment Mission with
Donor and NGO participation from 23 September - 3 October
as a follow-up to the assessment mission which took place
in January 1996. The assessment was also carried out within
the context of WFP-UNHCR Consultative meeting held in
Abidjan in July 1996 (see situation report dated 1-14
July). The Mission s recommendations are based on a 'best
case scenario', which assumes that a Peace Accord will be
signed between the Government of Sierra Leone (GOSL) and
the Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front (RUF) by the
end of 1996 leading to demobilisation, IDP resettlement and
Sierra Leonean refugee repatriation. This position concurs
with the views expressed in GOSL's National Resettlement,
Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Programme (RRRP).
Although the WFP Protracted Regional Operation (PRO)
document has not been finalised, some important points were
made by the mission in a debriefing session for the benefit
of the humanitarian community in Sierra Leone.
a) A new PRO should be created to meet the needs of Sierra
Leonean IDPs, Sierra Leonean refugee returnees from Guinea
and Liberia, Sierra Leonean refugees in Guinea and Liberian
refugees in Sierra Leone.
b) General food distribution should be phased out by
January 1997 and replaced by targeted feeding programmes in
the areas of vulnerable group feeding, emergency school
feeding and Food for Work. Projected beneficiary caseloads
for these programmes are:
Vulnerable Group Feeding:CRS: 89,200 WFP:
120,000
School FeedingCRS: 51,000 WFP:
75,000
Food for Work-TrainingCRS: 46,560 WFP:
60,000
c) The same targeted feeding programmes will also cover the
needs of the estimated 125,000 Sierra Leonean refugees in
Guinea who will not repatriate during 1997.
d) For planning purposes it was assumed that 661,240 of the
total assisted displaced caseload of 830,000 in Sierra
Leone would resettle during 1997. (i.e. 100 percent of the
currently assisted camp population and 75 percent of the
currently assisted town population). These people would
receive a one to three month separation package of the
approved basic ration depending on when they returned to
their area of origin.
e) Regarding Sierra Leonean refugee repatriation, UNHCR
estimates that 173,000 refugees could return home during
1997, primarily from Guinea (127,000). These refugees would
receive a one month ration to facilitate their return.
f) On return to their home communities equal food and
non-food entitlement should be provided to resettled IDPs,
repatriated refugees and reintegrated ex-combatants.
Effective disarmament guarantees and a demobilisation plan
accepted by the international community should, however, be
ensured prior to the distribution of any food to
ex-combatants.
g) The relatively small 11,340 Liberian caseload should
continue to receive a reduced basic ration during 1997.
h) The commodity food basket and ration scales agreed to
during the January 1996 assessment should be maintained
(with the exception of a slight modification to the
therapeutic feeding ration) to avoid the prevalence of
long-term dependency on external food aid. The Committee on
Food Aid would, however, have the ability to revise certain
ration scales, based on results from nutritional and
socio-economic surveillance systems currently being
developed.
i) Total projected commodity requirements for 1997 for both
WFP and CRS are 87,513 Metric Tonnes. (i.e. 60,515 MTs
cereal, 6,879 MTs vegetable oil, 5,959 MTs pulses, 14,160
MTs CSB).
j) The Mission was impressed by the improved coordination
arrangements among GOSL, UN Agencies, donors and NGOs
through the work of the Committee on Food Aid (CFA) and the
regional Food Aid Technical Committees located in Bo,
Kenema and Makeni. In order to build on this spirit of
cooperation it was suggested that UNHCR and ICRC become
members of the CFA. It was also recommended that the CFA
mount a national public information campaign to explain the
objectives of the targeted feeding strategy within the
framework of the GOSL's RRRP. Particular emphasis should be
devoted to clarifying that the reorientation from general
food distribution to targeted feeding does not result in
reduced food aid inputs.
7. During September 1996 surveys were conducted jointly
by MSF-Belgium, World Vision, Action Contre la Faim (ACF)
and EDC Unit, Ministry of Health and Sanitation to
evaluate the nutritional status of children under the age
of five in Bo camps and Bo town. The previous nutritional
surveys in Bo town and Bo camps were carried out by ACF
and MSF in January 1996 and it is pleasing to note that
the most recent surveys had wider participation. The
malnutrition rates are as follows:
Global (percent)Severe
(percent)
(Z score) (Z score)
score)
January 1996(Bo Camps)(a)23.23.5
September 1996 (Bo Camps)(a)22.03.7
January 1996(Bo Town)11.91.1
September 1996 (Bo Town)9.5 1.0
(a) Excluding Gondama camp
Some interesting facts emerge from this survey:
a) Nutritional levels in Gondama camp are far better than
in the other camps in Bo. A possible reason for this
phenomenon is that the displaced in Gondama are
continuing to return to their areas of origin in Pujehun
district where they are able to engage in farming
activities but are also returning to Gondama for food
distributions.
b) Although the results indicate that malnutrition rates
in Bo town and Bo camps (except Gondama) have remained
roughly the same during 1996, further analysis revealed
that new arrivals in Bo camps (ie those arriving between
October 1995 and August 1996) are in better nutritional
condition than the longer term displaced (i.e. those
arriving between January 1990 and September 1995). This
suggests that renewed emphasis must be placed on
providing health education for the long term displaced so
that they are aware of ACF's therapeutic, supplementary
and dry ration feeding programmes.
c) The fact that nutritional status has not improved
during 1996 lends credence to the policy decision that
general food distribution should be replaced by a
targeted feeding programme during 1997.
8. See attached sheet for WFP's food distribution figures
for August 1996. CRS figures for this month are
unavailable.
Registration-Verification
9. The results of the registration exercise, which took
place on 11 September for displaced living in camps in
the Western Area are as follows:
CampFamily headsNew caseload Former
caseload
(Sept. 1996)
(August 1996)
Old Fourah Bay
College 379 1,746
1,732
Ross Road186 694
684
Clay Factory1,555 8,780
8,407
Grafton 1,491 7,100
6,858
Waterloo 1,136 5,800
7,416
TOTAL (b)4,747 24,120
25,097
(b) Excludes Liberian refugees serviced at Jui camp by
Cause Canada.
The figures above reveal that the camp populations of the
Western area are, more or less, unchanged with the
exception of Waterloo camp where numbers of camp
residents fell by 21 percent. It must also be noted that
the figures exclude the estimated 746 Port Loko displaced
currently residing at Grafton and Waterloo camps who will
return home shortly.
Agriculture
10. An Agricultural Emergency Relief Committee (AERC)
Agricultural Inputs Subcommittee meeting was held on 26
September, 1996 under the chairmanship of the Ministry of
Agriculture and Natural Resources. It is UN-HACU's
sincere hope that these meetings will be held, in future,
on a fortnightly basis in order to facilitate information
flow between agencies operational in this crucial sector
with a view to feeding the outputs into the fortnightly
interagency meeting. The meeting gave NGOs in attendance
(i.e. Action Aid, World Vision, Sierra Grassroots Agency,
CRS, National Association of Farmers in Sierra Leone and
Care) the opportunity to give detailed presentations
about their past and ongoing activites relating to the
distribution of agricultural inputs. It is hoped that
those UN Agencies, donors and NGOs in the agricultural
sector which were unable to attend make every effort to
do so in the future.
Health
11. During the course of July and August 1996
representatives from MSF-Holland, MSF-Belgium, Care, ACF,
paramount chiefs and the Matru mission hospital made an
assessment of healthcare needs in Matru Jong (Bonthe
district) and in Bauya, Tihun and Serabu villages in the
southern part of Bo district. This assessment was
significant as this area has been inaccessible to the
relief community for the much of the civil war for
security reasons. Several interesting observations were
made.
a) Security
The area was evacuated for much of 1995 after the RUF
attacked and occupied Matru Jong in January of that year.
During the first quarter of 1996 the kamajors gained
control of the area forcing the RUF into the Southern
part of Bo district. Although the security situation was
still problematic during much of 1996 due to tension
between the Kamajors and the military, which occasionally
erupted into violence, relations between the two parties
are now cordial. In recognition of the improved security
climate (enhanced by the departure of the ULIMO Task
Force from the region) the displaced population has
started to return to the area.
b) Health Facilities
The Matru mission hospital, which used to be the referral
hospital for Bonthe district, has been closed since
January 1994. Before its closure the hospital had 105
beds and employed 81 staff, most of whom are currently
working in Bo town. The assessment team did meet 5
recently-returned medical staff who indicated that they
would be willing to resume work at the hospital. The
hospital in Serabu is completely decimated and needs to
be rebuilt. The clinic in Tihun is still functioning and
serves residents of Yawbeko chiefdom and Nongoba
chiefdom.
c) Nutritional Status
Rough nutritional surveys using Weight-Height and Mid
Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) techniques were made in
Matru Jong, Bauya and Tihun. Not surprisingly,
nutritional status was poor as these quick surveys
revealed moderate malnourishment to be above 30 percent
and severe malnourishment to be in excess of 14 percent.
Malnutrition was less severe in Matru Jong due to its
proximity to the ocean and the availability of palm oil.
d) Action Taken
In response to these findings MSF-Belgium is providing
outpatient services and is starting a vaccination
campaign for children under the age of five. ACF has
commenced dry ration distribution In Matru and Bauya.
Care has recently completed a 'food gap' assessment in
the region and is in the course of compiling a report.
12. From 18-21 September MSF-Holland conducted a rapid
assessment of the health situation and nutritional needs
in Port Loko district. Although the team observed the
usual health-related problems prevalent in Sierra Leone
such as low vaccination coverage, limited epidemiological
surveillance and limited medical facilities, the
situation was not deemed to be critical. The Catholic
Hospital Lunsar is, for example, one of the best in
Sierra Leone and attracts patients form the entire
country, including Freetown.
Demobilisation
13. Ministry of National Reconstruction, Resettlement and
Rehabilitation (MNRRR) has commissioned two different
studies to facilitate the planning of its Demobilisation
and Reintegration programme:
a) The reintegration of war-affected youth and
ex-combatants: a study of the social and economic
opportunity structure in Sierra Leone.
b) Social and economic reintegration of ex-combatants and
resource management, a study on conflict and
reconciliation.
These surveys are expected to take approximately two
months.
New Arrivals
14. Response Net and VITA visited Sierra Leone during the
week beginning 23 September to assess data gathering
capacity, information management and telecommunication
management in Sierra Leone. The purpose of their mission
was to assess the viability of establishing an
information management system within MNRRR.
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Information Office at the Humanitarian Assistance
Coordination Unit (HACU)
Tel.: (232 22) 22 77 59 (Direct)
or (232 22) 22 97 67 (Switchboard)
Complex Emergency Division (CED) - New York
Mr. Peter Due
Tel.: (1 212) 963.1731
Fax:(1 212) 963.3630
Inter-Agency Support Branch (IASB) - Geneva
Ms. Deborah Saidy - Mr. Chris Kaye
Tel.: (41 22) 788.6384-788.6385
Fax:(41 22) 788.6386
Press to Contact- Geneva:
Ms. Madeleine Moulin-Acevedo
Tel.: (41 22) 917.2856
Fax:(41 22) 917.0023
Telex:414242 DHA CH
E-Mail: dhagva at dha.unicc.org