Sierra Leone - DHA: 09-15.Sep.97
Sierra Leone - DHA: 09-15.Sep.97
SIERRA LEONE
HUMANITARIAN SITUATION REPORT
Period covered: 9-15 September 1997
This report has been prepared by the office of the United Nations
Humanitarian Coordinator for Sierra Leone in Conakry, Guinea
SECURITY
1. Nigerian warplanes, which have flown several sorties over Freetown
during the past week in order to enforce the ECOWAS embargo, have
consistently attracted heavy fire from AFRC anti-aircraft guns. Civilian
and military casualties have been sustained ruing these exchanges of
fire. A statement issued by the Nigerian ECOMOG Force Commander, General
Malu, on 11 September said that ECOMOG aircraft -performing their
legitimate duty to enforce the embargo on Sierra Leone were being fired
at from anti-aircraft guns deployed in civilian populated areas around
the port of Freetown.- General Malu urged civilians to vacate these
areas as -ECOMOG aircraft might have no option but to fire back in
self-defence- Many civilians living near the port have heeded this
warning and have since left the area.
2. Recent reports indicate that the roads from Pamelap, the Guinean
border town, to Freetown, Makeni, Bo and Kenema are relatively secure.
Although checkpoints have been established in most urban areas,
personnel manning checkpoints have generally been cooperative and have
not yet caused any problems for occupants of clearly-identifiable aid
vehicles. Checkpoints are most numerous in the area near the Guinean
border and the stretch of road between Waterloo and Freetown. Most
checkpoints are manned by AFRC-Peoples Army but there are some kamajor
checkpoints in Bo district. It has been reported that many of these
kamajors possess automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades.
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS
3. The meeting between the ECOWAS Group of Five Foreign Ministers and
the United Nations Secretary-General has been postponed until 19
September 1997. On 11 September Sierra Leones Ambassador to the UN
appealed to the UN Security Council to endorse the ECOWAS sanctions
against Sierra Leone adopted on 30 August.
4. In a statement issued on 12 September the Commonwealth Ministerial
Action Group on the Harare Delegation (CMAG) welcomed the decision taken
by ECOWAS Heads of State and Government to take -further measures-
against the AFRC in accordance with the decision taken by the OAU and in
coordination with the United Nations. CMAG conveyed support for the
efforts of the Committee of Five towards the peaceful resolution of the
Sierra Leone crisis and the immediate reinstatement of the
democratically elected government. The Group urged the international
community to support the objectives of these efforts and called on the
AFRC to cooperate with ECOWAS.
HUMANITARIAN DEVELOPMENTS
5. In response to an enquiry from the UN Humanitarian Coordinator, the
office of the ECOMOG Force Commander described the procedure for seeking
exemptions from the ECOWAS embargo as follows: requests for exemptions
from the embargo should be addressed to General Victor Malu, ECOMOG
Force Commander, Fax: 231-226-244. The requests should include detailed
descriptions and quantities of goods to be transported, the mode of
transport, dates of delivery and routing, including the point of entry
and the final destination in Sierra Leone. These requirements may be
subject to revision or amendment in the future.
6. On 3 September local staff of 42 international and local NGOs
operating in Sierra Leone met and delivered a petition to Major Koroma,
Chairman of the AFRC. The delegation highlighted several operational
constraints, most of which have already been well documented. These
include: commandeering of NGO vehicles, looting of NGO offices and
stores and the imposition of bureaucratic procedures preventing rapid
delivery of relief food. The delegation also expressed concern that they
were being unfairly blamed for the appearance of relief food in open
markets. The delegation recommended that commandeered vehicles should be
returned, adequate armed patrols be mounted to prevent further
break-ins, the number of security personnel at food warehouses be
reduced and that the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development
(MOPED) resume its former monitoring role and cease its insistence on
countersigning all NGO food requests from WFP, a procedure which is
unnecessarily bureaucratic.
FOOD AID
7. WFP, UNHCR, food supply NGOs, donors and UN-HACU will meet in Abidjan
from 17 to 19 September to refine the 1997-1998 Food Aid strategy for
Sierra Leone and Liberia. The existing strategy for Sierra Leone has
been developed around three possible scenarios:
1) the security-humanitarian situation deteriorates due to an increase
in the fighting.
2) the current stalemate and
3) security-humanitarian situation improves. In practice, it is
recognised that some characteristics of all three scenarios will be in
evidence in varying degrees in different parts of the country.
Consequently, a flexible approach needs to be adopted.
AGRICULTURE
8 (a). In Sierra Leone 105 out of the total of 152 chiefdoms have
received agricultural inputs from the relief community for the last
agricultural season as a supplement to existing stocks. The humanitarian
agencies which have been distributing agricultural inputs are Action
Aid, ACF, ADRA, Africare, CARE, Council of Churches for Sierra Leone
(CCSL). Concern Universal. CRS, ICRC and World Vision. The Southern and
Eastern provinces have received the most comprehensive coverage as these
are the areas which have been most affected by the war. However, these
are inconsistencies in the level of coverage in different chiefdoms
which are attributable to poor coordination by government
representatives in rural areas.
8 (b). It is estimated that approximately 141,000 bushels of rice have
been distributed to 126,000 farm families throughout Sierra Leone during
the past agricultural season. There are two major uncertainties which
need to be taken into consideration when estimating the impact of these
inputs on food security in Sierra Leone. First, the percentage of total
agricultural inputs provided by farmers themselves is unknown.
Agricultural NGOs estimate that inputs provided by farmers constitute at
least 50 percent of total inputs. Second, it is not known to what extent
crops will be looted by armed elements at harvest time. The degree to
which kamajors are willing to remain in rural areas to help farmers
protect their crops is of critical importance in this regard.
8 (c). UN-HACU has completed a map based on information submitted by
agricultural NGOs which illustrates the amount of agricultural inputs
distributed and total number of farm families targeted in every chiefdom
in Sierra Leone. This map will be a useful tool at the Food Aid Strategy
meeting in Abidjan (see point 7 above). It will eventually be
digitalised and used as a starting point for plotting population
movements and planning future humanitarian interventions in Sierra
Leone.
HEALTH
9. During August 1997 ACF screened children under the age of five from
different parts of Bombali and Tonkolili district to gain a quick
overview of the nutritional situation in these areas. In Bombali
district 1,265 children were targeted including children in Makeni town
and in Kalangba, Gbendumbu and Kamabai, which are situated to the North
of Makeni. In Tonkolili district 273 children were screened at the
Magburaka under five clinic and 206 in Yele and Maghangba. Weight,
height, Mid Upper Arm Circumference and oedema were checked in each
case. The results revealed that nutritional status of children under the
age of five was slightly worse than during the same period the previous
year but not significantly so. Although limited intervention to improve,
nutritional status is being provided though ACFs therapeutic feeding
centre in Makeni and through the provision of therapeutic milk to the
hospitals in Magburaka and Lunsar, there is concern that the nutritional
status could deteriorate rapidly if supplementary feeding programmes are
not established, particularly as targeted beneficiaries in these areas
received ACF day ration distributions during 1996. The relative shortage
of CSB is the main impediment to implementation of these programmes at
present although efforts are being made by the Committee on Food Aid in
Conakry to address this situation.
10. Christian Extension Services (CES) has been assessing the impact of
the measles outbreak in 36 villages in Nieni chiefdom, CESs area of
operations in Koinadugu district in the Northern province. It was
discovered that 307 children under the age of five had died, many of
whom are believed to have originated from Kono district. UNICEF is
supplying CES with vaccines in response to the situation. CES also
continues to support two Peripheral Health Units (PHUs) near Alkalia in
Koinadugu district and mobile clinics that visit 16 villages.
11. In support of government health staff wishing to return to work in
Kenema district, Merlin has expanded its activities through the
provision of drugs to health centres in Hangha village and Lago (North
of Knenema), Blama, Wiema (near Tongo field) and Lowuma (near Boajibu).
This report is available on the internet through RELIEFWEB:
http://www.reliefweb.int
Complex Emergency Division (CED) New York
Mr. Stephen Johnson
Tel.:(1 212) 963.3044 - Fax:(1 212) 963.3630
E-Mail: johnsons@un.org
Inter-Agency Support Branch (IASB) Geneva
Mr. David Bassiouni - Chief
Ms. Shahwar Pataudi
Tel.: (41 22) 788.1403 - Fax: (41 22) 788.6389
Registry E-Mail:Rosemary.Addo-Yirenkyi@dha.unicc.org
Press to contact (DHA-Geneva)
Ms. Madeleine Moulin-Acevedo
Tel.: (41 22) 917.2856 - Fax: (41 22) 917.0023
Telex: 414242 DHA CH - E-Mail: Moulin-Acevedo@dha.unicc.org
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