Sierra Leone - DHA: 19.Nov-02.Dec.97
Sierra Leone - DHA: 19.Nov-02.Dec.97
SIERRA LEONE
HUMANITARIAN SITUATION REPORT
Period covered: 19 November - 2 December 1997
This report has been prepared by the office of the United Nations
Humanitarian Coordinator for Sierra Leone in Conakry, Guinea
SECURITY 1.
The ceasefire in Sierra Leone between ECOMOG and the AFRC has been observed
during the period under the review. However, there have been reports of an
increase in kamajor activity in Moyamba district. An AFRC statement issued on
26 November accused ECOMOG of transporting kamajors by helicopter to its
bases at Lungi and Jui near Freetown. Liberian authorities arrested some
kamajor representatives near Bo Waterside on 21 November. President Taylor
cited threats to Liberian national security as the reason for the arrest but
added that the threat was "not sufficient for our citizens to panic."
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS
2. On 27 November a team comprising the ECOMOG Force Commander, the UN
Special Envoy of the Secretary-General and the ECOWAS Executive Secretary
travelled to Freetown to meet representatives of the AFRC, including Major
Koroma. The objective of the mission was to follow up on the earlier meeting
between ECOMOG and the AFRC, to convey the determination of the international
community to restore democratic and constitutional rule to Sierra Leone as
outlined in the Conakry Accord and to elicit cooperation from the AFRC in
achieving this objective. Discussions also focused on issues such as the
possible deployment of UN military observers, enforcement of sanctions and
the delivery of humanitarian assistance. The discussions also resolved around
the three committees created to address disarmament, humanitarian services
and ceasefire violations. It was agreed that the committees would meet on 1
December 1997.
3. From 14 to 22 November a United Nations team visited the sub region at the
request of the Secretary-General to investigate the type of assistance which
the UN might be able to offer to facilitate the implementation of the Conakry
Accord. The UN team was requested to make an "exploratory assessment" of the
conditions on the ground and to make recommendations as to what form such
assistance might take in terms of humanitarian aid, the deployment of
Military observers and support for ECOWAS and its monitoring group, ECOMOG.
During the course of its mission the team had extensive consultations with
senior officials from ECOWAS member states, donors, UN Agencies and NGOs. The
team's report will be submitted by the UN Secretary-General to the Security
Council in December 1997.
HUMANITARIAN DEVELOPMENTS
4. The outstanding issue needing to be resolved before cross-border
humanitarian assistance into Sierra Leone can commence is the creation of a
mechanism for the inspection of humanitarian items at the Guinean border town
of Pamelap. Two options are under consideration at present; either ECOMOG
deploys a team from Monrovia to conduct the inspection or ECOMOG designates
Guinean officials to act on its behalf. Discussions with the ECOWAS
Secretariat, the ECOMOG Force Commander and ECOWAS Member State are ongoing
with a view to resolving this issue.
5. There has been much speculation over the number of civilians fleeing
Freetown to more secure areas near the Guinean border in the wake of the
ECOMOG bombardment of Freetown in October 1997. In an attempt to track
displaced movements more accurately. CARE distributed forms to a variety of
different checkpoints on the main highway from Freetown to the Guinean border
(on the Kambia side) with a view to collecting data such as final destination
points of the civilians in vehicles passing through these checkpoints. The
check points were monitored from 25 October until 12 November 1997.
Information collected at the checkpoints was corroborated through subsequent
field trips to influx areas. The results reveal an influx of 2,180 people
into Kambia district during this period of which 488 civilians were destined
for Kambia town. 638 people indicated that they were travelling to Conakry
and 376 to Pamelap, the Guinean border town.
6. As indicated below food aid activities and certain health-related
activities are winding down due to the shortage of the necessary humanitarian
items in Sierra Leone.
FOOD AID
7. Food aid operations in Sierra Leone have effectively ceased as there are
currently less than 500 MTs of relief food available in Sierra Leone. As the
different commodities comprising the food basket is not evenly distributed
throughout Sierra Leone the remaining supplies of relief food in the country
cannot be utilised in an efficient manner.
HEALTH
8. Health agencies have expressed grave concern over the shortage of
essential drugs in Sierra Leone which they are currently unable to replenish
due to their inability to make cross-border deliveries. Health agencies are
reviewing their policies with respect to incentives relating to the provision
of drugs to ensure that a unified approach is adopted throughout Sierra
Leone. In many cases the cost of treatment in health centres is prohibitively
expensive for local populations. For example, ACT has reported that the
hospital in Lunsar charges 40,000 leones per month to treat one severely
malnourished child.
9. A recent UNICEF assessment mission in Bombali, Tonkolili, Koinadugu and
Port Loko districts in the Northern Province revealed that three districts
(except Bombali) require major inputs in terms of logistics and personnel
before the planned measles immunisation campaign can be implemented. Staff
shortages in Tonkolili district are particularly severe as there are
currently only 36 government health staffs available to serve 38 peripheral
health clinics in the district. In Port Loko district only 45 of the 70
health units in the district are accessible due to insecurity. The cold chain
in each of these districts is in poor condition.
10. Out of the 109 emergency surgical interventions performed in the
MSF-supported Connaught hospital in October 1997, 46 percent were war-related
cases. This represents a 66 percent increase compared to the previous month
and is attributable to ECOMOG air strikes during the month of October and the
subsequent fighting between ECOMOG and the AFRC.
AGRICULTURE
11. Agriculture agencies are collaborating to determine their geographical
areas of operation for the distribution of agricultural inputs for the next
planting season. The intention is to minimise overlap wherever possible in
order to maximize the effectiveness of the entire programme.
FAMILY TRACING
12. From 27 to 28 November a national consultation of child protection
partners on emergency family tracing and reunification took place at UNICEF's
office in Kambia. This was the first nationwide sectoral meeting to have been
convened in Sierra Leone since the coup. At the end of the consultation it
was decided that communication within the National Tracing Network should be
improved through regular intra-regional and inter-regional meetings.
Monitoring and reporting systems would be improved through the
standardisation of reporting forms and filing systems and the development of
a centralised databank in the office of the CEDG secretariat in Freetown. It
was decided that emergency preparedness plans should be submitted to the
appropriate portion by 15 December 1997.
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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