Guinea-Bissau - ICRC-03: 07-Jul-98
Guinea-Bissau - ICRC-03: 07-Jul-98
International Committee of the Red Cross
Guinea-Bissau
Situation Report No. 3
7 July 1998
Situation
Despite joint efforts by Portugal and Angola to restore peace to the
country further to the mutiny on 7 June, no agreement has yet been
reached and the conflict has now spread into a few provinces such as
Quinara, Oio and Cacheu. Heavy artillery shelling and automatic gunfire
intensified in the Bra area of Bissau and around the airport again on 5
July as forces backing President Joao Bernardo Vieira continued their
battle with army mutineers.
An ICRC team left Conakry on 24 June and managed to assess the situation
along the main Farim-Mansoa-Buba route (which runs from north to south)
and Buruntuma-Bafata-Mansoa (from east to west). Another team is
assessing the situation in some ten islands on the archipelago of
Bijagos. Contacts were established with local authorities, churches and
Red Cross branches during this time in order to glean a fuller picture
of present and anticipated future humanitarian needs. Contacts have also
been made with the mutineers to alert them to the Red Cross presence and
mandate and to gain acceptance in order to carry out essential
humanitarian work. Unrest in Bissau itself has indeed triggered quite
substantial population movements. Although no comprehensive census has
been made and whilst no camps have been set up, the authorities
currently estimate that some 270,000 people are scattered around the
country.
Humanitarian situation
The majority of the displaced have been housed by the local population.
Whilst this avoids many of the immediate problems associated with large
congregations of people (access to clean water, risk of disease etc.),
it places host families in a precarious economic situation too, since
supplies become rapidly depleted. Fighting has disrupted the cashew
trade which means that people are unable to buy rice. This could in turn
impact upon prices and purchasing power.
In addition to generalized economic hardships, the displaced population
will undoubtedly put a strain on communal water and medical resources.
The majority of villages have hand-dug wells and boreholes equipped with
hand-pumps. At the moment though, most of the wells are dry since the
rainy season is late in starting and the impact of recent rainfall (29
June) will not be felt for two-three weeks. Because the "newcomers" are
well dispersed amongst the communities though, the situation is not
altogether alarming for the time being. However, in urban centres, the
pressure is a lot more noticeable. Gabu's 29,000 residents, for example,
have been joined by an estimated 25,000 displaced.
Medical facilities outside Bissau will be similarly affected by the
influx of people. With some villages practically doubling their
population, pharmacy stocks will be depleted within a few weeks and the
authorities are no longer able to guarantee deliveries of new supplies.
Many of those leaving Bissau had to walk for several days, weakening
resistance to illnesses and disease. The most commonly reported
complaints have been malaria, diarrhoea and respiratory infections.
Red Cross activities: current and short-term response
Should the conflict develop over the next month and given the
interruption of the agro-economic cycle, the ICRC plans to support those
families which need help. A possible 150,000 people will need tiding
over until the next rice harvest in October or November. In the
meantime, ad hoc distributions will continue in and around Bissau.
Between 23 and 30 June, over 105 mt of rice, beef and oil from World
Food Programme stocks were distributed to over 28,000 people on the edge
of and in the capital and along the main route between Prabis and
Cumura.
The ICRC is also keen to monitor the food situation for patients in
hospitals where, again, the authorities are no longer able to guarantee
deliveries. Plans also need to be made in order to provide support to
the medical system which will inevitably suffer in the event of a
prolonged conflict. Attention will focus on dispensaries and health
posts in southern and central areas of the country. Efforts at this
stage will concentrate on building up emergency stocks of surgical,
paediatric and hospital kits, dressings and drugs for ad hoc
distribution to medical centres.
Ensuring access to clean water supplies and fully functioning sanitation
systems helps to curb the spread of illness and disease. Potential areas
for concern were identified during the course of the ICRC assessment
and, on the basis of these, moves are now underway to deliver fuel,
essential parts and chemicals to several destinations. Tanks containing
5,000 litres of drinking water from International Federation of Red
Cross and Red Crescent Society (Federation) stocks were placed in three
places around Bissau by the National Society in order to ensure the
displaced with access to safe water.
Most of the assistance activities are carried out by the National
Society whose capacity is reinforced by the Federation and the ICRC.
Staff
There are currently three expatriate staff in Bissau and two in the east
of the country. Based on the findings of the first evaluation, the ICRC
will need to reinforce its staffing levels in the field shortly.
distributed by
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Volunteers in Technical Assistance
Disaster Information Center lists: listproc@vita.org
sitreps nat-dsr
web: www.vita.org appeal fireline
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
comments/suggestions/requests to incident@vita.org