OCHA Situation Report No. 16
Sudan: Darfur
16 October 2008


Source:
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Key overall developments

- The World Food Programme (WFP) plans to gradually increase the ration
size for Darfur beneficiaries will not materialise in October as hoped due
to supply gaps in vegetable oil as well as continuing transport
difficulties, caused by insecurity. This makes the total kilo-calorie
provided 65% of the 2,100 kilo-calorie recommended. WFP and its partners
are carrying out information campaigns to advise beneficiaries of this
change and the extenuating circumstance. The reduced rations will only
affect general food distribution beneficiaries, while supplementary
feeding and school feeding programmes will not be affected.

Needs and response by sector

Education

South Darfur

- With UNICEF support, the NGO United Methodist Committee on Relief
(UMCOR) has constructed eight (8) temporary classes in El Neem IDP, four
(4) in El Ereit and four (4) in El Manar. These temporary classrooms will
benefit some 450 local school children.

- Meanwhile, UNICEF supported the establishment of two (2) permanent
latrines in primary schools in El Ferdous East and El Ferdous West.

- Nearly 5,000 children will benefit from the provision of water
containers and cups by UNICEF - through the NGO Humedica - to schools in
Al Salam and Al Serif IDP Camps.

West Darfur

- WFP - in collaboration with the education department of El Geneina
Locality - has started a baseline survey of 14 schools in Tendalti and
Asbara. This is being done to assess if the schools meet the basic
criteria for inclusion in the Food for Education programme.

- Mercy Corps introduced School Health and Environmental Education in
Darfur (SHEE-D) in both the boys school and the girls school in Mukjar.
One committee was formed in each school in a joint effort with hygiene
promoters.

- UNICEF supported a five-day training programme for 35 local girls'
education activists from Kulbus, Sirba, Habila, Forbaranga and El Geneina,
as part of efforts to increase girls' enrolment.

Food Security and Livelihoods

North Darfur

- WFP has been able to access Birka Sayra to complete food distribution to
some 14,400 people. Heavy rains and poor road conditions had delayed food
distribution to this area.

- WFP food dispatches - under the school feeding programme - was completed
to schools in El Fasher and Mellit towns. These schools also received
cooking pots, plates, water buckets, sieves, knives, kumshas, kissra saj,
asseda saj and metal cups.

South Darfur

- WFP supplementary feeding distributions to children under-five and
pregnant women were completed in Al Serif, Otash, Manawashi, Abu Ajura,
Ditto, Tullus and Beliel.

West Darfur

- The State Ministry of Health (SMoH) nutrition focal point has assessed
Mornei Hospital in preparation for the food-for care givers programme.

Health and Nutrition

North Darfur

- The SMoH - supported by UNICEF - has launched a seven (7) day
accelerated routine immunization campaign in areas affected by previous
low coverage across North Darfur.

South Darfur

- A polio immunization campaign in Kalma IDP Camp - that was undertaken in
the last week of September - successfully reached more than 39,000
children under the age of five, according to results released by the SMoH,
UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO). Coverage exceeded initial
expectations.

- Reports from UNICEF show that during September, the Nyala centre for the
Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV provided counseling for
337 pregnant women, and voluntary confidential HIV testing to 123 women.

- UNICEF has also provided a range of public information materials on the
prevention of HIV to the SMoH and local NGOs, including 3,500 posters and
more than 29,000 fact sheets.

West Darfur

- UNICEF provided nine primary health centre kits containing essential
drugs and medical supplies for government health units in Zalingei and
Fasi. More than 43,000 people will benefit from this contribution. UNICEF
has also provided six (6) similar kits to the SMoH and Medecins sans
Frontieres (MSF) for clinics in Daya.

- UNICEF provided anti-malaria drugs for health programmes in IDP camps
around Zalingei.

- UNICEF provided a range of nutritional supplies including therapeutic
milk and nutritional paste to support the treatment of malnourished
children in El Geneina. Similar supplies have also been sent to Zalingie
and Nerteti as part of ongoing nutrition programmes.

Non-Food Items (NFIs)

South Darfur

- The NGO Solidarite distributed 4,389 Common Pipeline NFIs to 627 newly
displaced households in the Sheara locality.

West Darfur

- The Common Pipeline supported health clinics with plastic sheeting in
Zalingei and El Geneina. The distributions were carried out by
International Medical Corps (IMC).

- Save the Children-US distributed non-food items from the common pipeline
to disaster-affected households in Krinding 1IDP Camp in El Geneina.

Water and Sanitation

North Darfur

- With the support of the State Water Corporation (SWC) and UNICEF, a
water committee of 11 residents of Abu Shouk IDP Camp has been established
and provided with training to enable community-led management of water
yards in the camp.

West Darfur

- The SMoH - supported by UNICEF - undertook the chlorination of 16 water
points in Zalingei, guaranteeing a safe water supply for 23,000 people.

- Meanwhile, the SWC and UNICEF have undertaken the maintenance of six (6)
hand pumps in Riyad and Mornei IDP Camps.

- Mercy Corps hygiene promotion team delivered key messages on jaundice
control to 1,018 households and visited 3,304 households for behavior
trial replacements in Mukjar, identifying 392 risky behaviors of which 242
were subsequently changed. Mercy Corps also cleaned 16 water points and
tested 11 household water sources - all were found to be safe - in Mukjar.

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:

Orla Clinton, Public Information Officer, United Nations, Khartoum, Sudan,
Email: clinton@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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