OCHA Situation Report No. 10
Sudan: Darfur
17 April 2008


Source:
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs


Headlines

- There are now 1,800 Oxfam constructed or renovated latrines in the
Shangil Tobayi camps.

- A Meningitis vaccination campaign was completed in the North and South
IDP Camps of Nertiti with 19,627 (88%) of the targeted population
vaccinated. The vaccines for this campaign were provided by UNICEF while
the operational cost of the campaign was covered by Medecins Sans
Frontieres (MSF)-France.

Key overall developments

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced today that it will
be forced to cut monthly rations in Darfur starting next month, because
banditry against WFP-contracted trucks is preventing sufficient stocks of
vital food relief from getting through. Since the start of this year, 60
WFP-contracted trucks have been hijacked in Darfur, with 39 trucks still
missing and 26 drivers unaccounted for. One driver was killed in Darfur
last month.

In May, the cereal ration will be cut in half to 225 grams per person per
day, pulses will be cut in half to 30 grams and sugar by half to 15 grams.
This will reduce the daily kilocalorie value of the ration by 40 per cent
(down to 1,242 k/cal per day from the recommended rate of 2,156 k/cal).

Needs and response by sector

Food Security and Livelihoods

Continuing banditry attacks on WFP-contracted trucks delivering food to
Darfur have seriously affected food delivery rates which are now at 55
percent lower than the usual delivery rates. WFP will be forced to
implement 50% ration cuts in cereals, pulses and sugar in May. This
reduction comes at the start of the lean season.

North Darfur

Vocational training of 116 men and women from Abu Shouk and As Salam IDP
Camps in masonry and construction techniques was undertaken by Oxfam.
Tools were distributed to the successful trainees so as to enable them to
set up new businesses.

Also, Oxfam gave cash grants of 200 SDG to over 200 women in Abu Shouk IDP
Camp to support their efforts in setting up small businesses.

South Darfur

In Kalma IDP Camp, Oxfam and the Ministry of Finance (MoF) held business
management training for 110 women. The women were then given a small cash
grant as part of Oxfam's new programme to help women in Kalma IDP Camp
start up small businesses and trading enterprises.

West Darfur

Following a household food security assessment, WFP is exploring the
possibility of implementing a blanket supplementary feeding programme ?
with the NGO CONCERN ? to assist vulnerable households in Kerenic.

Health and Nutrition

North Darfur

More than 5,000 people in Abu Shouk IDP Camp participated in a series of
cleaning campaigns, supported by Oxfam.

In As Salaam IDP Camp, an Oxfam campaign resulted in more than 15,000
jerry cans being cleaned and sanitised.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and State Ministry of Health (SMoH)
are jointly carrying-out active surveillance in the military hospital in
El Fasher after receiving reports of 37 suspected measles cases. All of
the patients are soldiers from the Gadid Al Sail Military Camp ? about 20
Km north to El Fasher.

Water quality monitoring activities in Abu Shouk and As Salaam IDP Camps
are on-going. Oxfam ? supported by WHO ? collected 18 samples from Abu
Shouk and 16 samples from As Salaam IDP Camps for bacteriological tests.
Results showed that in Abu Shouk IDP Camp, two of the 18 samples were
contaminated. In As Salaam IDP Camp, three samples showed contamination
while 13 samples showed no risk of contamination.

WHO supported the SMoH in its health promotion campaign ? in collaboration
with NGOs OXFAM; the International Rescue Committee (IRC); and PLAN Sudan
? in As Salaam IDP Camp in response to the increasing number of diarrhoea
cases reported. The campaign started with a refresher training course for
60 community health workers and focused on the messages to be disseminated
to communities in the subjects of personal hygiene, use of clean water,
use of oral re-hydration solution (ORS), and proper solid waste
management.

South Darfur

Oxfam held educational activities to teach children in Kalma IDP Camp
about HIV/AIDS in which 44 children participated with singing and drawing
pictures containing information about HIV/AIDS.

WHO provided consumables, infusions, and drugs to the health facility in
Ta'asha village (45 kms north-east of Nyala) after receiving reports that
ten cases of hemorrhagic symptoms were diagnosed in the village.

To ensure support to hospitals for free IDP care, WHO provided drugs and
renewable medical\surgical supplies to the WHO supported pharmacy in Nyala
Teaching Hospital. Also, anti-malaria drugs were given to Gereida
Hospital. While the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
-Gereida received a donation from WHO of 12,000 vitamin A capsules and 90
injections of oily chloramphincol.

West Darfur

As part of WHO support for water quality activities, two (2) boxes of
water sample tester (for 500 tests of residual chlorine) were provided to
the NGO Triangle which is working in Riyadh IDP Camp.

The WHO and SMOH facilitated a meeting between UNICEF, the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), Save the Children US
(SC-US), and CONCERN to discuss measures for strengthening health service
delivery in Habila Rural Hospital. In this regard, SMoH nominates a
medical doctor and two nurses to the hospital while WHO will provide life
saving drugs/supplies to the health facility.

Due to the influx of new arrivals of people in Zalingei Taiba IDP Camp, a
joint UNHCR, UNOCHA, WFP, UNICEF and WHO mission to Karole and El Khirwan
was conducted. Among the recommendations of the joint mission, WHO has
started working on the establishment of a fixed or mobile primary health
clinic, deployment of a health cadre and the training of local community
health workers, provision of essential drugs, and strengthening of
immunization mobile services.

A Meningitis vaccination campaign was completed in the North and South IDP
Camps of Nertiti with 19,627 (88%) of the targeted population vaccinated
including those in Thur, Golo and the town proper of Nertiti. This was
done in coordination with the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), SMoH,
MSF-France, UNICEF, WHO and partners. The vaccines were provided by UNICEF
while the operational cost of the campaign was covered by MSF-France.

Protection and Human Rights

North Darfur

On 8-9 April, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Sexual and
Gender Based Violence (SGBV) programme in El Fasher held an All Darfur
SGBV Strategic Planning meeting. Organized by UNFPA, the meeting aimed at
planning and strategizing for 2008, and encouraging participation in the
Darfur 2008 Working Group meeting which will act as a Pillar Lead for the
legal and justice sector as well as to the UNDP-SGBV program of West
Darfur. The meeting brought together some 35 participants from GBV working
group as well as representatives from UN Agencies and INGOs.

Non-Food Items (NFIs)

Common Pipeline distributions this week continued to focus on response to
fires, which easily start at this time of the year.

South Darfur

Through the Common Pipeline non-food items were provided by Solidarite to
51 fire-affected households in Sheiria.

West Darfur

Through the Common Pipeline UNHCR provided NFIs to 43 fire-affected
households in Sisi.

UNJLC provided War Child with 200 sleeping mats for use in education
shelters in five camps around El Geneina.

Water and Sanitation

North Darfur

In Shangil Tobayi, Oxfam constructed 50 new domestic latrines and 50 new
bathing facilities, while 350 old latrines and bathing facilities were
renovated. There are now 1,800 Oxfam latrines in the Shangil Tobayi camps.

Oxfam renovated 150 old latrines used by IDPs in Kabkabiya town.

Oxfam completed the construction of 11 open wells in three rural villages
around Kabkabiya. The wells were also equipped with drinking troughs for
animals. Construction of five more wells in five other villages is
ongoing.

South Darfur

Oxfam held a three-day training session on maintenance of hand pumps in
Kalma IDP Camp in which 25 men and women participated. The day after the
training was completed the participants managed to successfully repair a
pump that had broken overnight.

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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