ReliefWeb

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The conflict in Kachin State broke out in mid-2011 and has left 85,000 people registered as displaced across Kachin and northern Shan States, as of March 2013, and many others in host families or somewhat affected by the conflict. Extensive damage has been done to livelihoods and infrastructure, loss of life has been significant, and many vulnerable people are facing hardship across the area. Resurgence of conflict in late 2012 triggered the displacement of several thousand additional IDPs. Since the resumption of peace talks in February, however, the flow of newly displaced people has lessened. Nonetheless, there have not yet been significant numbers of returnees, as most Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are reticent to return to their homes due to continuous tensions, lack of livelihood opportunities, and a prevalence of landmines in their places of origin.

The Kachin State Government, local and international Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), community-based organisations, faith-based organisations, private donors, and the United Nations have been providing humanitarian assistance since the beginning of the instability, subject to the granting of humanitarian access. Local NGOs have clearly been at the forefront of the response and have provided most of the assistance since the very beginning of the conflict.

In Government areas, assistance has been provided on a regular basis. Travel authorisation for international humanitarian actors to access border areas beyond Government control has, however, rarely been granted, with the exception of a small number of ad hoc cross-line missions. Local partners, however, have maintained access within areas beyond Government control, and continue to provide humanitarian assistance across the affected areas.

Access restrictions have resulted in a significant variation in the quality and quantity of assistance provided to those within Government areas, as compared to those beyond. Some camps in particularly remote border areas remain beyond the regular reach of even local partners, and have received limited assistance in all sectors. Other camps beyond Government control are better serviced, yet gaps remain. Both resources and the number of actors are far fewer in these border areas, resulting in a reduction in the provision of basic services, like Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) assistance, livelihoods support, and protection.

Some highlights from the past year’s humanitarian response in Kachin include the provision of running costs for 84 camps, the provision of learning materials to nearly 14,000 primary school students, and livelihoods and income-generation skills offered in camps across Government areas.
Additionally, over 6,500 metric tonnes of food aid was provided to IDPs, and micronutrient supplements were provided to over 2,000 under-5 children. Local NGOs worked in all sectors of the response and in all parts of the affected areas.

Many IDPs have now been displaced for a prolonged period – some for over 20 months – and this has caused renewed and additional needs in terms of the provision of basic services, protection, and education. Among the most significant needs faced by displaced communities are overcrowded shelters and a lack of privacy, and some existing shelters and Non-Food Items (NFIs) are increasingly in critical need of repair or replacement. This is of particular concern in light of the upcoming rainy season, as well as the cold season towards the end of the year. It should also be noted that limited assistance has been provided to non-registered IDPs, as well as to families hosting displaced persons.

Limited livelihoods opportunities pose further protection concerns, with IDPs increasingly engaging in high-risk employment, including cultivation of land located in conflict-affected areas. Significant protection risks are also associated with possible premature returns – primarily by threats to physical safety, followed by lack of support for the rebuilding of livelihoods and a lack of livelihood opportunities.
There are growing signs of unmet needs among female IDPs, particularly in WASH, shelter, and livelihoods. Finally, drinking water sources are reported to be running dry in some areas, and in many camps a limited number of latrines and poor hygiene practices threaten the health of displaced communities.

As part of efforts to improve coordination and the overall quality and scale of assistance to IDPs in Kachin and northern Shan states, local and international partners undertook a joint analysis of the crisis on several occasions. Such discussions resulted in the elaboration and subsequent revisions to the Kachin response plan, including the current revision.

The present version of the response plan reflects the changes in the situation in Kachin State since June 2012, and in particular the needs entailed by a higher number of displaced persons and the protracted nature of the displacement. It represents a shared analysis by key humanitarian actors operating in Kachin and northern Shan, with adapted sectoral strategies and requirements for the period of March 2013 to December 2013. A workshop held in early March with representatives from key humanitarian agencies outlined a most-likely scenario for the crisis, sector-specific strategies, priority activities, and requirements for the coming ten months. The stakeholders involved recognise that revisions may be necessary during the lifespan of the document. Currently, humanitarian actors do not foresee large numbers of returnees during this period. Should the situation change, however, and returns become more likely, the plan will need to be substantially revised.

The plan considers that some 100,000 displaced and a further 20,000 people hosting IDPs will require humanitarian assistance at least until the end of 2013. This includes the 85,000 registered IDPs living in camps (around 35,000 in camps in Government areas, and a further 50,000 in camps beyond the control of the Government), an additional 10,000 people estimated to be hosted by friends and relatives, and up to 5,000 people moving back-and-forth across the Chinese border. It also includes an estimated 20,000 individuals belonging to families hosting IDPs who have exhausted their coping mechanisms and are in need of support.

In all, there are around 180 camps and informal sites accommodating IDPs. Due to rapid shifts in the context, limited access, and information management gaps, it has proved challenging to track the exact number of IDP sites. A newly-established Kachin inter-agency information management group, however, is working to address this gap.

Humanitarian actors estimate that the majority of the 85,000 registered IDPs will remain displaced over the period covered by this response plan, until the end of 2013 and beyond. On the basis of discussions between humanitarian partners held in mid-March 2013, more detailed planning assumptions are included on page 11.

Based on planning within the various sectors, humanitarian partners estimate that a total of US$ 50.9 million will be necessary to meet humanitarian needs during the period of March to December 2013.

PRIORITIES FOR SECTOR-SPECIFIC INTERVENTIONS

• Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM): camp management training, camp profiling, this includes technical training, data collection, data entry and dissemination of data across the humanitarian community;

• Livelihoods & Early Recovery: support for durable solutions, vocational and skills training, financial support for IDPs to start livelihoods activities;

• Education: provision of learning materials and Early Childhood Development (ECD) kits, establishment of ECD centres and temporary learning spaces, training of volunteer teachers;

• Food: general food distributions, provision of fortified blended food to pregnant and lactating women and children under 5, cash grants;

• Health: provision of essential drugs and supplies, training of health staff, referrals, upgrade health care facilities, implementation of early warning system;

• Non-Food Items (NFI): distribution of NFI family kits to the agreed NFI Cluster standard, and as appropriate in terms of meeting the need, replenishment of consumable items;

• Nutrition: Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) screening, nutrition assessments, provision of micronutrient supplements and tablets to under-fives and pregnant and lactating women, nutrition and breastfeeding awareness;

• Protection: support community-based projects, protection mainstreaming, referral pathways, civil documentation, assistance to voluntary returns;

• Shelter: conduct camp flood and hazard risk analyses; provision of temporary shelters and communal spaces to meet the needs of another 10,000 IDPs; greater awareness and implementation of Sphere Standards for all temporary shelter providers in Kachin, increased consultation with beneficiaries in terms of specifics of shelter designs; and

• Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH): improve water supply at peak season, construction of latrines, provision of hygiene kits, hygiene promotion.