OCHA Belgrade: Weekly Situation Report 03 - 09 Dec 1999

HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE
Coordination:

• The UN Humanitarian Coordinator is to hold a donor information meeting on 14 December, where the UN Inter-Agency Appeal for FRY is to be presented in detail by the Belgrade-based UN Agencies.
• Further to the last situation report, OCHA has launched the Humanitarian Operations Database (HOD) initiative, to track humanitarian activity and to be used as a planning and coordination tool. The key to the success of this initiative is the responsiveness of contributors, as information for the database will be collected from humanitarian partners (UN, NGOs, IOs, donors, etc.) through a Project Report form (see attached), which, therefore, is designed to be quick and easy to complete and to categorize information in a way which will be useful to participants. Feedback on the design or content of the database format are welcome. OCHA will be contacting agencies to collect information, discuss the database and provide assistance where necessary.

Refugees/IDPs:

• As of 3 December, there are an estimated 199,544 IDPs in Serbia. In Montenegro, UNHCR completed the registration on 4 December. Preliminary figures indicate at least 22,244 have thus far been registered.
• In order to address the problem of IDP accommodation, a Task Force has been formed, consisted of UNHCR, ECHO, IRC, SDR, and OXFAM, which plans to send a mission to tour the country to identify as many accommodation facilities as possible.
• UNHCR held a tripartite meeting on refugee repatriation on 9 December in Geneva.

Health:

• WHO, with the Ministry of Health, ICS and COSV, started a five-day health survey in Kiksic, Montenegro, on 1 December, focusing on Roma IDPs and local Roma population.

Winterization/Children:

• UNICEF has begun the implementation of a winterization program, worth USD 1 million, to provide heating fuel, blankets, and generators for life-saving equipment, to children's institutions, maternity wards and primary care facilities. The implementing partner for this program is CARE. UNICEF, with 50% cost-sharing from the Ministry of Education, is also starting the program to repair the heating systems of 10 schools (reaching 15,000 pupils). It is hoped that additional partners could be identified to allow the further expansion of these programs.
• There is an increasing recognition that assistance is needed for school feeding, particularly at schools where kitchen facilities have been overwhelmed by the additional use for cooking for IDPs and social cases.

Energy Assistance:

• The second update on the energy situation in FRY has been issued on 7 December (available at ReliefWeb at www.reliefweb.int).
• A convoy of 14 trucks carrying heating oil, under the EU's Energy for Democracy program arrived in Nis on 8 December, where the fuel is being distributed.

Operations/Logistics:

• As reported in the 12-20 November situation report, the Yugoslav Red Cross (YRC), in conjunction with IFRC and ICRC, has produced a plan to rationalize systems and scale-up operations to meet increased distribution targets. The plan has been distributed to partner agencies and will be discussed at a forthcoming meeting. Among the most pertinent are: programming issues, such as 1) the consistency of beneficiary criteria (across donors, beneficiary categories, etc.), 2) consistency of assistance content (food parcels, hygiene packs, etc.), and 3) packaging of goods in units suitable for final distribution; and transparency/accountability issues, such as 4) reporting mechanisms and access to distribution records (particularly at final distribution point), and 5) monitoring mechanisms.
• A high-level ECHO delegation was on mission in Belgrade and discussed, inter-alia, allegations of aid diversion. Reviews by IFRC so far revealed no evidence of significant, systemic irregularities.

VULNERABILITY AND RISK ASSESSMENT

• WFP is conducting a target survey on vulnerability among pensioners, the first draft of which is expected in mid-December.

UPDATE ON MONTENEGRO

• On the evening of 8 December, forces from the Yugoslav Army (VJ) closed down the international airport in Podgorica, apparently in response to the new State Properties Law passed by the Montenegrin Parliament last week. According to this law, the Montenegrin authorities now control all State property (including airport, state forests, parks, etc.), most of which Serbia still considers the property of FRY. Reportedly, when Montenegrin police began the construction of their own facility at the airport on 8 December, the VJ forces shut the airport down, pending formal discussions on the issue. The airport reopened the following morning, and fights are now arriving and departing on schedule. However, it remains to be seen if a lasting solution has been achieved.
• The storm on the night of 5 December destroyed, totally or partially, 168 tents housing Roma IDPs in the Konik camp in Podgorica, injuring eleven IDPs and leaving 1,300 without accommodation. Five blocks of latrines were also flattened. Most of the IDPs have moved into prefabricated shelters with other IDP families, which are now seriously overcrowded (2,700 IDPs living in space intended for 1,500). UNHCR is working with the Montenegrin authorities to find new shelter, but municipal authorities continue to resist the construction of more permanent shelter for the Roma in this area.

OTHER MATTERS

• UN Humanitarian Coordinator for FRY (excluding Kosovo) briefed the Humanitarian Liaison Working Group, a group of major donor governments, on 8 December in Geneva.
• Following another security incident (the first having occurred in late October) involving an ICVA vehicle on 26 November, UNHCR has once again taken up with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the issue of NGO vehicle registration. The local humanitarian community is very concerned with various reports that indicate increasing pressure on NGO staff, particularly local staff.
• A high-level delegate of the United States Committee for Refugees is on mission in FRY. The U.S. Government intends to provide some USD 24 million in assistance, targeting mostly refugees (with a small portion for food assistance, through WFP, to some 18,000 handicapped).

For additional information, please contact:

Ms. Kayo Gotoh, HAO/Analysis, OCHA Belgrade

ANNEX: Humanitarian Operations Database

1) The purpose of the form is to record data by project in a standard format that can be collated to produce a database of humanitarian operations in FRY (excluding Kosovo).

2) The form has six sections:

General Information: Identifies the agency and project.

Beneficiary Profile: Specifies target group.

Project Location: Geographic site.

Sector and Sub-sector: Category of intervention.

Material Inputs/Distribution Activities: Key physical or technical components.

Explanatory Notes and Additional Information: As required.

3) Use a separate form for each project that is current (i.e. funded and ongoing) or planned.

4) If precise data is not available, please make best estimate.

EG If beneficiary numbers are not yet specific, please insert range (e.g. "5,000 - 8,000").

5) Complete to the maximum level of detail possible. Insert all relevant detail.

EG For Project Location, please state Municipality and Town and Institution name if known.

6) For Project Location, please identify how the sites were selected.

EG Social Institutions (specify priorities/criteria- orphanages, coal-fuelled etc.); list supplied by Ministry of Social Welfare. EG Hospitals, large (>500beds) and with maternity clinics, list from Ministry of Health/WHO.

EG If locations not yet specific, please give as much information as possible (e.g. "10 major urban centers" or "5 most IDP affected hospitals").

7) More than one box may be ticked.

EG For Beneficiary Profile, if the target group is elderly refugees please tick box 'Refugees' and box 'Elderly'.

EG For Sector/Sub-sector, if the project provides fuel to Health Centres, please tick 'Health' sector heading and 'Fuel' in the Non-Food Items sub-sector.

8) For box 'Other', please specify in the Notes section 6 at the bottom of the form.

9) If your information format is incompatible with the Project Record form, please complete the form to the extent possible and attach a copy of the information in your own format.

EG For Project Location, if you have a map and/or list indicating project sites, please send a copy.

10) Please use additional space as necessary.

EG If you are distributing more than 3 Items, please continue the Material Inputs/Distribution section on another form or additional page.

11) If the project is very complex and targets several categories of Beneficiary or Sector/Sub-sector, please clarify:

• Explain in the Notes section.
• Identify each component of the project by using different ticks or colours.
• Use a separate form for each part.

EG If the project delivers fuel, hygiene kits and food to elderly refugees, handicapped IDPs and destitute social cases both in and out of institutions, try to break down the project into its constituent parts before completing the form!

12) Please contact Marcel Grogan at OCHA with any comments or questions. (Phone: 3164 367/8, Fax: 682 963, email: OCHA@Eunet.yu)

See attached Excel file for the Project Record Form.