U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)
Note: This Situation Report updates USAID/OFDA Situation Report #2, FY02 dated January 31, 2002.
Background
Sudan's 18-year civil war between Government of Sudan (GOS) military and militia forces and mostly southern Sudanese rebel groups, including the Southern Peoples Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) has adversely affected Sudanese populations along the traditional North/South divide and transitional zones (i.e. the Nuba Mountains, Southern Blue Nile). Populations in the South and transitional areas continue to be adversely affected by forced displacements due to the continued fighting, raiding, and GOS aerial bombings. Since 1999, GOS military operations aimed at securing oil drilling and exploration has further increased displacement of the affected populations in the Nuba Mountains and western Upper Nile.
The humanitarian consequences of the nearly two-decade old conflict have been staggering. Since 1983, more than 2 million civilians have died from war-related events, including fighting, famine, and disease, and an additional 4 million people have been internally displaced by the conflict, the largest displaced population in the world. Sudan has experienced three periods of famine over the last 13 years; Bahr el Ghazal in 1988-1989 and 1998, and Upper Nile in 1992-1993.
In response to the 1988-1989 Bahr el Ghazal famine, the United Nations (U.N.) established Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS), a tripartite agreement of negotiated access among the GOS, the SPLM, and the U.N. Under this framework, a consortium of U.N. agencies and more than 40 international and indigenous non-governmental organizations (NGOs) provide emergency relief and rehabilitation assistance in Sudan. In addition, more than ten international NGOs provide humanitarian assistance outside of the U.N./OLS consortium. USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) has been active in Sudan since 1987, addressing the humanitarian needs of the war and drought-affected populations, both within and outside the U.N./OLS framework.
Sudan: Numbers at a Glance | Source | |
Complex Emergency-Related Deaths (since 1983) | Total: 2,000,000 | U.S. Committee for Refugees |
Internally Displaced Persons (since 1983) |
Total: more than 4,000,000 Greater Khartoum: more than 2,000,000 Transitional zone and southern areas: more than 1,200,000 |
2002 United Nations Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal for Sudan |
Drought-Affected Persons (2001) |
North: more than 289,000 South: more than 200,000 |
International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) |
Sudanese Refugees (2002) | 442,500 - Total 155,400 - Uganda 84, 200 - Ethiopia 70,000 - Democratic Republic of the Congo 68,200 - Kenya 34,000 - Central African Republic 30,000 - Chad 700 - Eritrea |
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) |
Total FY 2002 USAID/OFDA Humanitarian Assistance to Sudan (to date): $21,347,509
Total FY 2002 USAID/FFP Humanitarian Assistance to Sudan (to date): $11,151,800
Total FY 2002 State/PRM Humanitarian Assistance to Sudan (to date): $2,200,000
Total FY 2002 USG Humanitarian Assistance to Sudan (to date): $34,699,309
CURRENT SITUATION
Upper Nile: The oil-rich western Upper Nile area remains an active military zone between GOS and SPLA forces. The humanitarian consequences on the population of Upper Nile have been tremendous. The area remains one of the most underserved locations in southern Sudan, and outbreaks of diseases, such as polio, have been reported recently. Access to western Upper Nile remains precarious, with GOS flight denials disrupting humanitarian interventions.
According to USAID's Famine Early Warning System (FEWS) latest monthly update, dated February 22, 2002, the food security situation in parts of eastern Upper Nile is cause for concern. Data from the 2001-2002 Annual Needs Assessment (ANA) indicates that the area is extremely food insecure due to poor harvests last year, as well as the inability of most of the population to cultivate crops this year due to localized migration from Pieri, Walgak, Tangnyang, Kaikuiny, and other areas to locations south of Akobo. In addition, late-season floods negatively impacted the food security situation. The FEWS report also indicates that immediate outside assistance is needed in the short-term and may be required until the August-September 2002 harvest. WFP responded to the humanitarian situation in Bieh by distributing 50 percent rations to more than 1,000 of the most affected people in the area.
Nuba Mountains: Negotiations between the GOS, SPLA, and USG led to a United Nations-led multi-agency assessment mission to both government and opposition-held areas of the Nuba Mountains from January 2-25, 2002. The assessment teams focused on the Kadugli, Dilling, Rashad, Heiban, and Abu Gubeiha/Kalogi areas of Southern Kordofan, as well as Lagawa in Western Kordofan. The purpose of the mission was to identify immediate and long-term needs of the internally displaced, war affected and vulnerable communities; assess the current infrastructures; determine the nature of humanitarian assistance required to meet the needs; determine the modalities for the provision of humanitarian assistance; and, identify the potential contribution of the humanitarian assistance to peace building
General recommendations from the assessment include delivering more than 8,000 MT of emergency food aid, promoting basic education for girls and boys, developing capacity for training health care workers, promoting household hygiene, reviving agricultural and livestock extension services, and rehabilitating and construction classrooms, health facilities, hand pump systems, and roads.
Concern about how assistance is provided, as well as the amount of assistance planned was highlighted in the report. Humanitarian interventions should build on the existing structures and systems, strengthen self-reliance that has held communities together until now, and work within a strategic framework common to both government and SPLM sectors.
On the political front, Swiss and U.S. mediated talks in Burgenstock, Switzerland led to a formal agreement signed on January 19, 2002, between the GOS and SPLM on a renewable six-month cease-fire in the Nuba Mountains. Implementation of the agreement began on January 22, 2002 and calls for both sides to observe and extend the current military stand-down in the area, including all of Southern Kordofan and Legawa County in Western Kordofan. The Joint Monitoring Commission (JMC) is in the process of being established to monitor the ceasefire.
Disease Eradication and Surveillance: Attempts to implement polio eradication and surveillance programs have been delayed due to the Government of Sudan's reluctance to allow humanitarian access to all related areas. As a result, the U.N. was unable to begin the February phase of a planned three-month campaign to eradicate the disease. A February polio eradication campaign was planned for Southern Blue Nile, but was not implemented because of a GOS and SPLM dispute over the routing of humanitarian flights. The international community is optimistic that, with the full cooperation of the combatants on humanitarian access, the campaign to eradicate polio can begin in mid-March.
In addition to the polio campaign, the international community is pressing the GOS for special humanitarian access to areas affected by guinea worm. According to the Carter Center, more than 75 percent of guinea worm cases were reported in Sudan, by far the highest health burden in the world. Sudan's national coordinator for Guinea worm eradication stated that of the more than 49,000 cases reported in Sudan, 99 percent were in the South. Experts agree that the disease could be eradicated in a few years if health workers were given proper access.
CONSTRAINTS TO HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE
Humanitarian Access: Humanitarian access to opposition-held areas remains extremely fluid, with the GOS able to deny humanitarian flights to specific locations due to security concerns. In a recent clearance list, the GOS denied access to more than 44 locations, including 19 new locations in western Upper Nile region and areas of Bahr el Ghazal and Jonglei. The UN reported that these flight denials could impact more than 345,000 vulnerable people in southern Sudan.
Aerial Bombings: According to WFP, on February 20, 2002 a GOS military helicopter attacked the village of Bieh, Western Upper Nile, killing 24 people and wounding many others. A two person WFP team was in Bieh to distribute 76 MT of emergency food to more than 10,000 people at the time of the attack. Under the terms of the OLS tripartite agreement, WFP received clearance from the GOS to conduct humanitarian operations in Bieh on February 20, 2002. In a joint statement WFP and UNICEF officials condemned the attack, as did the U.S. Department of State, indicating that the attacks raise serious questions about the Sudanese Government's commitment to peace and the welfare of its people.
In addition to this recent attack, the GOS bombed WFP food distributions in February 2002, October 2001, and June 2001. On February 10, 2002, a GOS Antonov military aircraft dropped six bombs on the town of Akuem, Bahr el Ghazal just as WFP had finished distributing emergency food to more than 18,000 drought and war-affected people. In October 2001, GOS military aircraft bombed the village of Mangayat, western Bahr el Ghazal, at the same time as scheduled WFP emergency food airdrops were taking place to a population of more than 20,000 displaced civilians from Raga. In early June, the GOS bombed the village of Bararud, Bahr el Ghazal, just as a WFP Hercules aircraft was preparing for a humanitarian food drop.
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) reported on February 15, 2002 that a Sudanese health worker and four other civilians were killed when a GOS aircraft dropped at least three bombs on the village of Nimne, western Upper Nile. The international medical aid organization had just returned to Nimne on February 7 following a weeklong evacuation due to security concerns in the area.
Insecurity: Due to the active military conflict in parts of southern Sudan and the eastern front, insecurity remains a significant constraint to the delivery of assistance. U.N./OLS security officials closely monitor the security situation to ensure the safety of humanitarian staff. However, in the past, security incidents have included hostage taking, abductions, violent assault, and murder. Often, the individuals and organizations responsible for these acts of violence are not brought to justice.
According to international media reports dated February 28, 2002, Government of Uganda military troops entered Sudanese territory in search of Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) forces near Torit, Eastern Equatoria. Several NGOs provide humanitarian services in the affected area, and the security of these humanitarian workers is being monitored closely.
USG HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE
In May 2001, President Bush named USAID Administrator Andrew S. Natsios as Special Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan. The role of the Special Humanitarian Coordinator includes increasing stability in war and drought-affected areas, improving the delivery mechanisms of humanitarian assistance, coordinating USG assistance, coordinating external relations with other donors, and increasing attention on human rights abuses. In response to this appointment, Administrator Natsios formed a Sudan Task Force to effectively manage the day-to-day implementation of these goals.
On September 6, 2001, President Bush appointed former Senator John Danforth to be his Special Envoy for Peace to Sudan. Senator Danforth has put forth a humanitarian agenda to test the seriousness of the main combatants about peace, including sustained peace in the Nuba Mountains, periods of tranquility for special humanitarian programs, the cessation of GOS aerial bombardments of civilian and humanitarian targets, and the establishment of a Sudan slavery and forced abduction commission. However, as noted previously, U.S.-Sudan discussions were temporally suspended due to the GOS attack on a WFP distribution site on February 20, 2002.
Within the framework of the Integrated Strategic Plan for Sudan, USAID has identified programmatic priorities for fiscal year 2002. These priorities include: multi-sectoral emergency assistance to war-affected populations, increasing support to war-affected populations in under-served geographic areas (i.e. Nuba Mountains, Upper Nile, Southern Blue Nile, and eastern Sudan), increasing support for IDP/refugee returns, continuing to support drought and flood recovery in northern Sudan, and responding quickly to negotiated humanitarian access agreements.
USAID/OFDA, as well as USAID's Office of Food for Peace (FFP), provide humanitarian assistance under the guidelines of the Integrated Strategic Plan and outlined programmatic priorities. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) provide additional USG humanitarian assistance to Sudan. In FY 2002, USAID's Africa bureau manages the development portion of the Sudan Integrated Strategic Plan in opposition-held areas of the country, with planned levels of $11.4 million in development assistance and $4 million in Economic Support Funds.
On October 15, 2001, U.S. Chargé d'Affaires Raymond Brown renewed the disaster declaration for FY 2002 for Sudan. The US Mission in Sudan has declared disasters due to complex emergencies since 1987.
SUMMARY OF USG HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO SUDAN
Agency
|
Implementing Partner
|
Sector
|
Regions
|
Amount
|
FY 2002 (to date)
|
||||
USAID1 |
$32,499,309
|
|||
USAID/OFDA2 |
$21,347,509
|
|||
Southern Sector Programs | ||||
ACF | Nutrition Surveillance | Southern Sudan |
$353,388
|
|
ADRA | Health, Animal Health | Upper Nile |
$1,090,000
|
|
ARC | Primary Health, Wat/San | Eastern Equatoria |
$1,386,044
|
|
CARE | Food Security, Primary Health | Jonglei |
$1,732,854
|
|
CONCERN | Food Security | Southern Sudan |
$1,400,000
|
|
CRS | Primary Health, Food Security | Southern Sudan |
$2,139,838
|
|
FAO | Food Security, Coordination | Southern Sudan |
$750,000
|
|
IAS/MEDIC | Wat/San | Bahr el Ghazal |
$600,000
|
|
IRC/Tearfund | Food Security, Nutritional Surveillance, Health Education | Bahr el Ghazal |
$299,646
|
|
MEDAIR | Food Security, Relief | Upper Nile |
$535,000
|
|
NPA | Food Security | Eastern Equatoria |
$2,118,748
|
|
Samaritan's Purse | Logistics | Southern Sudan |
$1,059,723
|
|
SCF/UK | Food Security, Relief | Bahr El Ghazal, Upper Nile |
$603,303
|
|
SCF/US | Food Security | South Kordofan |
$856,740
|
|
World Vision | Non-Food Items | Upper Nile |
$400,000
|
|
UNICEF | Multi-Sectoral | Southern Sudan |
$1,500,000
|
|
VSF/G | Animal Health | Bahr el Ghazal, EasternEquatoria |
$735,000
|
|
Northern Sector Programs | ||||
ACF | Primary Health | Bahr el Jebel, Bahr el Ghazal |
$857,275
|
|
ADRA | Primary Health, Wat/San | White Nile |
$709,591
|
|
FAO | Food Security, Coordination | Jonglei |
$400,000
|
|
GOAL | Health | Kassala |
$345,116
|
|
IRC | Primary Health, Wat/San | Upper Nile |
$495,243
|
|
UNOCHA | Security | Sudan |
$250,000
|
|
WFP | Logistics | Sudan |
$300,000
|
|
Administrative Support | ||||
USDA | Technical Assistance | Washington, D.C. |
$400,000
|
|
USAID/Nairobi | Technical Support | Southern Sudan |
$30,000
|
|
USAID/FFP |
$11,151,800
|
|||
CRS | 12,010 MT of Title II emergency food assistance | Eastern Equatoria |
$11,151,800
|
|
State/ PRM3 |
$2,200,000
|
|||
UNHCR | Refugee Operations | Sudan |
$2,200,000
|
|
Total USG Humanitarian Assistance in FY 2002 (to date) |
$34,699,309
|
1 USAID funding figure includes international disaster assistance funding provided by USAID/OFDA and USAID/FFP and does not reflect $11.4 million in development assistance funding and $4 million in Economic Support Funds provided through USAID's Africa Bureau.
2 USAID/OFDA funding indicates committed and/or obligated amounts as of March 6, 2002. Additional USG humanitarian assistance will be reported as it becomes available.
3 State/PRM figures include only Sudan-specific funding, and do not include unearmarked funding for UNHCR and IFRC Africa programs.
Tami Halmrast-Sanchez
Acting Director
Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance
USAID/OFDA bulletins can be obtained from the USAID web site at http://www.usaid.gov/hum_response/ofda/situation.html