Sudan: Humanitarian Action in Darfur, weekly bulletin no. 04, 21 Feb 2008

Needs and response by sector

Education

South Darfur

The construction of 13 new classrooms in Sekalie has been completed by the NGO Solidarities, supported by UNICEF, in addition to a further 41 classrooms in different locations in Shaeria locality.

Food Security and Livelihoods

West Darfur

Save the Children USA (SCUS) has delivered 956.1 metric tons (MT) of food to 59,565 beneficiaries in the locations of Dorti, Abuzar, Ardamata and Sultan House.

Health and Nutrition

North Darfur

UNICEF provided 90 kits of medicines and medical supplies, five solar refrigerators, and six freezers to 18 health facilities in Mellit, Malha, Kutum rural and Kabkabiya localities.

South Darfur

UNICEF supported the training of 15 nutritionists and nutrition assistants from the State Ministry of Health (SMoH) on Community Therapeutic Care (CTC). The agency also provided 23 cartons of nutritional paste to Action Against Hunger (ACF) for use in Kalma IDP Camp, and provided the SMoH with equipment for supplementary feeding programmes including 700 iodised oil capsules and other materials for nutrition programmes run by the SMoH and NGO partners.

West Darfur

A total of 3,549 patients visited SCUS's six clinics in West Darfur for non-reproductive health related illnesses and injuries;

- 564 patients visited the clinic in Mornei;

- 561 patients visited the clinic in Habila;

- 1,118 patients visited the clinic in Krenik;

- 267patients visited the clinic in Gimeiza Babiker;

- 460 visited the clinic in Hagar Bagar;

- 575 patients visited the clinic in Ruhal Bokhat.

UNICEF provided the Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) with 42 primary health centre kits to serve the routes of two mobile clinics in the nomadic areas around Mukjar.

The Sudanese National AIDS Programme, supported by UNICEF, conducted four sessions on HIV/AIDS awareness and basic information reaching 374 school students.

A recent vitamin A distribution campaign across West Darfur, led by the SMoH and supported by UNICEF, reached more than 290,000 people.

Following recent insecurity in the north and north-west of West Darfur, UNICEF has supported a multi-agency response, including:

- Sirba - five primary health care kits of essential drugs and medical supplies (each sufficient for up to 10,000 people for one month), one carton of oral rehydration salts, one carton of ringer lactate solution (for replacing fluid loss) have been provided directly to local health workers.

- Abu Suroj - three primary health care kits of essential drugs and medical supplies have been provided to the NGO Medair. UNICEF is also assisting Medair with the provision of spare parts to repair 13 damaged handpumps, as only four are currently operational.

- Armankul - two primary health care kits of essential drugs and medicines, one carton of oral rehydration salts, and one carton of ringer lactate solution have been provided to health workers displaced from Saraf Jedad, who will establish a new health point in Armankul. Also, 6,000 sachets of water purification powder (for 120,000 litres of water) have been provided as the only available water sources are from contaminated dug wells.

- Tandalti - UNICEF's partner Medical Aid Committee (CAM) is providing primary health care kits for the local health centre. Since the water supply is limited to one functioning handpump, two NGOs and the State Water Corporation (SWC), supported by UNICEF, are working to repair 11 other handpumps.

- Selea/Kulbus - two primary health care kits have been provided to Kulbus hospital to cater for populations displaced from Selea. Water provision in Selea is considered adequate for current needs.

Non-Food Items (NFIs)

South Darfur

The United Nations Joint Logistics Center (UNJLC) worked with Humedica to provide Common Pipeline non-food items (NFIs) to 1,446 newly-displaced households in Al Salam IDP Camp. Also this week, International Aid Hand supported 200 households of handicapped persons.

West Darfur

Windows of opportunity arose in West Darfur enabling the delivery of NFIs to areas previously inaccessible this year. UNJLC, CARE and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) worked together to ensure NFI distribution to 1,300 households in Sirba and Abu Suruj and 2,365 households in Arman Kul. Furthermore, additional stocks were pre-positioned in El Geneina for anticipated future needs.

Protection and Human Rights

South Darfur

Save the Children Sweden (supported by the State Council for Child Welfare and UNICEF) undertook a three day training programme for 38 officers in the Sudanese Armed Forces on issues related to child rights, child protection and HIV/AIDS.

UNICEF supported training sessions on child rights and child protection issues organised by the Sudanese police and African Union/United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) forces in charge of organised voluntary returns of IDPs from South Darfur to Northern Bahr el Ghazal. UNICEF staff and social workers from the Ministry of Social Welfare also conducted follow up work to prevent and respond to cases related to separated children and unaccompanied children during the return operation.

West Darfur

Ninety children from Abuzar School completed a four-day training programme on school sanitation and hygiene as part of capacity-building for school health committees (supported by UNICEF). The children will be involved in water, sanitation and school cleanliness, and will prepare hygiene messages and disseminate good practices through drama, songs and poems within the school.

UNICEF is working with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to monitor the situation of unaccompanied or missing children - so as to provide support families in tracing and reunification should this become necessary. At present, spontaneous reunification of families seems to be occurring without the need for formal tracing systems.

In Abu Zar IDP Camp (El Geneina) where new arrivals are being relocated, UNICEF is working with Terre des
Hommes, Save the Children and UNHCR to run an information campaign aimed at preventing separation of families, while efforts are also being made to establish a child-friendly space in the camp to provide psychosocial and recreational activities for children.

Water and Sanitation

North Darfur

Significant steps were taken to improve sanitation facilities for IDPs in several camps across North Darfur. In Abu Shouk, UNICEF, SWC and Oxfam rehabilitated 18 permanent communal latrines, and replaced four household latrines. Three school latrines are currently under construction in the camp, while 65 showers were competed this week. Meanwhile in Zam Zam IDP Camp SWC and UNICEF supported community members and hygiene promoters to clean and maintain 1,500 communal latrines, benefiting some 30,000 camp residents. In Kassab IDP Camp SWC and UNICEF rehabilitated four communal latrines and decontaminated 1,222 jerry cans, while 230 household visits were made by hygiene promoters, reaching 360 community members.

The SWC (supported by UNICEF and Plan Sudan), mobilised community hygiene promoters to undertake a five day environmental clean up campaign (including garbage collection and disposal) in Abu Shouk IDP Camp benefiting 55,000 camp residents. In As Salaam IDP Camp, UNICEF supported Oxfam to distribute 51,650 bars of soap to households.

South Darfur

In Al Neem IDP Camp 300 metres of pipe line was rehabilitated by SWC, supported by UNICEF, in addition to the construction of 400 metres of new piping, linked to three water points of 6 taps each. This development has ensured safe water provision for 1,000 people. In Al Ferdous IDP Camp, a new steel water tank was connected to two water points, ensuring access to 2,000 people. In Al Salam IDP Camp, a sanitation cleaning campaign was undertaken by SWC, also supported by UNICEF, benefiting 11,000 people. In El Neem, Khor Omer and Al Ferdous UNICEF provided 13,515 residents with soap, in conjunction with hygiene promotion activities. In Al Salam and Otash IDP Camps, 60 school children were also given basic training in hygiene and sanitation practices.

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