Day: April 29, 2021

KEY POINTS

• The security situation in Ag Geneina town while stable is tense and unpredictable.
• The government deployed this week a reinforcement of 2,000 Sudan Armed Forces and police.
• The top needs of the newly displaced population are food, non-food essential supplies, protection, shelter and water.
• Humanitarian organisations continue to scale up operations, as of 29 April more than 104,000 people had received food, about 65,000 people accessed healthcare services, and 2,000 people received non-food supplies in Ag Geneina.
• The situation in gathering sites in Ag Geneina is critical because of insecurity, overcrowding and unsanitary conditions.
• Additional funding is needed to meet the new humanitarian needs.
• The operational plan covering January to June for 250,000 people is costed at US$65 million.

SITUATION

The security situation in Ag Geneina town is stable, but tense and unpredictable. Over the past few days, the Government of Sudan deployed a 2,000-strong force of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Central Reserve Police (CRP) in Ag Geneina and surrounding areas to ensure security and order, according to the Ag Geneina police office. The CRP has established 35 checkpoints in the Al Jabal area and SAF is manning 15 checkpoints in the Krinding area as a pre-emptive measure for acts of inter-communal violence.

An inter-agency assessment mission visited the Al Jabal area in Ag Geneina on 29 April to assess the needs of returnees. There have been reports of some returns to sections of the Al Jebel area from a number of gathering sites in Ag Geneina.

On 28 April, protection sector with its partners conducted protection monitoring in Markaz Elmouageen, El Borhania Square and Ministry of Social Affairs gathering sites in Ag Geneina town hosting 1,800 people displaced from Al Jabal blocks, Moli and Gokar areas of south-west Ag Geneina. During the focus group discussions, the IDPs highlighted absence of security forces inside/outside of the gathering sites and aired concerns over their physical safety due to fear of new attacks. Food, ES/NFIs, health, nutrition for women and children, WASH, and other basic needs were mentioned as their immediate priority needs.

Also on 28 April, protection monitoring started at the Sudanese-Chadian border areas as well as Sirba, Jebel Moon and Kulbus localities. Assessment of shelter needs for returnees in Burtango, Njyoro and Gokar villages (Ag Geneina locality) has resumed this week. Reportedly, there are approximately 600 families (an estimated 3,000 people) who were displaced in January 2021 conflict that returned to those villages.

Humanitarian partners continue scaling up response in Ag Geneina town. As of 29 April, about 104,500 people received food assistance. Health sector partners reached about 65,000 affected people through 35 health facilities. Of these health facilities, 30 (21 static and nine mobile) are in Ag Geneina town and five are in areas outside of the town. With around 2,800 consultations provided per day, the most reported cases are respiratory infections, diarrhoea, malaria, skin and eye infections. No reports of COVID-19 cases were reported among the displaced population.

On 27 April, partners distributed emergency shelter and non-food (NFI) kits to 2,000 people in two gathering points in Ag Geneina. This brings the total number of people who received non-food supplies since January 2021 to about 64,000. More partners are needed to distribute NFIs from UNHCR stock to scale up the shelter/non-food items (S/NFI) response.

Some partners report that they need further assurances of safety and security from the authorities, given recent incidents of targeting humanitarian supplies and assets, to scale up the response.

Partners reported shortages of funds and possible suspension of support to several health points. Existing capacities are not sufficient to cope with the needs. With the rainy season approaching, scaling up – given current capacity limitations – can prove a major challenge.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) data, in less than four months of 2021 close to 237,000 people were displaced by conflict in Darfur, more than four times the 53,000 people who were conflict-displaced in all of 2020 creating a significant increase in new needs. Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) partners need emergency funding to effectively respond to these new needs.

As of 29 April, humanitarian funding is US$296.6 million, including $197.8 million for the HRP (10.2 per cent covered). Humanitarian pooled funding to Ag Geneina is $6.5 million. This consists of a Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SHF) Emergency Rapid Response Mechanism allocation of $300,000 and Reserve for Emergencies allocation of $1 million. Both allocations are for health, protection, shelter and household supplies, and WASH interventions. A Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) allocation of $5 million supports education in emergencies, health, livelihoods, protection (including GBV), S/NFIs, and WASH. The CERF-funding recipients – UN agencies – have received the funding enabling the scale-up of the response in Ag Geneina. The START Network provided $300,000 for WASH activities in January.

Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the world like no other crisis in recent history. With funds from Member States and other organizations as well as hundreds of thousands of individuals, who have contributed through the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, WHO is tackling the pandemic on nine dedicated fronts. But we’re not alone. In this series, we explore how our longstanding partner, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is contributing to the fight against the disease.

When Uganda enforced a lockdown in March 2020 to contain the spread of COVID-19, Yakobo Kahesi, 35, had to double his community outreach efforts to help sick refugees access health care services in Kampala. The Ugandan capital is home to over 90 000 refugees.

“As a frontline health worker, I made a choice to be out in the community and save lives,” says Yakobo. “But I didn’t stop worrying about the unknown.”

With a background in Public Health and more than 10 years of experience in working with refugees, Yakobo is currently serving as a Medical Operations Manager with Africa Humanitarian Action (AHA), a partner organization of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.

With support from UNHCR and the WHO COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, AHA was able to help refugees in Kampala access primary health care, tertiary level care, sexual and reproductive health, HIV/AIDS treatment and community health. Their work became even more critical during the lockdown, as patients faced additional challenges to access hospitals and much needed life-saving care.

Uganda hosts more than 1.4 million refugees, mostly from South Sudan, DRC and Burundi. 94% of the refugees live in settlements in northern and southwestern Uganda, while 6% reside in Kampala. By the end of March 2021, Uganda registered 40 751 COVID-19 cases. Among them are 398 refugees, with 384 recoveries and 7 deaths. The Ministry of Health launched the vaccination campaign in mid-March 2021, aiming at immunizing 49% of the population, including refugees.

Throughout the lockdown period from March to May 2020, AHA provided patients with shuttle services from homes to hospitals and covered the bills of refugees requiring emergency treatment in private health facilities.

Yakobo recalls a time when he organized a hospital referral for Agnes, a 50-year-old Burundian who suffered from severe chronic back pain. “She had reached a point where walking or sitting was no longer possible,” says Yakobo, adding that she could not afford going to regular checkups as she lost her job due to COVID-19 restrictions.

“I am so happy we could help get to the hospital before it was too late.” She underwent surgery at Mulago Hospital in April and after several weeks, was able to return home. “We are still checking on her to make sure she receives the care she needs.”

Through UNHCR, the WHO COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund also helped AHA invest in awareness-raising activities, sensitizing refugees about COVID-19 risks and safety measures. AHA was able to increase the number of Village Health Team (VHT) volunteers to 230 and reach out to refugees in the worst affected urban areas of Kampala. These community-based health workers have played a vital role during the pandemic, sharing life-saving messages with the communities, reporting positive cases and contact tracing.

“I can’t hide that there have been many difficult days,” says Yakobo. “However, my day would always be made when I’d hear of the people we helped get to hospital, like a mother holding her newborn baby in her arms. Her gratitude at the support we provided makes it all worthwhile.”

Story by Wendy Kasujja in Kampala, Uganda 31 March 2021

This piece was provided by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and has been edited, updated and published with permission.

In June 2020, at the direction of the World Health Organization, UNHCR received $10 million from the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund — created by the United Nations Foundation, in partnership with the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation — to support its lifesaving work to combat the pandemic in some of the world’s most vulnerable places.

YOU CAN HELP

Every action counts in the fight against COVID-19. By supporting the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, you can help continued efforts to fight the coronavirus and protect the lives of refugees around the world. The Fund is the fastest and most effective way for individuals, companies, and organizations to support the work of the World Health Organization and its partners in battling the virus.

Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

April 29, 2021 (KHARTOUM) – The Chairman of the Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, announced the readiness of the security committees to assemble forces in the cantonment sites as provided in the Juba peace agreement.

Under the peace agreement signed between the Sudanese government and the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF)’s factions on October 3, 2020, the assembling of forces should have taken place two months after the signing of the agreement, but the step was delayed for months, due to lack of funding.

“The security committees are ready to gather combatants into cantonment sites in Darfur and the Two Areas, as part of the implementation of the security arrangements chapter,” al-Burhan told the South Sudanese Chief Mediator Tut Gatluak according to a statement by the Sovereign Council after a meeting in Khartoum on Thursday.

Al-Burhan further reiterated the government’s commitment to implementing the peace agreement pointing it represents “the main pillar of the country’s security and stability.”

Several former rebel groups underscored the need to put troops in the cantonments sites pointing that the delay in the security arrangements would not help to restore stability, particularly in Darfur where tribal tensions remain high.

For his part, Gatluak said that he informed al-Burhan about the ongoing preparations in the capital of South Sudan, Juba, for the resumption of the negotiations between the Transitional Government and the SPLM-North led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu.

Following the signing of a declaration of principles, last March, the mediation announced that the peace talks will kick off on May 24.

In a related development, al-Burhan chaired a meeting of the High Peace Council at the presidential palace Thursday.

Following the meeting, Suleiman al-Dabailo the head of Sudan’s Peace Commission stated that the council agreed to form a committee to find out the reasons that led to belate the implementation of the security arrangements and to remove it.

Al-Dabailo revealed that another committee had been formed to prepare for the resumption of the negotiation process with the SPLM-North al-Hilu.

He announced a decision to enlarge the membership of the High Peace Council and the appointment of 10 new members.

Source: Sudan Tribune