Day: March 27, 2022

To mark the conclusion of the 66th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and UN Women announced a partnership for ‘Investing in Adolescent Girls and Young Women’s Leadership and Voice in the HIV Response’. The United States government is investing over USD 670,000 for the 12-month partnership, which focuses on elevating the voices of adolescent girls and young women in Sub-Saharan Africa to demand non-discriminatory access to HIV services.

The partnership will provide adolescent girls and young women in 15 sub-Saharan African countries with support to strengthen their leadership and advocacy skills, in part, through mentorship and engagement with established women leaders. By amplifying the voices of a diverse set of emerging and established women leaders, the program will help to shape critical policy for improved access to HIV services for girls and women. It will also strive to create enabling environments for young women to realize their rights and access HIV information and services.

According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, adolescent girls and young women aged 15-24 years accounted for 25 pe rcent of HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa in 2020 despite representing just 10 per cent of the population. In this region, young women are twice as likely to be living with HIV than young men. The disproportionate impact of HIV on girls and women correlates with the structural barriers they often face in their daily lives, such as gender-based violence, harmful gender norms, and inequitable access to education and economic opportunities.

“The United States is proud to champion gender equity and to elevate the voices of women and girls in all their diversity,” said Dr. Angeli Achrekar, Acting U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy. “In every country, women, girls, and the LGBTQI+ community experience specific challenges that hold them back from full and meaningful participation in society, including access to essential HIV services. We must work smarter and harder to ensure that all people, regardless of their gender identity or expression, can achieve their full potential.”

“Due to persistent unequal gender norms, adolescent girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa face an unprecedented HIV crisis,” said Åsa Regnér, Deputy Executive Director of UN Women. “We must invest in the leadership of young women and girls, including those living with and affected by HIV, and ensure an enabling environment for them to seek life-saving services. We welcome this partnership with the United States, which we strongly believe will galvanize leaders to implement long lasting policies so that women and girls can fully exercise their rights.”

The new partnership will engage young women leaders from PEPFAR’s Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe (DREAMS) public-private partnership; the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and UN Women partners. The partnership will work in 15 countries across Eastern and Southern Africa (Botswana, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) where adolescent girls and young women experience some of the highest rates of HIV risk and infection globally.

Source: US Department of State

DOHA, 26 March 2022 – Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) announced an $8 million contribution to UNICEF today, in an agreement signed by Director General HE Mr. Khalifa Jassim Al-Kuwari and UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, in the margins of the Doha Forum.

The contribution will go towards UNICEF’s core funding for 2022-2023 and will not be earmarked for specific programmes, which will allow UNICEF to direct them where the need is greatest. This helps achieve the most significant long-term impact for children, and quickly fill in life-threatening gaps in emergencies.

HE Mr. Khalifa Jassim Al-Kuwari, Director General of QFFD said: “The strategic partnership between QFFD and UNICEF is considered one of the most important partnerships to change the lives of millions of children, especially in countries in most need for fundamental support. These agreements confirm with QFFD’s dedication in supporting the health and well-being of children at risk around the world.”

“With flexible funding, UNICEF can allocate resources where they’re needed the most,” said Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director. “I commend Qatar for believing in the importance of funding predictability and helping us make sure that no child in need is forgotten.”

The QFFD contribution to core funding is a significant step in advancing its longstanding partnership with UNICEF and complements generous support for children in emergencies. Since 2017, contributions from QFFD have been vital for UNICEF’s response to various diseases including the cholera outbreak in Yemen. In addition, in 2018, UNICEF partnered with QFFD to rehabilitate water and sanitation infrastructure in Yemen and Iraq. Previously in 2019, QFFD signed a core contribution to support the resources of UNICEF and help save the lives of children and their families.

Source: UN Children’s Fund

This regular update, covering humanitarian developments from 1 and 28 February, is produced by OCHA Sudan. The next humanitarian update will be issued in March 2022

HIGHLIGHTS

• More than 18 million people are likely to be affected by localized dry spells and crop failure, conflict and the economic crisis and need urgent humanitarian assistance.

• The total production of main cereal crops (sorghum, millet and wheat) in 2021/22 is estimated at 5 million tonnes. This is 30 per cent lower than the previous five-year average and 35 per cent below last year’s production (FAO).

• There has been an increase in the number of requests issued by some state authorities for incentives and fees to be paid by humanitarian organizations.

• Insecurity affecting access to affected people in some parts of Darfur.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

Sudan continues to face a macroeconomic crisis. Continued increases in the prices of food and transportation and the local food basket are expected to continue impacting the purchasing power of poor households and likely drive an increase in the inflation rate, according to FEWS NET. The political crisis during the reporting period severely impacted the Sudanese economy, with challenges in exports and imports, blockades of national routes and deteriorating conditions disrupting market systems and food value chains. These factors continued to have a negative impact on people in need in February.

According to the World Food Programme (WFP) Consolidated Approach to Reporting Indicators of Food Security (CARI), the forecasted scenario indicates that 33 per cent of the general population are food insecure during the first quarter of 2022, and 39 per cent will be food insecure by the third quarter. According to FAO, the performance of the 2021/22 agricultural season is poor. FAO estimate that. 5.6 million people are affected by the dry spells in addition to the 9.8 million people that are food insecure due to the current economic crisis, as well as fuel and price hikes. In most states, the rain level in the current season is below the level of the previous season with long dry spells expected in July in all cropping areas, with localized dry spells in August and September negatively affecting crop growth. The dry spell and the subsequent crop failure have affected over 5.6 million people in Blue Nile, Central Darfur, East Darfur, East Darfur, Gedaref, Kassala, North Darfur, North Kordofan, Red Sea, Sennar, South Darfur, South Kordofan, West Darfur, and White Nile. More than 22 million people (50 per cent of Sudan’s population) live in the 115 dry spell-affected localities.

During the month there have been reports of the return of Sudanese refugees from Ethiopia to Al Kurmuk, Blue Nile, following military advancements into the Tongo refugee camp in Ethiopia. Since the beginning of February, an estimated 739 Sudanese nationals have reportedly returned to Sudan through different entry points in Al Kurmuk locality. The official border crossing remains closed. A joint team from the Humanitarian Affairs Commission (HAC), Commissioner for Refugees (COR) and UNHCR went to Al Kurmuk to register the returnees. While UNHCR teams go on mission, COR has had staff on the ground registering the returnees since mid-February. Al Kurmuk has an endemic water problem, and as more returnees arrive the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) needs will need to be addressed by humanitarian partners.

UNHCR has built two temporary toilets at the transit centre, but more are needed. The water supply also needs to be improved to be able to supply increasing demands.

In 2022, humanitarian partners aim to provide humanitarian assistance and support to 10.9 million of the most vulnerable people at the cost of US$1.9 billion. As of 10 March, thanks to several donor partners, the 2022 Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) received $148.6 million, which is 7.6 per cent of the requirement.

Humanitarian organizations in Sudan advocate for early and expedient funding for humanitarian operations as conflict, the economic crisis, inflation, food insecurity and other challenges increase the needs of vulnerable people.

In this regard the European Commission (EC) on 20 February announced the allocation of €40 million (US$45.46 million) for humanitarian assistance to Sudan as part of the €294.2 million ($334.36 million) humanitarian funding to assist vulnerable populations in East and Southern Africa in 2022.

Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Leaders from Amuru district have received an assortment of items aimed at supporting about 2,500 vulnerable people affected by COVID-19.

The “Dignity kits” were handed over by Mr. Sanusi Tejan Savage, Chief of Mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on 25 March, 2022.

The UGX 147 million support is part of the EU-IGAD COVID-19 Response programme. Funded by the European Union, the programme is mitigating the health and socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the IGAD sub-region. The items donated included household hygiene items like water collection jerry cans, buckets for storing drinking water, tippy taps, and laundry soap. And Personal supplies such as bathing soap, sanitary pads, and clothing. Speaking at the handover ceremony, Ms. Anna Merrifield, Deputy Head of the European Union Delegation to Uganda, stated: “This is part of continued efforts of team Europe (the European Union and its member states as well as financial institutions) to support countries to tackle the pandemic. The EU adopted the motto ‘no one is safe until everybody is safe’ to show solidarity in the COVID-19 response especially in Africa”

The IGAD Head of Mission in Uganda, Lucy Dexbacher said: “We would like to appeal to our member states, to the UN family, and development partners like EU, to strengthen the health systems of our member states, so that incase of any other pandemic in future, it finds when we are ready to face it.”

IOM Chief of Mission Sanusi Tejan Savage said most people know COVID as a disease that has brought the world to its knees; indeed, a big chunk of the EU funding has gone to support surveillance, screening, testing and clinical management of the pandemic. But, he said, COVID is much more than just a health crisis.

“Our assessment in Amuru and Adjumani districts have, for instance, showed that COVID caused a spike in cases of sexual and gender-based violence, and forced people to take desperate survival measures. We therefore hope that these items will contribute to restoring the dignity of victims of SGBV and other vulnerable groups such as the elderly, people with disability among others.”

For his part, the Amuru district Chief Administrative Officer, Mr Thompson Obong, pledged transparency and accountability towards the intended beneficiaries. He also spoke with palpable optimism about the renovation of Bibia health centre, under the same EU funding.

“They [project] were able to, among others, construct the out-patient department; these construction works are still ongoing,” he said. “They are also helping us to construct the in-patient department and latrines which have eight stances each, and revamping the maternity ward. They are also constructing the incinerator, medical ash pit and staff quarters.”

Last year, the project handed over support worth UGX 662.7 Million, including a pharmaceutical fridge, COVID test kits and reagents; personal protective equipment (PPEs) such as gloves and masks; and infection control items such as sanitizer, soap, disinfectants, and thermometers.

Besides funding salaries of some health workers and screeners, the project is supporting rehabilitation of Bibia Health Centre III. Bibia is the referral facility for Elegu Point of Entry, and the works are meant to increase its ability to respond to health emergencies and support the rollout of essential services.

About the EU-IGAD COVID-19 Response programme

In 2020, the European Union committed 60 million euros to help stop COVID-19, mitigate its effects on the most vulnerable, and lay the foundation for long-term recovery in seven countries under the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). These are Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Somalia. The regional project is managed by the UNOPS and implemented by the IGAD, IOM, UNICEF, Trademark East Africa (TMEA) and the German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ).

UNOPS is managing the delivery of 53 million euros of the project, to increase the capacity of IGAD to coordinate national responses, increase access to health and socio-economic support for vulnerable groups, and ensure that borders and critical supply chains are safe for trade. This is being implemented in partnership with IGAD, IOM, UNICEF and TMEA. GIZ is managing and implementing the digital health solutions component of the programme, which is co-funded by the German Government.

Source: International Organization for Migration

February is the month in which we celebrate International Mother Language Day.

In the field of refugee education, this day has particular significance as language is often one of the first obstacles faced by refugee children who have to adapt to a new school environment without mastering the main learning medium.

Policies and provision of language instruction for refugees vary across countries. Current practices of inclusion within national education systems only partially attend to refugees’ linguistic needs and many countries struggle to provide appropriate language support for new arrivals. Language-ofinstruction issues thus impact millions of refugee children, contributing to low academic achievement and high drop-out rates.

In response to refugee influxes, host country education systems are forced to use whatever learning resources are readily available. In such contexts, refugee teachers are a key resource, and it is essential to support them as they have the potential and most often an incredible will to contribute to the education of children in their community – and in the host community – to support their integration (see next page: Cameroonian refugee teachers in Chad).

Fluency in the local language not only impacts the ability to learn, but also influences the pace and degree of social and cultural cohesion with the host community that is so essential to adapting to a new context. It is therefore the cornerstone of an effective inclusive refugee education policy.

Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees