Sudan - Humanitarian Assessment of the Eastern

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 001061

SIPDIS

AIDAC
SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/SPG, PRM, AND ALSO PASS USAID/W
USAID FOR DCHA SUDAN TEAM, AF/EA, DCHA
NAIROBI FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA, USAID/REDSO, AND FAS
USMISSION UN ROME
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH
NAIROBI FOR SFO
NSC FOR JMELINE, TSHORTLEY
USUN FOR TMALY
BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID PREF PGOV PHUM SOCI KAWC SU
SUBJECT: Sudan - Humanitarian Assessment of the Eastern
Jebels, Nuba Mountains


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Summary and Comment
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1. A USAID team visited the eastern part of the Nuba
Mountains from April 11 to 17, 2006, to monitor USAID-
funded projects and assess local conditions for IDP
returns. The eastern Jebels host approximately 60
percent of the population of the Nuba Mountains. Save
the Children-U.S. (SC/US) is USAID's main implementing
partner in the Nuba Mountains, and has operated in the
area since 1994. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
arrived in Talodi locality and is currently building a
returnee way station to facilitate local returns. The
overall security situation in the area is calm. Roads
are passable, though not all paths have been cleared of
land mines.


2. Access to water is the overwhelming constraint to
full reintegration of IDPs back into their home villages.
Entire villages are forced to migrate during the dry
season due to lack of water. USAID-sponsored programs
are working to rehabilitate old wells, dig new wells, and
provide livelihood opportunities for returnees and host
communities. The U.N. World Food Program (WFP) has pre-
positioned food stocks in the area to ensure continued
food security after seasonal rains render local roads
impassable. End Summary and Comment.

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Background
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3. A USAID assessment team consisting of a Health
Advisor and an IDP Advisor visited the eastern part of
the Nuba Mountains from April 11 to 17, 2006, in order to
monitor USAID-funded activities and evaluate local
humanitarian conditions. The eastern Jebels contains
roughly 60 percent of the Nuba Mountain population and
consist of three main localities: Rashad, Abu Jebeha,
and Talodi. The USAID assessment team visited all three
locations.


4. SC/US, USAID's largest partner in the Nuba Mountains,
is implementing a broad-based humanitarian program
including health, water, food security, and livelihoods
interventions. SC/US provides a variety of programs and
services to the residents of Rashad, Abu Jebeha, and
Talodi including a Family Tracking and Reunification
program funded by the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF),mine
risk education funded by the U.N. Mine Action Service
(UNMAS),food security programs funded by the U.N. Common
Humanitarian Fund (CHF),school feeding/emergency relief
programs funded by WFP, and health, and water and
sanitation programs funded by the Dutch government.

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Reintegration and Reunification of Returns
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5. As of March 2006, SC/US projects targeting returnees
had assisted more than 20,000 beneficiaries. Of
particular note, SC/US has successfully increased
Expanded Program of Immunization (EPI) coverage from 14
to 98 percent, drilled and/or rehabilitated 256 hand pump
wells, implemented 33 school feeding programs, and
distributed improved seeds and other agricultural inputs
throughout their area of operations. SC/US has also
expanded its mine risk education program, initially
funded by the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance
(OFDA) in 2002, to support 72 villages. SC/US's Family
Tracking and Reunification intervention resulted in eight
children being reunited with their families. Although
small in scale, these reunions represent important peace
dividends and build confidence in the benefits of the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) within local
communities.


6. The Nuba Mountains are closer to northern Sudan and
Khartoum than to Southern Sudan, and this relative
geographical proximity has allowed IDPs living in

KHARTOUM 00001061 002 OF 002


Khartoum and other northern states to stay connected with
relatives and family members. This continuity of
relationships has contributed to a smoother return and re-
integration process, with many IDPs undertaking advance
visits in order to report their observations back to the
larger Nuba community in Khartoum.


7. NRC opened a way station in Talodi in early April,

2006. The way station is located 2 kilometers from the
town and features two water pumps, a clinic, a kitchen
with cooking utensils, and plenty of shelter. The
facility was designed to accommodate 540 people passing
through Talodi en route to their home areas of origin.
In a meeting with USAID, the Commissioner of Talodi
expressed skepticism about the usefulness of the way
station. In his opinion, resources would have been
better used to build a school or clinic. However, he
conceded that the structure could be transformed into a
public service building following termination of the
returns program. Given the relative ease of local
returnee reintegration, the way station in Talodi is not
a priority destination at this time. However, this
situation may change during the approaching the rainy
season, as vehicles loaded with returnees and their
personal belongings will not be able to reach more remote
villages in the area.

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Huge Challenges Remain
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8. Access to water continues to be one of the most
critical challenges to survival in the eastern Jebels.
Most of the places visited by the assessment team are
experiencing severe water shortages. In some areas,
families must spend half their day to secure 8 gallons of
water. Villages surrounding the Abu Jebeha locality
migrate into the town every summer to gain access to the
areas scarce water resources. This seasonal migration in
search of water causes some schools to close and stresses
local water infrastructure capacity to the breaking
point. Though less severe than the urgent water crisis,
shortages of health and education services also directly
impact returnee welfare. The most common diseases
observed in SC/US's few health service facilities are
diarrhea, malaria, and acute respiratory infection.


9. Food assistance is a key component of local
humanitarian interventions designed to assist both
returnees and host populations. Food aid assists
returnees and some host community residents to re-
establish homes while also preparing for the upcoming
agricultural season. WFP has successfully pre-positioned
food stocks in the Nuba Mountains prior to impending
seasonal rains, including 700 metric tons of food
commodities in Talodi locality alone. SC/US, WFP's main
distribution partner in the area, is storing additional
food reserves in schools and commercial stores, and is
constructing transitional storage facilities in several
major villages throughout the area.

STEINFELD