Sudan - Darfur Water and Sanitation Assessment

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KHARTOUM 001127

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, NSC/AFRICA FOR SHORTLEY
USUN FOR TMALY
BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID PREF PGOV PHUM SOCI KAWC SU
SUBJECT: Sudan - Darfur Water and Sanitation Assessment


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Summary and Comments
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1. From April 29 to May 2, 2006, OFDA Water and
Sanitation Specialist Peter Wallis traveled to North and
South Darfur to evaluate the effectiveness of ongoing
USAID-funded programs and make recommendations concerning
future support of water and sanitation humanitarian
interventions in Darfur. In summary, all NGOs visited
appeared to be implementing water and sanitation
interventions in a satisfactory manner. However, recent
improvements in water and sanitation interventions
throughout Darfur are now threatened by sharp declines in
financial resources and technical capacity. Without
increased donor funding, implementing agencies will be
forced to drastically cut water, sanitation, and hygiene
promotion programs, a move which will likely decrease
access to water and increase rates of water and
sanitation related morbidity and mortality. To maintain
the sustainability of Darfur's water and sanitation
infrastructure, USAID should support efforts by UNICEF
and WHO to maintain technical water and sanitation
advisors both in Darfur and Khartoum and increase funding
for water, sanitation, and hygiene promotion activities
in IDP camps and host communities where IDP populations
overwhelm existing water and sanitation facilities. End
summary and comments.

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Visits and Contacts
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2. While in Khartoum, Mr. Wallis met with water and
sanitation coordinators representing the U.N. Children's
Fund (UNICEF),the International Rescue Committee (IRC),
and GOAL-Darfur. While in Darfur, Mr. Wallis met with
representatives from UNICEF, the U.N. World Health
Organization (WHO),and the U.N. Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA),as well as
USAID implementing partners IRC, Action Contre la Faim
(ACF),American Refugee Committee (ARC),Relief
International (RI),and International Medical Corps
(IMC). Mr. Wallis also visited several internally
displaced person (IDP) camps including Kutum and Abu
Shouk in North Darfur and Kalma and El Salem in South
Darfur. Security issues in Darfur limited access to
rural project sites preventing a more comprehensive
assessment of project activities. Mr. Wallis previously
traveled to Darfur to conduct similar humanitarian
assessments in June 2004 and May 2005.

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Limited Donor Funding Threatens Recent Improvements in
Water and Sanitation Services throughout Darfur
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3. All USAID-funded organizations visited in Darfur
appear to be making excellent progress in implementing
water and sanitation interventions. USAID partners are
implementing effective, creative water sanitation
interventions despite severe security, logistical, and
bureaucratic challenges. However, recent funding
shortfalls have forced the international humanitarian
community to drastically reduce water and sanitation
staff, program activities, and hygiene promotion and
health education programs.


4. Coordination: In partnership with the non-government
organization (NGO) community, UNICEF resolved the serious
coordination problems noted in past assessments and
standardized water and sanitation interventions
throughout North and South Darfur. Sector coordination
meetings and related workgroups formed to develop
creative solutions to difficult issues are effectively
used to solve water and sanitation problems throughout
the region. Increased presence of UNICEF and WHO
expatriate water and sanitation technical staff in Darfur
appear to be the primary reason coordination and
effectiveness of water and sanitation interventions have
improved over the past year.


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5. Technical Capacity: UNICEF and WHO water and
sanitation sector technical staff have improved water and
sanitation sector initiatives in Darfur over the past
year. In addition to their responsibilities as water and
sanitation sector leads, these expatriate technical staff
offer expert advice to the NGO community and facilitate
meetings and work sessions dealing with water and
sanitation problems facing Darfur's conflict-affected
population. Though technical advisors' knowledge and
experience adds significant value to ongoing water and
sanitation activities, many experts will soon be out of a
job. Due to lack of donor funding, UNICEF announced
plans to down-size water and sanitation staffing to 2003
levels by eliminating nearly 70 percent of their
expatriate staff positions in Darfur as well as their
stand-alone Darfur Water Sanitation Coordinator position
in Khartoum. Previous staffing levels were demonstrated
to be inadequate to meet emergency needs, as evidenced by
the abysmal coordination and delivery of water and
sanitation interventions in Darfur during that time
period. In addition, WHO plans to eliminate one of its
two Water Sanitation Coordinator positions in the near
future. These two experts have provided superb technical
support to the water and sanitation sector, were
responsible for the implementation of drinking water
testing operations to identify contaminated water sources
used by IDP populations, and are strong advocates of
water treatment and vector control.


6. Health and Hygiene Promotion: Progress toward
achieving water and sanitation sector objectives in Darfur
seems to have peaked in December 2005, with many hard-won
gains made in 2005 disappearing since January 2006. IRC
decreased the number of hygiene promoters in Kutum IDP
camp by 75 percent and is maintaining a staff of just five
hygiene promoters to serve Bielel, Sekele, Mossai, Dereig,
and Otash IDP camps surrounding Nyala, whose total
population exceeds 86,000 IDPs. (Note: Sphere standards
recommend two hygiene promoters per 1000 IDPs. End Note.)
Since, hygiene promoters and community motivators are
typically responsible for monitoring and evaluating camp
water and sanitation activities, the relief community can
no longer effectively identify needs, prioritize actions,
or evaluate the effectiveness of water and sanitation
initiatives.


7. Drinking Water: Recent cutbacks in donor funding for
water and sanitation activities have negatively impacted
access to safe drinking water throughout Darfur.
Following an arduous 18-month implementation effort, hand-
pump chlorination programs throughout Darfur ground to a
halt as of March 2006. Combined with recent reductions in
staffing and hygiene promotion activities, this failure to
chlorinate drinking water has greatly increased potential
for water-related disease outbreaks in IDP communities.


8. Solid Waste Collection: Solid waste collection
activities have also fallen victim to recent donor funding
constraints. NGOs initiated these programs in an effort
to prevent recurrence of the spike of fly-borne diseases
in IDP camps in May 2005. Last year's massive fly
infestations resulted in costly pesticide spraying
campaigns, an intervention that will likely be repeated in
2006 unless NGOs can maintain garbage collection
activities.


9. Sustainability: Based on meetings with U.N. agencies
and NGOs, it appears that the Darfur rural water system
construction program is encountering serious
sustainability issues. The number of rural community
water systems constructed and/or renovated exceeds the
technical support capacity of the UNICEF-supported
Government of National Unity (GNU) Water and Environmental
Services (WES) program. In addition, many systems were
constructed in insecure areas which are no longer
accessible to WES personnel. NGOs who assumed
responsibility for technically supporting these systems
have also encountered increasing difficulty in accessing
rural communities. Additionally, their general lack of
expertise in establishing community water systems limits
even the minimal technical assistance they are able to
provide. Reduced humanitarian access combined with

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limited NGO technical capacity has resulted in the
degradation of many recently constructed water and
sanitation facilities.


10. The above-mentioned trends in water and sanitation
programming in Darfur are only the beginning of a massive
decrease in water and sanitation services precipitated by
recent donor funding constraints. Nine months of progress
in the water and sanitation sector has already been lost,
and the outlook is growing even more grim as the rainy
season approaches. Funding shortfalls will undoubtedly
translate into a rise in water and sanitation related
morbidity and mortality throughout Darfur in the upcoming
year.

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Plugging the Dike
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11. To stabilize the collapse of water and sanitation
sector interventions in Darfur, USAID should take the
following immediate actions in order of priority:

a) Fund UNICEF to support three expatriate water and
sanitation technical experts in each of Darfur's three
states as well as the full-time Khartoum-based Darfur
Water Sanitation Coordinator position.

b) Fund WHO to maintain three Water Sanitation
Coordinator positions, one each in North, South, and West
Darfur.

c) Fund water, sanitation, and hygiene promotion
interventions in all IDP camps as well as host communities
where large IDP populations overwhelm existing water and
sanitation facilities.

d) Fund reconstruction of water and sanitation facilities
in rural communities only in secure locations where
mechanisms to ensure realistic, long-term technical
support have been identified, and only in close
coordination with local repatriation efforts. The level
of service provided in these areas should not exceed that
which existed prior to the beginning of the conflict in

2003.

HUME