DARFUR: GEREIDA - AN UNEASY PEACE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KHARTOUM 000939

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
ABUJA PLEASE PASS C. HUME

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID PREF PGOV PHUM SOCI KAWC SU
SUBJECT: DARFUR: GEREIDA - AN UNEASY PEACE

Ref: Khartoum 0828

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Summary and Comment
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1. On April 12, a USAID representative and colleagues
from the European Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO)
and U.K. Department for International Development (DFID)
Emergency Office visited Gereida, South Darfur, to
determine what additional resources and partners are
required to assist the Gereida internally displaced
person (IDP) population of 77,000. (Note: Some estimates
place the total IDP population at 90,000.) A possible
move of 25,000 people from nearby Joghana in advance of a
potential militia attack would upset the delicate balance
currently in place to serve the existing caseload in
Gereida. Humanitarian planning focuses on increasing
capacities in sectors such as water and sanitation and
health, and addressing the handover of food aid
management from the ICRC to the WFP. A Sudanese Armed
Forces (SAF) attack on Gereida is a possibility, as SAF
took Donkey Dereisa from the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA)
on April 16 and has pledged to open the Nyala-to-Buram
road that passes through Gereida. Such an attack would
most likely result in a humanitarian emergency. End
summary and comment.

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Gereida Site Layout
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2. The multi-donor team and representatives from WFP and
the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) flew to Gereida via
U.N. caravan, which landed in an improvised dirt strip
that ICRC built in 2004, when it first began working in
the area. The strip lies amid a sprawling IDP settlement
of approximately 77,000, a figure based on ICRC food
distribution numbers, although Oxfam and other non-
governmental organizations (NGOs) believe the figure to
be 90,000. The IDP settlement has no logical layout and
is divided into sections that represent the waves of
arrivals at the site. The site has grown across the
desert, congested in the center and spread out as one
proceeds south. The haphazard layout of the site
complicates drainage, sanitation, and enumeration of
shelters. The oldest part of the "camp," dating from
2004, now appears well settled, with USAID plastic
sheeting (donated through the non-food item common
pipeline and allocated to ICRC for distribution) covering
hundreds of dwellings. Newer shelters are more
rudimentary, built of only sticks, grass, burlap, and
other flimsy materials. ICRC plans to distribute plastic
sheeting in May or June, before the rains. ICRC and
incoming NGO Action Contre la Faim (ACF),have discussed
realigning the camp to address sanitation concerns;
however, this activity would need to be done immediately
in order to reach completion before rains begin.

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AMIS - Wanting to Be Helpful, But Limited in Logistics
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3. The African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) Group Site
Commander, a Rwandan officer who had arrived in Gereida
only two weeks prior, gave a thorough briefing about the
site and shared observations about security for IDPs.
AMIS has 16 military observers at the site and a company-
sized protection force. Since the March 11
demonstrations against AMIS, who were accused of raping
IDPs and paying IDPs for sex, AMIS has kept a low
profile. The new commander said he is working on re-
establishing relations with the population and felt he
was making progress. Nevertheless, AMIS lacks the
capacity to undertake patrols to protect the population
from roving militia outside Gereida. The civilian police
(civpol) unit numbers only 5, when it should have a
complement of 50, so the 16 military observers also have
to undertake civpol patrol duties. Despite the
importance of the area and high tensions among local
populations, the AMIS team has only one Thuraya satellite

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phone and insufficient vehicles for patrolling. AMIS
must call in helicopters from either Sector Headquarters
in Nyala or AMIS Forward Headquarters in El Fasher,
further complicating operations.


4. The Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) is in firm control of
the area with an undisclosed number of troops and heavy
weaponry stockpiled in the city. The SLA remains very
much in the background and did not come to airstrip to
see the visitors or send an emissary to find out who the
visitors were. The multi-donor team did not observe any
armed presence during the visit and only saw one military-
style vehicle. Interlocutors reported that the SLA sees
itself very much as the protective force for the
population, but may also be discouraging the population,
particularly men, from leaving. Accessing markets
further afield is left to women, who risk attack by Arab
militia. A visit to the ICRC health center did not yield
information on whether there are any rape cases. The
Nyala-based Sudanese medical worker flatly denied that
any rape victims had been presented at the center and
refused to discuss gender-based violence issues.


5. Of greatest concern is the threat from the west of
Gereida, where large numbers of Arab militia are
mobilized and reportedly well equipped. Local umdas
(leaders) have denied AMIS permission to move by ground
in that area. AMIS is particularly concerned about the
situation in Joghana, located 27 kilometers (km)
southeast of Gereida, where the humanitarian community
has not provided any assistance except periodic food
distributions by the Italian NGO Alisei. Arab militia
have reportedly taken over wells at Joghana, denying
access to the local population. AMIS expects the Joghana
population to move preemptively to Gereida, given the
humanitarian concerns and the high likelihood of a
militia attack. AMIS is reaching out to the umdas to try
to gain access to the western zone to patrol, initiate
dialogue, reduce tensions, and reduce the likelihood of
an attack on Joghana. The last militia attack in the
area was on March 18, and an uneasy peace reigns.

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Preparing for the Worst
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6. As previously reported, the humanitarian community is
preoccupied with the water supply in Gereida. Oxfam runs
2 boreholes for 20 hours daily, providing approximately 9
liters of water per person per day to the population.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA) previously reported water accessibility of
15 liters per person per day in accordance with SPHERE
minimum standards, but Oxfam believes this is optimistic.
There are 13 tap-stand systems throughout the IDP site,
and all water is provided free of charge. The water
corporation manages two other boreholes in the town.
These sell water for donkey-cart distributions to the
town population. Poorer members of the resident
population access the IDP tap stands to obtain free
water.


7. The current system is working, but is fragile and
will be unable to handle any slight increase in demand or
shift in equilibrium. Currently, in the dry season,
boreholes provide water not only for the IDP population
but also for some animals, creating additional pressure
that the rains will alleviate partially. However, should
there be an influx from Joghana, the current system will
be unable to provide adequate potable water. Oxfam and
UNICEF are planning for such a contingency, including
drilling new boreholes. The SLA has granted permission
for technical teams from the government Office of Water
and Environmental Sanitation (WES) to move into Gereida.
As in the past, the SLA insists that expatriate staff
accompany the government workers in the SLA area of
control. It is necessary to drill a minimum of 200
meters to reach the aquifer, and special rigs must be
brought from Ed Daein. In the meantime, Oxfam has
installed backup generators to maintain the current 20-
hour pumping capacity.

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Food Aid Transition Fraught with Peril
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8. The transition in food aid management in Gereida is
one of the biggest concerns. Since 2004, ICRC has
provided rations to the population using its own
logistics and food pipeline, consisting mostly of USG
donations. ICRC distributes food according to exact
family size for the older parts of the camp, where
detailed registration has been possible, and by estimated
family size (five) for the newer areas, until a
verification of the population is completed. At the time
of the donor visit, ICRC was distributing rations to
3,000 families, and had grouped the food in stacks of
rations for a group of 5 families of 5 persons each. The
system moved efficiently, with representatives of the
five families called forward to claim their pile, while
loaders helped move the rations.


9. As previously reported, in June ICRC plans to
handover food distributions to WFP. The key concern is
the WFP pipeline and pre-positioning before the rainy
season. Currently ICRC provides full monthly rations of
12 kilograms (kg) per person of cereals, 4 kg of lentils,
2 liters oil, .32 kg of salt and .75 kg of sugar. Even
at this rate, ICRC treats approximately 100 children in
community-based therapeutic feeding and nearly 1,600 in
supplementary feeding. An unreleased nutrition survey
done in January found that the global acute malnutrition
rate is approximately 14 percent and the severe acute
malnutrition rate is approximately 2 percent.


10. When the transition to WFP occurs, beneficiaries
will receive only a half ration and no salt or sugar, due
to the lack of donor contributions to WFP's pipeline
(septel). Additionally, ICRC has been providing ground-
nut oil per the local population's preference, whereas
WFP will provide soybean oil. When the population
previously received soybean oil, ICRC registered an
increase in malnutrition, attributed to a decline in
caloric intake resulting from the sale of the oil. USAID
noted that part of the ICRC ration in April was soybean
oil, so ICRC can re-evaluate this assumption before WFP
takes over in June.


11. An added challenge is that during the rainy season,
a wadi (riverbed) will prevent trucks from reaching
Gereida. WFP must preposition all rainy season stocks
-four months worth of half-rations, or two months worth
of full rations - by June. Failing that, the population
of Gereida will find itself in a dire situation and WFP
may need to air drop rations into Gereida town.
According to ICRC research, the population is highly
dependent on food distributions, although the population
still has animals and is consuming some meat. ICRC is
tracking market prices and has noted no alarming trends
as yet. Should the food aid situation worsen, animal
offtake will likely increase beyond the normal levels,
possibly rendering the population more vulnerable in the
future.


12. The presence of a large number of animals was
clearly evident during the visit. By some estimates
there are nearly 50,000 head of mixed animals, including
cattle and donkeys. As the dry season progresses, signs
of wasting among the donkey population have become
evident, and NGOs reported that donkeys are dying in
larger numbers each week. NGOs in the area are
organizing dead donkey clean-ups and are discussing
collection of animal fodder as well as animal health
interventions to preserve IDP livelihoods.


13. Sanitation will be a disaster this rainy season in
the absence of urgent attempts both to erect latrines and
to encourage people to use them. Animal waste will make
the situation more challenging, as donkeys are crowded
amid IDP shelters. The NGO American Refugee Committee
(ARC),which works nearby in Donkey Dereisa, has
indicated it can reinforce work in sanitation by sending

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a team to help dig latrines and conduct hygiene
education. The drainage situation is unclear but is
likely to be a problem.

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Seven Minutes Per Patient
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14. An ICRC primary health clinic (PHC) is the only
source of health care in Gereida. The clinic is open 8
hours per day, 6 days a week, and receives 450 patients
daily. The clinic provides a full range of services,
including immunizations and ante-natal care. The clinic
staff comprises seven community health workers (CHW) with
a nursing background, a medical assistant, a midwife, and
an expatriate doctor. The CHWs initially see patients,
then refer cases to the medical assistant or doctor. A
simple math calculation that takes into account breakfast
and tea breaks reveals that each CHW can spend on average
only 7 minutes with each patient, if the full caseload is
to be seen each day. This rate of patient consultation
leaves little room for a sudden surge in illness, which
might occur during the rainy season. ICRC has rejected
the notion of erecting health posts on the fringes of the
camp, saying that the PHC is no more than six to seven km
trip for any resident, which is fully within standards
for Africa. ICRC likely will expand the PHC site and
services to respond to increased demand during the rainy
season. Diarrhea outbreaks and malaria are key concerns
for the rainy season; already watery diarrhea is the main
cause of morbidity. Donors believe there is room for
another health partner to relieve pressure on the ICRC
clinic. The NGO Merlin has made several visits and is in
discussions with partners and donors. A government
hospital handles referrals, with assistance as needed
from an ICRC medical team that deploys from Nyala if
there are war-wound cases.

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No Emergency Yet, But Assistance Urgently Needed
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15. At present there is not a humanitarian emergency in
Gereida. ICRC is monitoring the humanitarian situation
and feels that it is under control. ICRC is prepared to
health and protection assistance in addition to
maintaining activities in the rural areas, which allows
them to monitor population dynamics closely. Donors
concluded that despite this robust ICRC strategy, there
is a need for additional NGOs to assist in the area.

STEINFELD