SOMALIA DART SITUATION REPORT 8 DADAAB

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 NAIROBI 000429 SIPDIS AIDAC USAID/DCHA FOR MHESS, WGARVELINK, LROGERS DCHA/OFDA FOR KLUU, GGOTTLIEB, AFERRARA, ACONVERY, CGOTTSCHALK, KCHANNELL DCHA/FFP FOR WHAMMINK, JDWORKEN AFR/AFR/EA FOR JBORNS STATE FOR AF/E AND PRM STATE/AF/E FOR NGARY STATE/F FOR ASISSON STATE/PRM FOR AWENDT, MMCKELVEY NSC FOR TSHORTLEY USUN FOR TMALY BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER GENEVA FOR NKYLOH USMISSION UN ROME FOR RNEWBERG SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID PREF PHUM PREL SO SUBJECT: SOMALIA DART SITUATION REPORT 8 DADAAB REFUGEE CAMP VISIT REFS: A) NAIROBI 00255 NAIROBI 00000429 001.2 OF 005 SUMMARY ¶1. From January 17 to January 20, the Assistant Administrator for USAID's Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance (USAID/DCHA) Michael Hess visited the Somalia USG Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) in Nairobi, Kenya. While in Nairobi, the USAID/DCHA Assistant Administrator (DCHA/AA) met with UN agencies, non- governmental organizations (NGOs),Somalis, and USAID staff to evaluate the current situation in Somalia and USAID/DCHA's response activities. On January 19, the DCHA/AA and DART members visited the Dadaab refugee camp complex in North Eastern Province, Kenya, home to more than 171,000 refugees, most of whom are Somali. The USAID team heard differing perspectives from each set of stakeholders on the current situation in Somalia. End Summary. ¶2. This cable highlights key points from meetings that the DART and the DCHA/AA attended and makes recommendations on several issues. MEETING WITH UN AGENCIES ¶3. On January 17, the DCHA/AA and the DART met with the heads of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA),UN World Health Program (WHO),UN World Food Program (WFP),UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),UN Children's Fund (UNICEF),and UN Development Program (UNDP). The UN Somalia Country Team has high-quality representatives, who are engaged and aware of the critical issues on the ground in Somalia. The Country Team views the next few months as a window of opportunity to support Somalis to achieve peace and stability in their country. The head of OCHA had recently led a UN delegation to Mogadishu to assess the possibility for return of UN personnel and programming and said Mogadishu was the quietest post-conflict capital he had seen. This contrasts with the perspectives of NGOs and other organizations that briefed the DCHA/AA and the DART and described the city as chaotic. ¶4. The UN Country Team presented the DART and the DCHA/AA with a draft six-month plan for UN priorities in support of stabilization in south and central Somalia. The DART and the DCHA/AA found the plan to be reasonable, practical, and supportable. The UN Country Team has not yet released the final draft of this plan. ¶5. The UN plans to prioritize security sector reform, supporting the transition of the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) institutions, improving federal and regional governance, and professionalizing revenue management activities. The UN plans to assist Somalia in mobilizing 3,000 police, by putting 2,400 retired police back on duty and assigning 600 newly graduated police from the police academy in northern Somalia to south and central regions. ¶6. The UN's humanitarian priorities continue to be health, nutrition, and water, sanitation, and hygiene programs. The UN Country Team also expressed a need to maintain humanitarian space, especially in Lower Juba NAIROBI 00000429 002.2 OF 005 Region. ¶7. The UN Country Team would like to encourage a donor's conference for Somalia. The DCHA/AA is not sure that there is enough donor commitment at this point for that. The UN Country Team also requested that a trust fund for the TFG be established. MEETING WITH NGO REPRESENTATIVES ¶8. On January 17, the DCHA/AA and the DART met with World Vision, Action Contre la Faim (ACF),Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA),CARE, International Medical Corps (IMC),and USAID's Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET). In general, the NGOs were more negative than the UN about the current situation in Somalia. NGOs said that under the Council of Islamic Courts (CIC),humanitarian agencies had better access and insecurity interfered with operations to a lesser extent. With the ousting of the CIC and the intervention of Ethiopian forces, NGOs face increased insecurity, harassment of staff, and more limited access to project sites. ¶9. NGOs reiterated that the conflict had not caused an increase in humanitarian needs and that flood-affected and drought-affected communities continue to need assistance. ¶10. The DCHA/AA and the DART questioned NGOs on the measures they used to assess the impact of USAID-funded projects. Some NGOs confidently provided information on their project's impact, while others did not, reflecting poor monitoring capacity. MEETING WITH SOMALIS ¶11. On January 18, the DCHA/AA met with a small group of Somalis to discuss the way forward for Somalia. The Somalis stated that reconciliation is needed for peace to be sustainable. They felt that the majority of the conflict is caused by competition between Somalia's four main clan families. The groups highlighted the importance of revenue collection in south and central regions and reported that Puntland collects $20 million in revenue annually, a significant achievement for the region that could potentially be replicated in southern Somalia. Additionally, the group felt that the TFG needs to recognize its limitations and work to include other groups in the transition period. Further, they underscored the need to create an international advisory body to the TFG, including members from the Arab League. ¶12. The Somalis were less confident that the UN would be an effective interlocutor with the TFG. The group asked the USG to stress the importance of transparency and inclusiveness to the TFG. MEETING WITH DONORS ¶13. The DCHA/AA and the DART met with representatives from the Humanitarian Aid Department of the European Commission (ECHO) and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) on January 18. Donors are approaching the current situation in Somalia cautiously and expressed limited faith that the UN NAIROBI 00000429 003.2 OF 005 would be successful in working with the TFG on good governance and security issues. ¶14. DFID expressed a willingness to support the TFG in security sector reform. ¶15. Both ECHO and DFID called on the USG to play a leadership role with the TFG in this transition period. DADAAB REFUGEE CAMP COMPLEX ¶16. The three Dadaab refugee camps located in Kenya's North Eastern Province are home to 171,000 refugees, of whom 98 percent are from Somalia and the other 2 percent are from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Tanzania, Sudan, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and Rwanda. ¶17. The team visited a food distribution, WFP warehouses, a USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA)-funded water point, and the section of Hagadera camp where new arrivals are settled. The team met with refugee leaders, newly arrived refugees, the Government of Kenya (GOK) District Officer for Dadaab, representatives from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),WFP, and CARE. ¶18. In fiscal year (FY) 2006 and to date in FY 2007, USAID's Office of Food For Peace (FFP) provided 43,800 metric tons (MT) of food valued at $25.4 million for refugee programs in Kenya. In FY 2006, the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (STATE/PRM) provided $8.88 million to support UNHCR, WFP, and CARE's refugee assistance programs in Kenya, including Dadaab camps. Additionally, STATE/PRM provided $3.575 million to help respond to the 33,000 newly arrived refugees and the November-December flooding at Dadaab. In FY 2006, OFDA provided $256,000 to CARE to rehabilitate eight water points in Dadaab for the local Kenyan population. ¶19. The refugee leaders requested additional secondary education opportunities for the Dadaab camp youth. The leaders stated that their main concerns were that they could not leave the camp to graze animals, access markets, or pursue livelihood activities. One spokesperson stated that they felt as though they were in "prison." Additionally, the leaders expressed concern that since the closure of the Garissa livestock market (due to Rift Valley fever - REFTEL) vegetables, sugar, milk, and meat have not been available in Dadaab for sale in the market. The leaders noted that limited meat and milk supply would impact the nutrition of the community, especially children. (Comment: Current GOK policies and regulations sharply restrict refugee movements and activities. The DART notes that this is unlikely to change in the near future. End Comment.) ¶20. The team visited Hagadera Hospital, operated by the NGO German Technical Corporation (GTZ),and observed 70 patients in Phase 1 (most severely malnourished) and 50 patients in Phase 2 (malnourished patients that have been stabilized but continue to receive therapeutic feeding). According to one of the doctors, these numbers are down from the 75 Phase 1 patients and 100 Phase 2 patients that were treated last week. The doctor noted that the flooding had NAIROBI 00000429 004.2 OF 005 caused an increase in diseases and patients seeking care at the camps' health facilities. ¶21. In each of the three Dadaab camps, there is one hospital that serves approximately 60,000 refugees. This is slightly below Sphere standards that recommend one central health facility for approximately 50,000 people (health services were above Sphere standards prior to the recent influx of 35,000 new refugees). There is also a comprehensive public health system in Dadaab that includes public health outreach workers and public health posts throughout the camps, as well as refers patients to the hospital in Garissa. ¶22. According to UNHCR, Dadaab camp has 10,469 latrines for the entire population, representing a 1 to 20 latrine to user ration that meets Sphere standards. CARE manages the water distribution network in the camp that currently includes 17 boreholes that provide approximately 16 liters of water per person per day, above the Sphere standard of 15 liters per person per day. There have been delays at Dadaab in extending the water supply to new arrival areas due to a shortage of materials and skilled technicians. UNICEF and Oxfam International are currently supplementing the existing CARE water program to help meet the increased need. ¶23. According to UNHCR, new arrivals receive plastic sheeting, cooking pots, a full food ration, and have access to medical and education facilities. However, many of the newly arrived households did not appear to have sufficient shelter or non-food items (NFIs),and were living in huts made of branches and bushes as a frame for plastic sheeting. This is standard practice with the Somali refugees and is culturally appropriate for most rural Somalis given that this is how shelters are constructed in Somalia as well. ¶24. The team concluded that while food stocks are adequate and food distribution methods efficient, there are gaps in the water and shelter sectors that need to be addressed. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ¶25. UNICEF should be encouraged to increase basic education programming in Somalia. The UN plans to enroll 5,000 primary school children in the next six months. Education is key to building Somalia's capacity for good governance, economic recovery, and sustainable peace. ¶26. The USG should encourage the GOK to increase access to local markets and land for grazing and farming for Dadaab refugees. This would enable the refugees to expand their livelihood options and eventually improve the Somali refugees' health and nutritional status. Additionally, the USG should review the current refugee bill that has passed in the GOK parliament and is currently awaiting President Kibaki's signature and determine if USG support for the bill is warranted. UNHCR has endorsed the bill with minor changes. ¶27. The DCHA/AA and DART concluded that in Dadaab camp it is unclear why malnutrition rates continue to exceed emergency levels, despite food aid and nutrition NAIROBI 00000429 005.2 OF 005 programs. Further analysis of the causal factors of nutrition is needed to determine the direction of future programs. ¶28. Mr. Hess did not have the opportunity to clear this cable prior to his departure from Kenya. RANNEBERGER