UNICEF Response to South Sudan Refugee Situation (04.08.2016)

KAMPALA, Uganda, August 4, 2016 – Situation

• 4,074 South Sudanese refugees arrived on August 2, 2016, nearly three times the number of new arrivals on July 31, which was 1,274.
• 55,920 South Sudanese Refugees arrived since 7^th July 2016.
• According to UNHCR, the priorities are: Rapid opening of the newly identified settlement area in Yumbe district; decongesting the reception and transit centres; increasing coverage of health and nutrition staff; expansion of water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure and services and procurement of medical drugs and supplies for the period of Oct-Dec 2016.

UNICEF Humanitarian response

Health & Nutrition:

• Immunisation: From 18^th July- 02 August, UNICEF and its partners have immunized 15,563 children under the age of 15 years against measles and 16,840 children below 5 years of age have received Bivalent Oral Polio Vaccine at Elegu in Adjumani, Kerwe in Yumbe and Keri in Koboko.
• 902 women aged 15-49 years have been immunized against tetanus.
• 31,192 under-five children have been dewormed to boost their immunity while 6,256 under-five children have received Vitamin A supplements to enable them retain nutrient contents of food and facilitate normal growth.
• General Health: From 18^th July- 02 August, 164 refugees have been treated for malaria, 11 treated for watery diarrhoea and 30 treated for various injuries like minor accidents on the road.
• Nutrition: Between 18^th July – 02 August, 6,220 children under-five years of age were screened for malnutrition; the 6.5 per cent found with Global Acute Malnutrition and 2.5 per cent with Severe Acute Malnutrition have been referred for appropriate nutrition rehabilitation at health centres and outreach treatment centres.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

• UNICEF has constructed 10 temporary bathing shelters, 10 temporary latrines, installed a water treatment system, and installed a water tank and tap stands.
• At Elegu 1 & 2, UNICEF has provided 10 hand washing facilities and 10 buckets to promote hand washing at critical times. The facilities are managed by Lutheran World Federation (LWF) at Elegu 1 and Water Mission Uganda at Elegu 2.

Education:

• UNICEF and partners participated in an education assessment in the Pagirinya refugee settlement and in Yumbe District.  Renovation of existing school facilities, construction of extra classrooms, the establishment of integrated early childhood development centres, recruitment of caregivers, training of caregivers, recruitment of teachers and teaching assistants, and construction of teachers’ accommodation, are all being recommended.
• Pagirinya 1A feeder primary school P.1-P.4 has registered close to 1,500 children; only 10 trained teachers and 9 classroom assistants are presently at the school to support the registered children
• UNICEF is supporting to set up 30 early childhood development centres in Yumbe, Arua and Adjumani through Plan International.

Child Protection:

• Save the Children and UNICEF continue to conduct the identification, registration, and on-spot re-unification of separated and unaccompanied children at Elegu, Nyumanzi Transit Centre and Pagirinya refugee settlement; 272 unaccompanied children and 441 separated children have been registered while 18 missing children have been traced and re-united with their families; psychosocial support is being provided to all unaccompanied children.

Press Statement: Increased displacement out of South Sudan into Sudan fuelled by food insecurity

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 29 March 2016, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

UNHCR is concerned by the increasing number of South Sudanese fleeing into Sudan because of increased food insecurity caused by the ongoing conflict and deteriorating economic conditions. Heightened food insecurity and growing unrest in parts of South Sudan, especially in the north-western States of Northern Bahr El Ghazal and Warrap, have resulted in the flight of some 38,000 people into East and South Darfur since end of January. UNHCR fears the situation could quickly worsen as the nutrition situation in Upper Nile, Warrap, and Northern Bahr Ghazal grows increasingly serious.

The Government of Sudan’s Humanitarian Aid Commission reported the arrival of 2,328 South Sudanese in El Meiram and 2,520 in Kharasana, in West Kordofan State. These new arrivals, which may be under-counted, have reached Sudan in poor health, many having risked their lives en route. They need humanitarian help including food, water, basic relief items, SGBV prevention and response as well as family reunification. UNHCR led a mission to El Meiram on 20 and 21 March to assess the level and nature of the needs. In East Darfur, an average of 500 South Sudanese – or 100 households – have been arriving per day, rising to over 150 households last week, with a total of 35,234 as of 23 March, and more are expected in the coming days.

They have mostly settled in Khor Omer IDP camp, with smaller numbers arriving in the villages of Adila, Bahr Alara, Asalaya, Abu Karinka and Abu Jabra. The situation is desperate with most new arrivals having travelled up to 4 weeks before reaching Khor Omer, carrying few personal belongings and in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. UNHCR will coordinate, along with OCHA, the overall humanitarian response, which focuses on the areas of protection, public health and nutrition, sanitation, basic relief items, SGBV prevention and response as well as child protection. UNHCR is also advocating for direct access to East Darfur to support the response.

In South Darfur, over 2000 new arrivals were registered in Beliel Camp. Many of them arrived with no identification documents and are in need of humanitarian assistance, in particular food and hygiene items such as soap and jerry cans. Many children have been separated from their families. UNHCR led an inter-agency needs assessment mission last week to determine the needs of both the new arrivals and the host communities, which are over-stretched as each household is hosting an additional 25 to 35 people. The assessment indicates that refugees have faced insecurity en route to Sudan, are now living in overcrowded conditions with many of them being sick and in need of medical attention.

The conflict that erupted in South Sudan in December 2013 has produced one of the world’s largest humanitarian emergencies with 2.3 million people forced to flee their homes, 678,000 of these across borders as refugees and 1.69 million displaced inside the country. Growing food insecurity and ongoing conflict are causing more and more South Sudanese to flee – either across borders or inside the country. They are among 2.8 million people across South Sudan officially classified as facing a ‘crisis’ or ’emergency’ of food insecurity, according to Fewsnet, the global body mandated to monitor such situations.

With the number of South Sudanese fleeing their country increasing rapidly, UNHCR is extremely worried that the 2016 South Sudan Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRRP) that covers the refugee programmes in the neighbouring countries, run by UNHCR and 39 partners, is only funded at 3 per cent. This leaves many lifesaving activities such as the provision of clean water, sanitation and health services, food and shelter severely underfunded.

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