Aid organisations access parts of Darfur’s Jebel Marra

For the first time since 2011, a humanitarian assessment mission to Nierteti locality in Central Darfur took place, from 29 June to 1 July 2014, with the view to resume humanitarian operations in the area. An estimated 100,000 people, living in Jebel Marra, have been either severely affected, or displaced by conflict. Since 2011, humanitarian actors have had no access to Rokoro locality, and parts of Nierteti locality, because of continued government restrictions, the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan said in its latest weekly bulletin. Before its activities were suspended in February this year, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was the only humanitarian organisation operating in parts of Nierteti locality, including Guldo town. According to the inter-agency humanitarian assessment mission preliminary findings, Guldo town has had no functioning health services since the activities of the Red Cross were suspended. Low school enrolment in the area is also a significant issue. The basic schools in the area have no clean water supply and no sanitation facilities, OCHA reports. It was also found that over 50 percent of the population in Guldo has no access to sanitation facilities, and no garbage collection services are in place. Hygiene promotion activities also stopped with the suspension of ICRC operations. Apart from some 8,500 people (1,700 families) who received agricultural supplies from the Danish Refugee Council, no other organisation has been providing agricultural assistance to people in the area. Meanwhile, residents of Guldo have reported that insecurity prevents them from accessing their land. Map indication the location of Jebel Marra Related: Sudan aircraft bombs health centre in Darfur’s Jebel Marra (16 May 2014)