‘Access allowed to 66 percent of newly displaced in Darfur’: OCHA

Almost 200,000 people have been newly displaced in Darfur since January 2014 following a wave of violence involving security forces, armed movements, and inter-tribal conflicts. Aid agencies have had some form of access so far to 132,000 (66 percent) of the newly displaced people in Darfur. This means that humanitarian organisations have yet to reach some 67,268 people to assess their needs and provide vital assistance, according to the latest weekly bulletin of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).During the early stages of the current crisis, aid agencies were unable to access many of the affected areas due to access restrictions. Yet, in recent days, access for humanitarian assistance activities in Darfur has seen significant improvement. According to humanitarian organisations, about 106,600 newly displaced and affected people in Darfur received some form of assistance, including food aid and non-food relief supplies. This amounts to a little over half of the people who were displaced during the first quarter of 2014. This number is likely to increase with the recent expansion in access.In North Darfur State, the Sudanese Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) granted humanitarian access to different locations in the State including Tawila and Shangil Tobaya towns, and in Alliet, El Taweisha, and El Fasher localities, where an estimated 85,000 unverified people have been displaced due to insecurity caused by the recent conflicts. Saraf Omra Between 25 and 27 March 2014, an inter-agency mission visited North Darfur’s Saraf Omra town to assess the needs of the entire population of the town, an estimated 61,300 people, who had been affected by fighting between government forces and paramilitary forces led by Musa Hilal that erupted on 7 March 2014. Prior to the inter-agency assessment, the Sudanese Red Crescent Society distributed WFP food to some 61,300 people in the town on 12 March. The mission identified some 1,900 vulnerable people in need of non-food relief supplies.The government’s Water and Environmental Sanitation Department is currently fixing the two boreholes and 11 hand pumps in the town. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization is supporting the State Ministry of Health with medical equipment and medicines to replace the supplies that were looted from the Saraf Omra Rural Hospital during the conflict. KormaOn 25 March, a field mission visited the Unamid team site in Korma, about 60km west of El Fasher, where an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 people took refuge following a violent attack by militias in Kobe town and surrounding villages. According to the displaced people, they are in need of protection, food and non-food relief supplies.Unamid is providing the displaced people with limited assistance in water and health services. WFP carried out a rapid food security assessment of those who sought refuge near the Unamid team site in Korma, and found some 3,000 people in need of food assistance. A total of 27 metric tonnes of food, enough to cover their needs for two-months, have been dispatched and WFP is starting a food distribution on 1 April 2014. More water, sanitation and hygiene interventions are needed due to insufficient latrines, and the fact that the displaced people and their livestock are sharing the same space.Khor AbecheOn 26 March, an inter-agency mission flew to Khor Abeche in South Darfur on an Unamid flight to assess the needs of some 3,100 people who have taken refuge in the Unamid team site. These newly displaced fled a militia attack on the Khor Abeche camp for the displaced in which the camp was looted and destroyed. According to the community leaders, their priority needs are protection and security. The assessment showed that the hygiene and sanitation situation was critical with available latrines not sufficient to meet the needs. Unamid is providing the displaced with water through a mobile pumping system.Unamid has also been supporting the displaced people with its limited food stocks as there is no access to markets and insecurity prevents the foraging for wild foods. Fuel and firewood for cooking are also in low supply. On 26 March, WFP provided emergency food rations to all the people sheltering at the Unamid base.The displaced at the site have access to health services at the Unamid health centre, however, medical supplies are running out. World Vision International will be deploying additional health staff to assist Unamid at the health centre. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has prepositioned 500 non-food relief kits, which will be distributed as soon as an area for distributions is identified.Also in South Darfur, an inter-agency mission went to El Sareif camp for the displaced in Nyala locality, where some 2,200 displaced people arrived having fled their homes in the area of Um Gunja, southeast of Nyala city. These people initially took refuge in various villages in Bielel and El Salam localities but relocated to El Sareif camp on 21 March. The newly displaced people have access to all services in the camp and are being supported by extended family support networks in the camp. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) will verify these newly arrived people. Additional support neededAlmost all aid organisations utilised their available stocks and prepositioned supplies to meet the needs of the newly displaced people. They need to replenish their stocks to continue planned operations and have available contingency supplies to respond to any additional new needs during the upcoming rainy season and other eventualities. This will require additional support from donors. File photo: Newly displaced at the Unamid Khor Abeche team site (alrakoba.net)