IOM's regional response to #SouthSudan crisis (7-13 July 2014)

SITUATION REPORT EXTERNAL SITREP 7 – 13 July 2014

IOM Regional Response to South Sudan Crisis

OVERVIEW

The security situa on in South Sudan remained tense and

unpredictable in this repor ng period. Despite the civil war,

the country marked its third Independence Day on 9 July.

Hopes remain that South Sudan will overcome the

challenges and start to rebuild the country.

The number of check points in and around Juba town has

increased since 30 June, partly due to reported tensions

between the central government and the Equatoria states.

Increased criminality con nues in Juba, linked to the non-

payment of salaries of security forces. During the repor ng

period, specula on of imminent a'acks on Malakal and

Ben u towns by Sudan People's Libera on Army in

Opposi on (SPLA-IO) spread but did not materialize.

Ethiopia UNHCR con nued to register a reduced number

of refugees this week. In this repor ng period, IOM

provided transporta on for 147,924 refugees from Pagak,

Burbiey and Akobo to Kule II Refugee Camp. In Assosa, IOM

has transported 1,341 refugees to date. Movements from

Assosa are done on request by the Administra on for

Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA).

Kenya has received the least number of South Sudanese

refugees; 40,196 refugees have been registered to date

(Source: UNHCR Sitrep, 11 July). This week 523 refugees

entered the country, compared to 650 refugees in the last

week. The cost of transporta on to the Kenyan border

coupled with heavy rains in South Sudan con nue to hinder

the movement of refugees. Addi onally, seasonal rivers are

now full as a result of the rains, and are blocking the paths

refugees take to reach Kenya.

According to UNHCR, 85,972 refugees have entered Sudan

since the conflict broke out in December 2013. IOM is

tracking and registering the refugees around Sudan. In the

last two weeks of June, IOM iden fied a new movement

trend from the open areas of Khartoum State to the White

Nile State. This trend is a'ributed to lack of familial support

network to join Khartoum.

Uganda, like other countries receiving refugees from South

Sudan, has recorded a drop in the number of refugees

entering the country mainly through the Nimule and

Koboko borders during the repor ng period. 531 refugees

were registered by IOM this week compared to 1,641

refugees registered last week. UNHCR reports that 119,003

refugees have entered Uganda since the influx began in

January 2014. Uganda has received the second largest

number of South Sudanese refugees aFer Ethiopia.

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General reduc!on recorded in the number of refugees

entering Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda.

HIGHLIGHTS

Kenya: Cases of bandit a)acks reported among refugees

travelling into Kenya.

Uganda: Heavy rains slow down IOM’s Water, Sanita!on

and Hygiene (WASH) ac!vi!es.

Refugees disembark at the Kule II Refugee Camp in Ethiopia. IOM is facilita!ng their transporta!on from the Recep!on Centres. © IOM 2014 (Photo: Alemayehu Seifesselasie)

South Sudan: 11,500 IDPs relocated to the new PoC site

in Malakal

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IOM RESPONSE

TRANSPORTATION ASSISTANCE

SOUTH SUDAN:

Since 2010, IOM has been providing Common Transport

Service (CTS), a common humanitarian cargo

transporta on service in support of the Logis cs Cluster.

Presently, a total of 13 trucks are dedicated for this

service, deployed at strategic loca ons across the country

to provide transport assistance to humanitarian partners.

ETHIOPIA: AirliFs for vulnerable refugees con nued from

Burbiey this week and IOM works to ensure that all

refugees reach the refugee camps where services are

provided. 870 refugees have been airliFed from Burbiey to

Kule II Refugee Camp on a UNHCR helicopter since the

airliFs began in April 2014.

Transporta on assistance for refugees entering Ethiopia

through Assosa also con nued this week. To date, IOM has

provided transporta on for 1,341 refugees. IOM is

coordina ng refugee movements from the three

opera onal entry points in Assosa, on request from ARRA.

KENYA: There are increasing incidences of bandit a'acks

on refugees making their way to Kenya being reported by

the refugees. The a'acks tend to happen in the evening,

thereby forcing the refugees to travel during the day.

Unable to travel at night, the journey takes more than 11

days.

The number of sick refugees arriving in Kenya is also

increasing with malaria, and malnutri on being the most

common challenges. Cases of opthalmia in small children

have also been reported. Kenya’s Ministry of Health has

been providing refugees with medical support at the

border since May 2014.

SUDAN: IOM has tracked and registered 43,392 people

since the conflict began. Between 29 June and 5 July, IOM

tracked and registered 544 refugees, with approximately

79 people arriving per day. In the last repor ng period,

IOM tracked and registered 890 individuals.

SHELTER AND NON-FOOD ITEMS (NFI)

Cluster partners in South Sudan have reached 123,114

households with NFIs, and 38,410 households with

emergency shelter. This represents a 61% achievement for

NFIs (200,000), and a 28% achievement of the emergency

shelter target (90,000). This week the cluster’s opera onal

focus was to increase response in hard-to-reach areas and

coordinate the overall response with partners in Melut,

Akobo, Koch, Leer, Renk, Yuai, Gormai and Old Fangak. The

on-going response includes the distribu on of light

emergency shelter kits, targe ng 7,000 families in Melut.

CAMP COORDINATION AND CAMP MANAGEMENT

The efforts to improve the holding capacity and living

condi ons con nued at PoC sites in UN House (Juba,

Central Equatoria), Malakal (Upper Nile), Bor (Jonglei), and

Ben u (Unity); and IDP sites in Mingkaman /Awerial

(Lakes). IOM is leading the efforts to expand the PoC areas

in Malakal and Bor and is providing assistance in UN House

and Mingkaman. Voluntary reloca on of households from

Tongping and UN House began on 16 June. As of 5 July a

total of 861 IDPs have been relocated to UN House.

WATER SANITATION AND HYGIENE

SOUTH SUDAN: IOM is a main WASH actor in Malakal and

Melut PoCs, and is working with partners to ensure that

the IDPs have access to potable water and sanita on

facili es. Addi onally, IOM is trying to promote good

hygiene prac ces. As WASH focal point in Melut, IOM

con nues to lead the coordina on of cholera response in

partnership with the Health cluster. A consolidated

Cholera Response Plan for Upper Nile is currently being

developed and will be shared within the week.

As the lead provider of WASH assistance at the Doro camp,

IOM con nues to meet the needs of the camp’s refugee

popula on. All key water, hygiene and sanita on

indicators are currently above the minimum standards.

However, there remains a need to maintain these

standards to prevent the outbreak and spread of

waterborne diseases amongst the refugee popula on and

surrounding host communi es.

IOM reached 8,599 individuals with hygiene and sanita on

promo on messages, 6,909 through house visits and 1,690

through social mobiliza on sessions. Of those reached

during social mobiliza on sessions, 1,417 refugees were

reached during a jerry can cleaning exercise that was

carried out in three villages. Jerry can cleaning con nues

to be done to promote safe water chain by providing

access to clean water and currently targets villages with

reported high cases of Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD).

Hygiene and sanita on promo on messages were

disseminated during the cleaning exercise.

UGANDA: Uganda’s Office of the Prime Minister and

UNHCR con nue to try and iden fy addi onal land to

establish new se'lements site. Authori es from Yumbe

District have already offered land where refugee

se'lements can be established.

Heavy rains in Ayilo and Baratuku se'lements are affec ng

IOM’s efforts to establish household latrines in the area,

due to water logging, even as surveillance and preven on

efforts for water borne diseases con nue.

IOM has supported 24,800 refugees in Adjumani

se'lements through the provision of medical equipment,

construc on of toilets and the rehabilita on of water

points. To date 15 boreholes have been constructed, and

eight Water User Commi'ees have been established and

trained. Water User Commi'ees manage and maintain the

sanita on of water points (boreholes, etc.) and also

ensure that all damages are effec vely repaired .

Contact

IOM Preparedness and Response Division | [email protected]

Regional Emergency and Post-Crisis Unit | DANILA Bogdan Silviu | [email protected]

For more informa!on on IOM’s Response in South Sudan, see h)p://southsudan.iom.int/crisis/