HIGHLIGHTS
• First IA mission to Fanga Suk (Northern Jebel Marra locality) since 2011 identifies 18,000 people in need of aid.
• Since end August, 392 suspected cases of severe dengue fever—including 113 fatalities—have been reported in Darfur.
• In Blue Nile State, 13,700 children affected by conflict in Bau and Geissan localities benefit from child protection services.
• In West Darfur, communities struggle to manage water facilities in Sirba locality.
• Intensified fighting in border states in South Sudan will likely lead to a new influx of refugees into Sudan.
18,000 need aid in Jebel Marra’s Fanga Suk
For the first time since 2011 and after months of planning, an inter-agency mission visited Fanga Suk in Central Darfur’s Northern Jebel Marra locality. The mission on 11 November found that 7,875 displaced people and 10,000 people from the host community are in need of food, emergency shelter and household supplies, as well as water, health, education and protection services. Most of the displaced people are living in shelters made of local materials—which offer poor protection from the elements—or are living with the host community. Aid organizations are planning further response activities. In addition, the locality commissioner reported that 5,000 people in Aday village (1km north of Fanga Suk), 5,000 people in Auira village (1km west of Fanga Suk) and an unknown number of people in some 56 surrounding villages, also have humanitarian needs. All these people have all been affected by conflict in the state. Participating in the mission were representatives from UN agencies, the African Union – United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), the international NGO Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the Sudanese Red Crescent Society, the national NGO Majalis Alkhair, the Government’s Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) in Central Darfur, and the Northern Jebel Marra locality commissioner and his deputy.
Conflict between government forces and the Sudan Liberation Army–Abdul Wahid (SLAAW) in January 2015 led to the displacement of thousands of people to internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Tawila and El Fasher localities in North Darfur, and to Nertiti and Zalingei localities in Central Darfur. Others fled to the Jebel Marra area and the unknown number of people who took refuge in the mountainous areas of Niscam, Wara, Abonga, Yaga and Fanga Suk have not received any humanitarian assistance mainly due to insecurity and access restrictions.
Humanitarian and development needs in Fanga Suk
The area is suffering from lack of basic services and infrastructure and the main humanitarian needs of the 7,875 displaced people are food and emergency shelter and household supplies, which will be distributed to them soon.
The market in Fanga Suk is poorly stocked and food prices are high compared to other areas in Darfur. Lack of employment opportunities and a poor farming season have reduced people’s access to food and the area depends on goods imported from El Fasher. Poor feeding practices of infants and children—mainly due to the lack of knowledge of mothers—were also observed. Suggested nutrition interventions include establishing an outpatient therapeutic clinic and supplementary feeding programme.
According to the Sudan National S3M survey conducted in 2013, the global acute malnutrition (GAM) rate in Rokoro locality (now Northern Jebel Marra) is 10.1 per cent.
The community has poor access to healthcare services. The main health issues in the area are malaria, diarrhoea and reproductive health. There are a few traditional birth attendants and midwives and one volunteer vaccinator, however no routine vaccinations have taken place in Fanga Suk since 2011. The nearest health facility is in El Fasher town, which is 100km away.
Recommendations from the mission include building a health facility and deploying health staff trained on integrated management of child illness (IMCI), health promotion, vaccination and reproductive health. A solar system will need to be setup to ensure there is the ability to refrigerate vaccines.
The area is has a serious water and sanitation problem. People do not have access to clean water and get water from three open water wells in the village. There are no hand pumps, no chlorination of water, and no latrines. The UN Children’s Agency (UNICEF) is discussing plans with the Government’s Water and Sanitation Department (WES) to provide water and improved sanitation facilities and services. Recommendations include the construction of a water yard, the formation of water committees to manage water services, constructing latrines, and promoting hygiene activities.
According to the local leaders, there are 3,200 school-aged children in the area, of whom only 243 are enrolled in one of the two basic schools in the areas. The schools have seven classrooms—four permanent and three temporary—which lack furniture and educational materials. The teachers are all volunteers and not employees of the State Ministry of Education (SMoE). Recommendations include, rehabilitating classrooms, starting a school feeding programme, providing educational materials, providing cash incentives for teachers, and building water facilities and latrines at schools.