Highlights
73 per cent of all new South Sudanese refugees are children.
Children and women of child bearing age have been immunized against Polio (14,374 children 0-5years), Measles (18,029 children 6 months -14 years) and Tetanus (902 women).
6,220 children under five years of age have now been screened for malnutrition; 6.5% are malnourished while 2.5% are severely malnourished; all malnourished children have been referred for appropriate treatment.
From 25-31 July, 272 unaccompanied and 444 separated children were registered at Elegu collection point, Nyumanzi and Pagirinya reception centres.
10 semi-permanent latrines and 10 bathing shelters have been constructed at Elegu Reception Centre to support over 600 new arrivals.
With continuous new arrivals every day, basic Health, WASH, Protection and Nutrition services are over stretched.
Situation Overview and Humanitarian Needs
According to UNHCR and OPM, an estimated 85 per cent of the new arrivals since 7 July 2016 are women and children and 73 per cent are children. UNICEF and other partners are conducting sectoral assessments to plan further for specified interventions.
Based on consultations with the Government and response partners, the 2016 planning figures for the South Sudan refugee response in Uganda were revised as follows: new operational planning figure: 150,000 refugees in 2016 (from 70,800); new 2016 worst case contingency planning figure: 230,000 refugees (from 150,000).
The 2,000 person capacity Nyumanzi transit centre is greatly overcrowded with an estimated refugee population of 17,553 people. As a result of the overcrowdness, risk of disease outbreaks is high. The reception center has however seen a decline in the number of new arrivals after relocations from Elegu to Pagirinya.
As of 3 August 2016, the new settlement Bidibidi in Yumbe is currently operational. According to the OPM Commissioner for refugees, the Government of Uganda and UNHCR plan to relocate around 4, 000 refugees to Yumbe on ameeting at Bidibidi Settlement Centre was held on 2 August. UNICEF is participating in all coordination meetings in all Centres.
Needs
The UNICEF Child Protection team along with Save the Children and World Vision, continues to monitor the situation of children at reception and transit sites. Gaps remain in the provision of psychosocial support services, especially at collection and reception centers and on-the-job training for humanitarian workers on child Protection Minimum Standards in humanitarian action. The joint assessment on Child Protection recently conducted suggested that there are opportunities to improve the current registration of unaccompanied children, to include a more efficient verification and best interest determination process that enable access to appropriate services. Foster care arrangements also require formalisation. A concern during the decongestion of the reception areas is the secondary family separation. Increase awareness on protection services need to scale up, including through materials such as signs and information boards. Additional child friendly spaces are required given the overwhelming number of children.
Nutrition screening of all newcomers by health and nutrition partners is ongoing. Children are at risk from an existing malaria outbreak in the hosting West Nile region. There is still risk of cholera, especially considering a reported outbreak in the nearby Arua District, and the fact that it is rainy season period.
The inter agency assessment on Education confirmed gaps in early childhood development facilities, as well as community based institutions. Classrooms, supplies, as well as teachers with orientation on refugee education are very limited, for both primary and secondary education. Services for accelerated learning are limited. Teachers’ accommodation and WASH facilities for pupils and teachers is a challenge. Upcoming schools will require instructional and scholastic material. There is need for teacher recruitment and capacity strengthening to support learning of refugee children, learning spaces, desks, latrine stances for children and teachers, recreation kits, school in a box and replenishment kits among others. daily basis until Adjumani is decongested. The first inter-agency coordination