| UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER |
SIERRA LEONE HUMANITARIAN SITUATION REPORT
Period covered: 9- 15 September 1997
This report has been prepared by the office of the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Sierra Leone in Conakry, Guinea
SECURITY 1. Nigerian warplanes, which have flown several sorties over Freetown during the past week in order to enforce the ECOWAS embargo, have consistently attracted heavy fire from AFRC anti-aircraft guns. Civilian and military casualties have been sustained ruing these exchanges of fire. A statement issued by the Nigerian ECOMOG Force Commander, General Malu, on 11 September said that ECOMOG aircraft -performing their legitimate duty to enforce the embargo on Sierra Leone were being fired at from anti-aircraft guns deployed in civilian populated areas around the port of Freetown.- General Malu urged civilians to vacate these areas as -ECOMOG aircraft might have no option but to fire back in self-defence- Many civilians living near the port have heeded this warning and have since left the area.
2. Recent reports indicate that the roads from Pamelap, the Guinean border town, to Freetown, Makeni, Bo and Kenema are relatively secure. Although checkpoints have been established in most urban areas, personnel manning checkpoints have generally been cooperative and have not yet caused any problems for occupants of clearly-identifiable aid vehicles. Checkpoints are most numerous in the area near the Guinean border and the stretch of road between Waterloo and Freetown. Most checkpoints are manned by AFRC-Peoples Army but there are some kamajor checkpoints in Bo district. It has been reported that many of these kamajors possess automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades.
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS 3. The meeting between the ECOWAS Group of Five Foreign Ministers and the United Nations Secretary-General has been postponed until 19 September 1997. On 11 September Sierra Leones Ambassador to the UN appealed to the UN Security Council to endorse the ECOWAS sanctions against Sierra Leone adopted on 30 August.
4. In a statement issued on 12 September the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on the Harare Delegation (CMAG) welcomed the decision taken by ECOWAS Heads of State and Government to take -further measures- against the AFRC in accordance with the decision taken by the OAU and in coordination with the United Nations. CMAG conveyed support for the efforts of the Committee of Five towards the peaceful resolution of the Sierra Leone crisis and the immediate reinstatement of the democratically elected government. The Group urged the international community to support the objectives of these efforts and called on the AFRC to cooperate with ECOWAS.
HUMANITARIAN DEVELOPMENTS 5. In response to an enquiry from the UN Humanitarian Coordinator, the office of the ECOMOG Force Commander described the procedure for seeking exemptions from the ECOWAS embargo as follows: requests for exemptions from the embargo should be addressed to General Victor Malu, ECOMOG Force Commander, Fax: 231-226-244. The requests should include detailed descriptions and quantities of goods to be transported, the mode of transport, dates of delivery and routing, including the point of entry and the final destination in Sierra Leone. These requirements may be subject to revision or amendment in the future.
6. On 3 September local staff of 42 international and local NGOs operating in Sierra Leone met and delivered a petition to Major Koroma, Chairman of the AFRC. The delegation highlighted several operational constraints, most of which have already been well documented. These include: commandeering of NGO vehicles, looting of NGO offices and stores and the imposition of bureaucratic procedures preventing rapid delivery of relief food. The delegation also expressed concern that they were being unfairly blamed for the appearance of relief food in open markets. The delegation recommended that commandeered vehicles should be returned, adequate armed patrols be mounted to prevent further break-ins, the number of security personnel at food warehouses be reduced and that the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development (MOPED) resume its former monitoring role and cease its insistence on countersigning all NGO food requests from WFP, a procedure which is unnecessarily bureaucratic.
FOOD AID 7. WFP, UNHCR, food supply NGOs, donors and UN-HACU will meet in Abidjan from 17 to 19 September to refine the 1997-1998 Food Aid strategy for Sierra Leone and Liberia. The existing strategy for Sierra Leone has been developed around three possible scenarios: 1) the security-humanitarian situation deteriorates due to an increase in the fighting. 2) the current stalemate and 3) security-humanitarian situation improves. In practice, it is recognised that some characteristics of all three scenarios will be in evidence in varying degrees in different parts of the country. Consequently, a flexible approach needs to be adopted.
AGRICULTURE 8 (a). In Sierra Leone 105 out of the total of 152 chiefdoms have received agricultural inputs from the relief community for the last agricultural season as a supplement to existing stocks. The humanitarian agencies which have been distributing agricultural inputs are Action Aid, ACF, ADRA, Africare, CARE, Council of Churches for Sierra Leone (CCSL). Concern Universal. CRS, ICRC and World Vision. The Southern and Eastern provinces have received the most comprehensive coverage as these are the areas which have been most affected by the war. However, these are inconsistencies in the level of coverage in different chiefdoms which are attributable to poor coordination by government representatives in rural areas.
8 (b). It is estimated that approximately 141,000 bushels of rice have been distributed to 126,000 farm families throughout Sierra Leone during the past agricultural season. There are two major uncertainties which need to be taken into consideration when estimating the impact of these inputs on food security in Sierra Leone. First, the percentage of total agricultural inputs provided by farmers themselves is unknown. Agricultural NGOs estimate that inputs provided by farmers constitute at least 50 percent of total inputs. Second, it is not known to what extent crops will be looted by armed elements at harvest time. The degree to which kamajors are willing to remain in rural areas to help farmers protect their crops is of critical importance in this regard.
8 (c). UN-HACU has completed a map based on information submitted by agricultural NGOs which illustrates the amount of agricultural inputs distributed and total number of farm families targeted in every chiefdom in Sierra Leone. This map will be a useful tool at the Food Aid Strategy meeting in Abidjan (see point 7 above). It will eventually be digitalised and used as a starting point for plotting population movements and planning future humanitarian interventions in Sierra Leone.
HEALTH 9. During August 1997 ACF screened children under the age of five from different parts of Bombali and Tonkolili district to gain a quick overview of the nutritional situation in these areas. In Bombali district 1,265 children were targeted including children in Makeni town and in Kalangba, Gbendumbu and Kamabai, which are situated to the North of Makeni. In Tonkolili district 273 children were screened at the Magburaka under five clinic and 206 in Yele and Maghangba. Weight, height, Mid Upper Arm Circumference and oedema were checked in each case. The results revealed that nutritional status of children under the age of five was slightly worse than during the same period the previous year but not significantly so. Although limited intervention to improve, nutritional status is being provided though ACFs therapeutic feeding centre in Makeni and through the provision of therapeutic milk to the hospitals in Magburaka and Lunsar, there is concern that the nutritional status could deteriorate rapidly if supplementary feeding programmes are not established, particularly as targeted beneficiaries in these areas received ACF day ration distributions during 1996. The relative shortage of CSB is the main impediment to implementation of these programmes at present although efforts are being made by the Committee on Food Aid in Conakry to address this situation.
10. Christian Extension Services (CES) has been assessing the impact of the measles outbreak in 36 villages in Nieni chiefdom, CESs area of operations in Koinadugu district in the Northern province. It was discovered that 307 children under the age of five had died, many of whom are believed to have originated from Kono district. UNICEF is supplying CES with vaccines in response to the situation. CES also continues to support two Peripheral Health Units (PHUs) near Alkalia in Koinadugu district and mobile clinics that visit 16 villages. 11. In support of government health staff wishing to return to work in Kenema district, Merlin has expanded its activities through the provision of drugs to health centres in Hangha village and Lago (North of Knenema), Blama, Wiema (near Tongo field) and Lowuma (near Boajibu).
This report is available on the internet through RELIEFWEB:
http://www.reliefweb.int
Complex Emergency Division (CED) New York
Mr. Stephen Johnson
Tel.:(1 212) 963.3044 - Fax:(1 212) 963.3630
E-Mail: johnsonsatun.org
Inter-Agency Support Branch (IASB) Geneva
Mr. David Bassiouni - Chief
Ms. Shahwar Pataudi
Tel.: (41 22) 788.1403 - Fax: (41 22) 788.6389
Registry E-Mail:Rosemary.Addo-Yirenkyiatdha.unicc.org
Press to contact (DHA-Geneva)
Ms. Madeleine Moulin-Acevedo
Tel.: (41 22) 917.2856 - Fax: (41 22) 917.0023
Telex: 414242 DHA CH - E-Mail: Moulin-Acevedoatdha.unicc.org
= DEPARTMENT OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS +
[Via the UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for West Africa (IRIN-WA) Reports mailing list. The material contained in this communication may not necessarily reflect the views of the UN or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts from this report should be attributed to the original sources where appropriate. For further information: e-mail irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci, Tel: +225 217367 Fax: +225 216335.]
Message-Id: <3.0.1.32.19970919155935.00723cec@pop.africaonline.co.ci> Date: Fri, 19 Sep 1997 15:59:35 +0100 From: UN DHA IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci> Subject: Sierra Leone: Humanitarian Sitrep Report, Period 9-15 Sept. 1997 97.9.19
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
| Previous Menu | Home Page | What's New | Search | Country Specific |