| UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER |
OLS SOUTHERN SECTOR UPDATE 96/41,15 October 1996
A weekly report on major developments concerning relief operations in southern Sudan
NGOS RETURN TO AKOBO... Six staff of the OLS NGOs MSF-Belgium and ACROSS returned to Akobo on 13 October after a precautionary absence of more than one month due to insecurity. MSF- Belgium will resume their Expanded Programme of Immunization (EPI) activities, ongoing medical training, and work in the local hospital, while starting new health outreach programmes for the surrounding areas; ACROSS plans to continue their community based health care programme. Veterinaires sans Frontieres-Belgium hopes to return on 21 October to resume livestock activities.
KOTOBI BOMBED... Three bombs were dropped on the Kotobi area on 7 October, about 12 kilometers from the town. Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF)-Belgium staff in the area report that there were no casualties.
FIGHTING IN LOKICHOKIO... On 8 October, ethnic fighting broke out some 400 metres south of the Lokichokio airstrip between a group of about 50 Didinga tribespeople from southern Sudan and local Turkana. The fighting lasted for some three hours and eventually involved the local Kenya police in Turkana. No one was killed and there was no damage to aircraft or the Lokichokio airstrip. The Didinga are now reported to be heading back to southern Sudan.
INSECURITY CONTINUES IN NORTHERN UGANDA... The travel advisory issued late last month continues to be in effect for all roads in northern Uganda. OLS vehicles are asked not to travel on roads north of Gulu due to insecurity. Roads north of Kitgum to Labone, Parajok and Ikotos are especially dangerous. On 14 October, rebel groups in northern Uganda attacked the army barracks, the UNHCR office and residential compounds, and the Lutheran World Federation guesthouse in Adjumani, destroying vehicles and looting property. Most of the UNHCR, WFP and other NGO staff have been relocated to Kampala.
OLS PROGRAMMES UPDATE... The Food Security task force, comprised of selected international and indigenous NGOs, WFP, UNICEF and donor representatives, will have their first meeting in Nairobi on 15 October. The terms of reference for the task force include determining a working definition of food security, regional strategy prioritization for food security, and modalities for implementing food security programming.
WFP distributed of 33mt of food aid in Maiwut for 5,000 beneficiaries, 59mt in Narus for 5,800 beneficiaries, an ongoing distribution of 262mt in Pakor for 38,500 beneficiaries, 121mt to Pibor on the request of WFP Khartoum, and 3.5mt of food for training, in-patient and supplementary feeding to support NGO programmes for 332 beneficiaries.
Representatives from nearly all the OLS NGOs were present at the 4 October workshop in Nairobi on letters of understanding (LOUs) and annexes for 1997. The LOUs include a summary of the agreement between each NGO and UNICEF to deliver humanitarian assistance and abide by the principles that OLS operates under. The annexes involve programme commitments, including locations to be served, programme objectives, and specifics regarding UNICEF and NGO input into NGO programmes. The workshop included an update on the OLS Review Report, briefings on gender issues and capacity building, discussion on cargo requirements, and discussions and technical advice regarding the 1997 LOUs and annexes. NGOs are reminded that completed annexes should be submitted by 8 November to the UNICEF/OLS Liaison Officer.
A UNICEF sponsored ethno-veterinary consultancy began on 14 October with the arrival of Dr. Stephen Blakeway who will be joined later in the month by Dr. David Adolph and Dr. B.J. Linquist. The three will be looking at southern Sudanese perceptions/understanding of livestock diseases, existing treatments, and upgrading the OLS livestock training curriculum to incorporate ethno-veterinary information.
A UNICEF/GAA training of Community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs) is ongoing in Ikotos while a similar CAHW training led by VetAid is ongoing in Turalei.
A UNICEF/OLS Project Officer visited Pibor on 9 October to monitor distribution of emergency relief supplies, and the EPI and cattle vaccination programmes which began on 5 October in response to reports of severe floods which damaged crops and homes. He reported that distributions have taken place, and 4,400 head of cattle have been vaccinated. Immunization against measles, polio and tetanus are ongoing in the community.
World Vision International (WVI) held a workshop in Yambio on 1-2 October with 60 prominent farmers and community leaders in order to share experiences on crop variety evaluation and give feedback on the palatability and acceptability of the crop varieties introduced to the community as part of WVI's crop variety trial programme.
Local counterparts continue to advise OLS NGOs working in Panthou and Thiek Thou to suspend activities in the area due to insecurity.
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Message-ID: <199610161722.NAA28914@rmy.rmy.emory.edu> Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1996 13:22:17 -0400 From: "Younis AI." <younis@RMY.EMORY.EDU> Subject: OLS SOUTHERN SECTOR UPDATE 15 October 1996 (fwd)
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