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Background
In Darfur, western Sudan, tensions over government resettlement schemes in
April 2003 led to attacks by government militia on locals, sparking a rebellion
led by the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudan Liberation Movement/Army
(SLM/A). Attacks on the civilian population, by a militia army known as the
Janjaweed, has led to the deaths of over 50,000 people, the displacement of
1.5 million people in Darfur, and up to 200,000 people seeking refuge from the
conflict in neighbouring Chad.
In April 2004 a fragile truce was negotiated. However, despite an African Union
peace monitoring force of 4,000 conflict had not abated by the end of 2004.
Even if people could return home, there is nothing to return to.
This village Anka, 65 km NE of Kutum, was caught in the crossfire
between opposing sides of the conflict.
Copyright: 2004 © WFP/Barry
Conditions for those who have fled
Logistics
People fleeing their homes have sought shelter in villages and river valleys
in the remote areas of western Sudan and eastern Chad. Moving the resources
to provide 1.6 million people scattered in camps across an area double the size
of the state of Victoria (Australia) with shelter, water and sanitation, food,
and protection is a difficult and costly logistic challenge. Trucks may become
bogged on poor roads, or hijacked in areas where the conflict continues. Planes
are an expensive option but often the only one possible in wet conditions. Effective
distribution systems are needed so all in need have access to the resources
available. Drought and seasonal flooding add to the challenge, and the economic
and social impact on local people as well as the environmental impact needs
to be considered.
Even before the crisis, food convoys were taking an average
of three weeks to reach Darfur from Port Sudan, and, during the rainy season,
trucks were often bogged so badly they couldn't reach their destinations
2004 © WFP/Richard Lee
Water
Provision of water and sanitation for the temporary camps in the barren desert
areas is of high priority in order to sustain lives and prevent disease outbreaks.
Drilling equipment, water pipes, pumps, tanks, water testing and treatment kits,
latrine parts and hygiene materials all need to be transported to the camps.
Hand pumps and wells have been upgraded to supply both locals and displaced
people, but the short rainy season means that water supply is limited. In some
instances, water has had to be trucked into camps from nearby villages - one
of the least efficient and most expensive means of supplying water. Non Government
Organisations (NGOs) such as CARE, Oxfam and Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)
are using remote-sensing technology to survey and locate new water sources.
Health education is undertaken to overcome the cultural and social issues around
the use of toilets. Many of the refugees have not lived in large settlements
and are not familiar with that kind of toileting. In some camps there are as
many as 300 people per toilet, rendering that sanitation method almost useless.
Also, the plastic sheets used for toilet walls have sometimes been taken to
build shelters.
Food
The amount of food available is limited. People were unable to
plant their usual crops because of fear attack, and drought has limited the
harvest. Many cattle have died in the conflict from overcrowding and an inability
to access usual grazing areas. Food prices have increased rapidly, and those
with food have been attacked.
Aid agencies aim to distribute monthly rations of cereals, vegetable oil, pulses,
sugar and a nutrient-rich corn-soya blend. Intensive feeding programs of high
nutrient value food help malnourished children and pregnant and nursing mothers.
Kerosene stoves have been distributed to ease the pressure on the environment,
and to defuse tensions between refugees collecting fuel wood and their host
communities.
Many families are dependent on the monthly distribution
of grain, oil and lentils.
Copyright: 2004 © WFP/Nancy Palus
Health
Crowded conditions with limited food, water and sanitation lead
to the risk of diarrhoea related diseases like dysentery. Polio and malaria
arealso common. A ceasefire day was organised in January 2005, so that all children
under five years, across the whole of Sudan, could be vaccinated against polio.
This program involved the United Nations (UN), World Health Organization (WHO),
UNICEF, various Non Government Organisations (NGOs) and the Sudanese health
ministry, and included 40,000 volunteers. Two further vaccinations were to be
administered at six-week intervals in February and April 2005. This mass campaign
aimed to address the issue of children missing out on medical treatment because
of the conflict and a nomadic lifestyle. It also led to a brief respite from
the conflict demonstrating to people affected by the conflict their common concern
for the welfare of their children. Anti-malarial programs include the distribution
of a chemically treated mosquito net for each family.
Hundreds of people are camped in a school
ground in El-Geneina. Due to poor sanitation, sickness can spread quickly in
this crowded environment.
Copyright: 2004 © WFP/Peter Smerdon
Protection
There is ongoing unrest, and attacks on civilians by all parties.
Even in and around the camps, women and children have been subject to attacks.
Humanitarian aid workers have been threatened, arrested, kidnapped, injured
and killed despite their declared neutrality in the conflict. Some agencies
have reluctantly withdrawn because of concerns for the safety of staff. This
instability limits the delivery of food and health care leading further concerns
about the survival of displaced people.
What is Australia doing?
Australia is actively encouraging and supporting action by the United Nations,
and will continue to support international efforts to end the conflict and alleviate
the human suffering and gross human rights abuses in Sudan.
The Australian Government has provided over $20 million through
organisations with specialist roles to help meet the immediate needs of internally
displaced people in Darfur.
Sources:http://www.ausaid.gov.au/
http://www.reliefweb.int/
http://www.icrc.org/
http://www.oxfam.org.au/
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