SPEAR_Mission_Summary

SPEAR Project – Report Summary
Area of Operations: Abyei, South Kordofan, Sudan (Base: WARD agency in Agok)
Date of Mission: March 21st – April 4th, 2007
Contracting Partner. Daniel Deng, KUSH
Participants: R. Stefan Templeton, Charles O'Connell
Adrian Rösiö, Liz Tschoegl
The full report, which is based on a 10-day mission with special emphasis placed on Water Survey, can be acquired from the KUSH organization.
The SPEAR team (Special Procedures for Emergency Assessment & Response) is a technical survey team that is trained and equipped as a field advisory unit to provide hazard assessment and geo-referenced mapping from the field. The officers who conducted the mission were trained in the sectoral needs of disaster-affected populations.
Man-made Hazards and Security Issues
Clear violations of the CPA incl. restrictions on UNMIS monitors in and around Abyei Town.
The population is widely armed and there have been reports of flare-ups between civilians and the SAF. A return to war is likely if the security provisions in the CPA are not implemented and monitored.
UNAMIS observers are not allowed beyond a 1 km zone around Abyei township and the lightly armed AU peacekeepers and Bolivian observers are restricted to patrolling within the boundaries of Abyei town.
The general local opinion is that UNAMIS has been subverted by a pro-Khartoum agenda by the UN Pakistani security service and the Afghani administrators.
No restrictions are placed on humanitarian agencies. All local areas, with the exception of the oil fields north of Abyei, are accessible by day.
Operational conditions for relief personnel are relatively good, given the high level of acceptance by the local Ngok Dinka population.
An armored tank division from Khartoum poses a threat. The SAF barracks immediately south of Abyei are protected by defensive earthworks, sandbags, trenches and enfiladed machine-gun posts, whereas the SPLA barracks are not, pursuant to CPA agreements. Fighting between SPLM and SAF-associated militias are deemed entirely possible in Abyei.
Recommendations
Attack assessment on SAF forces north of the River Kiir and subsequent effects upon the civilian population.
Preparation of emergency relocation sites south of the River Kiir.
Forward placement of emergency water supply systems such as the OXFAM kit should be made available to NGOs from UNJLC depot in Dubai in collaboration with SRRC.
Natural Hazards
No significant sudden-onset natural hazards present.
The area is prone to flooding. The North-South road has inadequate drainage systems which are comprised of the sporadic placement of zinc pipes beneath the road. The road's placement has taken little heed of the topography and natural water course of the seasonal rain fall, so local flooding will likely occur in certain areas next to the road.
Recommendations
Advance preparedness and mitigation strategies against flooding are required.
Water
Lack of clean water in Abyei is directly causing child deaths and illness from diarrhea and water-borne diseases (guinea worm, malaria, trauchoma, Bilharzia and onchoceriasis) and limits agricultural production.
Access to safe water is severely limited in Abyei, both north and south of the River Kiir.
Water shortages during the dry season has always been a source of conflict but is even more acute now due to the return of large numbers of IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons).
Construction of the North-South road has decreased water supply from nearby rivers/streams.
Water in rivers and streams is not safe for drinking, nor the hafirs resulted from the building of the road.
Man-made hafir: When questioned, the woman in the photo claimed she was not using the water for drinking, but she would hardly carry 40 liters of water 10 km if it wasn't intended for consumption.
Abyei has three water yards that can supply 12,000 beneficiaries at 20 liters/day.
The North Abyei water yard that supplies the donkey-borne water vendors is contaminated at point of source by E. Coli due largely to hand-to-hand contact at the funnel (an old fire hose).
Access to the UNDP-funded public water point is currently sold to the vendors by an unidentified guard.
The UNDP water yard 9 km North of Abyei has fallen into disrepair and is no longer in service.
Bacteriological testing of 21 boreholes and water yards showed that 14 sites were contaminated by E. coli (faecal pathogens). At 4 sites, levels exceeded 10FC/100ml (far in excess of WHO standards).
2 wells north of Abyei had turbidity values above 5 NTU.
All hand pumps (India Mark II) are equipped with a spout that delivers a stream of water that is too large for the standard UNICEF-issued 20 liter jerry can, resulting in consumers at all water points using discarded, severed water bottles as makeshift funnels. These plastic bottles are passed from hand to hand, contaminating the water. Swab samples taken from the makeshift funnels consistently showed coliform counts that were too high to measure (above 90 CFU/100 ml).
Point of delivery calculations are grossly inaccurate, being based on theoretical output of the hand pumps rather than actual output. It is therefore uncertain whether or not SPHERE standards (15 liters/person per day) are being met.
Conclusions
50% of the well sites transmit waterborne diseases.
Faecal contamination of wells are due to mismanagement of points of delivery (contaminated standing water at the base-plate of the well and sharing of plastic bottles as funnels).
High turbidity values may relate to degraded well head screens and inefficient gravel packs.
There is an enormous gap in actual access to water for the smaller populations situated around Abyei township.
Recommendations
A program of spot welding aluminum funnels to all existing hand pumps would obviate the need for the population to use the ubiquitous unsanitary water bottles, thereby greatly reducing faecal contamination.
An accurate picture of delivery at source is best measured by dividing the number of jerry cans queued up at the water source by the actual time required to fill them (often by children) and comparing to population estimate within 500 meter radius.
The gap in water access must be closed by an aggressive program of well drilling and point of delivery education.
An Abyei Water Commission under the ambit of the SRRC should be established in order to coordinate INGO's and governmental initiatives and to brief local councils about hygiene, sanitation, water programs, and allocated water point sources.
Personnel (indigenous) should be trained in mapping the most critical water sources, monitoring quality, and identifying potential sources of pollution.
A database should be established using information systems compatible with OLS (Operation Lifeline Sudan), containing
forecast on demand for water
assessment of rainfall
geo-referenced water point locations
Regular field visits should be made by UN/INGO specialists who can conduct bacteriological analysis using portable test kits and enter results into the database.
Inter-sectoral liaison should be enhanced and information shared with health and education sectors.
The following should be assessed
Areas with shallow water tables (using maps, aerial photos and existing records)
All known protected sources
Annual groundwater fluctuation from monitoring wells
Areas with elevated water consumption (medical facilities, industrial water supply, etc).
Summary review of the sub-district hydrogeological environment
A towable drill-rig (preferably PAT-drill) must be made available to local NGO groups in order to increase the placement of boreholes (in collaboration with the SRRC).
An investigation should be conducted into the reasons for the closure of existing boreholes, in particular the closed UNDP water yard north of Abyei.
The filter method used by drilling teams should be looked at (high turbidity of many water points due to fine sand and particulate matter).
Surge pumping techniques could be used to redevelop disused boreholes.
Local technicians should be trained and supplied with bacteriological water testing kits in order to monitor water points.
Construction materials and means of transportation should be made available to OLS Southern Sector for the purpose of capping traditional shallow wells and install hand pumps to minimize surface contamination of ground water.
A major effort should be made to rebuild poor quality base plates at hand pump sites to ensure safe disposal of wastewater.
Support should be provided to Southern Sector NGOs for deep drilling projects with an emphasis on low-cost appropriate technology.
Shallow boreholes should be drilled, using hand-drilling equipment where possible.
Sanitation
The general lack of fixed sanitation facilities and poor hygiene practices as well as crowded households are the main reasons for the prevalence of water-related diseases such as malaria, trauchoma, Bilharzia and onchoceriasis in the Abyei region.
The wide practice of open and unadministered defecation near sources of water supply is the main retardant to the general state of health. Whereas this practice has been safe for millennia, the increased population density makes the indiscriminate disposal of human waste a health hazard. Latrines are uncommon.
Understanding of basic hygiene, child care and food hygiene is very poor. In the photo (left), children play in the waste water, making clay figurines of the mud.
Recommendations
Building materials: Bricks and concrete are needed for lining latrine walls and building face plates. Resolving the supply and transport of these materials would enable the implementation of a broad-based sanitation program.
Hygiene education: Implementation of a coordinated program emphasizing hygiene practices should focus on capacity building and target local organization via the SRRC (which needs strengthening).
The Abyei school system's hygiene education program should be reinforced and supported by INGO assistance. It should also include general child-care training seeing as younger girls are often assigned child-care duties within the household.
One child we encountered (photo) was so severely dehydrated that the top of his skull could be depressed. The child probably did not survive, all because his mother did not know not to dress her child in a snow-suit that someone had donated.
Supply of Food
The Abyei region has a fragile natural resource base with a low agricultural input / output (>1 ton/HA) Income-generating inputs such as a Gum Arabica collection and export system. A vehicle for this would be social structures such as the Abyei Chamber of Commerce.
The high social cohesion in the Ngok Dinka community has done much to mitigate the pressure on residents, but community-based reintegration activities must be developed to avoid intra-community conflict over food. The lack of livelihood opportunities for returnees is impeding the absorption into the resident community. It is therefore critical that household food security systems be supported and that reception be supplemented with agricultural tools, training and veterinary services.
The main farming systems of the Abyei region are based on opportunistic dry sowing with minimal cultivation. This means that only a fraction of the sowed areas are harvested. As rainfall increases, the bulk of production is normally generated from the southern zones of each state. Sorghum is grown on the heavier clay soils and provides the more reliable output. Millet, grown on the sandier soils in the northern zones of the region, is subject to huge fluctuations depending on rainfall distribution.
Livestock are generally in good condition throughout the country with pasture and water holes (hafirs).
There are several heretofore unknown threats to crop growers specific to the Abyei region:
The parasitic weed striga (Scrophulariaceae family) is a perennial problem for sorghum producers. When infestation reaches a certain threshold, farmers often opt to switch crops, growing millet instead, which is slightly less susceptible to striga. The parastic weed is very difficult to get rid of, its seeds capable of remaining viable in the soil for 20 years.
The parasitic weed broomrape (Orobanche sp) has infested substantial areas of land where faba beans and vegetables are grown. Since this weed is also execptionally difficult weed to eliminate, many farmers opt to not grow beans, thereby depriving people of much-needed protein in their diet.
Flocks of birds also pose a significant threat. A farmer who sows his fields before his neighbors risks losing most of the seed to birds. Farmers therefore often delay sowing until after their neighbors.
Sorghum bug (Agonoscelis pubescens) and sorghum midge (Contarinia sorghicola) have been reported in Nile State. In Gedaref, the pest was satisfactorily held in check through campaigns mounted by SMAARI (State Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Resources and Irrigation).
Recommendations
Well-timed local purchases should be made by the Sudan Strategic Reserve Corporation (SRC) for food aid programs so as to prevent domestic food market distortions and ensure locally acceptable varieties of cereals.
Timely assistance is required to support vulnerable farming communities and emergency support to returnees before the start of the May/June cropping season.
A price support system should therefore be set up in order to protect local farmers. Whilst low sorghum prices have favored local consumption, they adversely impact on production. Retail prices of as low as SP 13,000 per 90kg bag is well below the SP 18,000 considered to be the break-even price. Many farmers have therefore scaled down land preparation, thus affecting yields.
A program should be implemented to provide seeds, hand-held agricultural tools and veterinary services such as in the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) program.
Subsidized leasing of mechanized, gas-powered tillers / cultivators owned by local NGOs or a co-operative community program would increase crop yield.
A training program in the use of compost would be valuable seeing as the ground soil is a very dense clay with a low yield.
Provision of Serena sorghum, Katumani maize, oil, seeds, pulse and vegetables.
Provision of tools such as hoes, push hoes (mallodas), machetes, axes and sickles.
Consideration should be given to obtaining technical expertise on the viability of Gum Arabica production.
Early warning systems pertaining to food security monitoring should be strengthened.
A market study should be conducted to determine the extent of commodity flows, market functions and impact of food aid on agricultural production and domestic markets.
A system of co-operative milling locations should be set up and administered by local trading, thereby lowering cost of milling.
The Abyei Chamber of Commerce (composed of Misseriya and Dinka traders who have joined together) should be supported, assisted and incorporated into Food Security and Livelihood planning.
Health
Lack of health services is a particularly big problem in Abyei
The overall nutritional status fluctuates around the emergency level among children below two years of age – SAM (Severe Acute Malnutrition) is at 5.6 percent, the main cause being inappropriate caring and feeding practices, suggesting a need for education of mothers and caregivers.
Although malnutrition rates fall below emergency threshold levels, the situation should be monitored closely as the problem appears to be of a long-term, chronic nature.
Food aid alone is not sufficient to protect against malnutrition. There are many other factors that need to be addressed in order to ensure an acceptable nutritional status, especially sanitation and hygiene.
Morbidity is lower compared to last year, but still very high.
Consumption of unsafe water is a crucial factor.
There is low coverage rate of vitamin A, which contributes to the mortality rate.
A measles vaccination campaign was recently carried out, targeted the entire community.
Outbreaks of malaria, dengue, meningitis, cholera and tuberculosis have all occurred during 2006-07.
Epidemic preparedness will be an imperative in 2007.
Incidence of TB and HIV/AIDS in Abyei is increasing, although exact data is limited. Since Abyei is one of the favorite transit points for returnees, the population movements following the CPA may have contributed to the increasing transmission rates.
There is a general lack of awareness of HIV/AIDS, which is a large problem.
The Abyei town hospital is currently staffed by local and Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) staff, James Maskalyk, an American MD.
Recommendations
Capacity-building for the Ministry of Health, with greater emphasis on epidemiological monitoring.
Early warning systems for disease outbreak must be implemented.
A reporting system should be established by medical INGO points of care and a WHO-assisted monitoring system.
Basic hygiene, child-care, as well as pre-and post-natal health care should be implemented in collaboration with the local organizations and women’s groups.
Emergency first aid training should be given to the SPLM affiliated organizations.
A glaring need is that of an investment in the Abyei town hospital – if MSF were to pull its resources from the hospital, it would no longer be capable of meeting the health needs of Abyei.
There is a great need for collection and collation of health care records in order to obtain an epidemiological overview of the state of medical needs in Abyei.
A program that administers treatment of Bilharzia (a single oral dose of the drug Praziquantel would suffice until vaccine is available). Treatment of water sources that contain the parasite should also be conducted (using niclosamide or copper sulfate).
The boy in the photo, although from a well-to-do family, was dying of Bilharzia. The parasites were slowly eating away at his organs, the larvae already visible and twitching in his eyes. Treatment: $3 USD.
Transport
Since Abyei is located along one of the main north-south transport routes, it is a significant point of return for IDPs and refugees as people move from north Sudan to Bahr el Ghazal and beyond.
The condition of the unpaved roads is very poor and has been damaged by trucking. A maximum speed for a 4x4 cannot exceed 50 km/h.
Recommendations
The concerted international effort to pave the region’s roads must be continued.
A system of communication between the SRRC / HAC and the UNJLC should be set up, with prearranged HF radio frequencies, provision of satellite telephones to key SRRC personell and prepositioned emergency resources.
Infrastructure
The majority of people live in dwellings called tukuls, traditional round housing units that use a simple “mud and stud” construction technique with roofing made of reed thatching. Larger communal constructions of the same type are called wharals. These houses have a limited lifespan and are a health hazard – dust and fungal growth in the roofing material is a constant irritant to the human system and causes very high rates of URTIs (Upper Respiratory Tract Infections).
An open space is usually left for a doorway, and there is evidence of improvisation in door construction. In Abyei Town, the blue Unicef latrine base plate can often be seen used as a door.
Rope is used to tie the roof supports to the sides of the walls, but this is hard to come by.
There is a group of traditional building specialists present who are employed by the community to construct tukuls.
Recommendations
A humanitarian depot, with an emphasis on building materials and tools, should be set up and made available to partner organizations.
The most immediate material need for traditional builders is saws and rope.
A job training program for the traditional builders would do much to improve the durability of local infrastructure.
Material Needs
The need for material non-food items is massive throughout the region.
Recommendations
The high cost of building materials in the Abyei area must be addressed.
Standard of living would be greatly improved if plastic sheeting, piping, household water catchments, storage vessels, brick-making machines, nails, roofing materials, hand tools, gas-powered tillers and garden tractors were made available.
The hospital requires supplies of items ranging from oxygen systems to cots.
A coordinated effort to liaise with the hospital administrators and MSF staff is required in order to clearly determine the hospital’s material needs.
Computer support and digitizing of the hospital intake records should be supported.
Assets on the Ground
The extremely high social cohesion and traditional hierarchy among the Dinka is their primary asset.
The necessary elements for cross-mandate operations are coordinating structures and inter-agency funding arrangements that aim to strengthen the only existant local civil structures:
The Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SRRC) headed by Bol, Dau Deng, can chair task forces and muster a broad-based coalition of local organizations.
The Abyei Chamber of Commerce is composed of 55 elected members currently undergoing administrative training.
Recommendations
These two social structures must be strengthened and assisted with training, communications equipment and transport. The Abyei SRRC demonstrates great willingness to receive and implement training in order to further their mandate.
Time Frames
The population’s patience with the lack of an established civil authority has a definite time limit, which can only be accurately gauged by local organizations. Various groups have and will continue to emerge and fill the gaps created by the political impasse.
It is critical to consider weather patterns when designing and scheduling interventions, due to the impassable nature of the unpaved road system in Southern Sudan.
Recommendations
Pre-positioning of emergency resources should effected before the rainy season.
Economy
Limited to small trading in the local markets, primarily by Arab traders stocking foodstuffs transported by truck from the north, some agricultural activity, and artisan gathering of gum arabica.
The majority of the local population is living at sustenance level, with occasional remittances from relatives working in the north and abroad.
Recommendations
Some investment in and strengthening of the Abyei Chamber of Commerce (mediated by the SRRC) would greatly assist the development of economic activities.