Koshi Flood: Sunsari Situation Report October 02, 2008 UN OCHA

This District Level Sitrep is compiled by UN OCHA with sector specific contributions from cluster leads to the extent possible.

Registration and Affected Population:

As per DAO’s district government registration report there is a registration of 7,597 HH representing 43,917 individuals. Of this, 6756 are Indian Nationals. This figure is counted from the 29th recognized camps and one registration center at district head quarter (of missed people). No any new registration is done after 21st September. Some new applications have been received to DAO office from missing households to get their registration. Till date, 10 applications have been formally received.

Last week, CDO circulated a notice to return the cards whoever has received double cards otherwise they will be punished as per rule. In response of that notice, upto now, 50 people have returned their cards (with ration cards) that have double.

*notes from October 1st coordination meeting

DDRC/CDO has made following strategic planning for registration and verifications: ◘ A team for maintaining the database by VDC, community, tole wise of the flood victims. The team members are: from NRCS, VDC secretary, police; local political person (ex chairman of VDC) in data base management team and 3 computer experts will work on this. It is planned that the final version of VDC, Ward, community, family base flood victim’s database before Dashain; ◘ Yellow cards distributed to the victims who are shifted to new allocated camps and outsiders have green cards; ◘ During the database preparation and verification, its cross checking will be done on the basis voter list, citizenship, or any other legal documents; ◘ After Dashain festival, DDRC will announce a general notice for all (who ever living outside as well as in host families) to put their name in allocated place around their VDC. A team will be mobilized by VDC or cluster wise to register the outsiders / host families flood victims. Their registration will be done by head count methods; ◘ After that old cards (whoever have) will be taken and new cards will be issued; ◘ Once the complete database of the whole area completed, the record of Sunsari side will be sent to Saptari side and similarly the Saptari side record will be brought to Sunsari side for tally, cross checking to avoid/ delete the duplication. ◘ Tentative time for whole work is one month. It is guessed that all these works will be completed before next food distribution. And food will be distributed from allocated distribution points for newly registered or people who lives outside the camps and new camps.

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Education: District Government Lead: DEO National Cluster Lead at District Level: UNICEF

1 Campus and 11 schools have been vacated as of 2 October. Cleaning has been completed in 1 campus and 10 schools. Due to ongoing food distribution in Saraswoti HS, cleaning has still not been completed there. During Dashain, formal schooling will be suspended until the 14 th of October. IDP teachers have received a 3-day orientation on child-friendly teaching and emergencies. 27 temporary classrooms are still under construction. 10 safe spaces, constructed by Save the Children, with UNICEF support (providing tarpaulins, school kits and story books) have started operating in shelter schools for 3-5 years children and 6-12 children. Safe spaces for 3-5 years children are operating in new relocation sites in Jhumka and with support from World Vision and materials support from UNICEF. The first round of monitoring has been completed in the schools used as shelters, covering those still hosting IDPs and those which have been vacated. The assessment conducted by DEO staff of the number of IDP children in Jhumka camps has been completed and is currently being compiled. The emergency response plan for the district is in the stages of finalization and most resources have been finalized, following consultation with all cluster members . IDP regular teachers need to be mobilized as soon as possible to restart schooling for IDP children in relocation sites. Rehabilitation and refurbishing will be required in most schools which were used as shelters before they can re-open. Text books are not yet available for IDP children in lower and higher secondary school .

Protection / Child Protection: District Government Lead: WDO National Cluster Lead at District Level: UNICEF/OHCHR

A 2 nd round of training for approximately 45 peer group members was conducted on the 26 th of September, to reinforce the original training, assess their progress in establishing peer groups, understand the issues they are facing in the camps, and write up plans of action. The peer groups are very active in arrange of areas in their respective camps. In Jhumka, 4 members of the peer groups there are also members of the camp management committee. The Protection/Child Protection cluster has developed and endorsed a Code of Conduct against exploitation and abuse to be used in the shelters. 29 security personnel stationed at Jhumka camp have participated in a one-day orientation held by the WDO and supported by other cluster members, including UNICEF. Participants endorsed the code of conduct. To date, out of 127 missing or separated people, 58 have been reunited with their families, including 20 children, through the efforts of the NRCS. The IRC, through WOREC, is providing 50 sari sets to IDP women in the post-natal care centre in Inaruwa Hospital. 68 women have received post-natal care services, supported by the Women’s Alliance. Sanitary pads and undergarments are continuously distributed. A brief orientation to the camp management committee in Jhumka was conducted by the WDO and NRCS on the 1 st of October. Registration of people coming into and leaving Jhumka has been established to minimize protection risks. Monitoring indicators for the long-term response in Sunsari are being developed, as is a system for gathering the appropriate data. The rooms initially intended for safe spaces, education and the care of pregnant and lactating women in Jhumka camp have been annexed by security for personnel for their own use. Space for pregnant and lactating mothers in Jhumka is needed. Some IDPs in

UN OCHA ,Biratnagar Page 2 of 10 10/3/2008 Jhumka have moved from their tents to rooms, and they won’t shift. The intervention of the District Administration Office is required. With the oncoming winter, warmer clothes, especially for children and pregnant and lactating women, will be required.

WASH: District Government Lead: DWSS National Cluster Lead at District Level: UNICEF

A total of 507 toilets and 266 baths have been built, as well as 94 hand-pumps. The city is supplying 47 water taps in Jhumka camp. The construction of toilets, bathing spaces and hand-pumps has begun in Laukahi. 14 tube-wells and 21 toilets are planned for the Laukahi site, and tube-well installation is ongoing at the east Laukahi site (Rotary/Shelter box tents). Aqua tabs, 10 liter buckets, 20 liter buckets and mugs have been distributed to 1,930 families, 17440 PURE and hygiene kits to 3215 families have also been distributed. 54 WASH volunteers and 26 helpers have been deployed in the camps to disseminate materials on appropriate hygiene practices. The cleaning of 11 shelters vacated by IDPs has been completed, as well as the cleaning of 18 septic tanks. Garbage collection is regular in almost all shelters. The WASH cluster needs to begin coordination and planning for the new locations in Narshing VDC. In Jhumka, Laukahi and other camps such as Jamiya Islamiya, construction materials for tube-wells and toilets, including tin and bamboo, have been stolen. Materials therefore cannot be stored on site. In some shelters thefts have left already-built toilets open. Recent rains and winds have blown away some of the plastic sheeting which provide privacy in toilets and bathing spaces. There is still a shortage of phenyl. There are no toilets at all in the new Sunsari River site, where Rotary/Shelter box have provided tents for 51 families.

Food: District Government Lead: DADO National Cluster Lead at District Level: WFP

The first round and second round individual ration for 15 & 30 days completed as scheduled. The total population covered for 1st round 28,334. Second round Food distribution covered 5,443 Households and 31,468 individual populations. The second round 30 days food distributions completed on 1st October 2008.

2nd round food distribution is carried out from all the camps including the Barrage areas on the road side and three additional point was setup for the people living outside the camp particularly for those living in Host families at Sataynarayan Mandir, Bhagwati Mandir , and Laukai. This time again SCF/NRCS had been tremendous pressure from the flood affected population and had difficulties to reach daily crowed because of high pressure particularly from the people living in host families, new registration and from those who refused to go new camps and remain outside. All these people are getting their food from central distribution point at Satyanarayan temple at Inaruwa municipality and Laukai.

Observation:

◘ Significant % of population received 2nd round food distribution from the Satyanaraya Temple, Inaruwa municipality.

UN OCHA ,Biratnagar Page 3 of 10 10/3/2008 ◘ Total 13,317 individual population received food from Satynarayan temple and 2564 individual population from Laukai. ◘ Even in the camp (schools) majority of the population reside in the village and receive food from the School; while food distributed in the school it was found few families remain.

Issues: ◘ cooking utensil and fuel seems still problems for some people living on the road side ◘ Government has no records of number of ID card issued to the people and ID issued without any proper document verification. ◘ This issue has been brought up with CDO during WFP country Director visit to Sunsari on 23rd September '08 and separate meeting was fixed with CDO on 25th to discuss the registration issue. In the meeting issue was discussed and CDO made a decision to keep the entire database and four people has been assigned for the task. ◘ data entry in the computer ongoing; WFP is pushing to make proper documentation of affected population and filter out the fake, double ID Card holders. ◘ Meeting with CDO has discussed to form the verification team – members from CDO, DDC, VDC secretary , NRCS & political party ( local) ◘ Food provided to absentee; this is again major problems food received in the name of absentee family members, we told CDO that for next time we have to ask families; to receive food they should be physically present or stay in the Camps and must register. ◘ WFP provided commodity is found in the market; people are selling it may be because they did not require and have surplus; We would request government stop this by verifying the ID cards and physical presence of families to entitlement of ration.

The Supplementary Feeding:

WFP & UNICEF will cooperate with WVI to continue supplementary feeding more effectively. WFP will support Wheat Soya Blend (WSB) and oil and UNICEF will provide technical/NFI if needed to WVI as per the discussion held; We will also request SCF to provide support. total children that will be reached 3,500 under 5yrs of age and lactating and pregnant women 900 as per the latest assessment. Next Round of 30 days ration will begin from 18th October '08 and complete on 28th Oct '2008 within one week to 10 days.

Camp Management and Camp Coordination: District Government Lead: not identified National Cluster Lead at District Level: IOM

CCCM Displacement tracking teams have been actively collecting data on the displaced communities who are currently residing in various camp environments, which include, 5 spontaneous sites, 4 formal sites and 19 collective centers in the . Accurate data collection as well as registration, however, is hampered by fluid population movements within these environments. The de-stabilization of the affected populations is due in part to over crowding of formal sites and grazing land for their livestock, families wishing to be closer to their places of origin, reception of humanitarian assistance, closure of collective centers and poor service provision in the formal sites.

UN OCHA ,Biratnagar Page 4 of 10 10/3/2008 The Laukhi Border Camp is currently under construction to accommodate 275 families and is expected to be completed after the Dashain holiday.

In the Wednesday October 1 st Coordination meeting, the Sunsari CDO reported that the district government has identified 3 possible new sites in Narsing-7 for additional formal camps, negotiation with the land owners are underway and expected to be finalized by the end of the month.

Service delivery is expected to be hindered with the upcoming Dashain festival.

Update of DTM: • Values are indicative and subject to verification exercise. • Numbers does not include population residing with host families.

Populations Summary - Sunsari District Indian - Households/Famil Individua Nepali - ies Individuals ls Individuals Formal Camps 627 2,869 Formal Camps 40 2,829 Collective Centres 2,959 21,579 Collective Centres 4,105 17,474 Spontaneous Spontaneous Camps 170 2,357 Camps 385 2,527 TOTALS 4,315 22,660 TOTALS 3,971 26,975

Population Summary of Vulnerable Groups Sunsari Total Vulnerable persons Individuals Formal Camps 895 2,869 Collective Centres 376 21,579 Spontaneous Camps 624 2,527

TOTALS 1,895 26,975

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Needs Identification: The need for better drainage and WASH facilities in various camps remains to be addressed. After a short rain last Monday, a number of camps were observed to be inundated with pools of rain and waste water. Hygiene promotions and hygiene kit distributions are urgently needed especially in the larger camps such as Jamiya Islamiya and Madrasa where overcrowding and limited facilities is an issue.

There need to be proper planning and preparation prior to moving IDPs into a formal camp; the River side Shelter Box camp has no basic facilities provided as of the time of this report.

Photos taken from various camps , issues of h ealth and sanitation especially prevalent

Consensus has been reached regarding the population currently residing in the Jamiya Islamiya site and will be relocated to three new sites what have been identified by the government. However, with the up coming holiday and the need to construct the sites, stabilizing efforts should take place in situ while the residents are waiting for the new sites to be constructed.

UN OCHA ,Biratnagar Page 6 of 10 10/3/2008 Opportunities for Advocacy/Capacity Building: CCCM cluster is in the process of bringing in a Technical Expert to provide technical capacity in to partner humanitarian actors in the field. Increasing need for Camp Management structure to be formed in each displacement sites to provide avenue for the displaced population to express concerns and issues within the camp The cluster is also finalizing its plan to provide SPHERE and Camp Management Training to government and other partners in November.

Coordination Activities: Concerns over the IDP registration process continue to be raised by the local government. Issues of duplication, unequal distribution and discrimination were reported among IDP populations. CCCM and OCHA will continue to advocate the need of a verification exercise and seek out the necessary support of stakeholders at the Katmandu level.

Concern has also been raised over the general lack of technical capacity at the field level. While there are concerns to be raised in the camps there is not enough or adequate representation from responsible agencies. This issue is to be taken up at the national level in the CCCM forum.

Emergency Shelter: District Government Lead: LDO National Cluster Lead at District Level: IFRC

Preliminary Results of the Multi-Agency Koshi River Flood Impact Assessment stated Improvements in the shelter situation are of utmost importance. Camps are overcrowded, poorly maintained and more than half of the displaced people report that their current shelter provides insufficient protection against the weather.

Generally the conclusion regarding shelter was that still many families are yet did not get to be provided with appropriate shelter items and those in host families are of particular concern. especially the ones in host families…. It is evident that the registration of displaced people has been mostly concentrated in the established camps.

Agencies have completed the distribution of 6700 NFI sets to the affected population. A further 5000 shelter kits including tools and plastic sheeting are planned for distribution. Plastic sheets distributed by agencies at the onset of the emergency are planned to be replaced by plastic sheets of higher quality.

Issues: • Two formal camps constructed under the guidance of the Government of are currently not meeting Sphere Project standards. Discussions between the Government and implementing agencies are continuing with positive results thus far. • Before constructing the shelters and relocation of people basic infrastructure facilities (water, sanitation, security etc) are required. • DRC/CDO has made strategic planning provisions for ongoing registration and verification of past activities. • Adjustments are required to avoid duplication of NFI distribution, agencies are working together to reduce the potential for duplication.

UN OCHA ,Biratnagar Page 7 of 10 10/3/2008 • Agencies are urgently requested to inform the Emergency Shelter Cluster Information Manager ([email protected] ) about NFI distributions, in the commodity tracking format disseminated previously by OCHA.

Health: District Government Lead: DPHO National Cluster Lead at District Level: WHO

No report was received form the Health Cluster lead

*notes from October 1st coordination meeting As per DPHO, there are 16 medical camps running now days for covering all camps where flood victims are living. Even during Dashain festival, the medial staffs will be available to provide medical services to the victims in camps. All together 56,630 people got medical treatment upto 30th September (cumulative figure). DPHO has already managed 24 hrs services in Jhumka. DPHO has good medicines stock till Dashain. DPHO is planning to monitor the camps from 2nd October.

Issues: there is not proper management of ambulances for transporting the sick victims to the hospital from camps site. There should be proper fuel and maintenance requirement for running the 4 ambulances. There are all together 4 ambulances in operations (2- from hospital, one from NRCS district chapter and 1 from NRCS sub chapter, Inaruwa). Till date, NRCS is providing fuel and driver costs for operating the NRCS ambulances and it is shared by NRCS that the fuel and maintenance costs of the ambulances should be managed by DDRC otherwise NRCS will discontinue its fuel & maintenance supports in future.

Nutrition: District Government Lead: DPHO National Cluster Lead at District Level: UNICEF

The nutrition assessment conducted by District Health Office, Nutrition Rehabilitation Home (NRH), UNICEF, and World Vision International has been completed in all shelters and relocation sites, and is being finalized. Various options are still being explored for the treatment of severely malnourished children, who are currently being referred to the NRH in Biratnagar and Jhapa for treatment. This will depend on the final results of the nutrition assessment. A nutrition support program continues to be supported by WVI and WFP for pregnant and lactating women and children between 6 months and 5 years. As some IDPs move from camps to different locations, particularly to roadside settlements, the number of children who have access to nutritious food is decreasing. Partner NGO is Holistic Development Society (HOLDS) Nepal for nutrition support. Nutrition Support to Under 5 children, pregnant and lactating mothers of Koshi flood affected are as follows ( covering the distribution date from 27-30 September): lito distribution figure by WVI, all together 14797 children < 5 years age received Lito; 1341 pregnant women received lito and 854 lactating mothers received lito and Jwalo. Jwalo is also providing to pregnant mothers. As per DPHO, Supplementary feeding and Lactogen is not necessary for children under 6 months of age. Ministry of Health has provided Food Nutrition refreshment training to 125 persons (from DPHO, WVI and other volunteers).

UN OCHA ,Biratnagar Page 8 of 10 10/3/2008 Issues: Distribution of such food to those who are residing along the highway is a challenge for WVI. Sometimes road side residing people want to take the lito forcefully. There is no proper camp management committee for road side residing people so that it created a problem.

Livestock: District Government Lead: DLSO National Cluster Lead at District Level: FAO

*notes from September 26th coordination meeting A separate cluster of Livestock issues is fixed and functioning. DLSO, cluster lead, with the help of Animal Welfare Society, is conducting health camps for the affected cattle. DLSO wants to invite next meeting on every Friday, at 1400 pm in DLSO, Inaruwa. DLSO have expectation to participate from following I/NGOs : Plan, DASM, RRN, Oxfam, AAN, WVI, UMN.

All together 51,063 animals have been affected by different disease like: skin, jaundice etc due to flood effect. Out of that 11,264 animals have been dead. Recently 4 animal’s dead near by big Madarsa. About 20,000 animals do grazing on dams near . Once the grazing land is finished then what will be the alternate way??

Problems: how to dispose the dead animals; no pasture land to graze the animals; about 25% large animals are sold on very nominal price just due to un availability of grazing land; chances of spreading of disease from animals to human like: Rabies.

Alternate solution: 4 animal’s camps are running by DLSO and mobile team for prevention and treatment of animals. Straw, Fodder, grass etc are required for feeding such animals. FAO has planned seventy lacks of NRS for animal feeding and their maintenance for affected animals. Department of livestock and Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives is doing budget allocation from central level for such animals.

Others:

*notes from September 26th coordination meeting UNDP team from Kathmandu participated the meeting and shared about some activities should be planned for early recovery as they are on the mission for do the feasibility study for early recovery and reconstruction programme in Sunsari flooded areas. As per suggestion, it is realized that a separate cluster would be better in the name of “Early Recovery” for socio economic development point of view of the victims in long term.

Coordination: District Government Lead: CDO/LDO National Cluster Lead at District Level: UN OCHA

Upcoming Sunsari Meetings Meetings Time Day Location General Coordination 0900 hrs Every Wednesday OCHA Satellite Office, Inaruwa Meeting Food, Nurtrition/ NFI 1400 hrs Every Sunday & District Agriculture Development Office

UN OCHA ,Biratnagar Page 9 of 10 10/3/2008 Thursday (DADO), Inaruwa Health 1400 hrs Every Monday District Public Health Office (DPHO), Inaruwa Education 1300 hrs Every Monday District Education Office (DEO), Inaruwa Protection/ Child 1500 hrs Every Sunday Women Development Office (WDO), Inaruwa Protection Shelter / Site planning / 1100 hrs Every Sunday, LDO quarter , Inaruwa Camp Management Wednesday & Friday WASH 0830 hrs Every Wednesday OCHA Satellite Office, Inaruwa Livestock/ Agriculture 1400 hrs Every Friday District Livestock Service Office (DLSO), Inaruwa

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