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Humanitarian Situation in Equateur Province Snapshot Report, 25 February 2011 a Publication of the Humanitarian Information Group (HIG) Produced with OCHA’S Support

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Humanitarian Situation in Equateur Province Snapshot Report, 25 February 2011 a Publication of the Humanitarian Information Group (HIG) Produced with OCHA’S Support Humanitarian Situation in Equateur Province Snapshot report, 25 February 2011 A publication of the Humanitarian Information Group (HIG) produced with OCHA’s support The crisis at a glance • Almost 200,000 people fled violence in 2090 and 2010, and 46,000 are still IDPs (as of 31 October 2010). • More than 70,000 people have returned to their places of origin thanks to increased humanitarian presence. • Limited access remains the main obstacles for humanitarian action in some areas. Context • From late October 2009, inter-communal clashes in the South Ubangi District of the Equateur Province in the north-west of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), have triggered both internal and cross-border displacement of almost 200,000 persons in total. Fighting erupted when armed elements belongings to the Enyele community launched deadly assaults on members of the Munzaya community following a dispute over fishing and farming rights. The epicentre of the violence has been in and around the town of Dongo, which normally has a population of some 97,000 but has been largely deserted following the violence. An estimated 100 people have been killed in the clashes and many others reportedly drowned while attempting to cross the Ubangi River to reach the Republic of the Congo (RoC). • Since the assault, tensions have spread to most parts of Equateur, and the national army, supported by the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), launched an offensive against these armed elements last November. The joint military forces took control of the area last December, thereby allowing humanitarian actors to start their activities to respond to the needs of the population. After a relative period of calm, during which the security situation improved, new clashes occurred during Easter, when armed elements attacked the town of Mbandaka, thereby causing the displacement of part of the population towards the tows of Djoundou and Liranga in the RoC. Overall, tensions, uncertainty, and fear for renewed violence, persist among the population discouraging the return in large number of the population. • These attacks on Mbandaka leads many observers to question there nature of the armed violence, and there is now a consensus that it is an insurgence with some political links. Protection concerns • Cases of sexual violence have been reported around Dongo area, according to the task forces working on sexual violence in the South Ubangi District. Elements of FARDC are believed to be responsible for these acts. However, reliable estimates about the extent of the problem are not yet available, despite the progressive involvement of some key actors such as the “synergie de lutte contre les violences sexuelles” based in Gemena with an antenna recently opened in Dongo. • The presence of unaccompanied children was registered in the area of Dongo where some children have lost their parents during the clashes. Population movements • More than 70,000 former IDPs have returned to their places of origin, thanks to increase humanitarian presence. However, an estimated 46,000 were still IDPs are of 31 October 2010. Access to beneficiaries • Access to beneficiaries has improved consistently, in the last months, especially in the areas around Bozene and Dongo. The persistent insecurity prevents population to return to their place of origins forcing some of them to find refuge in the forest where access for humanitarian actors is more difficult. • Humanitarian access has been impeded by the persisting volatile security conditions, in particular around the southern area of Dongo. However, the number of missions towards the South of Dongo namely Imesse, Enyelle and even Monzaya has increased as it has appeared to humanitarian actors based in Dongo that there was a need to further reinforce their presence in those areas despite challenges due to access. Humanitarian needs and response • Humanitarian needs remain important in the Equateur Province, despite efforts made by humanitarian organizations in the area. The main concerns are for the health, nutrition and water and sanitation sectors with large part of the population living in dire need of aid. • Humanitarian organizations, such as MSF, UNFPA, UNICEF, and other NGOs, started to strengthen their presence in the area of South Ubangi District since the return of a certain calm. In order to facilitate the coordination of humanitarian assistance and access to population, an OCHA antenna was opened in Gemena and a humanitarian house was opened in Dongo by OCHA, to enable humanitarian actors to have a better presence in the area. Education • Compared with a national average of primary school attendance rate of 75% (72% female, 76% male), the primary school attendance rate in Equateur is 68%. The difference is even more significant for secondary school attendance, with a national average of 32%, and the provincial average in Equateur being 18%. • Despite that free education has been announced for grades one to three, and that a large number of children previously out of school have been (re)integrated into school, the problem of insufficient classrooms and teachers is exacerbated. The Government does not have the means to construct the number of classrooms required, nor do they have the means to deploy extra teachers especially when there is already a large percentage of the existing teachers who are still not on the teacher payroll • In the Equateur Province, social service indicators lag far behind many other provinces, with a depressed education system and school infrastructures in a state of ruin. In the District of South Ubangi where the conflict initially erupted in late 2009, there are 1,085 primary schools that accommodate 251,383 students. Approximately 904 schools with 200,110 students were heavily affected by waves of violence during 2010, and children stopped going to school as consequence of their displacement. • UNICEF in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has rehabilitated 90 classrooms to ensure sufficient space for about 60,000 displaced children, providing them access to schooling and the necessary learning materials. • UNHCR and UNICEF have been working with their counterparts in the Republic of the Congo, and have provided schools with the DRC national curriculum so that those children who fled with their families across the river have access to an education which will permit them to continue their schooling on their return. In addition, they have also facilitated an extraordinary final primary school examination session for those children who missed it due to their absence. Food Security and Livelihoods • The already limited resources of the population have been stretched to the limits as a consequence of the displacement of the vast majority of people. The displaced have been forced to abandon their plots during the harvest and maize, rice and peanut are rotting in the fields. Scarcities of staple food have been observed in markets and the price of some basic foods has doubled. • WFP started food distributions in the areas affected by the violence, delivering 50 metric tons (MT) of food to more than 6,000 IDPs in Bozene and Boyazala. Approximately 25,000 people have benefited from WFP food distributions in Bokonzi, Bomboma, Lipoko, Makengo and Motuba, 8,300 in Zongo, Gemena and Libenge and 6,000 in Mbandaka. • The NGO Première Urgence will launch a programme aimed at strengthening the self-reliance of returnees in the area of Dongo. A consortium of NGOs will soon be put in place to respond to the needs in terms of food security of the displaced population as well as returnees. • Vulnerability, analysis and mapping (VAM) assessments organized by WFP have been carried out and results are expected soon in order to organize assistance to returnees. • On 10 July, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) started the distribution of seeds and agricultural material to returnees in Dongo and Sabasaba. This operation will be extended also to Enyele and Monzaya. Health • Five health areas have mainly been affected as a consequence of last violence: Bokonzi, Booto, Gemena, Kungu and Tandala. The NGO MEMISA Belgium has provided with medicines and other medication materials all these areas especially where the number of displaced was higher. MSF is working to provide emergency health support to the population in the areas of Bokonzi and Kungu. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is planning the rehabilitation of two maternity centres, including one in Dongo, in order to improve the health status of mothers and children. • Needs remain urgent in the Mbandaka General Hospital where wounded people are currently attended by a surgical team sent by MSF along with medical and surgical items. • Fours children are reported to have died recently in Gbadolite, due to malnutrition. Logistics • Bad road conditions combined with the volatility of the situation has limited the passage of humanitarian aid to the affected areas. However, MONUSCO and humanitarian actors are working to rehabilitate infrastructures such as bridges and roads on the road linking Bozene to Dongo, in the South Ubangi area. • WFP has provided logistical support with trucks for the transportation of crucial humanitarian aid, especially non- food items and food to IDPs in various locations throughout the South Ubangi District. Nutrition • The disruption of nutritional basic services in the area of Bokonzi and Kungu following the violence worsened the nutritional status of the population, especially children. • The nutritional status of children is worrisome in some part of the province, such as in the Tshuapa District where severe acute malnutrition levels were registered by the cluster. Approximately 128,000 children under five suffer from severe malnutrition. • Religious organizations are currently working to support approximately 40 malnourished children in the General Hospital of Bokonzi, while the NGO COOPI will start a nutritional programme in collaboration with UNICEF in the South Ubangi District.
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