HUMANITARIAN SITUATION REPORT N°10/06 6– 20 July 06 United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

I. GENERAL HUMANITARIAN CONTEXT

Security According to United Nations Department for Security and Safety (UNDSS), the security situation in Gulu, Kitgum and Pader has remained stable, with a few incidences of Lords Resistance Army (LRA) sightings reported in Kilak County in Gulu and Ngomoromo, Aweno olwinyo, Mucwini, Amida and Akwang in Kitgum, mainly in search of food. UNDSS also reported that there was an isolated incident of a failed attempted ambush by suspected LRA rebels on Pader- Pajule road, about two km from Pader town on 11 July at about 11.00 am.

The graph below shows a steady decline in LRA related incidences (killings, abductions, confrontations with the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) and road ambushes) in Northern Uganda (Gulu, Kitgum and Pader) between January and June, as compiled by UNDSS. From the graph, the confrontations between the LRA and UPDF increased between April and May, possibly contributing to a significant decline in civilian related incidences in June.

LRA ACTIVITIES IN NORTHERN UGANDA FROM JULY 2005 - JUNE 2006 100

90

80

70

60

50 Number 40

30

20

10

0 Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

2005 2006

NATURE OF ACTIVITY

No. of civilians killed

No. of civilians abducted

UPDF - LRA Confrontations

Road ambushes

Source: UNDSS

Areas of Patongo, Adilang, Kalongo and Paimol in eastern Pader and the frontline sub counties of Ngariam and Usuk in and Kapelebyong and Obalanga in Amuria districts continue to experience incursions of armed Karamojong who have fled the ongoing forceful disarmament exercise by the UPDF in Karamoja region.

The level of confrontations between the UPDF and Karamojong tribesmen in the ongoing forceful disarmament exercise is reported to have scaled down as a result of joint information campaigns on the exercise by the UPDF and district officials from Karamoja region.

Access Access to the affected populations by aid agencies has also improved due to the stable security situation in the districts. As a reflection of the security situation, some NGOs in Pader have dropped the use of armed escorts to access displacement camps such as Kwonkic, Lira Palwo and Geregere, located about 9-23km from Pader

OCHA Uganda Humanitarian Situation Report N° 10/06 - 6 -20 July 2006 Page 1 of 5 Contact: Christophe illemassene or Beatrice Lakot at [email protected] / [email protected] More information on the humanitarian situation in Northern Uganda available on www.reliefweb.int town, or reduced the number of armed escorts required for locations considered relatively free of LRA activities. However, the requirement for armed escort for UN agencies remains in place, and any changes will be based on the results of the security risk assessment conducted in Kitgum, Pader and Gulu by UNDSS.

The displaced populations in Gulu, Kitgum and Pader, are able to access their farmland between 8.00 am and 6.00pm, within 2-6 km from the camps.

Measles outbreak in Pader and Kitgum As of 18 July, 281 measles cases and seven deaths from 15 displacement camps in Pader have been confirmed. The district has continued with social mobilisation involving district authorities and training manpower for vaccinations. Two vaccine cold chain centers have also been identified at Acholi-pii and Kalongo health centres. The disease has been more controlled in Kitgum with 22 cases and no deaths reported in nine camps since the outbreak was first reported in June.

The Minister of State for Primary Health Care Dr. Emmanuel Otaala, accompanied by the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health, Dr. Sam Okware, members of parliament for , country representatives of UNICEF and WHO and a representative of DFID launched the integrated mass measles campaign at Corner Kilak displacement camp in Pader on 10 July. This was followed by the mass immunisation from 14-16 July supported by UN agencies and NGOs. Supplemental immunization and accelerated routine immunisation for Diphtheria Pertusis Tetanus (DPT), Haemophilias influenza type B/Hepatitis type B (HIB/HEB) and Bacillus Calmeti Guerin (BCG) for children 0 to 11 months and Tetanus Toxoid (TT) for women and girls of child bearing age (15 to 49 years) were also administered during the campaign. At the time of compiling this report, preliminary results of the mass vaccination exercise showed about 113% coverage of measles and 76% coverage for polio. The high achievement in measles coverage was a result of children outside the target age group being included in the exercise as demanded by the community.

Cholera outbreak Although the cumulative number of cases is high, the rate of spread of cholera in Kitgum has stabilised, compared to the period from April to June when the disease was first reported. By 17 July there were 922 cholera cases in 12 camps in the district compared to 876 at the end of June. Most of the new cases have been reported in Madi Opei and Kitgum Municipal where access to safe water is limited and sanitation and hygiene practices remain poor.

The outbreak seems controlled in Pader with no new case reported in the past two weeks: The number of cases remains 22 with no deaths reported since the outbreak was confirmed a month ago.

In Gulu the number of cholera cases has increased from 20 at the beginning of July to 27 and two deaths by mid July. The new cases have been reported from Layibi division in Gulu municipal, Unyama and Bibia displacement camps. Gulu municipality, which is most affected by the outbreak, is reported to be also highly congested, with limited access to safe water and poor waste disposal practices.

Night commuters The number of children at the night commuter centres in Kitgum and Gulu have stabilised with minimal reductions registered between May and June. Gulu registered 4,353 night commuters in June. Other reasons attributed to continued night commuting by the children include the need to maintain peer groups in centres, inadequate accommodation and domestic violence in the households and need for proper lighting for reading at night. It has also been reported that some of the children are attracted by urban life style (video shows and discos among others).

Medicine Sans Frontiere Switzerland (MSF-CH) conducted an assessment to establish the factors for continued night commuting by the children in the Lacor night commuters centre in Gulu, and its impact on their mental and physical health. The assessment, conducted between November 05 and January 06, sampled 200 children at the Lacor centre which is supported by MSF-CH and the preliminary findings indicate that about 20% of the children sampled in the assessment are experiencing psychological distress related to the ongoing conflict. In response, MSF-CH plans to introduce a three months pilot programme on individual and group psychotherapy

OCHA Uganda Humanitarian Situation Report N° 10/06 - 6 -20 July 2006 Page 2 of 5 Contact: Christophe illemassene or Beatrice Lakot at [email protected] / [email protected] More information on the humanitarian situation in Northern Uganda available on www.reliefweb.int support to target 40 children initially. Depending on the success of the pilot programme, MSF-CH will expand the programme to cover more children and the wider community in Lacor.

As reported two weeks ago, the number of night commuters registered in Kitgum is 4,819. A resolution has been made between aid agencies supporting night commuter and the office of the Resident District Commissioner (RDC) that the closure of the night commuter centres will be guided by findings of the rapid assessment on the pull and push factors for night commuting, which will be presented to the RDC by the 7th of August. In the meantime, some steps will be taken to close some of the centres hosting very few children. To date six out of nineteen centres have been closed and three more have been identified for closure before the 7th of August. As in Gulu, where MSF-CH conducted a similar assessment in Lacor, it is hoped that the findings of this assessment will guide the aid agencies and the district to design more appropriate programmes to support the children and their communities.

Camp fires Despite the rainy season, continued to report camp fires. Lalogi, Anaka and Purongo displacement camps reported over 1,181 households affected by fire in the reporting period. NRC conducted assessments and supplied emergency kits to all the affected households. The continued incidences of fires in the displacement camps have been attributed to careless handling of cooking fires by the displaced populations.

II. POPULATION MOVEMENTS

Movements outside displacement camps Following the inter-agency assessments of new settlement sites in Gulu, Kitgum and Pader in May and June some aid agencies have initiated response programmes to meet the immediate needs identified in some of the sites such as water, shelter and food. In Pader, CONCERN, URCS, COOPI, and AMREF, are in the process of establishing water sources and sanitation facilities in Bolo, Tyer, Paiula, Atanga mission, Kokil, Lamiyo, Olung, Ogonyo, and Opyelo. Mercy Corps is preceding with seeds distributions. In Gulu, NRC distributed family emergency kits consisting of tarpaulins, saucepans, bars of soap, cups, plates, serving spoons, knives, forks, jerrycans, mosquito nets, blankets, items of old clothing and construction tools (slashers, hoes, axes, pick axes, spades, sickles) to 639 households in Omel Apem, Corner Nwoya, and Cet Kana where the assessment found that lack of thatching materials and construction tools for establishment of shelter was one of the factors constraining the movements to the sites.

III. SECTORAL ISSUES AND ACTIVITIES

Health and Nutrition/HIVAIDS § In Lira CCF distributed 19,435 reproductive health kits to women of reproductive age in five urban camps (Bala Stock Farm, Lira P7, Erute, Starch Factory and Ireda) and 10 rural camps (Barr, Alebtong, Abia, Adwari, Aliwang, Orum, Olilim, Apala, Obim rock and Ogur) displacement camps. CCF also distributed Home Based Care Kits and 9,000 mosquito nets to 19 camps, and trained 37 Community Resource Persons (CoRPs) in Ogur and Abia camps. § In Gulu, Health Alert-Uganda (HAU) reported 475 Children Living with HIV/AIDS (CLWHA) beneficiaries. Major challenges for the beneficiaries are inconsistencies in adherence to treatment, stigma and discrimination by the community, especially amongst peer groups.

Food Aid/Food security § There has been a food aid pipeline break since May, variously affecting the availability of vegetable oil, CSB and pulses in the districts receiving monthly food aid rations from WFP. In Pader, WFP was only able to distribute relief food to two camps (Puranga and Rackoko) out of about 12, since the beginning of July due to lack of pulses in the food basket. In Gulu, WFP suspended the distributions for about 11 days but resumed on 17 July with the food basket including vegetable oil but still lacking CSB. In Lira, the distributions were not fully affected by the pipeline break and WFP achieved about 99.75 % of planned distributions (27,156 beneficiaries in 5,298 households) in 2 rural camps during the reporting period, although CSB was also lacking in the food basket.

OCHA Uganda Humanitarian Situation Report N° 10/06 - 6 -20 July 2006 Page 3 of 5 Contact: Christophe illemassene or Beatrice Lakot at [email protected] / [email protected] More information on the humanitarian situation in Northern Uganda available on www.reliefweb.int § WFP is engaged in discussion with the district local authorities, District Disaster Management Committees (DDMCs) and partners on the planned verification exercise for displaced populations in Gulu, Kitgum and Pader scheduled for early September. The discussions include methods of verification, budgets for the exercise and lists of official camps to be verified. In Pader, a proposed budget of Uganda shillings 69,237,000/- has been drawn jointly with the partners and Pader district local Government pledged 10 personnel and 4 fuelled vehicles for the exercise. Gulu and Kitgum are also expected to come up with budget requirements for the exercise, to which WFP, partners and district local governments will contribute.

§ Whereas access to land has improved, it has been observed that most agencies in Kitgum have not planned for support to agricultural production through seed distributions for the coming seasons in 2007 and this has been attributed to donors’ unwillingness to continue funding these interventions. The Food Security Working Group has requested FAO to raise this issue at the national level.

§ At the national level, the Food Security Sector led by WFP and FAO held a one day workshop for UN agencies and NGO partners on 12 July to introduce the Needs Analysis Framework (NAF) for the sector. The NAF will be used both at the national level and in the conflict affected districts (Gulu, Kitgum, Pader, Lira and Apac) to conduct consultative situation analyses and identification of responses in the Food Security sector for the Consolidated Appeals Process 2007 (CAP 2007). The consultative processes in the districts to be led by WFP and FAO are expected to be completed by end of July and the elaboration of response strategies at the national level by 23 August. Noting the importance of the participation of NGO partners in building the situation analysis and identification of response options, the workshop resolved that only NGO partners that have fully participated in all the consultative processes will be permitted to submit projects in the CAP 2007. The workshop also resolved that the Food Security sector needs to conduct a comprehensive needs analysis and identify response options for Katakwi and Amuria districts where Karamojong induced IDPs are still living camps, and early recovery needs in district where about 98% of the displaced population has returned but there are residual caseloads from Amuria and Katakwi who may not return in the near future due to continued Karimojong threats in the districts.

Water and Sanitation ` § In Lira, IRC installed a motorized water system in Orum displacement camp and conducted sanitation days in 24 rural camps.

Human Rights and Protection § Officials from the Ministry of Gender visited the and discussed plans to pilot a Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) programme in 9 districts (Lira inclusive) and also support the District Gender Office to set up a database on SGBV.

Early Recovery § As a follow up to the Early Recovery assessment conducted in April in Lira, UNDP conducted a workshop to prioritize early recovery needs in the assessed areas. The workshop defined principles and criteria for recovery interventions and coordination mechanisms to ensure interventions are in line with plans of the Local Government. UNDP also led a second phase of early recovery assessments from 11 -13 July in return areas of Dokolo and Amugo. § ASB in Lira is working with WFP to construct five stance pit latrines in 12 schools in return areas in Dokolo and Bata. In addition, ASB will also distribute pit latrine digging tools to returning households in Abako, Barr, Dokolo and Bata.

Education § In response to persistent complaints about lack of statistics on primary education, the Education Sector working group in Gulu started a joint monitoring programme to cover all 246 primary schools in the district. Information will be collected on teacher-pupil ratio, daily attendance by pupils, pupil- classroom ratio, pupil- latrine stances ratio, and furniture availability. So far, 114 primary schools out of 246 have been visited and key findings will be discussed in the Education Sector Working Group meeting on 27 July. § In Lira, WFP is supporting about 35,000 primary school children in 58 schools under the school feeding program. All head teachers and focal points for the programme have been trained by WFP on effective

OCHA Uganda Humanitarian Situation Report N° 10/06 - 6 -20 July 2006 Page 4 of 5 Contact: Christophe illemassene or Beatrice Lakot at [email protected] / [email protected] More information on the humanitarian situation in Northern Uganda available on www.reliefweb.int management of school feeding programme. In collaboration with Straight Talk Foundation and Tree Talk, WFP also distributed seedlings to all schools under the school feeding programme.

IV: SCHEDULES OF DISTRICT COORDINATION MEETINGS –17-31 July 06

District Meeting / theme Date Time Venue Weekly security meeting for 14th-MSF Swiss, 21st- OCHA Gulu 21 & 28 July 08:15am humanitarian 28th-CRS Cholera Taskforce meeting 18 & 25 July 09:00am DDHS B/R DDMC/OCHA/OPM weekly review 17 & 24 July 08:00am OCHA or DDMC C/M’s office meeting UNGAI campaign 17/07/06 04:00pm UNICEF/OCHA B/R Child Protection Sub-SWG 19/07/06 10:00am Community Service B/R Watsan SWG 25/07/06 10:00am Engineering B/R Psychosocial Sub-SWG 26/07/06 10:00am Community Service B/R Education SWG 27/07/06 02:30pm TRC Gulu UNSMT meeting 27/07/06 02:00pm OCHA /UNICEF B/R HRP &Protection SWG 28/07/06 10:00am UNOHCHR

Lira Food Security 18/07/06 9:00 am OCHA/UNICEF Child Protection meeting 19/07/06 9:00 am OCHA/UNICEF District Human Rights Promotion 20/07/06 9:00 am OHCHR Office NFI meeting 25/07/06 9:00 am OCHA/UNICEF HIV/AIDS 26/07/06 9:00 am District Chambers DDMC 26/07/06 9:00 am Teacher’s resource Centre

Kitgum Kitgum weekly humanitarian 18 & 25 July 9:00 am OCHA/UNICEF Boardroom coordination meeting Education 19/07/06 9:30 am OCHA Boardroom Night Commuter sub committee 27/07/06 10:00 am OCHA/UNICEF Boardroom Inter-agency protection working group 23/07/06 4:00 Pm IRC meeting Production 27/07/0 2:30 pm OCHA/UNICEF Boardroom District Human rights and protection 27/07/06 10:00 am CAO’s boardroom committee Kitgum HIV 20/07/06 9:30 am Council hall Security Core group 17/07/06 10:00am OCHA Psychosocial meeting 21/07/06 9:30 am CDO’s Boardroom

Pader Weekly Coordination Meetings 17, 24 & 31 July. 9:00am Pader NGO Forum Offices Child Protection Meeting 27/07/06 90:00am District Works boardroom Education sector meeting 25/07/06 10:30am Education Boardroom Pader Inter-Agency Meeting TBC 10:00am Education Boardroom

Katakwi Health and HIV AIDS SWG Meeting 19/07/06 10:00a.m. Planning Unit Board Room, Katakwi District Headquarters Inter Agency/ Humanitarian partners 20/07/06 10:00a.m OCHA Conference Hall, Plot 21 meeting. Preparations for CHAP Toroma Road, Katakwi District Human Rights and Protection SWG 26/07/06 10:00a.m OCHA Conference Hall, Plot 21 meeting. Toroma Road, Katakwi District Economic Recovery SWG meeting 26/07/06 02:00p.m Planning Unit Board Room, Katakwi District Headquarters

Amuria District Disaster Management Meeting 18/07/06 10:00a.m. Water Office, District Headquarters.

OCHA Uganda Humanitarian Situation Report N° 10/06 - 6 -20 July 2006 Page 5 of 5 Contact: Christophe illemassene or Beatrice Lakot at [email protected] / [email protected] More information on the humanitarian situation in Northern Uganda available on www.reliefweb.int