VZCZCXRO4251
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #1061/01 1241443
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 041443Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2623
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 001061 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AIDAC 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/SPG, PRM, AND ALSO PASS USAID/W 
USAID FOR DCHA SUDAN TEAM, AF/EA, DCHA 
NAIROBI FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA, USAID/REDSO, AND FAS 
USMISSION UN ROME 
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH 
NAIROBI FOR SFO 
NSC FOR JMELINE, TSHORTLEY 
USUN FOR TMALY 
BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAID PREF PGOV PHUM SOCI KAWC SU
SUBJECT: Sudan - Humanitarian Assessment of the Eastern 
Jebels, Nuba Mountains 
 
 
------------------- 
Summary and Comment 
------------------- 
 
¶1.  A USAID team visited the eastern part of the Nuba 
Mountains from April 11 to 17, 2006, to monitor USAID- 
funded projects and assess local conditions for IDP 
returns.  The eastern Jebels host approximately 60 
percent of the population of the Nuba Mountains.  Save 
the Children-U.S. (SC/US) is USAID's main implementing 
partner in the Nuba Mountains, and has operated in the 
area since 1994.  The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) 
arrived in Talodi locality and is currently building a 
returnee way station to facilitate local returns.  The 
overall security situation in the area is calm.  Roads 
are passable, though not all paths have been cleared of 
land mines. 
 
¶2.  Access to water is the overwhelming constraint to 
full reintegration of IDPs back into their home villages. 
Entire villages are forced to migrate during the dry 
season due to lack of water.  USAID-sponsored programs 
are working to rehabilitate old wells, dig new wells, and 
provide livelihood opportunities for returnees and host 
communities.  The U.N. World Food Program (WFP) has pre- 
positioned food stocks in the area to ensure continued 
food security after seasonal rains render local roads 
impassable.  End Summary and Comment. 
 
---------- 
Background 
---------- 
 
¶3.  A USAID assessment team consisting of a Health 
Advisor and an IDP Advisor visited the eastern part of 
the Nuba Mountains from April 11 to 17, 2006, in order to 
monitor USAID-funded activities and evaluate local 
humanitarian conditions.  The eastern Jebels contains 
roughly 60 percent of the Nuba Mountain population and 
consist of three main localities:  Rashad, Abu Jebeha, 
and Talodi.  The USAID assessment team visited all three 
locations. 
 
¶4.  SC/US, USAID's largest partner in the Nuba Mountains, 
is implementing a broad-based humanitarian program 
including health, water, food security, and livelihoods 
interventions.  SC/US provides a variety of programs and 
services to the residents of Rashad, Abu Jebeha, and 
Talodi including a Family Tracking and Reunification 
program funded by the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF), mine 
risk education funded by the U.N. Mine Action Service 
(UNMAS), food security programs funded by the U.N. Common 
Humanitarian Fund (CHF), school feeding/emergency relief 
programs funded by WFP, and health, and water and 
sanitation programs funded by the Dutch government. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Reintegration and Reunification of Returns 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶5.  As of March 2006, SC/US projects targeting returnees 
had assisted more than 20,000 beneficiaries.  Of 
particular note, SC/US has successfully increased 
Expanded Program of Immunization (EPI) coverage from 14 
to 98 percent, drilled and/or rehabilitated 256 hand pump 
wells, implemented 33 school feeding programs, and 
distributed improved seeds and other agricultural inputs 
throughout their area of operations.  SC/US has also 
expanded its mine risk education program, initially 
funded by the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance 
(OFDA) in 2002, to support 72 villages.  SC/US's Family 
Tracking and Reunification intervention resulted in eight 
children being reunited with their families.  Although 
small in scale, these reunions represent important peace 
dividends and build confidence in the benefits of the 
Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) within local 
communities. 
 
¶6.  The Nuba Mountains are closer to northern Sudan and 
Khartoum than to Southern Sudan, and this relative 
geographical proximity has allowed IDPs living in 
 
KHARTOUM 00001061  002 OF 002 
 
 
Khartoum and other northern states to stay connected with 
relatives and family members.  This continuity of 
relationships has contributed to a smoother return and re- 
integration process, with many IDPs undertaking advance 
visits in order to report their observations back to the 
larger Nuba community in Khartoum. 
 
¶7.  NRC opened a way station in Talodi in early April, 
¶2006.  The way station is located 2 kilometers from the 
town and features two water pumps, a clinic, a kitchen 
with cooking utensils, and plenty of shelter.  The 
facility was designed to accommodate 540 people passing 
through Talodi en route to their home areas of origin. 
In a meeting with USAID, the Commissioner of Talodi 
expressed skepticism about the usefulness of the way 
station.  In his opinion, resources would have been 
better used to build a school or clinic.  However, he 
conceded that the structure could be transformed into a 
public service building following termination of the 
returns program.  Given the relative ease of local 
returnee reintegration, the way station in Talodi is not 
a priority destination at this time.  However, this 
situation may change during the approaching the rainy 
season, as vehicles loaded with returnees and their 
personal belongings will not be able to reach more remote 
villages in the area. 
 
---------------------- 
Huge Challenges Remain 
---------------------- 
 
¶8.  Access to water continues to be one of the most 
critical challenges to survival in the eastern Jebels. 
Most of the places visited by the assessment team are 
experiencing severe water shortages.  In some areas, 
families must spend half their day to secure 8 gallons of 
water.  Villages surrounding the Abu Jebeha locality 
migrate into the town every summer to gain access to the 
areas scarce water resources.  This seasonal migration in 
search of water causes some schools to close and stresses 
local water infrastructure capacity to the breaking 
point.  Though less severe than the urgent water crisis, 
shortages of health and education services also directly 
impact returnee welfare.  The most common diseases 
observed in SC/US's few health service facilities are 
diarrhea, malaria, and acute respiratory infection. 
 
¶9.  Food assistance is a key component of local 
humanitarian interventions designed to assist both 
returnees and host populations.  Food aid assists 
returnees and some host community residents to re- 
establish homes while also preparing for the upcoming 
agricultural season.  WFP has successfully pre-positioned 
food stocks in the Nuba Mountains prior to impending 
seasonal rains, including 700 metric tons of food 
commodities in Talodi locality alone.  SC/US, WFP's main 
distribution partner in the area, is storing additional 
food reserves in schools and commercial stores, and is 
constructing transitional storage facilities in several 
major villages throughout the area. 
 
STEINFELD