VZCZCXRO8188
PP RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #1028/01 1791048
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 281048Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7750
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHRN/USMISSION UN ROME

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 001028 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AIDAC 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/SPG, PRM, AND ALSO PASS USAID/W 
USAID FOR DCHA SUDAN TEAM, AFR/SP 
NAIROBI FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA, USAID/REDSO, AND FAS 
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH 
NAIROBI FOR SFO 
NSC FOR PMARCHAM, MMAGAN, AND TSHORTLEY 
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU 
USUN FOR TMALY 
BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAID PREF PGOV PHUM SOCI UN SU
SUBJECT:  SUDAN - THE BLUES OF BLUE NILE STATE 
 
 
KHARTOUM 00001028  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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(U) Blue Nile State has a strong potential for agricultural 
production, yet chronic underdevelopment and lasting damage from 
civil war hamper progress.  USAID food aid assistance benefits 
returnees and communities in this Three Areas state, yet needs 
persist for basic services, including health, water and sanitation, 
education, and livelihoods.  End summary. 
 
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BLUE NILE IN NEED 
----------------- 
 
¶1. (U) Blue Nile State, which lies in the fertile woodland savannah 
belt of eastern Sudan, has a strong potential for agricultural 
production.  However, several challenges exist for this special 
administrative area as defined in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. 
 War destroyed most basic infrastructure, particularly in the 
southern portion of the state, and poor roads render many rural 
areas inaccessible during the rainy season. In addition, access to 
drinking water is far below minimum Sphere standards at five liters 
per person per day in Kurmuk locality, where many returning refugees 
and internally displaced persons (IDPs) are settling. Poor 
sanitation conditions contribute to the further spread of illnesses 
such as diarrhea and trachoma. 
 
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FOOD FOR EVERYTHING 
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¶2. (U) USAID funds the UN World Food Program (WFP) to carry out a 
host of emergency food aid programs throughout Blue Nile State.  In 
2007, WFP is engaged in General Food Distributions (GFD), Food for 
Education (FFE), Food for Training (FFT), Food for Recovery (FFR) 
and Institutional Feeding (IF) programs. 
 
¶3. (U) General food distributions target organized and spontaneous 
refugee and IDP returnees in 2007, as well as 2006 returnees. 
Current year returnees receive full rations while prior year 
returnees receive half rations. WFP is currently targeting 3,268 
returnees in Damazine locality and 19,575 in Kurmuk locality. 
 
¶4. (U) In order to support reintegration in resettlement areas, WFP 
provides Food for Education to promote improved quality and access 
to education, particularly for girls.  In northern Blue Nile, WFP 
FFE programs target 47 schools benefiting 15,733 students.  An 
additional 16 schools and 6,745 students receive hot meals through 
the WFP program in southern Blue Nile. Local communities engage 
through parent associations, which provide firewood, cooks, and 
additional food items where needed. While participating schools in 
southern Blue Nile expanded from nine to 16 over the past year, 
inaccessibility due to UN security restrictions reduced the number 
of participating schools in the northern portion of the state from 
83 to 47. 
 
¶5. (U) Food for Training programs in southern Blue Nile provide take 
home rations for 480 women and 120 men participating in literacy 
classes. The program aims to enhance women's reading and writing 
skills, knowledge, and confidence, and encourage participation in 
the local community decision making process. Providing food at the 
literacy courses encourages women to attend regularly. 
 
¶6. (U) A Food for Recovery project is planned to improve the food 
security and livelihoods of 1,084 men and 1,000 women in Challi, 
Kurmuk locality. Beneficiaries will receive individual rations for 
60 days while carrying out community-initiated resettlement 
activities. 
 
¶7. (U) An Institutional Feeding program scheduled for 620 
individuals per month in Roseries and Damazine localities and Kurmuk 
hospital aims to reduce child mortality, improve child health, and 
combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases. 
 
¶8. (U) In order to address the pressing need for increased access to 
water in Blue Nile, WFP is exploring the use of Food for Work 
interventions to build water catchments. As heavy soil in the state 
requires machinery for digging, WFP is seeking an NGO to provide 
equipment as a complement to additional FFW activities. 
 
 
KHARTOUM 00001028  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶9. (U) WFP has successfully pre-positioned food at local 
distribution points to minimize delays in food delivery during the 
rainy season. In addition, WFP has trained relief committees at each 
site to carry out the food distribution in the event that rains 
prevent the presence of WFP staff. USAID field staff recommends 
monitoring the performance of the relief committees to evaluate the 
effectiveness of this approach. 
 
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NEEDS AND CHALLENGES 
-------------------- 
 
¶10. (U) Needs in Blue Nile are great, particularly for water and 
sanitation, health, education, and livelihoods support. Schools 
often lack text books, trained teachers, and clean water. In some 
locations, school meals are prepared using untreated river water, 
and students drink directly from the river, both of which pose 
significant health hazards. Resettlement sites lack holistic 
programming, with most returnees receiving food without other basic 
services that would support resettlement and reintegration. This 
lack of basic services may encourage some returnees for a reverse 
return. 
 
¶11. (U) Several hurdles to expanded services exist, including the 
threat of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXOs), and UN security 
restrictions marking several locations "no-go". Low local government 
capacity and the limited presence of relief organizations also 
present obstacles to needed relief to development programming. 
 
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RECOMMENDATIONS 
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¶12. (U) An in-depth assessment should be carried out in Blue Nile 
State to identify specific needs and explore possible support for 
basic services to areas of resettlement. In addition, the provision 
of agricultural inputs to returnees would help them to transition 
from reliance on food rations to self-sustenance. 
 
¶13. (U) Related to WFP operations, an additional storage facility is 
needed in Kurmuk. Food currently stored in a non-WFP facility is at 
risk of contamination from petrol and rodents. Parent associations 
responsible for managing food storage sites at schools require 
training on storage and handling of commodities.  Also, a follow-up 
evaluation on food distributions conducted by local relief 
committees in the absence of WFP staff during the rainy season is 
recommended to determine the effectiveness of this approach. 
 
FERNANDEZ