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Sister Pierre explains how to take medication at a clinic supported by ACT partners. Photo: Emad Ali Adam, ACT-Caritas
The ACT-Caritas Darfur Emergency Response Operation (DERO) — Fact sheet on program activities for July - September, 2007
Action by Churches Together (ACT) International and Caritas Internationalis represent the vast majority of the humanitarian aid response of the world’s Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox churches. In a unique co-operation, ACT and Caritas are sharing their resources to assist many of the 2.5 million internally displaced people in Darfur (source: International Organization for Migration).
The ACT-Caritas operation has benefited from millions of dollars given by more than 60 donors worldwide.
Since the start of the program in June 2004, ACT-Caritas has helped several hundred thousands of displaced people who have sought the relative safety of camps, but also others who have remained in their homes.
The multinational ACT-Caritas team works with key local members and partners — Sudan Council of Churches (SCC), Sudan Social Development Organization (SUDO) and Sudan Aid. The operation employs some 35 international and 350 Sudanese staff. Our field offices cover the provinces of Nyala, Shearia, El Dhein, Edd Al Fursan, Zalingei, Jebel Marra and Wadi Salih.
ACT-Caritas collaborates with the Humanitarian Aid Commission of Sudan (HAC) and other ministries. The joint operation is managed under the legal umbrella of Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) in Sudan.
Milestones July - September 2007
Civilians have continued to be displaced by attacks and fighting. The humanitarian community remains challenged in meeting the needs of the growing displaced population due to insecurity, with targeted attacks and vehicle hijackings continuing against aid agencies.
Emergency response unit (EPRU)
- Essential household items were distributed to 7,570 households, including both new arrivals and returnees in South and West Darfur. Items distributed included blankets, cooking sets, plastic sheets, plastic mats, water containers, mosquito nets and soap.
- 10 needs assessments were carried out in areas where there has been an influx of newly internally displaced persons (IDP).
Hygiene Promotion
- Insecticide spraying campaigns were undertaken in Kubum involving more than 1,490 households, 30 shelters in the market and 5 schools.
- More than 215 households were visited to provide hygiene promotion sessions, monitor hygiene conditions and carry out household-tohousehold hygiene education.
- Four sensitization sessions were conducted in Garsilla on control and prevention of acute watery diarrhoea with 1,082 participants. In addition, ten other sensitization sessions for more than 1,400 persons were carried out for cholera preparedness.
- Several cleaning campaigns were undertaken in market places, camps and schools involving more than 175 persons.
Nutrition
- The supplementary feeding program, which targets malnourished children under 5 years, and pregnant and lactating women, provided rations to 15,076 persons.
- The out-patient therapeutic program treated 153 persons suffering from severe malnutrition.
Primary Health
- 14 out of the 17 fixed clinics, including two dispensaries and two mobile clinics, were operational throughout the third quarter of 2007 and served 71,998 patients and treated 98,127 cases of diarrhoea, malaria, acute respiratory infections, skin diseases and intestinal worms.
- Close to 16,870 community members participated in various capacity building and awareness raising sessions in South and West Darfur. The topics covered included corn soya blend preparation, breast feeding and weaning practices, personal hygiene and hand washing, causes and prevention of malnutrition, balanced diets, food preparation and storage, clean water collection and storage, the proper use of latrines, malaria prevention, causes and prevention of diarrhoea, family planning and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
- In July, ACT-Caritas held an emergency three-day training workshop at Garsilla Hospital for 47 people on the management of severely malnourished children. Participants included State Ministry of Health and INGO staff. The training was held in response to the inadequate numbers of trained medical staff able to deal with severely malnutrition cases in West and South Darfur.
- ACT-Caritas collaborated with the State Ministry of Health to provide comprehensive training on the management of severe malnutrition to 24 doctors, senior nurses and nutrition staff representing various hospitals from all over South and West Darfur.
Water and Sanitation
- Four hand pumps were rehabilitated.
- In Kubum, 27 hand pump mechanics from the water committee were trained in hand pump repair.
- A 12-day workshop on a sustainable development approach for water resource management was carried out during this month in Nyala and was attended by NCA staff from Nyala, Garsilla, Zalingei and Kubum along with one staff from Sudan Social Development Organization (SUDO).
- In both South and West Darfur, 18 boreholes were drilled for IDPs and host communities.
Protection, Psychosocial and Peace-building
- More than 572 people participated in different awareness raising sessions as well as workshops on peace building and conflict resolution and transformation in Garsilla, Kubum and Dagadossa. Participants included sheikhs, shiekhats, community leaders, peace club members, peaceful coexistence committee members, youth, female students and teachers.
- In three community centers in South and West Darfur, 1,334 people participated in a variety of daily activities organized by ACT-Caritas. In addition, a total number of 1,898 people have participated in the daily activities organized by Sudan Aid in two community centers in South Darfur. Activities included kindergarten, adult education classes, group counseling and home visits as well as income generation projects such as bread making, food processing and handcraft making.
- Sudan Aid conducted two workshops for 60 community leaders and teachers on peace building in Ed Daein.
- Sudan Aid also supported four peaceful coexistence committees and three peace clubs in the Dreig and Elneem IDP camps in South Darfur on dispute resolution. In Dreig, an open day for children involved close to 2,500 participants and a recreational event involved 100 participants along with a recreational event in Elneem where 21 women participated.
School Support
- ACT-Caritas, in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Joint Logistics Centre (UNJLC) supplied four IDP schools at Mershing with 160 plastic sheets and four tents to improve the roofs of buildings made of local materials.
- With overcrowding in the IDP schools, Sudan Aid has constructed eight new temporary classrooms for 1,983 girls and boys at the El Salam IDP school in Ed Daein. In addition, Sudan Aid has supplied six IDP schools as well as Catholic Church schools in South Darfur with equipment including chairs, books, benches, plastic mats, office cupboards and tables.
- SUDO constructed two permanent IDP and host community schools in South and West Darfur. One has already been handed over to the State Ministry of Education.
Agriculture
- During July, the Sudan Council of Churches (SCC) and SUDO distributed 11.433 metric tons of millet and 6.180 metric tons of sorghum during the rainy season to 2,956 IDP and host community households in South and West Darfur.
Non Food Items for flood victims as well
- In August, ACT-Caritas distributed essential household items to 258 households out of 500 most affected by flood in West and South Darfur. Plastic sheeting was distributed to help build temporary shelters. In addition, SUDO constructed a dyke near the Bileil camp to stop water from an adjacent river from entering into the camp.
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