July 23, 2016 (JUBA) – At least 13 people have died and 190 hospitalised following a recent outbreak of Cholera in various parts of South Sudan, the health ministry disclosed.

“The Cholera cases were reported and recorded in Duk County of Jonglei State, Juba County of Jubek State and Terekeka County of Terekeka State since June till Thursday [21 July],” Information Minister, Michael Makuei Lueth said Friday.

Cholera is a preventable disease, which is mainly caused by drinking or eating contaminated water or food. It mainly affects town dwellers that drink from open water sources as well as people who lack latrines and toilets in homes.

A report on Cholera outbreak was reportedly presented by Health Minister, Riek Gai Kok before the council of ministers.

“Only 13 people have died so far and there are 194 cases of cholera reported in the three states,” said Makuei.

According to the minister, United Nations agencies like UNICEF, WHO and other humanitarian actors pledged to help South Sudan respond to increasing Cholera cases.

South Sudan has already allocated SSP 200 million to address the disease outbreak.

(ST)

A convoy of 45 trucks carrying food and and other merchandise have arrived in Juba, a week after insecurity left many traders stranded at Nimule border post.

The convoy came from the town of Nimule on the Ugandan border and is the first to reach the south by road since fighting broke out in Juba almost three weeks ago.

Insecurity along the Juba – Nimule road made it extremely difficult for the traders to proceed to Juba and this in return resulted into food shortage at the heart of South Sudan’s capital city.

Last week, the Director General of customs, Akon Non Akon, said efforts were being made to provide armed escort to assist the traders transport their food and merchandise to Juba.

This initiative saw the first set of 45 trucks arrive in Juba on Sunday.

Akon told Radio Miraya that more trucks still stuck at Nimule border post, will be cleared soon.

“Fouty five arrived yesterday carrying different types of commodities; food commodities and non-essential food items a lot are now being cleared.”

A temporary makeshift school has been opened for internally displaced persons at the UN IDP transit camp in Thomping.

The opening of the school is seen as a major milestone in efforts to provide quality education to about 900 children and adolescents from the IDP communities and ensure equal opportunities for both girls and boys.

William Nyah, the Acting Head teacher of Friendship Nursery and Primary school asked UNICEF to intervene and supply basic school supplies for the children displaced by the recent fighting in Juba.

“We have now good number of pupils; we are asking UNICEF and other education partners to provide us with some learning materials and also to construct school separate from IDP. It is very important to teach these children because we are investing the future”.

According to UNICEF, with a population of 11 million, South Sudan has a higher proportion of children out of school than any other place in the world.

More than half of the country’s primary and lower secondary school-age children, up to age 15, are not attending school.

In coordination with the Inter-Cluster Working Group, the Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Cluster continues to advocate for non-creation of new camp-like settings in Juba. Humanitarian interventions should be aimed at providing temporary emergency assistance that will not serve as a pull factor for IDPs to remain in the sites. OCHA reports that 15,061 people remain displaced by the insecurity in Juba. Of these, 10,838 people are sheltering in the UN Tong Ping and UN House bases. An estimated 4,223 IDPs are staying in three collective centres.

UNMISS TONGPING

CCCM

• Estimated population figure remains at 4,000.
• CCCM is facilitating movement of people from one part of the site to another to facilitate shelter construction.

WASH

• IOM delivered 66,000 litres of safe drinking water, at a rate of 6.5 L per person per day.
• Five water points and 30 taps are functional, with one tap for every 133 people.
• 56 latrines are functional, with 71 people per latrine. 12 hand washing facilities are installed and functional.
• Ongoing construction of 20 latrines to be completed by 25 July.
• 6 cubic meters de-sludged from the UNMISS latrines by UNMISS truck.
• Construction of 10 bathing shelters ongoing.
• 57 Health Hygiene Promoters (HHPs) are on the ground and working, with one HHP for every 70 people.
• 40 latrine cleaners and garbage collectors are on ground and working.

S&NFI

• Marram delivery resumed with four trucks delivered onsite in readiness for spreading and compacting to begin 25 July.
• Two shelters were completed with plastic sheeting and two frames constructed. Total number of shelters now completed is 17 with capacity to accommodate 700 individuals.

Health

• IOM conducted 169 general health consultations at its temporary clinic.
• Top morbidities were malaria, acute respiratory infection and gunshot wound.
• No new suspected cholera cases reported.

Summary

Bentiu protection of civilian site (PoC) was established in December 2013 with currently over 102,000 people seeking protection in the site. Humanitarian partners and UNMISS are working together with the community to improve the living condition in the PoC area.

Market Highlights

• The cost of living in South Sudan sustained rising trends during the reporting month. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased in June by 310% year-on-year, the highest in the world and historic ever recorded in the country. The recent fighting in Juba disrupted markets and trade, significantly reducing food availability and consequent remarkable increase in food prices in the capital to as high as 45-80% for legumes, 12-58% for cereals and up to 70-80% for fuel within one week following the cessation of hostilities.

• The South Sudanese pound (SSP) weakened further against the United States (US) dollar in the black market exchanging at an average 48 SSP/1US$ down from 38SSP/1US$ in May. The SSP lost further ground against the dollar in the immediate aftermath of renewed armed fighting in the capital, exchanging at an all-time high of 60 SSP/1US$.

• The country is still experiencing acute fuel shortages, characterized by erratic supply and unwillingness of dealers to sell at government controlled price of SSP 22/litre. Accordingly, hoarding and black market sales of fuel at premium prices was on the rise all over the country. Fuel problem was aggravated by the recent fighting in Juba and consequent disruption of Nimule border operations.

• High cost of transportation, unpassable roads due to seasonal rains and insecurity reversed expected price reduction gains for locally produced cereals following the start of early green harvests in parts of Equatoria, Unity, Lakes and Jonglei. Notably June-July marks the peak of the lean season in many areas in Eastern Equatoria, Upper Nile, Northern Bhar el Ghazal and Warrap, partly explaining the price increases for locally produced cereals. Aweil Town in Northern Bhar el Ghazal has the highest (about SSP 100/ 3.5 kg malwa) cereal prices in the country. Prices of most imported commodities also sustained rising trends across the country in line with currency depreciation, dollar shortages and difficult business environment.

• In the outlook, food prices are expected to increase seasonably in July-August period in line with reduced functionality, low market stocks and poor road access. Households rely highly on markets particularly the urban poor will be the worst hit. The expected early green harvests will bring temporary reprieve for many households in localized net producing areas but the effect will not be widely felt in deficit producing areas due to poor market integration- insecurity and poor roads will prevent trade flows. Beyond August, household food availability and access is expected to improve especially during the main harvest in November-December in parts of Warrap, Northern Bhar el Ghazal and Upper Nile. The recent looting of WFP food and other items in the main warehouse in Juba by armed elements will likely put considerable strain on vulnerable populations in PoCs and IDP camps who rely on humanitarian assistance.

GENEVA (22 July 2016) - Members of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan Ms Yasmin Sooka (Chair), Mr Ken Scott and Dr Godfrey Musila have begun their operations with initial meetings in Geneva this week.

The three-person Commission, appointed by the President of the Human Rights Council on 14 June, plan to visit South Sudan and Ethiopia in September 2016 to hold meetings with government officials, opposition leaders, civil society and South Sudanese citizens as well as intergovernmental organizations, and regional leaders.

The Human Rights Council established the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan on 23 March 2016 for a period of one year to monitor and report on the human rights situation in South Sudan, to establish a factual basis for transitional justice and to provide guidance to the Transitional Government of National Unity of South Sudan on transitional justice. Its mandate also includes liaising with regional and international actors including the United Nations, African Union, IGAD1 JMEC2 and civil society with a view supporting their efforts towards promoting accountability for human rights violations and providing recommendations on support to the Transitional government in South Sudan.

The Commission has followed recent events in South Sudan with grave concern. It calls on all parties to end the violence, to honor their commitments under the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (ARCSS) in all its dimensions, and cease attacks on civilians.

The Commission notes with concern the ongoing attacks on civilians and allegations of rape and sexual violence against women and children. The Commission encourages regional leaders and the international community to intensify efforts to protect civilians, put an end to human rights violations and to enhance security and assist the parties to the conflict to fulfill their commitments under the ARCSS.

For more information please contact: Joseph Bonsu –jbonsu@ohchr.org

Notes:

Inter-governmental Authority on Development

The Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission for the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan

Describing events through 17 July 2016

Overview

Political tensions in former Western Equatoria state rose steadily throughout South Sudan’s 2013–15 civil war, culminating in clashes during the months and weeks leading up to the August 2015 Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (ARCSS) between President Salva Kiir and the opposition leader, Vice President Riek Machar. During the war,
Western Equatoria’s populist governor, and frequent Juba critic, Joseph Bakosoro, flirted with defection from Kiir’s Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) but remained in his governor post until Kiir sacked him in the run-up to the accord. In the months following the peace deal, full conflict erupted across the state (see map).

Health: Movement to Ngisa clinic is still restricted due to insecurity. This week, a new clinic was established in Nazareth to serve IDPs and the host community. Routine vaccination of children and women of reproductive age or pregnant continued at the Cathedral and SSRC sites. Vaccination services will start at Nazareth next week. Eleven health promotion sessions were conducted at the Cathedral and SSRC, with 3,036 individuals receiving health messages on prevention of diarrhoea, handwashing, malaria, personal hygiene and antenatal care. Health partners are forming a Cholera response taskforce.

PSS: 59 cases were attended to at the UNMISS site, SSRC and the Cathedral. There were high numbers of people who had experienced or witnessed violence, with 41 females and three males seen. The referral system is in place and working well. Fifteen cases were identified as needed registration and NFI support; six cases referred for medical attention and five separated children were referred to the ICRC for family tracing.

WASH: At the UNMISS protected area, IOM is supplying 468,000 litres of water per day. Total water storage capacity is at 170m3 , utilising plus two T45 water tanks, four T10 bladders, and two sets of 20m3 bladder tanks in the protection area extension. Four water quality monitors have been recruited and are training. Daily water treatment with chlorine is ongoing, and daily water quality monitoring is occurring for FRC, chlorine demand and Jar Test, with results within acceptable parameters. This week, IOM will start rehabilitating boreholes in Wau South, based on an updated list of boreholes received from Rural Water Department.

During the reporting week, more IDPs have entered the UNMISS Site compared to exits. Entries accounted for 84% of the movements, and 84% of the entries were women and children. More than 90% of the new arrivals reported coming into the UNMISS site for security reasons. The trend analysis for the reporting week indicates a sharp increase starting on 21 July which may be attributed to the general food distribution that started on 20 July. Most of the entries are from outside Wau town, including 26% from Ngoku. Other locations in town where IDPs come from include Lokoloko, Hai Korgana Jedid, Hai Kosti, Hai Salam and Hai Daraja. 65% of the families who have entered in the UNMISS site have expressed their intention to stay for at least 4 to 6 months.

The exit movements (16% of the total in and out movements) included 25% men and 75% women and children. The major factor pushing families out of the POC is the uncomfortable and congested living conditions in the camp and preference to rejoining other family members outside. Most of the families are destined to locations within Wau town including Hai Salam, Lokoloko, Hai Kosti, Hai Bafra and Hai Kalavario. Nearly 80% of the households who left the UNMISS site have expressed their intention to return back at some point.

(See attached MTT Snapshot)

More than 80% of the entries (86%) and exits (81%) are women and children. More exits than entries (62% exits verse 38% entries) have been registered. This may be due to the fact that many people are finding it difficult cope with the living condition in the Cathedral. Moreover, food has not been distributed since the onset of the displacement in late June. The MTT indicates that families who are exiting are moving into the relatively and/or moderately safer neighborhoods including Hai Selam, Hai Jezeera, Hai Kosti and Hai Jebel to re-enroll children in school. Nevertheless, the unpredictable and uncertain security situation in Wau town and its surrounding, encourage families who have left to consider the Cathedral as contingency safe place which they can run to in case of an emergency. It is less likely that the caseload that left the Cathedral will go to the UNMISS Site in case of another violent incident. All of the families who have left have expressed their intention to come back at some point.

Most of the entries into the Cathedral are from the surrounding villages out of Wau, primarily Brinji, followed by Tadu and Gedi. The major motive of entry is insecurity. However in the long run, many may go to the Cathedral to access food and services. This is because access to all of the conflict-affected areas out of Wau town has been suspended by the government. Humanitarian assistance has not reached the displaced community in these areas, which are estimated at 38,800 (List of IDP Sites in Wau). Nearly 70% of the IDPs who move to the Cathedral in the reporting period intend to stay for more than 6 months. (See attached MTT Snapshot)

Samuel Okiror

Uganda has received 30,000 refugees in just three weeks and reception facilities are overflowing. Recent fighting in South Sudan has caused a new wave of arrivals, putting pressure on its southern neighbour, which was already hosting half a million refugees.

Read the full article on IRIN

July 25, 2017 (JUBA) – South Sudan President Salva Kiir’s removal of the armed opposition leader, Riek Machar and appointing Taban Deng Gai as the country’s first vice-president could ignite a “full-scale war”, an advocacy group warned on Monday.

"This move represents another marker in the South Sudan’s slow motion political suicide,” said Enough Project’s Founding Director, John Prendergast.

“It unnecessarily brings South Sudan a step closer to full-scale war, shutting another door to dialogue and trampling on democratic processes espoused by both South Sudan’s government and opposition SPLA-IO [Sudan People Liberation Army in Opposition],” he added.

A section of South Sudan’s former rebels on Sunday announced they had replaced Machar with Gai, who was the mining minister in the recently established transitional national unity government.

Gai was the rebel’s lead negotiator for a peace accord signed last year between Machar, President Kiir, religious groups as well as several other political groups, to end nearly two years of violence.

The deal created a transitional government to last for 30 months in which Kiir was to remain President and Machar as first vice president.

But Machar’s allies say the move to substitute him with Gai, was illegal since he had already defected to President Kiir-led faction.

Brian Adeba, an Associate Director of Policy at the Enough Project said if President Kiir’s action to remove the former rebel leader and replace him with Deng proves to be part of an elite pact without grassroots support, it could undermine the peace accord.

“It is imperative that South Sudan’s leaders adhere to implementing the peace agreement and not allow inner-circle power plays to bring forth more violence and destabilisation,” he observed.

During the formation of the transitional government in late April, both Kiir and Machar agreed to implement the peace deal, which halted nearly two years of a bloody civil which took an ethnic dimension.

Both rival factions, according to the peace agreement, were to retain control of their respective armies until a merge is concluded.

Machar fled the capital, Juba when his forces clashed with those loyal to Kiir, killing over 270 soldiers and displacing 40,000 civilians.

The former rebel leader instead asked for a buffer between his forces and those loyal to Kiir as an assurance of his security in the capital.

Last week, President Kiir gave Machar a 48-hour ultimatum to return to Juba to continue as First Vice President or risk being replaced.

Machar failed to comply and a group of SPLM-IO officials including Gai, Secretary-General Dhieu Diing and Deputy Chairman Alfred Gore met in Juba and nominated Gai as Machar’s replacement.

Machar said Friday that he had fired Gai as mining minister, removed him from the SPLM-IO Political Bureau and withdrew his chairmanship of National Committee on Reconciliation and Healing.

“This is to declare to all members of the SPLM/SPLA (IO) that Taban Deng Gai has defected to the SPLM-IG (in Government) under President Salva Kiir Mayardit,” Machar wrote to SPLM-IO members.

“By this, Taban Deng Gai is dismissed and no more a member of the SPLM/SPLA (IO),” adds the letter.

The Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), a body charged with supervising the implementation of the peace agreement, said changes within the Machar-led opposition movement depends on the leadership of the movement itself.

“A change to the leadership depends on the Opposition itself and we are not here to speculate on such changes,” JMEC said Sunday.

“We do not see any value in speculating when the people and friends of South Sudan are working hard to ensure a return to the implementation of the Peace Agreement,” it added.

According South Sudan’s peace agreement, each of the parties to the accord can either nominate or withdraw its respective minister.

(ST)

July 25, 2016 (JUBA) – The editor of an Arabic newspaper has been detained and the paper shutdown by South Sudan security forces after it published inaccurate information.

The editor of Al-Watan newspaper, Michael Christopher was arrested on Saturday by security operatives and his whereabouts remain unknown.

Al-Watan newspaper was ordered to cease publication after it quoted Information Minister, Michael Makuei, as having confirmed the arrival of additional peacekeepers from neighbouring countries.

The paper said the troops from Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) would arrive Monday 25 July. But that turn out to be untrue and the paper apologized for the mistake, which it attributed to poor translation from English to the Arabic dialect.

“All these are our mistakes. The right information is that the government has formed a committee to receive a team of African Union Security Council which is expected to arrive today [Monday], Faisal Hassan Lado, the acting editor for the newspaper.

“We apologize for this inaccurate information that came as a result of translation,” he added.

Al-Watan’s lead story on Saturday with headline “Arrival of African Union soldiers on Monday” has a quote attributed to the minister.

Lueth, the newspaper reported, said a committee had been constituted to receive the visiting members AU Peace and Security Council on Monday. The government committee, he added, would be headed by his cabinet affairs counterpart, Martin Lomoro.

The Arabic newspaper later published an apology to the information minister he was wrongly quoted in Juba Monitor newspaper, which has remained closed and its chief editor, Alfred Taban still in detention.

Meanwhile, Bol Deng Mayen has been appointed the new editor of Al-Watan, the newspaper’s management announced on Monday. He replaces the embattled Michael.

(ST)

Highlights:

· In 2016, UNICEF has reached more than 1.1 million people with access to clean water through the rehabilitation and drilling of water schemes, provision of water purification materials and through water trucking in the drought affected regions of Afar, Amhara, Oromia, SNNP, Somali and Tigray.

· UNICEF is supporting the establishment of 812 additional stabilization centers for the treatment of severely malnourished children and medical complications. To date, 457 new stabilization centers have been established and are functional, with UNICEF providing stabilization opening kits and nutrition supplies.

· In response to the acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) outbreak in the country, UNICEF provided 75 case treatment center (CTC) kits to Addis Ababa Regional Health Bureau as well as to Afar, Oromia, SNNP, Somali and Tigray regions. UNICEF also provided supplies, including essential drugs valued at US$535,415 and covered US$529,610 in operational costs including for training and treatment centers’ running costs.

· In April 2016, the Federal Ministry of Health with support from partners, including UNICEF and WHO, conducted a measles vaccination campaign targeting 25 million children aged 6 months to 14 years plus polio vaccination targeting 16.5 million children under five in all drought affected nutrition priority 1 and 2 woredas. UNICEF facilitated the procurement of 28 million doses of measles vaccines and devices for the campaign that resulted in timely delivery and distribution to health centres.

· UNICEF has procured 177 water tanks for primary schools in Afar, Oromia and Somali regions. As a result, an estimated 58,200 school children have access to clean water in their school premises.

· Following negotiations between the Government of Ethiopia and South Sudan, 91 of the 146 children abducted from Gambella were returned and reunified with their families and communities. UNICEF provided support to the Government in terms of basic health, nutrition and child protection services as well as the provision of non-food items.

Fighting in Juba, South Sudan’s capital, from 7 to 11 July left hundreds of people dead or injured and tens of thousands displaced, mostly women and children. Humanitarian partners estimate that more than 36,000 people were displaced at the height of the fighting and had sought shelter in various locations throughout Juba. This includes more than 10,800 people hosted in the UNMISS sites, in addition to the more than 28,000 people who have been sheltering in the UN protection of civilians (PoC) sites in Juba before the recent fighting began.

During the fighting, there were reports of targeted and indiscriminate attacks affecting civilians, and there are ongoing reports of sexual and gender-based violence against internally displaced women.

Read the full story on OCHA

KEY FIGURES

3,701 Number of new arrivals on Sunday 24th July (as per field reports)

2,105 Number of new arrivals on Saturday 23rd July (as per field reports)

3,156 Number of new arrivals on Friday 22nd July (as per field reports)

35,448 Number of new arrivals since 7th July 2016 (as per field reports)

33,838* Number of new arrivals registered since 1st January in Uganda (RIMS) (as of end of June)

229,176* Total number of South Sudanese refugees registered in Uganda (RIMS) (as of end of June)

*Figures (not updated daily) according to Uganda Government Refugee Information Management System (RIMS)

PRIORITIES

 Management and expansion of reception facilities.

HIGHLIGHTS

 The number of South Sudanese refugees fleeing to Uganda over the last few days has been less than last week’s peak but continues to number in the thousands. 3,156 arrived on Friday, 2,105 on Saturday and 3,701 arrived on Sunday.

 On Friday, 2,099 refugees crossed in to Uganda using the Elegu border point (Adjumani axis), 168 in Moyo, 13 in Lamwo and 465 in Oraba (Arua axis). 411 refugees presented at Kiryandongo Reception Centre. On Saturday, an estimated 1,500 refugees crossed in to Uganda using the Elegu border point (Adjumani axis) and 329 in Oraba (Arua axis). 276 refugees presented at Kiryandongo Reception Centre. No new arrivals were reported in Moyo and Lamwo. On Sunday, an estimated 3,000 refugees crossed in to Uganda using the Elegu border point (Adjumani axis), 237 in Moyo, 45 in Lamwo and 226 in Oraba (Arua axis). 193 refugees presented at Kiryandongo Reception Centre.

 More South Sudanese refugees have arrived in Uganda since 7th July (35,448) than arrived in the first six months of 2016.

 Refugees fleeing to Uganda continue to report insecurity across different parts of South Sudan, with some reporting that armed groups are attacking civilians and robbing and burning down houses. Others are expressing fear of the consequences of a deterioration in the relationship between President Kiir and First Vice-President Machar. New arrivals in Arua reported a bombing in Lanya, Central Equatoria and claimed that the drivers of two trucks transporting people to the border were killed Morobo.

 28,585 people were being hosted across eight reception facilities. At the same time, Pagirinya settlement is almost full. Management and expansion of reception facilities, as well as opening a new settlement area is a key priority. In Pagirinya, a new reception centre is set to be opened using communal shelters that is expected to be able to host 15,000 refugees.

 During the course of the weekend, Elegu collection point was significantly decongested, though it continues to host an estimated 2,500 refugees on Sunday, above its 1,000-person capacity. The majority of these have been moved to Nyumanzi Transit Centre, where they are receiving hot meals, water, shelter and other key relief, while others have been taken to expanded reception centres in Pagirinya settlement. The inter-agency assessment team has completed its mission to identify potential new settlement areas and provided its recommendations. More than 17 partners participated in the mission led by the Office of the Prime Minister and UNHCR and an interagency debrief has been provided to the team in Adjumani. Potential new settlement areas are understood to have capacity and facilities for potentially up to 100,000 refugees.