INTER-AGENCY ASSESSMENT REPORT: Baashim/Tima, Kutum Locality, North Darfur State. 3-5 January 2017

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1 INTER-AGENCY ASSESSMENT REPORT: Baashim/Tima, Kutum Locality, North Darfur State. 3-5 January 2017 This Assessment Report is a product of an Inter-Agency Assessment mission conducted and information compiled based on the inputs provided by participating partners, including the affected communities. The Mission comprised of participants from different agencies including: OCHA, UNDP, UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, IOM, the UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS), GOAL Ireland Organization and Humanitarian Home for Peace Organization (HHO). Situation Overview: From 3 to 5 January 2017, OCHA led a two-day inter-agency assessment mission to Baashim/Tima area (approx. 65 km NW of Mellit town) in Kutum locality. The purpose of the mission was to assess the overall situation in the area following a request made by the local authorities in Kutum and the Wali of North Darfur State through HAC, appealing humanitarians to organize the mission in order to better identify the gaps and support the response from UN agencies and humanitarian partners. Although numbers are difficult to verify, around 12,500 people (2,500 families) have been estimated by community leaders to have returned to Baashim/Tima village from the vicinity and Wadis where they have taken refuge earlier when the area was attacked in late March The total population of the entire area which consists of two village councils, with approximately 70 villages, was around 35,000 people before the attack of March In this connection, an estimated 11,000 people (3,500 people/700 families from Baashim/Tima village and 7,500 people/1,500 families across the surrounding villages) were reported having been affected by the attack on the area. The most urgent needs according to the community leaders and women groups are, in order, food and nutrition, education, health care, access to safe water, household supplies (NFIs) and reconstruction-oriented programmes. The community leaders further emphasized that security is generally stable since the deployment of government military forces in the area namely the Rapid Support Forces (RSFs). Women groups also underlined the need for constructing a center for woman equipped with office furniture. The team established that the area of Baashim/Tima is apparently in need of recovery and development assistance. Therefore, the team recommends provision of community based assistance to the entire community in form of food for recovery programmes such as food for work, food for asset (FFA), school feeding, as well as seasonal support; health services (health center reactivation, mobile clinic); education (rehabilitation of Baashim/Tima school and provision of educational materials); WASH (such as chlorination of wells and rehabilitation of hand pumps); and nutrition interventions (such as OTP, TSFP, SFP). The Recovery, Return and Reintegration (RRR) sector is strongly recommended to liaise and initiate a coordinated multi-sectoral recovery and development interventions in implementation of the above highlighted recommendations.

2 Site overview: INTER-AGENCY ASSESSMENT REPORT: Baashim/Tima, Kutum Locality, North Darfur State, 3-5 January Pictures indicating children fetching water and a team member interacting with women group: Children fetching water at Baashim/Tima main water source (left) and a team member interacting with woman (right) (Photo by I-A team, 3-5 January 2017). Location map indicating the area visited and numbers of the returned population:

3 INTER-AGENCY ASSESSMENT REPORT: Baashim/Tima, Kutum Locality, North Darfur State, 3-5 January Drivers and Underlying Factors: In late November 2016, OCHA received a letter from the local authorities in Kutum locality through the Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC), describing the humanitarian situation in Baashim/Tima area, which had been a no-go area for humanitarian partners since The information received indicated that the area needs urgent attention and support particularly food and essential households supplies as it has undergone improvement in security and currently witnessing voluntary return process. HAC stated that the Wali visited the area few weeks ago and stated that the humanitarian situation there needs immediate action. In this connection, the Wali through HAC requested the Area-Humanitarian Country Team (A-HCT) in North Darfur to organize an interagency assessment mission in order to independently assess the situation. HAC further stated that the situation has deteriorated as a result of some inter-communal conflicts in and surrounding areas. HAC added that the security situation is more conducive now for assessment and intervention following reconciliation processes among the rival tribes in the area. In response, on 30 November, A-HCT decided to deploy an inter-agency assessment team to the area in order to assess the overall situation and to identify gaps in meeting the needs of the returned populations. The inter-agency assessment team assessed that the area has occasionally experienced a series of insecurity situations. According to the community leaders, Baashim/Tima area was attacked on 23 March 2014 by armed militiamen. The attack destroyed the livelihoods of civilian population, burnt down many houses, and resulted in rustling a big number of livestock. The attack forced the civilian population to leave their villages and seek shelter along the nearby Wadis (valleys) and under bushes in the vicinity of the area. According to the community leaders, the attack left an estimated 11,000 affected people (2,200 families) in Baashim/Tima village as well as throughout the surrounding villages. The market in Baashim/Tima area was also reported having experienced another attack in early February 2015 perpetrated by unidentified armed group which robbed properties of the local population and raided a big number of livestock and left causalities. Reportedly, the area has also been affected during the attacks that occurred in December 2015 by armed militias targeting areas of Anka, Birdik, and Um Rai. During the assessment period, the general situation in Baashim/Tima area was stable with no incidents reported. This stability was attributed to the deployment of the RSF to area. Scope of the Mission and Humanitarian Profile: Between 3 and 5 January 2017, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) led an interagency assessment mission to Baashim/Tima area (approx. 65 km NW of Mellit town) in Kutum locality. The purpose of the mission was to assess the overall situation in the area following a request made by the local authorities in Kutum and the Wali of North Darfur State through HAC, calling on humanitarians to visit the area in order to better identify the gaps and support the response from UN agencies and humanitarian partners. Generally, while figurers are very difficult to verify, around 12,500 people (2,500 families) were estimated by community leaders to have been returned to Baashim/Tima village from the vicinity and Wadis where they have taken refuge when the area was attacked in late March The area of Baashim consists of two village councils, with approximately 70 villages. The total population of the entire area was estimated at around 35,000 people before the attack of March During that incident, an approximately 11,000 people (3,500 people/700 families in Baashim village and 7,500 people/1,500 families across the surrounding villages) were reported having been affected. The most urgent needs according to the community leaders and women groups are, in sequence, food and nutrition, education, health care, access to safe water, household supplies (non-food items), construction of women center. The community leaders further emphasized that security is generally stable since the deployment of the Rapid Response Forces to the area. The mission team established that Baashim/Tima area is in need of recovery and development assistance. Accordingly, the team recommended provision of community-based assistance for the benefit of the entire area, including food for recovery programmes such as food for work, food for asset (FFA) and school-feeding as well as seasonal support. The health center needs to be reactivated and a mobile clinic introduced. In particular, the area needs an integrated health services with special focus on reproductive and vaccination services among children.

4 INTER-AGENCY ASSESSMENT REPORT: Baashim/Tima, Kutum Locality, North Darfur State, 3-5 January This is basically important in order to sustain an easy access by vulnerable people to the integrated primary health care services particularly that focus on reduction of maternal and child mortality as well as eliminating child morbidity. The team further assessed and agreed on the necessity of putting in place a referral system to secondary health care and strengthening Early Warning and Surveillance. The local school needs to be rehabilitated and stocked with education materials. For clean water, wells need to be chlorinated and hand pumps rehabilitated. The team also recommends initiation of nutrition interventions. Status of the Population in the Visited Areas: The population in Baashim/Tima area which is under Government of Sudan (GoS) control described the overall situation as calm and stable particularly after the deployment of government forces (RSF) in the area in September The local populations have free movements throughout the area including to the markets of Mellit, El Fasher, Tina, and Um Baru. In the aftermath of the major attack on the area in March 2014, people fled their villages and sought refuge in the nearby, wadis, hills and caves. They remained there for the last three years. Although no humanitarian assistance has been provided to them, they managed to deal with the difficult situation adopting some local coping mechanisms. The majority of the local population in Baashim/Tima is practicing livestock herding activities supplemented by small scale farming. Most of families have been observed without shelter, and left to experience harsh weather conditions including cold at nights. Families were also observed having few assets and with some domestic animals (sheep, goats and donkeys) that might hardly survive under the current situation due to limited fodder and water availability. People and animals are consuming water from the same water source. This situation might result in increasing the probability of high contamination. There was no sanitation facilities thus open defecation is widely being practiced by the local population including school pupils. A Sample of a Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) exercise for randomly selected children aged between 6 and 59 months, indicating that malnutrition is common among children in Baashim/Tima area..

5 INTER-AGENCY ASSESSMENT REPORT: Baashim/Tima, Kutum Locality, North Darfur State, 3-5 January Key Findings & Response Priorities by Sectors: KEY FINDINGS Health Health facilities: There is one basic health unit (BHU) previously not functioning. The local NGO Humanitarian Home Organization using its own resources with logistical support provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) revitalized the health facility on 4 January The health facility comprised of two (2) rooms and currently being run by six (6) health personnel of whom one (1) is seconded by State Ministry of Health (SMoH). The clinicians included one (1) Medical Assistant, one (1) Community Health Worker (CHW), one (1) drug dispenser and three (3) midwives all providing health services to around 25,000 beneficiaries. The health facility is providing Out Patient Department (OPD) consultations. Consultations are ranging between 60 and 150 consultations per day while the most common causes of morbidities particularly among the children are diarrhea, malnutrition and skin diseases. It was observed that, the causes of morbidities were poor hygiene, water scarcity, and open defecations. No any other outbreak or disease with epidemic potential reported since The nearest referral hospital is Kutum rural hospital which is around 70 kilometers from Baashim/Tima. However, for security reasons and availability of public transportation to Mellit town, most of critically illness cases are being referred to Mellit rural hospital. The Crude Death Rate (CMR) was (0.00/day/10,000). The Under-5 Mortality Rate (MR) was also (0.00/day/10,000). Some key health services are missing in the health facility, for instance: The Extended Program on Immunization (EPI), RH, family planning (FP), child nutrition, integrated management of childhood illness (IMCI), hygiene promotion and management of common illnesses were simply non-operational. The number of children between 6 and 59 months of age is estimated at 5,950. During the national Polio with vitamin (A) vaccination and Tetanus campaign conducted in last December in the area, SMoH focal person conducted a Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) screening targeting 38 randomly selected children (6-59 months). The result revealed that 20 children were identified with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and 8 others were moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) while the 10 were normal. Children's nutritional status and personal hygiene are Nutrition RESPONSE PRIORITIES Rehabilitation of the basic health unit and addition of new health related functions. Provision of essential lifesaving drugs (including RH and drugs for under-five children) and medical supplies on monthly basis. Provision of RH services including family planning, Gender based violence (GBV) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) management and treatment. SMoH to cover the gap identified in human resources in the area and secure solar fridge to strengthen vaccination programme in the area. Strengthening the referral mechanism in the area. Strengthening the capacity of health staff by providing in service training, and increase the number of trained health professionals. Routine monitoring and supervision to the area. An immediate mass MUAC screening exercise for children aged between 6 and 59 months. Establishment of outpatient therapeutic (OTP) and supplementary feeding programme (SFP) Programmes for treating malnourished children. Establishment of breastfeeding corner inside Baashim/Tima village. Provision of emergency blanket supplementary feeding (e-bsfp) in order to cover the needs of children under five and Pregnant and lactating

6 KEY FINDINGS INTER-AGENCY ASSESSMENT REPORT: Baashim/Tima, Kutum Locality, North Darfur State, 3-5 January very poor; and with low harvesting season the situation is expected to deteriorate if no assistance is provided. Most of families are unable to provide enough food for their children and their health deteriorated quickly. Normal children become MAM then SAM,.i.e. children are not getting therapeutic and extra food at household level. Knowledge, practices and attitude of local community with regard to health and nutrition are very primitive from the general situation observed and sample of women interviewed. In Baashim/Tima there is only one volunteer nutritionist trained by SMoH. In the newly opened basic Health unit running, the package doesn't contain any of nutrition programmes (OTP, TSFP,.i.e.) to assess, address and manage malnutrition cases. Livestock herding supplemented by small scale farming are the main livelihoods activities for majority of the people. Food sources include local production and market. The nearest main market is Mellit, which is around 65 km a way. A connection between Baashim/Tima and Mellit is good and people can easy access Mellit to get their goods. A 100-kg sack of millet costs SDG 600. The main income sources for people in Baashim/Tima are selling of firewood, grasses and livestock. Farmers have cultivated during the 2015/16 agricultural season. However the harvest levels were very low. The average household s production was estimated at one sack of millet, which can support the household subsistence for one to two months. The low crop production was attributed to a combination of low and early stoppage of rains. Pasture conditions are good. The community members, however, complained about water shortage for both human and livestock consumption. The community members reported some cases of animal diseases among livestock including hemorrhagic septicemia (HS) and skin diseases (mange). No major protection related concerns were reported affecting the community during the assessment period. Reportedly, the overall security situations have significantly improved after the deployment of RSF to the area. The local populations have free movements throughout the area including to the markets of Mellit, El Fasher, Tina, and Um Baru. The only protection risk mentioned was the presence of unexploded ordnances (UXOs) but no specific accidents were stated. RESPONSE PRIORITIES Food Security and Livelihoods Women (PLW) for at least during the cold season. Improve food basket and cash transfer programmes. Organization of comprehensive Community- Based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) training for nutritionists in Baashim/Tima as well as inclusion of Infant Young and Children Feeding (IYCF) activities. Provision of food assistance in form of seasonal support to fill the food gap. Food for Assets (FFA) activities has to be given a priority in the area especially asset creation interventions in order to enable the community to rebuilt their damaged infrastructure e.g. schools and health centers. Supporting the returnees with animal treatment and vaccination programmes to improve their animals health conditions. A mass Mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC) screening has to be conducted to give a wider overview of the nutritional status of children under the age of five years. Provision of agricultural inputs particularly improved seeds for multiple crops. The caseload needs to be verified before starting any assistance. General Protection Advocate with UNAMID-ODO to further investigate the claim of presence of UXO in the nearby areas, as well as initiation of awareness raising activities. Verification of People with Specific Needs (PSNs) in coincidence with any registration/verification exercise planned to be conducted prior to provision of assistance. Continuation of protection monitoring process. Provision of essential household supplies e.g. NFIs to affected families.

7 KEY FINDINGS INTER-AGENCY ASSESSMENT REPORT: Baashim/Tima, Kutum Locality, North Darfur State, 3-5 January Most of disputes are being addressed through local native committees. Currently, no inter-communal conflicts in the area. A big number of women and children were observed in Baashim/Tima village. There is a need for constructing a center for women. An estimated 1,600 children in Baashim/Tima area need psychosocial support services (PSS) through different interventions. Around 1,300 children under the age of five years in the area need birth certificates. No child protection activities of any kind been noticed in the area. There were no missing, unaccompanied or separated children (UASC) identified following the attacks. The percentage of dropout children in Baashim/Tima area is very high. Child Protection(CP) ES/NFI An estimated 700 houses were reported been completely burned in Baashim/Tima village and around 1,500 others across the surrounding villages. Around 2,500 families reported having returned to Baashim/Tima village due to security improvement as a result of GoS military presence since September No shelter materials were observed in the area most probably due to bad rainy season. WASH There are two water sources (water yard) in Baashim/Tima village; one is functional supplying water for both human and animal consumption. The other is nonfunctional due to depletion of underground water, and its operating engine was reported having been looted during the last attack. The area has also one broken hand pump. Two (2) jerry cans-big size- of water cost SDG 1. Physical water quality test and observation confirmed that water become contaminated at the source, during transportation and while storing at household level. It was observed that, there is a lack of knowledge in relation to hygiene practices particularly in handling water, during transport and storage at the house level, these unhealthy behaviours make people unable to neither find adequate time for treating water nor having enough time to clean the water sources (unsafe sources) where people fetch water for drinking and cooking purposes and small quantity used for personal hygiene. There are no latrines in the area and almost all people practice open defecation. Hygiene situation is very poor especially around the water source. Equally, there are no latrines in the school thus students and teachers also practice open defecation. The school (teachers and students) get water from the water yard, using donkeys, with very poor hygiene practices in terms of storage. It was observed that, personal hygiene of women and children is very poor. RESPONSE PRIORITIES Delivery of psychosocial support services (PSS). Activation of birth registration and certification in the area. Provision of essential household items (NFIs) conditioned by completion of registration/verification exercise to be conducted by IOM. Renovation of the functional water yard through fencing in order to separate water for human consumption from animals. Hydro geological and geophysical studies are recommended to be conducted as availability of the underground water is insufficient. Drilling of a new borehole in Baashim village and supplying engine sets to operationalize the second nonfunctional elevated tank. Training the community on operating, maintaining and managing water facilities in the area. Drilling four (4) boreholes in Lobos villages located at a distance of approximately 12 km from Baashim, to be equipped with hand pumps. Implementation of community led total sanitation (CLTS) approach in order to scale up the sanitation practices at household level. Building latrines at public utilities (e.g. school and health unit). Initiation of extensive hygiene education activities to raise community awareness and knowledge on personal hygiene. Renovation of the traditional hand dug well in Fadila village in order to increase access to safe drinking water.

8 KEY FINDINGS INTER-AGENCY ASSESSMENT REPORT: Baashim/Tima, Kutum Locality, North Darfur State, 3-5 January There is only one (1) basic school in the area consisting of eight (8) classrooms, four (4) of which are well-constructed permanent buildings and four (4) others built using local materials. The school has 11 teachers (3 females and 8 males), of who only one teacher is a formal teacher appointed by the State Ministry of Education (SMoE), while the rest are volunteers. The school currently accommodates an approximately 300 pupils (155 male and 145 females) compared with about 820 pupils enrolled before the attacks of March The school lacks WASH related facilities e.g. hand washing and latrines and pupils widely practice open defecation. Around 900 children are estimated as dropout children. The school lacks educational materials such as texts books, sitting seats, etc. The school imposes SDG 70 as fees per pupil per month. This amount added much burden on families particularly those with more children. Education RESPONSE PRIORITIES Construction of four (4) classrooms, one (1) teachers office and a store in Baashim/Tima school. Building two latrines, one for girls and another for boys. Re-opening the school branch in Fadila village (approx. 6 km West of Baashim) in order to accommodate an estimated 85 children at grade 1 and 2 provided the distance and security. Provision of education supplies and materials including textbooks, boards, sitting mats, teachers kits and recreation Kits. Addressing the issue of volunteer teachers incentives so as to diminish the high schooling fees. Facilitation of free and easy access to safe drinking water in the school. Initiation of hygiene promotion activities in the school.

9 INTER-AGENCY ASSESSMENT REPORT: Baashim/Tima, Kutum Locality, North Darfur State, 3-5 January Humanitarian Access: Physical Access: The area is physically accessible by road from Mellit town. The road condition is extremely sandy and rough. Humanitarian Access: The mission to Baashim/Tima was initially planned to take place from 12 to 15 December. However, it has been postponed as UNDSS emphasized the need for conducting a road assessment mission (recce mission) to the area since it has not been visited by UNAMID over the past year and might not be safe for UN operations. In addition, the area was a no-go area for the humanitarian partners since On 14 December 2016, UNAMID s military conducted the recce mission to the area. The Security Risk Management Document (SRM) produced by the UNDSS allowed the team to travel subject to complying with all conditions and recommendations proposed as security measures reflected in the SRM (e.g. proper coordination with GoS security agencies, use of armed escort, and compliance with the Minimum Operating Security Standards (MOSS) requirements),

10 INTER-AGENCY ASSESSMENT REPORT: Baashim/Tima, Kutum Locality, North Darfur State, 3-5 January Assessment Information: The assessment to Baashim area in Kutum locality was carried out by the following individuals: Cluster Name Organization Phone Coordination Hashim SAAD OCHA Health Abdalla Altaib IOM Hydar Mohammed HHO Nutrition Abdalla Altaib IOM FSL Abaker Mohamed WFP Marwan Hassan UNDP Protection Mohammed Abd Elmajid UNHCR C. Protection Mohamed Ismail Gido UNICEF ES/NFI Ahmed Ishag UNHCR WASH Mohammed Ismail Goal Abdalla Altaib IOM Education Mohamed Ismail Gido UNICEF DTM Mohamed Khair Ali IOM Security Ibrahim Abdurahman UNDSS N/A