UNHCR TO PROVIDE PLASTIC SHEETING AND OTHER NON-FOOD ITEMS (NFIs) FOLLOWING FLASH FLOODING IN EL NUHUD, WEST KORDOFAN - Flash flooding caused injuries and destroyed homes, public buildings and shops in El Nuhud locality, where nearly 4,000 South Sudanese refugees live. UNHCR and the Commission for Refugees (COR) conducted an initial rapid needs assessment on 24 July. UNHCR will provide 3,000 NFI kits to locality residents, including plastic sheeting. The local primary school attended by both refugees and host communities was also affected, with damaged latrines and fencing. OCHA led an inter-agency needs assessment for areas affected by flash flooding on 30 July.

LARGE INTERNAL REFUGEE MOVEMENTS OBSERVED WITH START OF HARVEST SEASON – In White Nile State, the Government of Sudan’s Commission for Refugees (COR) estimates that at least 50,000 refugees are working on farms outside of the camps. Refugee schools in camps are temporarily closed, and will reopen in November, when families are anticipated to return to camps. Education partners and the State Ministry of Education agreed in September to adjust the school calendar to address low attendance rates anticipated during the harvest season. In East Darfur, a 10 per cent reduction in attendance to therapeutic and supplementary feeding nutrition programmes in camps has been observed. Where possible, programming is being adapted so beneficiaries can still receive sufficient nutrition support.

UNICEF AND UNHCR COMPLETE 2nd ROUND OF NUTRITION CAMPAIGN IN WEST KORDOFAN STATE – The campaign is part of the accelerated nutrition action plan initiated in October following the outcomes of the 2018 Standardized Expanded Nutrition Survey (SENS). Nearly 3,700 South Sudanese refugee children were screened, with referrals of malnourished and at-risk children made to local nutrition programmes for treatment. The action plan also integrates infant and young child feeding (IYCF) support, with over 2,700 pregnant and lactating women referred for IYCF counselling and supports. These campaigns have also been completed for refugee camps in White Nile State and targeted localities in South Kordofan State, as part of inter-agency efforts to scaleup the nutrition response to address critically high global acute malnutrition (GAM).

WFP'S CASH-BASED TRANSFER PROGRAM IN EAST DARFUR A SUCCESS: In 2019, WFP’s cash-based transfers to all South Sudanese refugees in Al Nimir refugee camp (home to more than 12,800 refugees in East Darfur State), have enabled many to rent land and farm their own crops by providing them with the capital they need to purchase the inputs they need and fund land access. Previously, most refugees in the camp were only able to work as labourers on host community farms. UNHCR is discussing with a private sector company how to include the refugee production of peanuts in the already existing host-community value chain