HEALTH SERVICE GAPS EMERGING IN NORTH DARFUR - A health service gap has emerged in North Darfur State affecting about 14,000 refugees living in settlements, as well as their host communities who benefit from- and rely on this clinic and health services. Health partners are urgently needed to sustain health services in the area.

HEAVY RAINS DAMAGE SHELTERS AND REFUGEE SCHOOL IN SOUTH KORDOFAN STATE – Heavy rains in May damaged shelters and homes of refugee and host communities in Kadugli, affecting over 120 households. UNHCR, COR and the Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) are planning for shelter replenishment. In Sirajiya, heavy rains damaged classrooms at a refugee school, and the refugee community has requested UNHCR’s support to build permanent classrooms that withstand the weather conditions.

In Sudan, the Joda entry point closed last April due to a border dispute has been reopened at the end of June 2018, with over 200 refugees arriving through the entry point on 28 June and consecutively transported to Um Sangour camp.

In Uganda, a joint statement on the progress of the joint verification exercise was issued on 25 June 2018, by the Office of the Prime Minister and UNHCR drawing preliminary conclusions and analysis from the results so far in the spirit of transparency and accountability.

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.

Local authorities at El Leri, South Kordofan have allowed the construction of 300 household latrines by UNICEF at the Dar Batti settlement after being halted in Fall 2017, following a request by authorities to relocate refugees living there due to increasing demand on local water supply and services.

OCTOBER SEES LOWEST NEW ARRIVALS IN 2018 SO FAR – January saw the highest number of new arrivals in 2018 with nearly 5,800 individuals, and arrivals have been in steady decline since, with just 721 arrivals in October, including zero new arrivals reported in East Darfur State. Inter-agency partners agreed in July to revise new arrival estimates for 2018 to 50,000 by year-end, from an original estimate of 200,000, following the notably slower rate of new arrivals in the first half of the year.

ONGOING CASH AND FUEL SHORTAGES CONTINUE TO IMPACT RESPONSE DELAYS AND REFUGEE PROTECTION – Cash shortages reported since November continue and are driving implementation delays for assistance projects in all refugee locations, especially for procurement and monitoring activities, and cash-based interventions. The situation is compounded by rising inflation and ongoing fuel shortages. Water system functionality has been hard hit, with generators at pumping stations unable to run due to a lack of fuel. Ongoing protests have also raised concerns for refugee protection amid escalating civil unrest across Sudan.

ONGOING NATIONAL FUEL SHORTAGE AFFECTING REFUGEE OPERATIONS ACROSS SUDAN – Partners have reported temporary interruptions to clinic and hospital operations across all states, and student enrollment campaigns have been delayed in South and West Kordofan States. WFP also faced challenges to timely pre-positioning of food supplies at refugee settlements that typically become inaccessible during the rainy season. Nearly all water treatment plants servicing refugee and host communities in White Nile State have reduced pumping hours, with people drawing water directly from the White Nile River. WASH partners distributed chlorination tablets and initiated public awareness campaigns on the importance of boiling river water. MSF-Spain established Surface Water Treatment Plant (SWAT) systems at Al Kashafa and Al Waral camps to support emergency water treatment.

OVER 3,000 REFUGEES ARRIVED IN SUDAN IN FEBRUARY – New refugee arrivals from South Sudan continue to cross into Sudan. Over 6,200 refugees have arrived in Sudan in 2019 so far, arriving from Aweil area in Northern Bahr Ghazal State and Upper Nile State, citing violence, food insecurity and a lack of livelihoods as their reasons for leaving South Sudan.