Good morning ladies and gentlemen of the media, and welcome to the United Nations weekly press briefing broadcast live on UN radio Miraya from UN House, in Juba. Also a warm welcome to our radio listeners who have tuned in.
Let me introduce our guest speaker today Mr. Anson Benjamin Edu, consultant for the MenAfricVac campaign, World Health Organization (WHO) country office for South Sudan. He will speak about the implementation of the Meningitis preventive vaccination campaign across the country.
But first a statement from the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, to mark the International Solidarity Day with missing, detained United Nations staff which took place on 25 March 2016
http://www.un.org/press/en/2016/sgsm17629.doc.htm
Please find below excerpts:
“The Un Secretary-General has urged intensified efforts to bring all perpetrators of such heinous crimes to justice, and to end impunity.
Last year, six United Nations personnel were abducted and held hostage by non-State actors before being released. Twenty UN civilian personnel have remained in detention. Five personnel are held by Member States without any reasons given for the arrests.
(…) Personnel, especially those deployed under dangerous conditions, deserve full protection and rights. Some are local staff striving to advance progress in their own countries. Others are far from their respective homes and families. All represent the best of the United Nations.
I call on all parties to respect the rights, privileges and immunities of UN personnel. I also remind national authorities of their responsibility for protecting all United Nations personnel and preventing violations against them.
All States must also support the 1994 Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel, as well as the 2005 Optional Protocol to the Convention, which extends legal protection to other humanitarian workers.”
UN Women
http://www.un.org/press/en/2016/sc12304.doc.htm
Also another statement from the UN Women Chief Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka as the Security Council took up the “Women, Peace and Security” agenda during last Monday’s open debate. The head of UN Women insisted that there are not enough women in key peacemaking, peacebuilding forums, and that women must be placed at the centre of efforts to prevent or resolve conflict in Africa, other speakers added on Monday
The Head UN Women also noted that the role of women in preventing conflict was often lauded, but rarely visible. Citing the 2015 Global Study on Women, Peace and Security, she highlighted among other points that countries with lower levels of gender inequality are less likely to resort to force; and that women’s security was one of the most reliable indicators of a State’s peacefulness.
On UNMISS Activities
- Transportation of SPLM-IO troops
Commencing Thursday March 24, UNMISS extended its logistical support to the transportation of SPLM/A-IO troops from Malakal to Juba as part of its mandate in support of the Peace Agreement and its implementation through assistance to the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC). The first airlift took place last Thursday when the Mission used its air assets to transport, from Pagak via Malakal to Juba, 22 high ranking officers including Generals of the SPLM/A-IO reportedly to become leadership for the Joint Integrated Police. Flights and subsequent airlift resumed on Monday, 28 March, of 39 SPLM/A-IO soldiers, from Malakal to Juba, including their light personal weapons.
UNMISS continues, within its existing capacity, to provide aircraft for the operation, while maintaining its regular aviation commitments and provision of support to its locations across the country. The current plan is for UNMISS and other members of the international community to continue operations throughout the week. As part of its contribution to the incoming movement of SPLM/A-IO to Juba, consistent with the agreed transitional security arrangements, the Mission is since yesterday through 1 April on a 40-passenger a day rotation from Malakal to Juba.
UNMISS will continue to support the implementation of the agreement in an impartial manner and provide logistical support with the available resource capacities of the mission.
In addition to provision of transportation of SPLM/A-IO, UNMISS has also supported JMEC with the clearing of land in some of the designated cantonment sites, including flattening the terrain and Unexploded Ordnance clearance by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) teams, as well as the preparation of sanitation facilities.
- Civil Affairs
· BOR: From 22 to 23 March, UNMISS Bor conducted a workshop for 30 participants, representing traditional and community leaders, on conflict management and traditional mitigation methods. Leaders agreed that the proliferation of weapons among the youths is exacerbating the prevalence of conflicts within the Greater Pibor Administration. They also agreed to scale up their efforts in conflict management and thus, change the situation.
· Also in the area of Malakal, UNMISS undertook a mission to Akoka and Melut counties from 21 till 23 March to assess the situation, and maintain relations with county officials. In Melut, UNMISS also met with internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Dethoma Camps. In Akoka, the county commissioner informed that the general security situation in his county, up to Melut, is calm. He underlined the dire humanitarian situation in Akoka where 36,000 displaced persons are living in addition to the host population. Potable water, food, medical supplies, and primary school materials all require urgent humanitarian intervention.
- Protection of Civilians’ sites:
· Malakal: As of 24 March, 525 shelter kits have been distributed and over 320 metric tons of shelters are expected to arrive at Malakal during the first week of April.
On UN Agencies Activities
- The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) Mine Awareness Day – 4 April
Next Monday 4 April will mark the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.
UNMAS South Sudan, in partnership with the South Sudan National Mine Action Authority (NMAA), will take part in a worldwide campaign to bring attention to mine action, and will hold a large awareness-raising event at the Nyakuron Centre in Juba on 4 April, as well as smaller events in across South Sudan in Bor, Duk Padiat, Jalhak, Kodok, Melut, Pagak, Kapoeta and Torit.
The theme for the commemoration is: Mine Action is Humanitarian Action. It will feed into the Secretary-General’s “agenda for humanity” for the first-ever World Humanitarian Summit in May 2016. Linking mine action with humanitarian action promotes the lifesaving elements of mine action work and the enabling role it plays for other humanitarian interventions.
I will give you a few figures to underline the importance of the work of UNMAS in South Sudan:
- more than half a million people have received risk education over the last 12 months;
- 14 million square meters of contaminated land have been cleared;
- 3,000 km of road were made safe
- 30,000 mines and explosive remnants of war have been destroyed. This has enabled the delivery of food and water and the safe movement of those fleeing fighting.
- FAO Situation Update – March 2016
http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/emergencies/docs/FAOSS_%20Situation%20Report_March%202016.pdf
· Alarming reports of starvation, acute malnutrition and catastrophe levels of food insecurity have been reported in areas worst affected by the ongoing violence. Food insecurity has spread to areas previously considered relatively stable, as the cumulative impact of the conflict, the economic downturn and the climactic shocks.
· Among affected areas of acute food security emergency is the central Unity region, extending to parts of Jonglei and Upper Nile regions, where conflict limits both availability of and access to food and markets. Fighting in these areas is expected to have a severe impact on access for aid delivery.
· Of particular concern is the outbreak of violence in Western Equatoria and Western Bahr el-Ghazal States – these areas produce food for not only local communities, but much of the country. Increased fighting puts the upcoming agricultural season at risk, with alarming potential to impact on food security for the entirety of South Sudan.
· Soaring food prices are also impacting families in areas that have been relatively secure.
· The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) also stated yesterday that food insecurity and unrest was forcing a growing number of South Sudanese to seek refuge in Sudan, especially in the northwestern regions, which has led to the flight of some 38,000 people into East and South Darfur since the end of January.
I will now give the floor to our guest Mr. Anson Benjamin Edu, consultant for the MenAfricVac campaign, World Health Organization (WHO) for South Sudan. He will speak about the implementation of the Meningitis preventive vaccination campaign across the country. Mr. Anson Benjamin Edu, consultant for the MenAfricVac campaign, (WHO) [see attached document] I appeal to you the media as image makers to use all your media to ensure that communities are mobilized to promote the Meningitis preventive vaccination campaign conducted across the country and that information is relayed to the population. We would also want civil society actors and community leaders to play a catalytic role in mobilizing communities and create a demand for the vaccination service delivery in South Sudan. Vaccination is needed to tackle this lethal disease.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Question, Gale Julius (Bakhita Radio): My first question regards the transportation of SPLM/A-IO troops, since 1,370 are expected to come to Juba and you said you will bring 40 officers on a daily basis, will UNMISS continue to transport them, as until 1st April it will only be 200 of them? Secondly, there have been concerns regarding the age of people to be vaccinated against meningitis. What is the age bracket concerned?
Ms. Ariane Quentier, UNMISS Spokesperson (AQ): As you know, the transport of SPLM/A-IO troops back to Juba is a joint effort of the international community. UNMISS will not by itself transport all the forces. UNMISS is assisting in the framework of the peace agreement implementation, but you also have other stakeholders relevant to the peace process supporting. Numbers given earlier during this briefing are only related to UNMISS contribution and support to the peace agreement.
Mr. Anson Benjamin Edu, WHO consultant for the MenAfricVac campaign (AE): The age group 16 to 29 years is targeted by the Meningitis preventive vaccination campaign because this group is the most vulnerable to this deadly disease. Studies across Africa show that devastating effects are always reported in this age bracket. It is also expected that after 29 years, you may already have been exposed to the disease and immunized. Finally it has been proven that the age bracket 16 -29 is the least reached, which is not a surprise since this has always been the most difficult age bracket to target. This is the first time a massive vaccination campaign will take place targeting this age group. Therefore, we are trying to do more sensitization and mobilization so people concerned can come and assist the vaccination as well.
Question, unidentified journalist from Torit (The Daily Vision newspaper): Regarding the number of detained UN staff mentioned earlier, is that concerning South Sudan? You also mentioned that 7 million South Sudanese will be protected by meningitis, is that concerning also the persons above 29 years and what are the figures in Eastern Equatoria? How were the figures recorded before the independence of South Sudan?
AQ: Figures I gave you are from the statement of the Secretary General to mark the International Solidarity Day with missing, detained United Nations staff on 25 March 2016. They are global, not specific to South Sudan. The UN Secretary-General message is a very important message as it stresses and underlines the fact that civilians and personnel working for the United Nations should be protected and respected for the duties they are conducting to support people. There are far too many UN staff illegally detained all over the world for doing their job which is to support affected communities.
AE: South Sudan was part of the targeted countries also before its independence. Epidemic figures are gathered at the county and Payam level. Before the decision to conduct a campaign nationwide in South Sudan was made, a team of technical experts and WHO did a risk assessment on the degree of devastation of the disease. After this assessment was conducted, in 2013 the country reported 2,901 cases which occurred mostly in Greater Bahr el-Ghazal and Greater Upper Nile regions from 1999 to 2005 and confirmed that from 2006 until 2009, 43 counties were affected. In 2013, the Ministry of Health together with WHO and the United Nations Children Fund confirmed that all counties in South Sudan experienced a form of outbreak of Meningitis, which justified the implementation of the campaign in South Sudan. The campaign is implemented in two phases, the first covering 70 percent of the country. The second phase will be determined after the end of this campaign and is suspected to cover Greater Bahr el-Ghazal. I want to reiterate that the age bracket of 1-29 is done all over Africa since it is the most devastated group by the disease.
Question, unidentified journalist (Radio Miraya): Regarding the meningitis vaccination campaign which started in 2013, are there any dead cases reported so far in the first phase and is the disease still considered a threat in South Sudan?
AE: We have gathered data through health facilities. But still 50 percent of the meningitis cases in South Sudan are not reported due to the lack of facilities or resources. However, these can be documented since we see survivors with devastating effects. We want to prevent youths in this bracket of contracting the disease. The planning of this campaign started in 2013 and it was decided to conduct the campaign for the period of 2014-2015 but because of many challenges as a new nation, this was delayed so protocols could be put in place to achieve international standards. Today, up to 5,45 million doses of meningitis vaccine have been distributed nationwide and this is ongoing. I will be able to give you more accurate numbers at the end of the first phase.
Question, Junior Ali (Eye Radio): My first question is for WHO. I read that cases of haemorrhagic fever have been first declared in PoC sites and that ten people died since December 2015. Can you give us some details on these reports? The second questions is for UNMISS. Can you comment on today’s media report according to which UNMISS declined to commit to protect a new site, called Sector 5, in Malakal PoC?
AE: This is not my technical area and I cannot comment but would rather have my colleagues discussing the issue with you.
AQ: UNMISS never declined to protect civilians. But first allow me to give you some background on what PoC sites are - going back to December 2013 when the conflict broke out. PoC sites are not called refugee or IDP camps because they are not refugee or IDP camps. PoC sites have been established as a last resort measure to temporarily respond to an emergency when the conflict broke out. Thousands of civilians under physical threat rushed within a few hours to our bases. They wanted protection from UN peacekeepers; it was a rush in term scale, scope, and speed. We were not ready in December 2013 to receive so many people but we did open the gates of our bases. UNMISS logistical bases however are mostly located in flat areas without adequate sanitation and drainage systems next to airports, and therefore prone to flooding and exposed to diseases. Following the outbreak of the conflict and in the last 2 years, there was a constant stream of people going into these PoC sites. The humanitarian community, not only UNMISS but also UN Funds, Agencies and Programmes as well as NGOs, have been constantly trying to accommodate them in the best possible conditions given the exceptional circumstances.
As the peace agreement is currently being implemented, UNMISS has around 13,000 troops deployed to protect not only the 188,000 civilians sheltered in the PoC sites but also support within its capacities over 2 million persons displaced in the country. While UNMISS will keep protecting civilians in its PoC sites, the Mission is also looking at other ways to protect affected populations. To do so, UNMISS has increased its patrols around PoC sites and established a growing number of long-duration patrols to allow the Mission to assess conditions in areas outside the PoC sites. UNMISS is also projecting forces outside the PoC sites by establishing temporary operating bases (TOB) as in Leer, Mundri or Wau Shilluk.
In Wau Shilluk, there are 18,000 people in need of services and food who come to Malakal PoC site to receive such services. If we project our troops to Wau Shilluk and provide protection to humanitarian stakeholders, civilians will be able to stay where they are and not come to the Malakal PoC site. UNMISS has also established a forward operating base (FOB) in Malakal town to support civilians who have left the PoC site and who still need protection and delivery of services. Therefore, we have not denied protection of civilians. On the contrary, we are looking at other ways to protect people across the country and not only in our PoC sites, but also outside with the 2 million displaced persons who are in dire need of humanitarian assistance.
To sum up, as the peace agreement is in the process of being implemented, UNMISS is trying to increase its protection of civilians and reach out to all people in need of humanitarian aid and protection so people can stay or return to their homes. That has happened in Bentiu where we established of FOB and where there are currently 25,000 people living in Bentiu with better security conditions and hence delivery of services.
Question, Opio Jackson Alex (Juba Monitor newspaper): My question is on the meningitis vaccination campaign. I have heard from a community in Imatong area that the people there are reluctant to take the vaccine and lack awareness on the campaign. Can you comment on that?
AE: This has not been reported to me but there are always rumors during vaccination campaign and we also train our teams on rumors’ management. I am sure that the local health authorities have been able to counter this issue but I will investigate and if it happens to be true, I can ensure you that we will inform these people better so they can be protected.
Question, unidentified journalist from Torit (The Daily Vision newspaper): People in Eastern Equatoria complain on the side effects and pain caused by the vaccine. Can you give us some details?
AE: Indeed, the vaccination may have some side effects and there are also contraindications for pregnant and lactating women. It is natural for your body to react when you take a vaccine, the side effects depending on your own immune system. Normal reactions comprise local skin reactions, throwing up, fainting which you can experience within one or two days after taking the vaccine. After that period, we talk of cases of Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI) but we have not seen any so far and we do provide our vaccination teams with AEFI kits. Also, each county has a referral hospital and a referral focal doctor on stand-by. If you experience any issue or if the pain persists after two days, please do report it so you can be treated. At the end of the campaign, a team of experts will come to follow-up on all AEFI cases and visit people that might developed such symptoms.
Question, Nyaboth Paska Alfred (The National Today newspaper): UNMISS, you did mention some reports of IDPs living the PoC sites due to hunger? What is the reason? Is that because UNMISS is declining the IDPs services?
AQ: What we have realized, especially in Malakal, is that there are thousands of people who come to the PoC site because not only do we provide protection but also services. For instance, some of them only make their way to the PoC site when there is a food distribution because there is no food in their area and then, they might stay a while or go back.
The idea is to manage to keep civilians where there are, like in Wau Shilluk, so they do not have to move to the very much congested PoC sites. That’s the reason why I have mentioned food insecurity since this brings people to our sites while, if there was delivery of humanitarian assistance in their areas, people would not come to PoC sites. With the delivery of services, people stay or return to their homes like in Bentiu where 25,000 people now live in the town because the situation has improved, and with the peacekeepers’ FOB, they have access to services.
Based on that, we have not declined anything, we are looking at the situation with the amount of forces that we have and according to our mandate to protect civilians. Our mandate includes engaging with local authorities and projecting our troops outside our bases to identify needs, assess the situation and together with our humanitarian partners decide how to reach out and deliver services to the people instead of having them coming to our sites.
Question, Lisi Emmanuel (The Daily Vision newspaper): I would like to ask UNMISS about the transportation of heavy weapons for the IO troops. My second question is related to the UNSG statement on detained UN staff? How would you compare the current situation with the previous years? And finally, the FAO update mentioned that 2.8 million of people are food insecure in South Sudan. Since we can note the escalation of clashes between farming and cattle keepers’ communities, how can such situations be handled from an international perspective?
AQ: UNMISS is only participating and supporting with a limited number of flights - everything else is done through JMEC (Joint Monitoring Evaluation Commission). UNMISS is only part of JMEC; all requests regarding transportation of troops or weapons are done through JMEC.
On the second question, I wouldn’t compare the current situation with previous years. What I can say is that since the conflict broke out, it has been difficult for UNMISS to have access and support delivery of humanitarian aid. The only comparison I will do is regarding the future when peace will be implemented, then the situation.
Finally, on the last question, you are totally right, there are constant problems between farmers and pastoralists and to mitigate this issue, UNMISS is trying to get communities together in advance, since movements of cattle can be anticipated, so communities are aware what measures can be taken and use pre-agreed compensation mechanism to ease the process. We already do this in the Bahr el-Ghazal region but more needs to be done in Western Equatoria.
Thank you to our guest speakers, this concludes the UNMISS press briefing for this week.
[END of BRIEFING]