REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Corinne Momal-Vanian, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which was also attended by Spokespersons for the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Food Programme, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the International Organization for Migration.

Sudan and South Sudan

Elisabeth Byrs for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that assessment of the situation was continuing in South Sudan’s Jonglei state and that the areas to be accessed were extremely remote and could only be reached by air. As delivering aid in this way was hugely expensive compared to delivery by road, she called again on donors for contributions to the emergency appeal already launched, which was currently financed to eight per cent.

A rapid response plan to ensure emergency needs of the 60,000 people affected in all areas were met was currently being finalized by humanitarian partners in South Sudan, she said, adding that a humanitarian team, including the OCHA Head of Office, would travel to Pibor town on 10 January to set up a response hub. Meanwhile ongoing violence was being reported and the impact of new attacks in the last few days was being considered.

Answering questions, she said it was very difficult to comment on the number of deaths, and her office instead referred to the number of those affected, as there were still numbers of people in the woods, people that had been evacuated, people that had returned and so on, though it was known that 140 people had been evacuated for medical reasons by the international agencies. She answered another enquiry saying that the occurrence of new attacks was not surprising and stabilizing one part of the country did not preclude violence in other areas.

Ms. Momal-Vanian added that an additional 400 peacekeepers had been deployed to the area by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to ensure security and that assistance was also being provided by the Mission to the government to move police to the region, monitor the situation and reinforce its presence in the buffer zones between the communities.

Andrej Mahecic for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was to wrap up his visit to South Sudan on Tuesday and had called on the international community to provide massive humanitarian support for South Sudan, which faced multiple displacement crises.

He continued saying that after meeting Sudanese refugees in Doro camp in Mabaan region on Sunday, the High Commissioner warned that without international help it would not be possible to respond to the multiple crises and South Sudan could face a humanitarian disaster of enormous proportions. The vast majority of the 28,000 refugees in Doro camp were exhausted, hungry and vulnerable; some women and children walked several days to seek safety across the border, he explained.

Meanwhile, recent fighting in Sudan's Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states had forced more than 80,000 Sudanese refugees to flee across the border into Unity and Upper Nile States in South Sudan, and another 33,000 sought refuge in neighbouring Ethiopia. A massive UNHCR humanitarian airlift, flying in some 280 tons of aid into remote Malakal and Mabaan regions began on 20 December and some 50,000 refugees were to benefit from this assistance.


Haiti

Ms Momal-Vanian noted that it was now two years since the Haitian earthquake and although much had been done to help the country, much was left to do. Since the quake, she said, five million cubic metres of debris (about 50 per cent of the total) had been removed, with 20 per cent recycled and around 300,000 jobs had been created, 40 per cent of which went to women. With unemployment at 60 percent of the country’s workforce, the aim was now to create more sustainable employment, she explained, adding in response to a question that the country also needed to develop its ability to attract foreign investment.

Elisabeth Byrs for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the original 2010 Flash Appeal was for $1.5bn and reached 75 per cent of that total. Then in 2011, OCHA received only 54 per cent of the amount ($382 million) it was asking for to assist the country. With these falling figures in mind she said she hoped donors would not forget Haiti, which even before the quake had been one of the world’s poorest countries. In 2012, the appeal amount was for $231 million which was needed to continue the fight against cholera and humanitarian programmes.

Xavier Genot for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFCR) said that the number of displaced people in Haiti had been reduced by two thirds from the original figure, with an estimated 520,000 people now living in camps around Port-au-Prince. He also noted that the growing threat of eviction was looming large over these people and their situation was a major concern.

He continued saying that since 2010, the Red Cross and Red Crescent organizations had provided almost 180,000 families with emergency shelter and more than 25,000 had been given housing support to try and draw them away from camps. However, long-standing issues remain to achieving this, such as the access to safe and available land due to a lack of building code and an inability to rent property due to a lack of assets. A total of CHF1.18 billion had been raised for projects by the Red Cross, he said, of which 48 per cent had been spent on shelter and humanitarian assistance.

Answering questions he said that shelter remained a key need and, although the coordination of efforts could have been better, the magnitude of the response matched the magnitude of the earthquake. He also recognized that permanent solutions were still needed but by taking time the solutions offered would be better than that which was originally in place.

Jessica Sallabank added there would be a briefing on the organization’s work in Haiti at the IFRC Secretariat on Thursday, which members of the press were welcome to attend.

Gaëlle Sévenier for the World Food Programme (WFP) said the programme was working with the Haitian authorities to improve the food security in the country and would distribute food aid to 1.5 million people each month through school meals, mother and children nutrition programmes and food for work programmes.

Meanwhile, food prices had increased compared to 2010 by 50 per cent and so one person in two still suffered from food insecurity. On 12 January, the First Lady launched a programme to fight hunger in the country, and was working with the WFP. However, the WFP programme itself was being affected by a budget deficit of around $18 million to June 2012 and $90 million to the end of the year, she said.

Marixie Mercado for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that the Fund’s Haitian office had yesterday put out a press release detailing progress towards improving services for children, which looked promising if support for the work continued. Projects mentioned included the construction of 200 schools, stronger protection for children in border controls and residential care facilities and an improved level of immunization, sanitation and nutrition coverage, particularly in rural communities. However, those in rural areas were still being left behind and during 2012 UNICEF needed $54 million for both relief and longer term development, she said.

Jumbe Omari Jumbe for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) added his organization had built 100,000 transitional shelters since 2010, housing 420,000 individuals. In addition, more than a million tarpaulins were distributed, the equivalent of 21.3 square kilometres (or all of central Paris). There were issues remaining around social problems such as employment, he said, and the IOM was working on projects such as mapping, housing, construction where they were providing jobs for locals.

Responding to questions, Ms. Byrs confirmed that the cholera epidemic had caused over 7,000 deaths since October 2010, and noted that although the fatality rate had fallen to 1.3%, an increase in the number of new cases could occur during the next rainy and hurricane season, starting in April. Ms. Momal-Vanian added that the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) would hold an event entitled “Call to Action for Accelerating the Elimination of Cholera in Haiti and the Dominican Republic” in Washington DC on Wednesday 11 January. More specific questions on cholera could be addressed to WHO.

Côte d’Ivoire

Elisabeth Byrs for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Ms. Catherine Bragg, was to visit Cote d’Ivoire from 15 to 18 January 2012 to assess the country’s humanitarian situation, estimate current needs and determine actions to be taken to address them. During her visit, she would meet governmental authorities, humanitarian actors in the field and civil society. She would also undertake a field trip to the Western parts of the country. In addition, Ms. Bragg would hold a press conference on Wednesday (18 January) at 16:00 local time at the OCHA premises in Abidjan.

Geneva activities

Ms. Momal-Vanian said the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva this afternoon would meet the Serbian president, Mr. Boris Tadiè.

Gaëlle Sévenier for the World Food Programme reminded those attending that a commemorative exhibition honouring five decades of partnership between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the World Food Programme would open on 12 January at 13:00 on the Mezzanine of the E Building at the Palais des Nations. Opportunities for interviews were available, she said.