Nuba mountains mission completed

A UN humanitarian assessment mission to rebel-held areas of the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan found evidence of malnutrition among children but no signs of widespread famine, a UN press release said. The 19-27 June mission visited five villages where it found “significant humanitarian needs in the areas of food security, water, health and basic education.” The UN had negotiated access to the area with the Sudanese government and the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), which declared a four-day ceasefire to allow the team to assess needs, the release said. It was the first UN humanitarian mission to the area in 10 years. UN Assistant Emergency Relief Coordinator Ross Mountain, who led the assessment team, told reporters in Geneva on Monday that the mission had found “a basic subsistence economy in a very poor society.” Although the food situation was difficult, there was a feeling that the population could manage to cope, provided the rains this year were as good as last year, according to a UN summary received by IRIN. There had been reports of “substantial famine” in the area in 1998 due to failed 1997 rains, Mountain said. There was a need for targetted food aid as well as seeds and tools, he said. The water supply was “extremely difficult” in the dry season, the three primary health care clinics in the area had “very limited availability” of drugs and supplies, and most children had to walk up to two hours to get to one of the region’s “rudimentary” schools, without books or materials, Mountain added. Negotiations have already started for follow-up access to deliver the humanitarian assistance. The UN was “relatively optimistic” of getting that access, but there were no plans for a permanent UN presence in the area, he added.