Summary
Content
- SUMMARY
- SECURITY
- COMMON NFI PIPELINE
- SURFACE TRANSPORT
- AIR OPERATIONS
- FUEL
- LOGISTICS ASSESSMENT
- SEA AND PORT OPERATIONS
- MISCELLANEOUS ECHO-FUNDED VEHICLES
SUMMARY
IOM are planning to donate 25,000 mosquito nets and 26,000 plastic sheets to the common NFI pipeline. UNJLC is currently working with IOM to identify which Darfur state will be the recipient of these items. Additionally, the International Olympic Committee has donated 10,020 blankets, 4,500 buckets, 3,800 mosquito nets and 437 pieces of soap to the common NFI pipeline. A large number of blankets and plastic sheets is expected to be provided by USAID in the near future.
UNJLC has appointed a Logistics Officer to support the Sustainable Return Team. He will be working in Southern Sudan with OCHA to identify potential logistics bottlenecks along various IDP return routes from the North to the South.
All users of the surface and air transport service must kindly ensure that items are customs cleared and ready for delivery to the CARE warehouse / UNHAS hangar in Khartoum when the Cargo Movement Request is submitted. If items are not available upon request, the efficiency of the operation is compromised and the potential for delays is heightened. Users who consistently request cargo movement when the goods are unavailable for shipment may be denied the service for a set period.
SECURITY
With the passing of UN Security Council Resolution 1591 and 1593, all humanitarian agencies have been on heightened alert against adverse reaction from elements of the Sudanese populace. Specific indications of an increased risk to foreigners have prompted augmented security measures in El Geniena. As a result, operations were temporarily hindered as all aid workers were ordered to stay inside.
The El Geneina Security Management Team recommended cancellation of incoming UNHAS flights for at least one day and there was to be no movement of UN vehicles in the town. The situation has now stabilized and returned to normal without incident.
COMMON NFI PIPELINE
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NFI Commodities
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NFI Stock Levels in Sudan as of 12 April, 2005 | Previous week | ||||
| El Obeid | El Geneina | Nyala | El Fasher | Total | 7 April Totals | |
| Blankets | - | 35,034 | 22,207 | 48,497 | 105,738 | 98,459 |
| Plastic Sheet 4x5m | - | 7,430 | 19,736 | 20,653 | 47,819 | 38,639 |
| Plastic sleeping mats | - | - | - | 964 | 964 | 964 |
| Soap (Kg) | 133,262 | 24,520 | 333,180 | 59,256 | 550,218 | 1,239,129 |
| Mosquito Nets | - | 1,480 | 5,735 | 11,610 | 18,825 | 18,805 |
| Jerry can 10 – 20 lt | - | 38,258 | 65,569 | 26,904 | 130,731 | 132,453 |
| Bucket w. lid, 20 lt | 105,395 | 48,728 | 66,136 | 14,924 | 235,183 | 224,045 |
| Sanitary material | - | 367 | - | - | 367 | 367 |
| Women's wraps | - | 37,000 | - | 13,233 | 50,233 | 13,233 |
| All in pieces, except soap, which is in kilograms. Stocks are held in the respective Darfurs state capitals for local distribution within the respective states. Stocks in El Obeid are in transit to the Darfurs. | ||||||
North Darfur: An additional two of an eventual six flights carrying blankets and plastic sheeting donated by USAID for the Darfurs arrived in El Fasher on Friday, 15th April, coinciding with the visit to the town by the US Deputy Secretary of State.
South Darfur: A shortage of mosquito nets is of major concern in Nyala, given the start of the rainy season. Additionally, UNJLC has received several requests for latrine slabs, which are not part of the common NFI Pipeline.
West Darfur: Distribution to areas that are likely to be inaccessible during the rains began last week in El Geneina. SC-US distributed NFI's to Sawani and Oxfam submit a request for HABILLA and FUR BARANGA. Remaining locations in the South, South West, and North will be targeted in the coming weeks. The absence of reliable population statistics continues to hinder distribution planning. The results of the current re-registration being carried out by IOM, WFP and implementing partners will assist with planning when made available.
SURFACE TRANSPORT
Delays in dispatch of trucks from Khartoum to Nyala and Fasher have prompted some agencies to seek alternative means of transport. The delays are caused by the need to accumulate a full truck load and the non-availability of trucks with an increasingly active transport market in Sudan.
Implementing partners in Nyala have advised that the Kubu-Mukjar-Um Dukum route is currently being used for travel to West Darfur as it is viewed as a safer alternative to the route via Kass, Nertiti and Zallingi. As this route is generally passable only during the dry season, the humanitarian community is hopeful that the situation along the regular route improves before the rains begin in earnest.
Trucks continue to face delays in Ed Dean, on the road to Nyala. However the situation is far less severe than in previous weeks. Waiting time has decreased to approximately three days.
AIR OPERATIONS
DAYTIME CLOSURE OF KHARTOUM INTERNATONAL AIRPORT
The closure of the runway at Khartoum International Airport for major maintenance work for a month from 10 April has heavily affected air transport and is expected to continue to do so in the coming weeks. UNHAS will be completing one daily rotation in the time it would normally take to make two rotations. As a result, users of the air service can expect some backlog in deliveries.
There have been frequent delays with passenger aircraft - international and domestic - operating flights into Khartoum during the nighttime hours with congestion at the airport. Several flights have had to divert to other airports both inside and outside Sudan with consequent delays to passengers. Concerns exist over the safety of air traffic control during the busier-than-usual nighttime operations.
Nyala air operations may expect to see congestion as Nyala and El Obeid are being used for diverted and delayed domestic traffic for Khartoum International Airport.
AIR TRANSPORT OF NFI'S
UNHAS has observed that the majority of users do not require Air Way Bills (AWB) to accompany their shipments. As such, in order to increase operational efficiency and contain costs UNHAS will discontinue the issue of such documents. This decision was made after putting the recommendation to UNJLC's regular meeting of agencies, NGO's and donors. Agencies that require such documentation for tracking purposes should therefore produce them internally and provide UN HAS with three copies at loading.
Owing to recent computer problems, all agencies are kindly requested to bring a copy of their Cargo Movement Request to the airfield when loading.
FUEL
Fuel prices have remained stable over the past week.
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FUEL PRICES / DARFUR CRISIS
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As of 12 April
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| Khartoum | El Fasher | Nyala | El Geneina | El Obeid | ||||||
| IG | L | IG | L | IG | L | IG | L | IG | L | |
| Diesel | 345 | 76 | 650 | 143 | 700 | 154 | 875 | 192 | 342 | 76 |
| Petrol | 555 | 122 | 800 | 176 | 1500 | 330 | 1500 | 330 | 570 | 127 |
| Kerosene | 342 | 75 | 800 | 176 | 750 | 165 | 1250 | 275 | 250 | 56 |
| Jet A1 | 330 | 73 | 850 | 187 | $2.63 | n/a | n/a | 386 | 82 | |
*Price in Sudanese Dinar per Imperial Gallon / Litre - NB: 1 IG = 4.546 Litres
LOGISTICS ASSESSMENT
A project has been tentatively approved in which ACTED will conduct an assessment of the main humanitarian supply roads surrounding Nyala that are likely to require reconstruction/rehabilitation for better access during the rainy season. They plan to engage professional road engineers to carry out the assessment and the project.
In an effort to advance the Light Vehicle Workshop project, a meeting has been scheduled for Logistics Officers of UN agencies with the aim of consenting to a proposed course of action that may be presented at the Heads of Agencies meeting. The matter has been raised with a visiting ECHO representative and a copy of the initial workshop paper provided.
UNJLC is currently is conducting a survey of transport and labour costs in West Darfur. This outcome will be provided to interested parties in due course.
SEA AND PORT OPERATIONS
The average delay in Port Sudan for clearance of containers is now 32-35 days. Reasons include the lack of front-loading forklifts to transport the containers, coupled with the fact that Customs authorities are electing to inspect each container separately. There are four separate bodies that make up the authorities, often amplifying the delay. Additionally, there are only four functional forklifts. These break down on a regular basis. WFP has order its own forklift with delivery scheduled for June in an effort to ease some of the delays.
Another main problem creating delays in the movement of cargo is the lack of transport.
Any agency receiving goods on a regular basis is advised to consider having their own presence in the port as this often greatly helps to facilitate clearance.
MISCELLANEOUS ECHO-FUNDED VEHICLES
The allocation to various humanitarian agencies of the 75 Toyota Land cruisers financed by ECHO has been approved. UNJLC has been co-ordinating the Customs clearance, pre-delivery inspection by the local authorised Toyota dealer, internal transport of the vehicles and final preparation, in addition to service on the joint OCHA-ECHO-UNJLC Vehicle Allocation Committee.
All successful applicants for such vehicles can expect communication from OCHA within the week confirming the number of vehicle(s) allocated to them. Further communication will advise where and when the vehicles will be handed over, and instructions for transport and registration.
All of these vehicles must, under the terms of a Handover Agreement that every recipient will be required to sign, be used exclusively in the Darfurs.
UNJLC foresees that contractually required pre-delivery inspections of all the vehicles will be complete by the end of April. At that point, assuming that the Handover Agreement has been finalised and approved by OCHA and ECHO, the vehicles can be released to the respective agencies.
ABOUT UNJLC
UNJLC is an inter-agency facility reporting, in the current emergency, to the Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, and overall to the Inter-Agency Standing Committee. Its mandate is to coordinate and optimize the logistics capabilities of humanitarian organizations in large-scale emergencies. UNJLC operates under the custodianship of WFP who are responsible for the administrative and financial management of the Centre. UNJLC is funded from voluntary contributions channeled through WFP. The UNJLC project document for Sudan can be viewed on the UNJLC website (www.unjlc.org)