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.

SECONDARY MOVEMENTS TO NORTH DARFUR ONGOING AS REFUGEES SEEK WORK – Biometric registration of refugees in Al Lait locality is ongoing. More than 500 refugees previously registered in East Darfur have arrived in Al Lait since August seeking casual labour opportunities during the locality’s harvest period. Over 60 per cent of newly registered refugees to North Darfur are young single males. Farming is a key source of refugee livelihoods across Al Lait and is a key draw for refugees to the area. Host communities are also engaged in land-use arrangements with refugee farmers to allow refugees to cultivate land with harvest-sharing agreements.

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.

DETERIORATING SECURITY SITUATION SLOWED REFUGEE OPERATIONS IN JUNE – Sudan's security situation deteriorated in June, with reports of increased violence and criminality, including sexual and gender-based violence, across most States hosting South Sudanese refugees. A nationwide internet shutdown began on 3 June, with nearly 50 per cent of response partners without internet access throughout June. Response partners reported difficulties accessing their offices due to movement restrictions in Khartoum for a number of days. Price fluctuations observed since the beginning of 2019 worsened with scarcity of many goods in local markets. Cash shortages continued throughout June, aggravated by bank closures during a general strike from 9-11 June. Where banks were open, lack of internet disrupted banking services. Distribution activities were delayed in many locations due to the security situation and fuel shortages, including education supplies.

MEASLES AND POLIO CAMPAIGNS – Countrywide measles and polio vaccination campaign was launched in April. The vaccination campaign is part of the response to the measles outbreak that affected all Sudan States since November 2018, with over 5,959 cases reported across resident, host and refugee communities. The campaign is targeting 3.4 million children between 9 months and 10 years of age for measles, and below 5 years of age for polio. The vaccination campaign is being paired with health promotion initiatives to raise awareness of the benefits of the measles vaccine and support symptom recognition and reporting by communities at risk.

UNHCR GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION TOOL (GDT) PILOTED IN SUDAN – The GDT was piloted in the Sharq El Nil locality distribution from 4-7 August. The GDT uses biometric registration data to quickly and accurately verify 2,432 refugees collecting NFI kits on behalf of their families. This helps to speed up the distribution process and reduced opportunities for fraud. Refugees were able to see real-time reports on exactly who had collected for their families and what had been received. This helped to mitigate uncertainty and duplication issues. They reported that the distribution process felt more organized and transparent. The GDT forms an important part of ensuring refugees are able to access assistance in a secure and dignified manner. GDT is being rolled out for distributions across Sudan.

AN INFULX OF CAR REFUGEES CROSSING INTO DARFUR: A total of 7,729 new arrivals have crossed the border from Central Africa Republic to Central and South Darfur due to tribal conflicts. The majority of the new arrivals (6,587 individuals) are currently in South Darfur, Um Dafoug locality where level 1 (house hold) registration was conducted by COR. They arrived after July 2019 and this number is increasing daily. 5,727 of them arrived after the second week of October 2019. 296 households that comprise 1,142 individuals are in Um Dukhun locality in Central Darfur.

SUDAN RESUMED RIVER TRANSPORTATION WITH SOUTH SUDAN: World Food Programme (WFP) launched on 22 October barge transportation carrying food supplies from Kosti in White Nile State, Sudan to Renk and Malakal in South Sudan to increase food assistance to displaced South Sudanese people. The first three barges carried 4,500 tons of food, enough to feed 370,000 people for one month. The resumption of commercial transportation between Sudan and South Sudan may potentially facilitate cross border movements of people, including refugees.