United Nations System
Standing Committee on Nutrition

Refugee Nutrition Information System (RNIS), No. 40 - Report on the Nutrition Situation of Refugees and Displaced Populations

January 2003

Table of Contents

This report is issued on the general responsibility of the Secretariat of the UN System/Standing Committee on Nutrition; the material it contains should not be regarded as necessarily endorsed by, or reflecting the official positions of the UNS/SCN and its UN member agencies. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the UNS/SCN or its UN member agencies concerning the legal status of any country.

This report was compiled by Claudine Prudhon of the UNS/SCN Secretariat Sarah Philpot assisted in the editing.
The chairperson of the UNS/SCN is Catherine Bertini.

The SCN Secretariat and the RNIS Coordinator extend most sincere thanks to all those individuals and agencies who have provided information and time for this issue, and hope to continue to develop the excellent collaboration which has been forged over the years.

If you have information to contribute to forthcoming reports, or would like to request back issues of the Reports on the Nutrition Situation of Refugees and Displaced Populations (RNIS), please contact:
Claudine Prudhon, RNIS Coordinator, UNS/Standing Committee on Nutrition
20 avenue Appia, 1211 Geneva 27, SWITZERLAND
Tel: +(41-22) 791.04.56, Fax: +(41-22) 798.88.91
Email: scn@who.int
Web: http://www.unsystem.org/scn

Funding support is gratefully acknowledged from CIDA, DFA (Ireland), NORAD, DFID (UK), UNHCR, and WFP.
This report was made possible through the support provided to the Food and Nutrition Assistance (FANta) Project by the Office of Health and Nutrition Bureau for Global Programs, Field Support and Research at the U.S. Agency for International Development, under the terms of Cooperative Agreement No. HNE-A-00-98-00046-00 awarded to the Academy for Educational Development(AED). The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S.Agency for International Development.

ISSN 1564-376X

Table of Contents:

• GREATER HORN OF AFRICA
  • Eritrea
  • Ethiopia
  • Kenya
  • Somalia
  • Sudan
• WEST AFRICA
  • Ivory Coast
  • Guinea
  • Liberia
  • Sierra Leone
• GREAT LAKES
  • Burundi
  • Democratic Republic of Congo
  • United Republic of Tanzania
  • Uganda
• SOUTHERN AFRICA
  • Angola
• WESTERN SAHRAWI IN ALGERIA
• ASIA SELECTED REGIONS
  • Afghanistan Region
• Listing of sources
• Abbreviations used in the text
• Nutritional Assessments
• Indicators and classification

Nutrition situation throughout 2002¹

Kenya - The nutritional situation of the Sudanese and Somali long-term refugees in Kenya is still of concern, although many have been settled in the camps for years.

Somalia - Due to economic shocks, poor crop production, and insecurity, the nutrition situation in parts of southern Somalia, especially in the Gedo region has remained highly precarious. Some populations in Somaliland also face nutrition situations of concern. The nutrition situation of the IDPs, especially in the main towns, was very poor.

Sudan - The nutrition situation was extremely poor in many areas of Southern Sudan. However, it is expected that the increased access to populations following an agreement between SPLA, the govern- ment of Karthoum, and the United Nations, at the end of 2002, might help improve the situation of the population.

Sierra Leone - 2002 was the beginning of reconstruction in Sierra Leone. The nutrition situation of Sierra Leonans seemed to be under-control. The nutrition situation of the new wave of Liberian refu- gees which arrived in the first half of 2002 was precarious as of August 2002.

Burundi - Except in the areas where there were many displaced, the nutrition situation was under- control and better than in previous years. However, renewed fighting since mid-2002, and a poor harvest and rainy season in late 2002, lead to fears of a renewed crisis.

Tanzania - Long-term refugees in Tanzania continue to maintain good nutrition status in 2002.

Angola - Dramatic nutrition situations have appeared as access to previously inaccessible areas has been made possible by the signing of the peace agreement between the government of Angola and UNITA in April 2002. By the end of the year the situation had improved in many areas, but was still precarious.

Afghanistan - The humanitarian situation continued to be of concern in Afghanistan in 2002 due to the consequence of the war, the mass return of some two million refugees, and the prevailing drought over the previous years, all of which have weakened the population's food security. The nutrition situation was not critical however except in the Shamali plain and Pansheer valley, both of which suffered acutely from the war, and in Kabul city, where many of returnees have settled. In these areas, the nutrition situa- tion was precarious.

¹ According to the information which have been made available to RNIS

Situation nutritionnelle en 2002¹

Kenya - La situation nutritionnelle des réfugiés somaliens et soudanais au Kenya est toujours préoccu- pante bien que ces derniers soient installés au Kenya depuis de nombreuses années.

Somalie - En raison de chocs économiques, de mauvaises récoltes et de l'insécurité, la situation nutri- tionnelle reste très précaire dans le sud de la Somalie, particulièrement dans la région de Gedo. Certaines populations du Somaliland connaissent aussi une situation préoccupante. La situation nutritionnelle des dé- placés, particulièrement dans les villes, était également très précaire.

Soudan - La situation nutritionnelle était extrêmement mauvaise dans de nombreuses zones du sud du Soudan. Cependant, on pourrait espérer que l'accord signé à la fin de l'année 2002 entre le gouvernement de Karthoum, le SPLA et les Nations Unies, garantissant un accès illimité aux populations, permettra d'améliorer leur situation.

Sierra Leone - L'année 2002 a été une année de reconstruction pour la Sierra Leone. La situation nutri- tionnelle des populations semble avoir été assez bonne durant cette année. Par contre, la situation nutri- tionnelle d'une nouvelle vague de réfugiés libériens, arrivés au premier trimestre 2002, était préoccu- pante.

Burundi - A part dans les zones où de nombreuses personnes étaient déplacées, la situation nutrition- nelle a été plutôt bonne et meilleure que les années précédentes. Cependant, un regain de violence depuis mi-2002, ainsi que de mauvaises récoltes et saison des pluies à la fin de l'année, laissent craindre un re- nouveau de la crise.

Tanzanie - La situation nutritionnelle des réfugiés en Tanzanie est restée bonne en 2002.

Angola - Des situations nutritionnelles dramatiques avaient été découvertes, après que certaines zones soient devenues accessibles à la suite de l'accord de paix signé entre le gouvernement angolais et l'UNITA en avril 2002. A la fin de l'année, la situation s'était améliorée dans de nombreuses zones, mais restait précaire.

Afghanistan - La situation humanitaire est restée préoccupante en Afghanistan en 2002, en rai- son des conséquences de la guerre civile, de la sécheresse ayant sévi les années précédentes, et du retour de quelques deux millions de réfugiés. La situation nutritionnelle n'était cependant pas critique, à part dans la plaine de Shamali et la vallée du Pansheer, qui avaient beaucoup souffert de la guerre, et dans ville de Kaboul, où de nombreux réfugiés s'étaient installés à leur retour. La situation nutritionnelle était pré- occupante dans ces zones.

¹ Selon les informations rendues disponibles à RNIS

Risk Factors Affecting Nutrition in Selected Situations

Situations in the table below are classed into five categories (row 1) relating to prevalence and or risk of malnutrition (I-very high risk/prevalence, II-high risk/prevalence, III-moderate risk/prevalence, IV-not at elevated risk/prevalence, V-unknown risk/prevalence, for further explanation see at the end of the report). The prevalence/risk is indirectly affected by both the underlying causes of malnutrition, relating to food, health and care (rows 2 - 4) and the constraints limiting humanitarian response (rows 5 - 8). These categories are summations of the causes of malnutrition and the humanitarian response, but should not be used in isolation to prescribe the necessary response.

ü Adequate
O Mixed
X Problem
?ü Don't know, but probably adequate
?X Don't know, but probably inadequate
?O Don't know, but probably mixed

* This refers to both adequate presence and training of NGOs and local staff where security allows