nlp-thedeep/humsetbias huggingface dataset:
IDPs in PoC and urban sites requesting humanitarian support to return home or relocate to another location within South Sudan April saw a significant increase in the number of IDPs requesting support to return to their area of origin or relocate to another location within South Sudan.
Recent IOM DTM displacement site flow monitoring suggests that two thirds of all recorded individuals permanently leaving the displacement sites in Wau in April left for their former homes. Sixty per cent of permanently exiting individuals were female.
UNHCR supported 42 vulnerable persons to be placed under family care.
A church in Wau, Western Bahr el Ghazal, gave an eviction notice to the 5,500 IDPs being hosted on their grounds over COVID 19 fears.
Since confirmation of the COVID 19 outbreak in South Sudan, fear of infection and spread of the virus have increasingly reshaped the pattern and scale of population movements out of internal displacement sites.
The period just prior to the May September rainy season usually registers brief spikes of people moving internally and across borders. Population movements tend to decrease as roads become impassable.
A Rapid Gender Analysis for COVID 19 carried out in May 2020 in Juba noted that there is a need to ensure essential services are functional including prioritizing prevention, preparedness and response to violence against women and girls through police and justice systems, health and social services.
As with all humanitarian assistance, COVID 19 related needs must not be responded to at the expense of regular service provisions. For example, in the health sector, COVID 19 response should not mean discontinuing sexual and reproductive health, maternal health and hygiene services.
Protection from sexual exploitation and abuse must be integrated into the response to COVID 19 to protect and assist people receiving humanitarian assistance.
Of particular concern are girls who are living in fear due to shrinking household incomes, who are afraid that their families out of desperation can force them into early marriage to source funds from the wedding ceremonial or bridal price.
Out of approximately 2,300 health facilities, more than 1,300 are non functional.
In addition to the vulnerability framework developed by humanitarian partners in South Sudan, several risk modelling initiatives have been developed internationally in the wake of the pandemic.
Factors such as cross border population movements, population density, urban centres, food insecurity, acute malnutrition, access to basic water, sanitation and hygiene  ( WASH )  services, co morbidities and demographics were considered in assessing population vulnerability to the pandemic. The framework was endorsed in May 2020.
In parallel, the Needs Analysis Working Group, co  chaired by OCHA and REACH, developed a risk framework to prioritize vulnerable areas across South Sudan where COVID 19 would first enter the country, and which areas have populations at greater risk of severe COVID 19 outcomes. The framework aims to support inter sectoral prioritization of the COVID 19 and broader humanitarian response.
The Inter Cluster Coordination Group held a scenario planning exercise in April 2020 to agree on the most likely scenario, based on information available at the time.
In the absence of new needs assessments or clear epidemiological projections made available in the early months of the COVID 19 outbreak in South Sudan, the humanitarian community has adopted several methods to understand the potential impact of the virus and related measures on humanitarian needs and vulnerabilities.
More than half or 56 per cent of the nearly 12 million population do not have access to primary health care services.
The logistics response comprises transport  ( land/road, river and air ) , and mobile storage units, both linked to infrastructure.
The pre existing challenges faced by justice and law enforcement institutions threaten to aggravate the impact of the pandemic if not immediately mitigated.
Security sector reform is complemented by efforts to promote community security and – in response to increased transnational crime – assistance in combatting anti trafficking and smuggling of migrants. These are also accompanied by targeted assistance to strengthen national systems to promote and protect human rights and the country's compliance and engagement with international human rights law.
River transport has potential, but it is dependent on seasonality. There is a need for capacity building and river infrastructure development, including of docks and river ports, to enable loading and unloading of barges and boats.
This ensures the delivery of multisectoral humanitarian relief goods and prevents duplication of efforts.
In a society where public justice services are weak, communities may resort to violence, including retaliatory attacks to settle disputes, contributing to an unabated cycle of violence and widespread lawlessness. High levels of crime and systemic human rights violations, including rampant levels of sexual exploitation and abuse and SGBV, killing and torture, hate speech, arbitrary and prolonged detention, denial of access to property for women and IDPs, and censorship of the media, are commonplace in the country.
The government is also taking advantage of the debt payment suspension initiative approved by the G20  ( Group of Twenty ) , available to countries eligible for International Development Association financing. The IMF is undertaking a debt sustainability analysis in support of South Sudan's application for its Rapid Credit Facility.
Following years of civil war, South Sudan remains a fragile state with weakened rule of law institutions and absent justice and police presence in locations across the country.
The COVID 19 response presents an important opportunity for South Sudan to accelerate macroeconomic and PFM reforms, especially those on fiscal transparency. A practical and robust PFM reform strategy is required to guide the reforms with a view to improving management of petroleum revenues, enhancing data collection and analysis and reforming the exchange rate system.
Furthermore, lower oil revenue entails less foreign exchange and puts downward pressure on the official market exchange rate, likely contributing to inflation.
The United Nations offers a common warehouse management system coupled with sizable storage capacity to secure the storage of humanitarian items and provide reliable fuel supply for actors in the area, as well as heavy duty earth machinery to construct, maintain and elevate the logistical warehouse base.
The United Nations also contributes to the Logistics Cluster for logistics coordination, support and technical advisory services to the humanitarian community.
Existing ports are hard to access and have limited capacity that can only accommodate one asset at a time in some cases.
A by product of unequal and limited investments in infrastructure is isolation and inequitable access to social and economic opportunities.
Road building and maintenance is inhibited by an underdeveloped local construction sector, high prices of imported materials, poor governance and conflict.
Insecurity prevails across much of the country, with risk of accidents related to explosive remnants of war, ambushes and looting, as well as illegal checkpoint fees.
This includes efforts to coordinate and provide logistics services; clear routes and areas with explosive hazards; support the repair and development of road, river and air routes, and help build other key infrastructure.
In South Sudan, connectivity and infrastructure are poor. To facilitate both humanitarian response and economic development, the United Nations seeks to address entrenched inequity and isolation.
However, since COVID 19 has already reached PoC sites and other high density collective centres, the highest probability and therefore the ‘default' working scenario is that of high impact. Nonetheless, several impact scenarios of infections and deaths  ( low, medium and high )  can be specified  ( Table 6 ) .
There is a US$9.6 million unfunded gap to respond to COVID 19 amongst mobile people of concern. Given the context in the country, only the high impact scenario is considered, and is described next.
Thus, to recover better South Sudan needs to create the fiscal space to address the agreed national priorities and SDG Agenda; investing in health, the peace process, social protection, infrastructure and crisis preparedness. This will include not just allocating adequate resources to the national priority areas; but also building institutions, technical capacity, monitoring and information systems.
To build back better, there must be investment in growth enhancing sectors, the creation of a conducive environment for the private sector, and tapping of opportunities of regional markets such as the East African Community.
United Nations programmes will focus on the key priorities identified, based on their ability to rapidly and effectively mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the South Sudanese, stabilize the situation and support long term national efforts to transition from conflict towards peace and development.
United Nations will coordinate local level support and area based programming with civil society organizations and donors in the Partnership for Recovery and Resilience, and they will mobilize the unique tools, structures and networks created as part of the Partnership in specific partnership areas to leverage the joint COVID 19 response.
AFPs will also coordinate their engagement with bilateral donors within their respective mandate areas, and present actionable and well designed programmes for funding that respond to the agreed priorities and do not overlap with each other.
Secondly, the UNCT will coordinate with the African Development Bank and the World Bank to promote joint strategic priorities in the fight against COVID 19 and ensure that funding is coupled with the ability of AFPs to deliver on the ground, based on their existing local partnerships and networks
These additional challenges will be addressed by the 2020 Humanitarian Response Plan Addendum. The socio economic response will build on and supplement
First, AFPs are already contributing to the humanitarian response as part of the Humanitarian Country Team to provide urgent, life saving support in response to emerging humanitarian challenges due to COVID 19.
The continued weakness and lack of presence of civilian law enforcement institutions also contributes to an over reliance on national intelligence and security forces to perform what ordinarily should be civilian law enforcement functions.
To do so, the UNCT and the Humanitarian Country Team will coordinate their action based on the agreed approach to the New Way of Working in South Sudan.
The United Nations response to the socio economic impact of COVID 19 in South Sudan will be integrated with its existing recovery and resilience programming under the UNCF, aligned with strategic national priority documents such as the National Development Strategy, and coordinated with key partners, including the humanitarian community under the ‘New Way of Working'  ( Joint Steering Committee to Advance Humanitarian and Development Collaboration, n.d. ) . AFPs in the UNCT will integrate their response under the four strategic priority areas of the UNCF.
There is a need to increase existing CTS capacity for COVID 19 response and expand access to remote areas by procuring additional cargo trucks.
The construction of temporary structures to process passengers would also enhance risk mitigation.
Health facility staff are using the case management centre for changing and disinfecting PPE, as well as an isolation centre.
Technical assistance to the Task Force on Anti trafficking and Smuggling of Migrants: Working to assist the task force by strengthening criminal justice actor capacities, conducting legal analysis, and ensuring that human rights application and protection are embedded into criminal justice procedures for handling cases involving trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants.
World Bank support for the NPRP is US$7.6 million, activating a Contingency Emergency Response Component  ( US$5 million )  through UNICEF, and reprogramming some remaining funds from the earlier Ebola Contingency Emergency Response Component  ( US$2.6 million ) .
Logistics, information management, coordination and planning procedures and platforms are established and available through the Logistics Cluster.
The government has established a governance structure to oversee PFM reforms which consists of a PFM oversight committee, a PFM technical committee and the PFM secretariat. UNDP supports strengthening of PFM in six states and is scaling this work to 10 states to create fiscal space for sustainable peace, capacity to respond to COVID 19 and to increase service delivery.
Disruptions to trade, supply chains, reduced business time and longer travel time have contributed to higher prices for essential commodities. Market prices for basic food stuffs have risen by about 20 per cent since the containment measures were introduced in late March 2020.
COVID 19 will lead to additional delays in the implementation of critical transition reforms  ( security sector reform, formation of the state federation, drawing up a constitution, resource management, transitional justice and elections )  and normalize the very political practices that triggered and sustained the conflict.
To ensure that the socio economic response is based on strong and inclusive national ownership and development aspirations, the UNCT will engage the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity in dialogue structured around the five clusters of the R ARCSS to discuss the specific priority areas of the socio economic response and identify key initiatives.
Intercommunal violence or low intensity armed conflicts have been witnessed in 2020 in parts of Eastern and Central Equatoria, Jonglei, Upper Nile, Unity, Warrap and Western Bahr el Ghazal.
Some 1.7 million women and children are estimated to be acutely malnourished across the country.
The latest data shows that in South Sudan there are about 7.5 million members of mobile populations of concern who need different types of assistance.
Bringing some hope in this stark reality, the formation of the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity is a milestone in progress to meaningful R ARCSS implementation, and has provided a new platform upon which rule of law, access to justice and accountability for human rights violations can be built. This is backed by the international community.
The United Nations maintains the core supply pipeline for the WASH, shelter and non food item clusters, and prepositions stocks across South Sudan for immediate availability to humanitarian agencies.
The impact of COVID 19 on the economy of South Sudan as detailed above includes a decline in economic growth and a shortfall in domestic revenue, causing increased pressure on fiscal space, further exacerbating the dire situation of increasing poverty with severe consequences for combating the impact of the global pandemic.
Net foreign direct investment inflows are expected to decline significantly due to the negative impact of the virus on the economies of countries that are the source of investments, and the significant drop in oil prices to a projected US$30 per barrel in 2020 compared to the budgeted price of US$55 in FY2019/2020.
The United Nations has also commissioned a navigability assessment of South Sudanese waterways, including training and software. One of the waterways included in the assessment is the Baro Akobo Sobat, a largely unknown, heterogeneous river system.
The United Nations is also implementing a project to facilitate water transport across the River Nile in South Sudan, which includes designing a suitable barge which will be completed and ready for use by the end of 2020.
From January 2020 to date, UNOPS and WFP have spent over US$9 million on road infrastructure across the country, with road works completed and ongoing in every state in the country.
The United Nations Humanitarian Air Service  ( UNHAS )  provides timely support and services to humanitarian agencies, and works closely with various agencies, organizations and programmes to improve selected runways to enhance safety during regular operations.
Allocation of funding and repurposing of annual core budgets in support of the justice sector to adapt approaches while delivering on essential justice and police services: Thanks to agencies such as UNDP, the Global Focal Point for Rule of Law has made available a budget to support joint United Nations programmatic COVID 19 response efforts, and increase the capacity of the national justice system to respond to the COVID 19 pandemic.
The pandemic may additionally lend itself to equipping the government with ostensible legitimacy to heighten surveillance and further shrink civic and political space.
Border closures often lead to unofficial border crossing, raising protection concerns for vulnerable groups on the move, emergence of trafficking and smuggling, supply chain disruptions, and increased corruption in exchange for access.
To ensure that those who continue to arrive have access to COVID 19 related health measures and enjoy international protection in South Sudan, the relevant institutions must be provided with the necessary support and guidance.
Between November 2017 and May 2020, 289,650 South Sudanese refugees have been recorded by the United Nations and its partners as having returned to South Sudan in a self  organized manner.
UNDP has been able to liaise with the national and state governments to reopen vocational training centres as production facilities for these activities, easing transition towards full operation  ( and conducting of training )  once COVID 19 restrictions have been lifted.
Given the negative shock that lockdown measures such as movement restrictions induce, however, supply side measures alone cannot have a countrywide reach. For instance, training, use of biometrics for beneficiary authentication and public works were put on hold to prevent COVID 19 transmission.
In the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic, the United Nations has reacted by boosting its economic recovery efforts along the same lines as before COVID 19. From the supply side, AFPs have promoted entrepreneurship, e.g. MSMEs have been supported to diversify their manufacturing capacity and produce soap or PPE such as face masks.
The United Nations has been working to alleviate poverty in South Sudan, helping households make a basic income. Among others, this has taken two forms. First, agencies such as the United Nations Industrial Development Organization or WFP have been promoting community resilience and self help capacity through income generating activities in small scale business development in areas such as fisheries, agricultural inputs and access to markets.
There are about 17,300 private sector companies, mainly micro and small enterprises, registered in South Sudan  ( South Sudan Business Registry, 2012 ) . MSMEs are unable to employ a critical mass of labour due to operational constraints, including limited access to finance and credit.
Many people are daily wage earners, working in agriculture  ( mostly subsistence ) , fisheries, basic services such as driving boda bodas  ( bicycle and motorcycle taxis ) , as hairdressers or running tea stalls, and small scale trade such as selling cellular phone accessories and airtime.
The United Nations continues to support the implementation of the peace agreement. No resources have been repurposed away from this aim. Instead, the approach adopted has been to mobilize additional resources to leverage existing programmes and complement the government's response to COVID 19. For example, community peace infrastructure like peace committees and community radios are being used to disseminate messages about the pandemic and to organize communities to enable them detect and trace infected members; and programmes that were meant to support capacity development of the institutions created by the peace agreement are now being expanded and used to facilitate the deployment of medical experts from neighbouring countries and the South Sudanese diaspora.
Furthermore, COVID 19 hampers government capacity to deliver some of its core functions, further limiting service delivery to the people.
UN Women supported the engagement of women's groups, including by capacity  building to achieve 35 per cent affirmative action on leadership and peacebuilding.
COVID 19 adds strain and poses a potential threat to the peace process. While some progress has been made on implementation of the peace agreement, major reforms are still outstanding: there are currently 186 actions that should be implemented by the end of the transitional period  ( February 2023 ) , plus important activities from the pre transition period such as the unification of the army.
UNICEF South Sudan engaged over 2,500 social mobilizers through the establishment of the Integrated Community Mobilization Network in all 10 states of South Sudan.
State governors have only recently been appointed; reconstitution of Parliament and other governance institutions are delayed; major reforms such as the permanent constitutional and election process have yet to be realized; the transitional security arrangements have not been completed; and funding for implementing the peace agreement is limited.
In view of the increasing protection risks, UN Women and UNDP are liaising with the county authorities, city councils, and civil society to train South Sudan National Police Service personnel on gender sensitivity.
By late 2019, 7.5 million people  ( more than two  thirds of the population )  needed humanitarian assistance; nearly 4 million people remain displaced  ( United Nations, 2019 ) , and 2.2 million children of school going age remain out of school  ( UNICEF, 2019b ) .
Agencies such as UNDP , UN Women and WFP are also exploring new livelihood initiatives targeting specific groups for COVID 19 specific activities – such as production of locally made reusable cloth face masks – as part of programme innovation and adaptation, recognizing that an increased number of people will require food assistance and income support.
AFPs have actively contributed to COVID 19 impact analysis and influenced the government led NPRP to ensure that gender concerns are integrated across the COVID 19 response.
UNFPA is supporting the Ministry of Health for some online learning sessions for student teachers as part of the training programme for health sciences tutors, but work is still necessary for guidelines and other measures for reopening of health sciences training institutes.
AFPs have been scaling up WASH infrastructure, supporting RCCE, and providing support with WASH and infection prevention and control to health facilities adjacent to points of entry  ( PoEs )  and refugee camps.
In the health sector, there is still a delay and no straightforward plan for reopening the health sciences training institutes.
The annual expenditure on social protection activities in South Sudan is approximately US$117 million, 99.7 per cent of which is provided by donor funding  ( South Sudan Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare & UNICEF, 2019 ) . AFPs run large cash transfer programmes. For instance, WFP has been providing cash transfers to vulnerable urban households so they can address their basic needs, build their livelihoods and gain life skills training through its Urban Safety Nets programme – currently targeting 100,000 beneficiaries.
The government has committed to allocating 1 per cent of its annual budget to finance the National Social Protection Policy Framework.
Technical support for developing, reviewing and updating risk communications strategy and materials is also being done, by two experts working with national counterparts.
WHO provided technical guidance for the surveillance strategy, established 20 sentinel surveillance sites and mortality surveillance teams, and deployed 10 surveillance and rapid response teams to promptly investigate suspected cases, collect samples and trace contacts of COVID 19 positive cases.
In refugee hosting areas FAO and UNHCR are providing assorted crop and vegetable seed kits to support approximately 14,000 refugee farming households during the 2020 farming season.
WFP also offers a market opportunity to surplus producing farmers, generating supplementary income for farmers for WFP's food assistance interventions, such as school feeding.
FAO and WFP have identified several pathways that are critical for building resilient livelihoods systems  ( including for individuals, communities, institutions and agro ecosystems ) . The interventions by these agencies seek to protect, restore and improve agricultural livelihoods, which will increase the resilience of households and communities to shocks and stressors that impact agriculture, nutrition, and food security.
In a context of compounding and intensifying vulnerabilities, social protection programmes, including cash transfers and the provision of basic services, must be a central policy response to COVID 19.
The United Nations is also ensuring that essential health services continue to be delivered. Further, additional resources are being mobilized, such as US$11 million under the Global Fund COVID 19 Response Mechanism.
Five technical officers were deployed at the national Public Health Emergency Operations Centre to support coordination, along with 10 other officers deployed in each state.
The United Nations response has focused on both prevention and treatment. For example, the United Nations Children's Fund  ( UNICEF ) , WFP and the UNDP have distributed more than 258,000 face masks to boost prevention; and UNMISS is renovating hospitals in all 10 states, installing water tanks and generators, providing tents and beds to help treat more people in local communities, and supplying PPE and ambulances  ( United Nations, 2020a ) .
Trade restrictions and lockdown affect critical supply chains essential to guaranteeing construction of WASH infrastructure and overall functionality  ( e.g. spare parts, transport, manpower )  and limiting service sustainability. These obstacles may also trigger an increase in WASH commodity prices, thereby further hampering access for vulnerable populations and reducing adherence to health guidance on handwashing.
A service availability and readiness survey was also conducted, to generate evidence for guiding and tracking investments for scaling up health workforce density, infrastructure development and and the utilization of quality essential health services.
Accordingly, in late April the country updated the NPRP costing to US$136.3 million. Depending on how COVID 19 evolves in the coming months, even this new assessment could be insufficient, given the estimates of the number of projected infections and deaths for South Sudan
An NPRP was prepared in late March 2020, with activities costed at US$16.5 million, with eight pillars of action2 and three phases.
Agricultural activities must continue to help avert a worsening food security situation, and livelihoods support needs to be maintained and scaled up to ensure households cultivate and ideally expand productivity. This support needs to prioritize women who carry the burden for a significant portion of agricultural duties, have less access to land and inputs, and are primarily responsible for household food related decision making.
South Sudan has a diverse mobility profile composed of conflict and natural disasters – induced displacement, returns and a complex migration landscape marked by traditionally mobile populations of nationals and international migrants for seasonal and economic reasons. These people mostly live in congested living quarters, thereby posing greater risks for COVID 19 infection.
The international community and private sector responded promptly and committed the required resources – mostly in monetary form, with a few others in kind  ( e.g. fuel ) .
The country remains in a situation of severe food insecurity, with 6.4 million people considered food insecure.
20 AFPs are part of the United Nations Country Team  ( UNCT ) , which supports South Sudan across all sectors creating a holistic response and synergies – including across varied areas such as health, nutrition, education, water, sanitation and hygiene  ( WASH ) , protection, humanitarian mine action, rule of law, food delivery, vaccination campaigns and public finance support.
Many of these families are unable to afford food and basic services such as health care and education  ( due to higher ancillary costs ) , as well as basic hygiene products. Many have been seen to rely on child marriage and child labour  ( sometimes using children as young as 2 and 3 years old ) .. The debt situation has reportedly resulted in serious safety concerns for IDPs. Discussions with IDPs shows there are a few extreme cases where creditors have abducted or kidnapped children as a way of pressuring parents to repay their debts.
Poverty and eroded livelihoods continue to further sway parents and communities to use negative coping strategies which expose children to further risks and child rights violations. This is particularly the case for more vulnerable households.
WHO reports over over 1.25 million cases of AWD in Afghanistan in 2019.This has disproportionate life threatening implications for children. Fecal oral diseases may account for more than 40 per cent of deaths in the acute phase of an emergency, with greater than 80 per cent of related deaths being among children under five years.
These people  [ those affected by being food insecure ]  required urgent action to reduce food consumption gaps, to protect/save livelihoods and reduce acute malnutrition.
The results of the 2020 SFSA  [ Seasonal Food Security Assessment ]  show that around seven out of ten households reported experiencing some shocks.
Key COVID 19 Cumulative Response Figures: 2,000 beds made available for isolation and intensive care.
Nationwide there remain extreme shortage of emergency surgical capacities, ranging from oxygen supplies, blood banks, and electrical power through to dedicated and qualified personnel – including surgeons and anaesthetists, weakening the trauma care that is available for patients in need.
Key COVID 19 Cumulative Response Figures: More than 25,000 units of PPE provided to MoPH by Health Cluster partners.
Where government land is provided for IDPs, authorities are often reluctant to allow more transitional shelter and permanent infrastructure to be built in displacement sites because they want to encourage returns. The lack of an updated national ‘cadastral' map of land ownership creates confusion between the differing ministries involved in managing land title and land use permits at the national and provincial levels. Rental market options have been explored to try and alleviate IDP shelter needs particularly in urban areas. However, to date these have remained small scale due to difficulties in finding willing landlords and available properties.
Additionally, due to recurring drought, below average precipitation, water mismanagement, and increased consumption, the groundwater level in Kabul is estimated to have decreased by 20 metres over the last few years. This is a potential source of community tension over the years ahead given the growth of the city's informal settlements.
In September 2019, Presidential Election Voting held on 28 September with low turn out and more than 100 security incidents causing 277 casualties on polling day.
Children who are deprived of the right to education are more exposed to other kinds of risks to their health and well being – including psychological stress, susceptibility to recruitment in armed activities, and being coerced into child marriage  ( for girls specifically ) .Active conflict, including aerial and ground attacks impacting on civilians  ( including children )  as well as attacks on schools, undermines children's fundamental right to life and often causes life long physical disabilities.
Key COVID 19 Cumulative Response Figures: 128 healthcare workers trained in medical laboratory testing
Key COVID 19 Cumulative Response Figures: 2,742 community health and first aid volunteers across 30 provinces trained in psychosocial first aid and risk
Since the start of the response, more than 5.1m bars of soap have been distributed in 349/401 districts across the country.
Key COVID 19 Cumulative Response Figures: More than 3.79m bars of soap have been distributed in 206 districts across the country
Key COVID 19 Cumulative Response Figures:  [ Since the start of the pandemic, ]  725 children have received COVID 19 story books.
Key COVID 19 Cumulative Response Figures: 2,168 handwashing stations set up at the community level in 21 districts across 11 provinces
Key COVID 19 Cumulative Response Figures: 14,600 hand washing stations set up in health facilities in 14 districts across 6 provinces
Key COVID 19 Cumulative Response Figures: Protection partners conducted 8,748 border monitoring interviews since the start of the crisis.
Both returnees and IDPs have limited access to basic health services and testing facilities. They may have lost income and assets and therefore not being able to afford health care services.
Hotlines receiving calls from women, recent surveys carried out by OXFAM and Die Johanniter and reports from NGOs show that, across Afghanistan, violence against women and girls has increased during this period of COVID 19 stress.
Given the new context  [ COVID 19 ] , the CVWG  [ Cash Voucher Working Group ]  will prioritise the following activities: Cash and vouchers will also be used by education partners in their COVID 19 response with the aim of removing economic barriers that stop vulnerable children in accessing school, preventing drop outs due to poverty, and increasing attendance.
The Corona Emergency Committee was tasked to pay the water and electricity bills of around 350,000 families in Kabul.
With financial support from the Global Fund, UNDP  [ UN Development Programme ]  has helped strengthen Afghanistan's laboratory and diagnosis capacity nationally and provided technical assistance to train 25 regional and provincial laboratory staff in the use of high tech equipment. The country's central public laboratory can now process 1500 samples daily, while laboratories can process 150 daily in Herat, 100 in Balkh, 100 to 150 in Nangarhar, and 120 to 150 in Kandahar province.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan  ( UNAMA )  documented 5,939 civilian casualties  ( 2,117 killed and 3,822 injured )  from 1 Jan  uary to 30 September 2020. While this represents a 30 per cent reduction in civilian casualties in comparison to the same period in 2019 and the lowest number of civilian casualties in the first nine months of a year since 2012, the conflict in Afghanistan remains one of the deadliest in the world for civilians.
The reduction in civilian casualties as compared to the first nine months of 2019 is mainly due to fewer civilian casualties from suicide attacks by Anti Government Elements and from the steep drop in airstrikes by international military forces since March 2020, resulting in significantly fewer civilian casualties attributed to the Taliban, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant   Khorasan Province  ( ISIL KP )  and international military forces respectively.
The prevalence of COVID 19 in the population of the penitentiary system remained unclear, with testing appearing to be limited to those manifesting severe symptoms.
As fighting continued, civilian casualties slightly increased in September 2020 as compared to the prior month.
3.7 million children in Afghanistan, or nearly half of all school age children, are not in formal education. Approximately 60% of out of school children are girls.
A study done by the Norwegian Refugee Council before the crisis confirms that internally displaced people  ( IDPs )  had considerably less access to education compared to other urban populations. Restoring education is a pressing need for IDPs.
[ Key COVID 19 Cumulative Response Figures / WASH Sector ]  More than 29,500 people at the Islam Qala border crossing, 114,679 people at the Milak crossing and 16,100 people at the Torkham border crossing benefitted from WASH facility maintenance and the provision of water by health cluster.
800 children  ( 320 boys, 480 girls )  have been reached with EiE  [ Education in Emergencies ]  developed home based learning materials during the reporting period. A total of 119,495 children  ( 56,203 boys, 63,292 girls )  across 15 provinces have been reached with home based support since the start of the COVID 19 crisis.
He added  [ The Dominican Republic's representative  ]  that it is important to address the drug crisis in Afghanistan and the wider region, which remains a serious problem, and encouraged the Government to ensure women a leadership role in peace talks.
Coordinate with other sectors to ensure provision of basic services  ( food, health )  and mainstream protection.
Limited PPE  [ Personal Protection Equipment ]  in the country for frontline staff due to global shortages presents another challenge to those providing and receiving assistance. Concern remains over the potential infection of humanitarian staff in the course of their life saving work.
The ban on commercial domestic air travel announced by the Government in early May has led to further reliance on UNHAS  [ UN Humanitarian Air Service ]  services to transport humanitarian staff and supplies throughout the country.
Ongoing fighting between ANSF  [ Afghan National Security Forces ]  and NSAG  [ Non State Armed Groups ]  forces continues to impede humanitarian movement, with temporary road closures that delay project implementation or field missions.
According to the survey  [ studies of the mental health situation in Afghanistan ]  , almost 10 per cent of children encounter challenges in fulfilling life habits  ( going to school, playing etc. )  due to mental health problems, with grave consequences for their education and development. The survey showed that a staggering 85 per cent of respondents had either personally experienced or witnessed a traumatic event. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder  ( PTSD )  risks are especially pronounced for those living in conflict areas, although those living in Kabul are also exposed to the impacts from attacks in the city, as well as criminal activity.
Total civilian causalities reached 10,392 in 2019 slightly lower than 2018, with 3,403 deaths and 6,989 injured. Anti government elements were responsible for most of the civilian causalities, despite a reduction in attacks by ISIL  KP  [ Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant   Khorasan Province ] . Internal displacement induced by the conflict increased to around 399,087 in 2019, with the number of displaced increasing eight percent over 2018 levels.
Healthcare personnel constitute more than five percent of total positive cases, and 13 healthcare workers have died of COVID 19.
Almost 14 per cent of the population still practice open defecation in Afghanistan.
Position handwashing facilities with soap and set up mandatory handwashing for anyone entering and exiting the HCF.
More than 3.7 million children are currently out of school. These children are out of school due to a variety of reasons such as poverty, damaged and inadequate supply of classrooms, shortage of teachers  ( especially female teachers ) , insufficient relevant learning and teaching resources, lack of inclusive facilities at schools, cultural norms which de prioritise education for girls, and long travel distances to schools for many children.
The WOA Assessment 2019 found that IDP returnees in Badghis had the highest proportion of households relying on negative livelihoods coping strategies nationwide  ( 61 per cent ) , compared to the average for other shock affected households  ( 30 per cent ) .
Some 26 per cent of migrant pregnant women have no access to prenatal care.
Analysis of SMART surveys indicates a significant proportion of children under five are considered borderline in terms of acute malnutrition status. Whilst those that fit into this category are not directly admitted into treatment programmes, it is most often the case that these children rapidly fall into a state of acute malnutrition due to a worsening of one or more underlying factors. These include overall food security of families, eroded livelihoods, predictable seasonal natural disaster  driven shocks, and disease outbreaks.
Civilian safety: ongoing hostilities across large parts of the country, including ground engagements, aerial attacks, and the use of IEDs are causing extreme levels of physical and psychological harm.
Organisations and CPAN  [ Child Protection Action Network ]  should provide children with community level to mitigate stress related symptoms due to support psycho social lockdown.
A recent exercise by the Humanitarian Access Group ranked those districts where physical barriers severely undermine access to people in need and affected people's ability to access services. Several provinces – including Baghlan, Kunar, Logar, Maidan Wardak, Nuristan, Panjshir, Samangan and Sar e Pul – have no functioning airstrips and air traffic is regularly interrupted by poor weather. The 2019 Hard to Reach Assessment found that ‘inaccessibility due to physical constraints' was strongly linked to lower access to education, health, and WASH facilities, as well as access to markets with basic supplies
Shelter needs are extreme with over one third of households displaced for more than 6 months  ( 1.36 million people )  still living in makeshift shelter or tents, in overcrowded conditions, with little access to services.
Open defecation is widespread in Afghanistan,exacerbating the risk factors for diarrhoeal epidemics and other disease outbreaks. An assessment of 10 provinces in 2017 showed that 58 per cent of the drinking water sources across these districts were contaminated with E. coli.
Of those who recovered from major trauma surgery, some 47 per cent reported a permanent disability including loss of limbs, loss of vision and neurological deficits.
[ Risk communication and community engagement  ( RCCE   accountability to affected populations )  ] The RCCE Working Group has produced a rumour tracking sheet that has been disseminated through MoPH and UN/NGO partners. It has also carried out an assessment showing communication preferences and the most trusted information sources by geographical area, down to the district level.
The depressed economy of neighbouring countries has also contributed to decreased household incomes due to drops in remittances from COVID 19. This is being further compounded by devaluation of currencies.
Health facilities in these locations are particularly overstretched. Years of limited investment in the public health system have been exacerbated by high levels of population mobility where resource allocation does not address mobile and displaced populations. For example, in Nangarhar, among all 141 health facilities, 81  ( 57 per cent )  are over burdened and serving over 3.9 million host, IDPs and returnees. Moreover, there are more than 730,000 under served Afghans in Nangarhar with no access to health services within 5 km of their homes.
In the first half of the year, IOM provided emergency support to 51,028 returnees to assist with relocation and reintegration. For comparison, the number of people assisted by IOM in the first half of 2020 is roughly equivalent to the entire caseload supported in all of 2019, underlining the surge in both numbers and scale of humanitarian need of returnees in 2020. While the number of returnees assisted in the first half of 2020 has already outstripped all those assisted in 2019, IOM also reports that limited funding has enabled them to provide for only a fraction  ( roughly 14 per cent )  of those in need.
Demining efforts, led by ANSF  [ Afghan National Security Forces ]  Explosive Ordnance Disposal  ( EOD )  teams, are currently underway in affected areas.
Data being gathered from UNFPA's  [ UN Population Fund ]  Family Protection Centers  ( FPCs )  highlights that the COVID 19 pandemic is exacerbating the situation of GBV throughout Afghanistan.
UNFPA's  [ UN Population Fund ]  27 Family Protection Center, operating in 22 provinces remains to be Afghanistan's only one stop center for comprehensive GBV service provision.
To fight COVID 19, governments and aid agencies have prioritized healthcare and humanitarian responses.
Mine Action response: Following a temporary suspension to implement COVID 19 preventative measures, mine action  ( MA )  partners continued to deliver life saving activities despite the challenges posed by movement restrictions and physical distancing requirements. MA partners adjusted their delivery method for Explosive Ordnance Risk Education  ( EORE )  to ensure the safety of the participants and trainers. This included switching from classroom based sessions to delivering messages through mass media, loudspeakers and posters. Partners also mainstreamed COVID 19 awareness raising messages into their material wherever possible.
Armed clashes between Afghan National Security Forces  ( ANSF )  and a non state armed group  ( NSAG )  continued in Balkh, Faryab, Sar e Pul, Jawzjan and Samangan provinces.
In June September 2019, More than 130,000 people displaced in north eastern Afghanistan due to fighting between the Taliban and Government forces.
This  [ increased criminal activity ]  increases fear among civilians and acts as yet another constraint on people's free movement around their cities to access services and attend school.
Despite three temporary ceasefires in 2020, a significant reduction in the number of civilians injured due to attacks by NSAGs and a drop in the number of airstrikes carried out by international military forces over recent years, the continued use of improvised explosive devices  ( IEDs ) , asymmetric attacks, targeted killings and attacks on schools and hospitals have been devastating for the people of Afghanistan.
With a projected population growth rate of 2.3 per cent per annum, one of the steepest in the region, the country's financially dependent youth population is set to grow even further. In these circumstances, engaging these young people in education, so that they can later join the skilled workforce, is more critical than ever.
COVID 19 resulted in an estimated 5.5–7.4 per cent contraction in the economy in 2020, a significant spike in food prices, with the price of some basic food items increasing by more than 20 per cent in the first half of 2020, and reduced income for 59 per cent of households.
WASH facility maintenance and the provision of water continues at the Milak  ( Nimroz )  border crossing. During the reporting period, WASH activities at the Milak border crossing reached 14,754 people, with 129,433 people reached in this location since the start of the crisis by WASH Cluster partners.
11,153 hygiene kits – which include hygiene supplies such as soap for hand washing, bathing and laundry – were distributed during the reporting period  [ Between 14 December and 10 January ] , reaching 66,106 people by WASH Cluster partners.
Scale up of community based RCCE  [ Risk communication and community engagement ]  is critical to combat misinformation, especially for vulnerable people.
Animal Feed  ( Concentrate ) : The average price decreased by 0.7% compared to the fourth week of October. The decrease occurred in Badghis  ( 17% )  and Badakhshan  ( less than 1% ) , due to increased supply.
Fertilizer  ( DAP  [ Diammonium Phosphate compound fertiliser ]  ) : The average price increased by 0.3% compared to the fourth week of October. The increase occurred in Kandahar  ( 6% ) , Zabul  ( 4% )  and Balkh  ( 2% ) , due to increased demand.
Rice  ( Low Quality ) : The average price increased by 0.6% compared to the fourth week of October, but remained 21% higher than 14 March. The increase occurred in Badghis  ( 17% )  and Khost  ( 2% ) , mainly due to seasonally increase demand and the high price of high quality rice.
Rice  ( High Quality ) : The average price increased by 0.5% compared to the fourth week of October, and remained 9% higher than 14 March. The increase occurred in: Badghis  ( 13% ) , Khost  ( 9% ) , Nuristan  ( 5% )  and Kandahar  ( 1% ) , due to supply disruptions to the market and daily price fluctuations.