| dc.description.abstract | The last foci of lineage 1 rinderpest virus in Africa is believed to lie in the southern region of
Sudan. The cattle populations in the border areas of southern Sudan move across international
borders for pasture and trade. Identification and elimination of any remaining endemic areas
in southern Sudan is therefore crucial for rinderpest eradication from the east and central
Africa regions. Much progress has been made towards this during 2002-3 in the first two
years of the Fight Against Lineage 1 Rinderpest Virus Project This project aims to
concentrate surveillance activities in the higher risk areas of southern Sudan in order to
identify and eliminate the remaining foci and contribute to the final eradication of lineage one
rinderpest virus from Africa.
Southern Sudan has a long history of underdevelopment and conflict. Since independence
was granted to Sudan in 1956 there has been civil war between south and north, apart from a
period of peace between 1972 and 1983. Millions of people, mainly civilians, have been
killed, displaced or are refugees. Southern Sudan is controlled partly by the Government and
partly by rebel groups. The prolonged conflict has created what is described as a chronic,
complex emergency; development has been prevented, infrastructure has been destroyed,
trade and transport routes have been disrupted, schools and health services are almost nonexistent, and administrative structures are minimal and have few resources. The effects of a
series of droughts and floods have been exacerbated by the conflict, causing periodic
famines. Internationally mediated peace talks are currently proving successful and there is
great hope that a peace agreement will be signed in early 2004.
Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) is a consortium of United Nations (UN) agencies and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) that is providing humanitarian assistance to the waraffected communities of southern Sudan. OLS activities include assistance for food relief,
water, human health, education, fisheries, crop production, animal health and others. OLS
southern sector (OLS-SS) operates in the areas of southern Sudan that are controlled by rebel
groups, and gains access to these areas via Kenya and Uganda. The largest rebel group of
southern Sudan is the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), which forms the de
facto government in the areas under its control. Other smaller rebel groups control parts of
Upper Nile and Jonglei regions. The relief sections of these movements, SRRC (Sudan Relief
and Rehabilitation Commission), and FRRA (Fashoda Relief and Rehabilitation Association)
are the counterparts of the southern sector livestock programme.
OLS northern sector (OLS-NS) works in the areas of southern Sudan that are under the
control of the Government. The Government, specifically the Department of Animal Health.
and Epizootic Disease Control (AHEADC), which includes PACE Sudan, is the counterpart
of the northern sector livestock programme. | |
