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Tanzania: Refugee Repatriation DREF operation n° MDRTZ014 Update n°1

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Tanzania
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IFRC
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Period covered by this update: 9 July to 22 November 2012.

Summary: CHF 70,222 was allocated from the IFRC’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) on 9 July 2012, to support the Tanzania Red Cross National Society (TRCNS) in delivering immediate assistance to approximately 38,000 Burundian refugees being repatriated from Tanzania following a decision by the Government of Tanzania. The repatriation began on 7 July and would continue until mid December 2012.

The operation was initially planned to be completed by 31 October, 2012.However, due to initial delays in the return process caused by the slow progress in voluntary return leading to a shift into orderly return, TRCNS seeks an extension of the DREF operation timeframe for a further 2 months (until 31 December 2012) with no additional cost. A Final Report will be made available three months after the end of the operation (by 31 March, 2013)

The government declared a cessation of refugee status to Burundian refugees on 1 August, 2012 followed by the decision on 8 October, 2012 to shift from voluntary repatriation to orderly return in order to enable the closure of Mtabila camps by 31 December 2012. As of 22 November, 2012 a total of 15,626 Burundian returnees have been repatriated out of the 38,000 Burundians staying in Mtabila I and Mtabila II camps. This progress in the repatriation process indicates that if the returning trend continues like this, all Burundians in Mtabila camps are likely to have returned home by 31 December, 2012.

Tanzania Red Cross National Society (TRCNS) in collaboration with its partners has been providing services in the refugee camps, including curative and preventive health, nutrition, and water and sanitation services. In the refugee repatriation process, TRCNS is responsible for pre-departure medical screening, departure screening and ambulance escorts of the repatriation convoys from the refugee camp up to the border point of the receiving country (Burundi). To date, a total of 24 emergency shelters have been constructed at collection points in 6 zones (4 shelters in each zone) within the camp, basic pre-departure health screening conducted , chronically ill patients provided with 3 months medication ,a total of 31,252 bottles of water (0.5 litres) distributed to 15,626 repatriating refugees as well as First Aid services provided to all 16 departed convoys and 5,000 leaflets produced and distributed to 5,000 families with various key messages on prevention of HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Pneumonia and hygiene promotion before departure.

Contributions from the Belgian Red Cross/Government and Tsunami fund have fully replenished the allocation made for this operation. The major donors and partners of DREF include the Australian, American and Belgian governments, the Austrian Red Cross, the Canadian Red Cross and government, Danish Red Cross and government, the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO), the Irish and the Italian governments, the Japanese Red Cross Society, the Luxembourg government, the Monaco Red Cross and government, the Netherlands Red Cross and government, the Norwegian Red Cross and government, the Spanish Government, the Swedish Red Cross and government, the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), the Medtronic and Z Zurich Foundations, and other corporate and private donors. The IFRC, on behalf of the National Society, would like to extend thanks to all for their generous contributions.

Details of DREF contributions are found on: http://www.ifrc.org/docs/appeals/Active/MAA00010_2012.pdf