EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR TO UNDERTAKE MISSION TO UGANDA, SUDAN, CHAD, KENYA

EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR TO UNDERTAKE MISSION TO UGANDA , SUDAN , CHAD , KENYA

NEW YORK, 28 March (OCHA) -- United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Jan Egeland, is to undertake a nine-day mission to East Africa from 30 March to 7 April.  During his mission, the Emergency Relief Coordinator will visit the countries of Uganda, the Sudan (including Darfur), Chad and Kenya.

In Uganda, Mr. Egeland is expected to meet with a number of Government and donor country representatives, as well as with members of the United Nations country team, World Bank, and non-governmental organizations working in the country.  He will also travel to northern Uganda for a firsthand view of the situation of the country’s internally displaced persons and the work of those humanitarian agencies working on the ground.

Mr. Egeland will then travel to Juba in southern Sudan, where he will meet with senior governmental and United Nations representatives and visit an internally displaced persons way station, before travelling onwards to Bor.  He will then travel to Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, where he will meet with local authorities and visit an internally displaced persons camp run by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

From South Darfur, the mission will continue to Chad, where Mr. Egeland will visit a Sudanese refugee camp in the east of the country and meet with local authorities and United Nations officials.  From Chad, Mr. Egeland will return to Khartoum, Sudan, where he will meet with senior officials of the Sudanese Government, the United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS), and the United Nations country team.  On the final day of the mission, Mr. Egeland will travel to Nairobi, Kenya.

During his mission, the Emergency Relief Coordinator will hold three press conferences -- in Kampala, Uganda, on 1 April; in Khartoum, Sudan, on 6 April; and in Nairobi, Kenya, on 7 April.  There will also be a number of other media opportunities for local and international press.  For a complete list of opportunities in specific countries, please contact:

Contact	Telephone Number
Christophe Illemassene, OCHA-Uganda	+256 31 242 804, +256 77 2 759 996 (mobile)
Dawn Blalock, OCHA-Sudan	+249 187 089 453, +249 912 174 454 (mobile), +091217-0418 (Thuraya)
Fernando Hesse, OCHA-Chad	+235 518 216, +235 361 468 (mobile)
Luluwa Ali, OCHA-Nairobi	+254 20 762 1004, + 254-733-730535 (mobile)
Stephanie Bunker, OCHA- New York	+1 917 367 5126, +1 917 892 1679 (mobile)
Kristen Knutson, OCHA- New York	+1 917 367 9262
Elizabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva	+41 22 917 2653, +41 79 473 4570 (mobile)

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For information media • not an official record