GOUDOUBO CAMP, Burkina Faso, December 31 (UNHCR) – Roky is someone who takes pride in keeping a clean home and she's not letting standards slip in exile, even though she has a lot to worry about.

Her most important possession is a broom that she made from shrubs collected near her home in the arid Sahel region of northern Mali. Roky brought it with her when she fled to Burkina Faso in April last year after armed men attacked her village during the Malian conflict. It has helped to transform her life as a refugee, and empower her as a woman in a patriarchal and hierarchical society.

Although Roky escaped with her five children and a sister, some of her relatives were killed. "We fled on two donkeys, leaving loved ones behind. It was very painful and frightening," she recalled.

The family stayed first at Fererio camp before being moved to the safer Goudoubo Refugee Camp in mid-October. The 35-year-old Roky was at that time still traumatized by the attack, the shock of flight and the loss of kin. "I was a prisoner of fear and sadness," she told UNHCR.

Roky knew she had to do something to shake herself out of depression and to help her make something out of her new life as a refugee. So she wielded the broom that she had brought from Mali, using it to inspire herself and others.

"I decided to start sweeping," she said, explaining that at first she just cleaned around the traditional nomad shelter provided to her family by UNHCR. "Eventually, other women started to join and we started cleaning the whole camp." Less than two weeks later, with support from UNHCR's community services staff, she formed a refugee cleanliness group gathering mainly women.

They had such an impact on the cleanliness of the camp, as well as empowering women, that Roky was appointed to head one of the eight committees set up in different areas of the camp by UNHCR to help coordinate services such as aid distribution, shelter, health care, and water, sanitation and hygiene. The committees, which were established to give refugees a say in the running of the camp, have had a very positive influence on daily camp life.

Roky and her team of 12 refugees, with the support of UNHCR partner, Oxfam, have had particular success in improving operation of the camp's water, sanitation and hygiene systems. By keeping the camp clean and spreading awareness about the importance of sanitation and hygiene, they have helped avert the spread of diseases such as diarrhoea and cholera, which are a threat in northern Burkina because of poor hygiene practices and water shortages.

"Thanks to Roky's incredible energy, cleanliness sensitization campaigns are now very popular in Goudoubo," said Fassou Noramou, a UNHCR specialist in water, sanitation and hygiene. And it's helped make Roky popular too: "It is thanks to her that I feel at home in Goudoubo," said 35-year-old Fadimata, a fellow refugee from northern Mali.

Adds Alousseini Ag Anagnif, "She helps us to understand that we can make a change in our lives through small actions." A remarkable tribute coming from a man in the male-dominated Tuareg culture.

Always with a smile in her face, the forceful Roky is a hive of industry in Goudoubo, shuttling here and there organizing groups of fellow refugees to make their new home habitable.

The only time her smile fades is when she is asked about the situation back home. "I pray for peace every day for the sake of my children. In the camp we have different communities and we have all managed to get along when we work together. If this would be the same in northern Mali, it would be just perfect."

By Hugo Reichenberger in Goudoubo, Burkina Faso

KEY MESSAGES

• In West Africa, the availability of recent harvests improved market supplies of maize, millet, and sorghum in November. Staple food prices remain at or below their respective five-year average levels in the surplus-producing areas of Mali and Burkina Faso, while prices are above-average in Nigeria, Niger, and in parts of Chad. Recent sorghum harvests and stable rice imports from international markets contributed to food availability in Senegal and Mauritania.

• In East Africa, sorghum prices decreased across most markets in Somalia, Ethiopia and South Sudan due to the availability of improved market supplies from recent and ongoing harvests. Maize prices in Ethiopia and Somalia followed similar trends. Sorghum and millet prices continued to increase atypically across most of Sudan due to expectations of below-average harvests. Maize prices in Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda continued to increase during the pre-harvest period. Wholesale maize prices decreased atypically in Tanzania with the availability of increased supply from above-average harvests in the southern highlands.

• In Southern Africa, maize prices were stable or increased steadily as the lean season set in. Prices remained above their respective 2012 and five-year average levels due to tight regional supplies resulting from localized production shortfalls coupled with strong export and institutional demand. Maize grain and meal prices continued to increase atypically in parts of Zambia and Malawi. Maize spot prices on the South Africa Futures Exchange (SAFEX) increased steadily in November in response to persistent drought conditions in the productive North West province.

• In Haiti, local black bean and maize prices were stable or decreased due to improved food availability from recent harvests. In Central America, bean prices declined due to the availability of stocks from above-average production in 2012 and 2013; maize prices decreased following an above-average Primera harvest. Rice prices were stable.

• In Afghanistan and Tajikistan, wheat flour prices were stable due to recently concluded above-average harvests and the availability of lower-priced imports from Kazakhstan.

• International rice prices remained stable or decreased. Maize prices decreased further with improved global harvest prospects. Wheat prices were stable or increased due to concerns over production in South America and Black Sea states. Crude oil prices were stable.

FAITS SAILLANTS ET PERSPECTIVES

• Faible niveau d’approvisionnement des marchés en céréales sèches et bonne disponibilité de l’arachide coque. Cette situation s’explique par le non battage des céréales (mil, maïs et sorgho) et le démarrage de la campagne de commercialisation de l’arachide.

• la baisse du cours du riz sur les marchés internationaux a favorisé la constitution d’importants stocks au niveau des importateurs. Les disponibilités des deux types de riz sont estimées à plus de 300 000 tonnes.

• Contrairement aux céréales locales, l’arachide coque est abondamment disponible sur les marchés de collecte et de groupement. En revanche, pour l’arachide décortiquée et le niébé, les disponibilités sont faibles à modérées.

• A l’exception des prix du maïs qui poursuivent leur tendance baissière, ceux du mil et du sorgho se caractérisent par de légères hausses. Cette configuration s’explique par le non battage à grande échelle du mil et du sorgho de la récolte encours.

• La politique d’homologation des prix combinée à l’abondance des stocks contribuent à baisser le prix du riz ordinaire brisé importé.

• Les prix des légumineuses ont connu des fortunes diverses : hausse pour le niébé, baisse pour l’arachide coque, stabilité pour la variété décortiquée.

• Après la forte tension vécue en octobre, le marché du bétail s’est relativement calmé avec un niveau moyen des prix des sujets.

PREAMBULE

Sur les 11 millions d‟habitants qui peuplent le Tchad, 4 489 985 sont des femmes rurales (soit environ 40% de la population). Au quotidien, les femmes rurales sont les piliers de la production agricole et de la sécurité alimen-taire. Pourtant elles subissent de nombreuses inégalités, et leur voix n'est que trop rarement entendue.

L'objectif de ce travail est de mettre en avant la femme rurale tchadienne pour témoigner des écarts significatifs existant entre les femmes et les hommes dans le monde rural au Tchad, en termes de revenus, d'ac-cès aux ressources, de charge de travail, d'accès à des postes de décisions etc.

En termes d'impact, nous espérons que ce travail pourra contribuer à une prise de conscience collective et individuelle de la nécessité d'un changement de perceptions, mais aussi de pratiques et de politiques envers la femme rurale, pour lequel nous invitons chaque acteur (communautés, gouvernement, ONG, bailleurs, Agences des Nations Unies etc.) à jouer pleinement son rôle.

Il est important de garder à l'esprit que les statistiques sont rares et peu fiables au Tchad. Là où les données quantitatives nationales étaient inexistantes, ce sont des chiffres sous-régionaux ou internationaux qui ont été utilisés. Les données quantitatives sont complétées par des témoignages de femmes rurales issues de diverses régions du Tchad.

Cet ensemble de fiche a été réalisé en un temps limité et avec des ressources humaines restreintes, ce qui n'a pas permis d'exploiter l‟ensemble de la littérature existante. Ainsi considérons nous ce travail comme un début, et espérons pouvoir développer ultérieurement une deuxième version, contenant des données plus approfondies.

L'objectif de ce document n'est pas de stigmatiser la situation de la femme rurale africaine ou tchadienne, car parmi les nombreux constats effectués ici, beaucoup sont malheureusement partagés dans le monde. Ce docu-ment a pour ambition, à travers les exemples présentés, de sensibiliser l'opinion publique et les gouvernements sur les inégalités persistantes entre les hommes et les femmes en général.

LES POINTS ESSENTIELS

• On note dans la deuxième décade du mois d’octobre l’apparition des prémices de mil et d’arachide. Le battage du mil occupe la plus grande part des ménages de la zone. La disponibilité alimentaire est réelle pour les ménages les plus vulnérables. Ces premières données montrent que les récoltes sont moyennes dans l’ensemble de la zone. Il existe cependant un risque localisé de très mauvaises productions céréalières, notamment pour le sorgho. La production céréalière de la zone sera incontestablement inferieure aux récoltes de 2012 citée comme année particulièrement bonne ou année normale. Les premières estimations issues des données récoltées sur les carrés de rendements posés dans une cinquantaine de village indique nt un déficit céréalier de 14% comparativement à 2012. Ce phénomène est particulièrement marqué dans la partie sud des cantons Bardé et Kado ; cela étant dû principalement au démarrage tardif et à l’arrêt précoce des pluies comme annoncé dans le premier bulletin de veille de septembre.

• On note une recrudescence de certaines pathologies telles que le paludisme , les infections respiratoires et les diarrhées dans de nombreux villages.

• Les activités maraîchères occupent la grande majorité des populations ayant accès aux parcelles maraîchères le long des ouaddis.

• L’état de santé général des animaux reste correct. Toutefois la période de soudure animale risque d’être également précoce et de débuter un mois plus tôt (février 2014).

• L’assèchement précoce des ouaddis, du tapis herbacé, et l’arrivée précoce des éleveurs transhumants suscitent de nombreuses inquiétudes quant à la disponibilité fourragère et en eaux d’abreuvement pour le bétail dans les mois à venir .

Rain is so important in Malawi's agriculture-based economy that there are names for different kinds of it, from the brief bursts of early fall to heavier downpours called mvula yodzalira, literally "planting rain." For generations, rainfall patterns here in the southeast part of Africa have been predictable, reliable. But not now.

Read and listen to the full story on NPR.

General Situation during December 2013
Forecast until mid-February 2014

**The Desert Locust situation remained critical along both sides of the Red Sea in December. Hopper and adult groups, hopper bands, and swarms formed in Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Eritrea. Smaller infestations were present in Sudan. Control operations were carried out in all countries. As ecological conditions remain favourable, a second generation of breeding will cause locust numbers to increase further and more bands swarms are expected to form. The outbreak in northwest Mauritania has nearly come to an end as a result of intensive control efforts. Nevertheless, small-scale breeding is likely to occur in those areas that remain favourable in the coming months. A number of locust reports in northern Somalia are in the process of being confirmed. Heavy rains associated with a cyclone fell over much of the territory in November.

Hopper bands and swarms continue to form on both sides of the Red Sea

The Desert Locust situation remains critical along both sides of the Red Sea. Hopper and adult groups, hopper bands, and swarms are forming in Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Eritrea. Smaller infestations are present in Sudan. Control operations are underway in all countries, including aerial control in Saudi Arabia, Eritrea and Sudan.

As ecological conditions remain favourable, a second generation of breeding will cause locust numbers to increase further and more bands and swarms are expected to form in January.

The outbreak in northwest Mauritania has nearly come to an end as a result of intensive control efforts. Nevertheless, small-scale breeding is likely to occur in those areas that remain favourable in the coming months, including the north and northeast where good rains fell last month.

Reports of locusts continue to be received from locals, farmers and nomads in northern Somalia, especially in areas that received heavy rains associated with a tropical cyclone in November. Surveys are in progress to clarify the situation.

DAKAR, 3 January 2014 (IRIN) - Poor public services in many West African countries, with already dire human development indicators, are under constant pressure from pervasive corruption. Observers say graft is corroding proper governance and causing growing numbers of people to sink into poverty.

“If you want to put a human face to corruption… then see how we have kids who walk miles to school because there are no public transport systems,” said Harold Aidoo, the executive director of the Institute for Research and Democratic Development in Monrovia, the Liberian capital.

“You see women and mothers who give birth and die because there are no basic drugs or equipment at the hospitals, and no qualified or trained health professionals. You realize that many of our impoverished populations do not have access to clean drinking water,” he said.

More West African countries were perceived to be highly corrupt in 2013 than the previous year due to the effects of political instability in countries such as Mali, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, according to the corruption index compiled by the global watchdog, Transparency International

Bribery, rigged elections, shady contract deals with multinational businesses operating in the natural resources sector, and illicit cash transfers out of countries are some of the more common forms of graft. In sub-Saharan Africa, 90 percent of countries are seen to be corrupt, the watchdog said.

The region accounts for 11 percent of the world’s population, but carries 24 percent of the global disease burden. It also bears a heavy burden of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria but lacks the resources to provide even basic health services, according to the International Finance Corporation.

Almost half of the world’s deaths of children under five years old occur in Africa, which also has the highest maternal mortality rate, the organization says. Parents sometimes have to pay bribes to get their children admitted to good schools, said Pierre Lapaque, the UN Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) representative for West and Central Africa.

“There is no doubt that corruption affects pure and sustainable development in West Africa, and there is no doubt that it most often affects the poorest and weakest portions of society.”

Illicit cash flight

As much as US$1.3 trillion has been illegally transferred out of Africa in the past three decades, said a report by Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington-based advocacy group monitoring illicit financial flows.

Nigeria’s oil industry has been plagued by graft allegations that gave rise to complaints of neglect and a rebellion by people in the oil-producing southern regions. A draft report released in May 2013 by Liberia’s Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative noted that nearly all resource contracts signed since 2009 had violated regulations.

“Economically speaking, when millions of dollars are filtered out every year by corruption, this is very corrosive in terms of its impact on society,” Aidoo said. “It is very corrosive in how it undermines growth and development and the well-being of our population.”

Corrupt politics

Many political campaigns in Africa are fraught with allegations of irregularities and malpractice. “Not only are elections prone to corruption in the form of vote-rigging and fraud-monitoring, but by the way in which our political elites become entrenched in power,” said Tendai Murisa, director of TrustAfrica’s Agriculture Advocacy and Financial Flows programme.

“Corruption creates a way to perpetuate the regime, and one of the ways they perpetuate the regime is to buy votes, so that really affects the quality of democracy,” said Murisa, noting that a government deemed corrupt inspires little trust in the people, whose voices are often silenced or ignored when they speak out against graft.

Because the poor rely more on public services, they spend the largest percentage of their income on bribes to officials and even school administrators, so corruption pushes the most vulnerable further into poverty. In Sierra Leone, 69 percent of people think the police are corrupt, and in Nigeria the figure rises to 78 percent, said UNODC’s Lapaque.

Floundering anti-graft war

Despite efforts to increase transparency and accountability throughout the continent, the war against graft in sub-Saharan Africa has been on the decline over the last decade, according to the World Bank's 2013 World Governance Indicators. With the exception of South Africa and Botswana, sub-Saharan Africa scored in the lowest percentile for the control of corruption worldwide.

“If a country’s [public] service is staffed by civil servants based in nepotism or bribery, rather than merit and competence, it creates significant problems,” Lapaque said. “Not only are fewer job opportunities made available to those who deserve them, but the rule of law is undermined and economic growth is stifled.”

Weak governance often undermines security services, which can lead to an increase in local and transnational organized crime, including arms and drug trafficking. It can also undermine human rights. “It’s really very often a failure of our government to be efficient gatekeepers of our resources, and of them allowing leakages within and out of our economies,” Murisa said.

Strategies

To fight corruption, governments first need to recognize that it is a real problem. “They need to ensure that national structures in charge of fighting corruption are well resourced, and staff have the capacity to do their work in an independent way, without political interference,” said Marie-Ange Kalenga, Transparency International’s West Africa regional coordinator.

“They also need to ensure there is an appropriate legal framework, in line with the regional and the international instruments on anti-corruption, and to educate ordinary citizens and promote integrity at the individual level,” she said.

Lapaque said this could mean creating an independent anti-corruption entity, or giving political independence to judges and prosecutors. Civil society groups and NGOs can help in developing codes of conduct, promoting integrity, and advocating the adoption of appropriate legislation, as well as the training of anti-corruption agencies, added Kalenga.

Empowering citizens to denounce corruption and to seek redress if they are victims of corruption could also help, as could making budgets more transparent and including people in the participation of public spending, Lapaque suggested.

“Transparency is an important factor in building democratic governments that are accountable to their people,” said Tom Cardamone, GFI’s managing director. “I think that’s what we need to do to stem the flow of illicit money and stop this corruption.”

Murisa said, “If we just got back 50 percent of what we are currently losing to corruption, it could mean things like advancements in education or better road systems. We could make sure our children are back at school, we could make sure we are maintaining social welfare systems, and we could make sure our healthcare delivery systems are working properly.”

jl/ob/he

DAKAR, 5 janvier 2014 (IRIN) - Dans de nombreux pays d’Afrique de l’Ouest, qui affichent déjà des indicateurs de développement alarmants, la corruption généralisée gangrène des services publics de piètre qualité. D’après les observateurs, les pots-de-vin menacent la bonne gouvernance et font sombrer de plus en plus de gens dans la pauvreté.

« Pour mettre un visage sur la corruption… prenez des enfants qui marchent des kilomètres pour se rendre à l’école, car il n’y a pas de transports publics », a déclaré Harold Aidoo, directeur exécutif de l’Institut pour la recherche et le développement démocratique (IREDD) à Monrovia, la capitale du Liberia.

« Vous avez des femmes et des mères qui meurent en accouchant, car il n’y a pas de médicaments, ni d’équipements de première nécessité dans les hôpitaux, pas plus que de professionnels de santé qualifiés. Vous constatez que beaucoup de populations pauvres n’ont pas accès à l’eau potable », a-t-il dit.

Par rapport aux années précédentes, le nombre de pays d’Afrique de l’Ouest considérés comme extrêmement corrompus a augmenté en 2013, à cause de l’instabilité politique présente dans des pays comme le Mali, la Guinée et la Guinée-Bissau. C’est ce que révèle l’Indice de perception de la corruption (IPC) de l’organe de surveillance mondiale, Transparency International.

Les pots-de-vin, les élections truquées, les transactions douteuses avec des firmes multinationales intervenant dans le secteur des ressources naturelles, ainsi que les transferts de fonds illégaux vers l’étranger, font partie des formes de corruption les plus répandues.

La région concentre 11 pour cent de la population mondiale, mais représente 24 pour cent de la charge mondiale de morbidité. Elle est aussi fortement touchée par le VIH/SIDA, la tuberculose et le paludisme. D’après l’institution d’aide au développement, la Société financière internationale (IFC), la région manque pourtant de ressources nécessaires, y compris pour dispenser des services de santé de base.

Près de la moitié des décès d’enfants de moins de cinq ans dans le monde ont lieu en Afrique. Le continent affiche aussi le taux de mortalité maternelle (TMM) le plus élevé, d’après les organisations.

Les parents doivent parfois verser des pots-de-vin pour que leurs enfants puissent suivre leur scolarité dans de bonnes écoles, a expliqué Pierre Lapaque, représentant de l’Office des Nations Unies contre la drogue et le crime (ONUDC) pour l’Afrique de l’Ouest et du centre.

« Il est évident que la corruption porte directement atteinte au développement durable en Afrique de l’Ouest, comme il est évident qu’elle touche principalement les couches de la société les plus pauvres et les plus démunies. »

Transferts de fonds illégaux

Pas moins de 1 300 milliards de dollars sont sortis illégalement d’Afrique au cours des trente dernières années, d’après un rapport de Global Financial Integrity (GFI), une organisation de défense des droits située à Washington qui surveille les flux financiers illégaux.

L’industrie pétrolière du Nigeria est gangrénée par des accusations de corruption, ce qui créé des tensions avec les populations autochtones qui ont porté plainte pour négligence et se sont rebellées dans les régions productrices de pétrole, au sud du pays. Selon un rapport préliminaire publié en mai 2013 par l’Initiative pour la transparence dans les industries extractives (ITIE) du Liberia, presque tous les contrats d’extraction signés depuis 2009 enfreignent la réglementation.

« Sur le plan économique, quand des millions de dollars disparaissent chaque année à cause de la corruption, les effets sur la société sont dévastateurs », a déclaré M. Aidoo. « C’est particulièrement destructeur en termes de croissance, de développement et de bien-être pour notre population. »

Corruption politique

Beaucoup de campagnes politiques en Afrique sont entachées d’irrégularité et de fraudes. « Les élections sont exposées à la corruption, non seulement par le biais des fraudes électorales ou du contrôle des fraudes, mais aussi dans la façon dont nos élites politiques s’accrochent au pouvoir », a déclaré Tendai Murisa, directeur d’un programme sur le développement agricole durable et les flux financiers à TrustAfrica.

« La corruption permet de perpétuer le régime et une de leurs méthodes pour y arriver consiste à acheter des voix, ce qui nuit vraiment à la qualité de la démocratie », a déclaré M. Murisa. Il a souligné qu’un gouvernement considéré comme corrompu ne jouissait pas de la confiance des gens, souvent réduits au silence ou ignorés lorsqu’ils dénoncent la corruption.

Comme les pauvres ont davantage besoin des services publics, ils consacrent un plus grand pourcentage de leurs revenus au versement de pots-de-vin aux fonctionnaires, y compris aux directeurs d’école. La corruption aggrave la pauvreté des plus vulnérables. Au Sierra Leone, 69 pour cent des gens pensent que la police est corrompue et ce chiffre atteint 78 pour cent au Nigeria, d’après M. Lapaque de l’ONUDC.

Lutte difficile contre la corruption

Malgré des efforts pour améliorer la transparence et la reddition de comptes sur l’ensemble du continent, la lutte contre la corruption en Afrique subsaharienne régresse depuis dix ans, selon les Indicateurs mondiaux de gouvernance (WGI) de 2013 développés par la Banque mondiale. À l’exception de l’Afrique du Sud et du Botswana, l’Afrique subsaharienne a affiché le plus faible pourcentage mondial de contrôle de la corruption.

« Si le recrutement de fonctionnaires au sein des services [publics] d’un pays est axé sur le népotisme ou la corruption, au lieu d’être axé sur le mérite et les compétences, cela créé de graves problèmes », a déclaré M. Lapaque. « Non seulement il y a moins de postes disponibles pour ceux qui le méritent, mais cela compromet la règle de droit et entrave la croissance économique. »

Une mauvaise gouvernance porte souvent atteinte aux services de sécurité, ce qui peut conduire à une augmentation du crime organisé local et transnational, le trafic d’armes et de drogues notamment. Cela porte aussi atteinte aux droits de l’homme. « Notre gouvernement échoue très souvent à préserver nos ressources, provoquant ainsi des fuites économiques à l’intérieur et à l’extérieur de notre économie », a déclaré M. Murisa.

Stratégies

Pour combattre la corruption, les gouvernements doivent d’abord reconnaître qu’il y a un réel problème. « Ils doivent faire en sorte que les structures nationales chargées de lutter contre la corruption disposent de moyens suffisants et que le personnel ait la possibilité de travailler de manière indépendante, sans interférence politique », a affirmé Marie-Ange Kalenga, coordinatrice régionale pour l’Afrique de l’Ouest à Transparency International.

« Ils doivent aussi garantir l’existence d’un cadre juridique adapté, conforme aux instruments régionaux et internationaux de lutte contre la corruption. Ils doivent également sensibiliser les citoyens ordinaires à la lutte contre la corruption et promouvoir l’intégrité au niveau individuel », a-t-elle expliqué.

Pour M. Lapaque, cela pourrait passer par la création d’une entité anticorruption indépendante ou la garantie d’une indépendance des juges et des procureurs vis-à-vis des politiques. Les organisations de la société civile et les ONG (organisations non gouvernementales) pourraient contribuer à l’élaboration de codes de conduite et à la promotion de l’intégrité. Elles pourraient également prôner l’adoption d’une législation adaptée et aider à former des organismes anticorruption, a ajouté Mme Kalenga.

Il faut donner aux citoyens la possibilité de dénoncer la corruption et d’obtenir réparation s’ils en sont victimes. Cela pourrait aussi être bénéfique, tout comme la mise en place de budgets transparents et la participation des citoyens au choix des dépenses publiques, a indiqué M. Lapaque.

« La transparence est un facteur important pour construire des gouvernements démocratiques qui rendent des comptes à leurs citoyens », a déclaré Tom Cardamone, directeur général de GFI. « Je pense que c’est ce dont nous avons besoin pour arrêter les flux financiers illégaux et mettre fin à la corruption. »

« Si nous récupérions juste 50 pour cent de ce que nous perdons actuellement à cause de la corruption, cela pourrait se traduire par une amélioration du système éducatif ou du réseau routier. Nous pourrions garantir le retour de nos enfants à l’école, le maintien des systèmes de sécurité sociale, ainsi que le fonctionnement correct des systèmes de prestation des soins de santé », a déclaré M. Murisa.

jl/ob/he-fc/amz

Ce document est le deuxième rapport de suivi mensuel de l’état d’avancement de la mise en œuvre des actions prioritaires identifiées par les clusters/secteurs au Mali dans le « Plan d'actions prioritaires pour le Nord Mali » adopté en septembre 2013 par l’Équipe Humanitaire Pays au Mali. Le premier rapport de suivi, couvrant la période d’octobre 2013 a été publié le 13 décembre 2013, tandis que le présent document couvre les activités de la période jusqu’à la fin novembre 2013.

Les informations présentées dans ce rapport mensuel proviennent des huit clusters/secteurs concernés. Lorsque qu’aucune information de suivi n’est disponible pour une activité ou lorsqu’une activité n’a pas encore commencé, celle-ci ne figure pas dans les tableaux présentés. Par ailleurs, trois clusters/secteurs ne sont pas repris dans ce rapport, soit la logistique – pour laquelle aucune activité spécifique n’avait été ciblée dans le Plan d’actions prioritaires - ainsi que les deux volets de la Restauration de l’autorité de l’Etat et la Cohésion sociale - pour lesquels les projets sont dans leur phase de préparation.

Les données compilées dans le présent rapport couvrent les 36 zones prioritaires recensées dans le « Plan d'actions prioritaires pour le Nord Mali » et ne reflètent pas la situation à l'échelle du pays.

Pour plus d'informations sur les zones prioritaires identifiées, veuillez consulter le «Plan d'actions prioritaires pour le nord du Mali » au lien suivant: https://mali.humanitarianresponse.info/fr/plan-daction-prioritaire-pour-...

06-01-2014 Collection de photos

Lors du conflit survenu récemment au Mali, bon nombre des habitants de Dibla, village situé à 70 km à l’ouest de Tombouctou, ont fui et trouvé refuge dans le camp de Mbera, en Mauritanie. Depuis quelques temps, certains ont décidé de rentrer. Extrêmement démunies, ces personnes dépendent de l’aide humanitaire. Plus d’un millier d’entre elles ont reçu du CICR et de la Croix-Rouge malienne des articles ménagers de première nécessité..

Voir le diaporama

The ICRC and the Malian Red Cross have distributed essential household items to over 1,000 people who have returned to the village of Dibla, 70 km west of Timbuktu. During the recent conflict, many people fled from the village to Mbera refugee camp in Mauritania. Some time ago, a number of them decided to come home. They have lost everything they had, and depend on humanitarian aid.

View the slideshow

They say many hands make light work. And this is definitely true when tackling malnutrition. In Kudang, in The Gambia’s Central River Region, Community Health Nurses, mothers, fathers and grandmothers play a vital role in supporting the World Food Programme’s nutrition initiatives for malnourished children under 5. With so many people on board, it’s little surprise that the results are impressive. Here is one success story.

Kudang, The Gambia – When Amadou Sanyang brought his 18-month-old daughter, Isatou, to Kudang during a distribution of WFP’s Super Cereal Plus (SC+), the measurement of her upper arm showed that she was suffering from moderate acute malnutrition (MAM).

Musa Trawally, the Community Health Nurse, explained to Sanyang how this could be treated with SC+, which was being distributed to children aged between 6 and 23 months as part of WFP’s Blanket Supplementary Feeding programme.

SC+ is a combination of corn, soya beans, milk, oil, and sugar, which is fortified with micronutrients appropriate for malnourished children under 5. Usually, children who are given the supplement show positive results after just two months.

For Sanyang, it did not even take that long to notice an improvement. When he brought his daughter back to Trawally a month later, her upper arm measurement showed green on the scale, indicating a significant improvement from the yellow registered at the first visit.

“She was no longer in the MAM category. She was healthy again,” said the nurse, who is part of a team of 12 nurses servicing 14 communities around Brikamaba.

Sanyang was delighted.

“I could see on a daily basis how much she improved … There is no other product in the shops that compares to Super Cereal and I am happy that my child enjoys it. Her appetite increased immensely and she became more active and lively,” he said.

“Community ownership”

Trawally visited the family two weeks after the second SC+ distribution to check on the little girl’s progress. He found she had fully recovered.

Community Health Nurses, like Trawally, play an important role in WFP’s Blanket Supplementary Feeding programmes. They are the ones who identify Severe Acute Malnutrition and Moderate Acute Malnutrition in children, and they also advise communities on healthy nutrition practices and on how to prevent malnutrition in the first place.

But community members are also key players – like the group of grandmothers who were at the distribution in Brikama Ba, and who made sure those who had travelled furthest received their rations first. The women are all members of a local Food Management Committee and their job is to safeguard the nutritional wellbeing of the children in the community.

These grandmothers say they enjoy serving the community.

“We enjoy watching over the children while everyone else is working at the farms. Since our grandchildren are here, we decided it would be best to come and help. We are happy to be part of WFP’s assistance,” said Fatou Fatty, one of the grandmothers.

This targeted supplementary feeding in The Gambia is supported by WFP in partnership with the Ministry of Health and the National Nutrition Agency. It is a critical recovery mechanism that supports the treatment of 40,500 malnourished children, pregnant and nursing mothers.

Blanket Supplementary Feeding currently covers The Gambia’s Upper and Central River Regions. It seeks to protect 22,500 children, aged between 6‐23 months, in the most food-insecure households during the lean season, and to attain improved levels of food and nutrition security.

South Sudan: Ethnic violence which erupted in mid-December in the capital Juba has now spread northwards and is ongoing in several parts of the country. Three weeks of fighting have left at least 1,000 people dead and displaced over 200,000. As government troops advanced on rebel-held cities in the northeast, peace talks between the Government of South Sudan and a delegation representing former Vice-President Machar, have started in Ethiopia. Meanwhile, discussions between Khartoum and Juba regarding the protection of the oil fields in southern South Sudan are also underway.

Syria: The international community expressed serious concern about the humanitarian situation in Aleppo following heavy aerial bombardment by government forces on opposition-held areas in the city. The opposition National Coalition said it would not attend the planned Geneva II peace talks if the assault in Aleppo did not cease. One of the key components of the Coalition, the Syrian National Council, has now confirmed it will not attend the talks. Meanwhile, revised estimates indicate that the total number of people in need in Syria has increased to 9.3 million, up from the April estimates of 6.8 million, while the number of refugees fleeing the country has passed over 2.35 million people.

Central African Republic: The situation in CAR remains extremely volatile with violence still being reported in the capital Bangui and in the northwest. To date, the UNHCR reported that the violence in the country has now uprooted nearly 1 million people, a fifth of the population. Around 140,000 are displaced in and around the capital. IDPs are in urgent need of healthcare, food, water, shelter and sanitation. Meanwhile, all humanitarian partners continue to raise the alarm over rising levels of food insecurity that may further worsen if humanitarian aid is disrupted due to the ongoing violence.

Bangladesh: Deadly violence between supporters of the authorities and the opposition is ongoing in Bangladesh. To date, the opposition continues to dispute the 5 January elections whilst authorities refuse to compromise or discuss polls in which they secured a large majority. According to a local NGO, over 500 were killed in political violence in Bangladesh in 2013, mostly in clashes between police forces and opposition supporters. At present, the opposition is enforcing a new nationwide shutdown or strike that may result in further casualties.

Last Updated: 07/01/2014 Next Update: 14/01/2014

Global Emergency Overview Web Interface

Poursuite de la formation de bandes larvaires et d’essaims sur les deux rives de la mer Rouge

La situation relative au Criquet pèlerin reste critique le long des deux rives de la mer Rouge. Des groupes de larves et d’ailés, des bandes larvaires et des essaims se forment au Yémen, en Arabie saoudite et en Érythrée. Des infestations plus petites sont présentes au Soudan. Des opérations de lutte sont en cours dans tous ces pays, y compris des traitements aériens en Arabie saoudite, en Érythrée et au Soudan.

Avec le maintien de conditions écologiques favorables, la deuxième reproduction entraînera une nouvelle augmentation des effectifs acridiens, et on s’attend à la formation de davantage de bandes et d’essaims en janvier.

La résurgence dans le nord-ouest de la Mauritanie est quasiment terminée suite aux importants efforts de lutte. Néanmoins, une reproduction à petite échelle aura probablement lieu dans les prochains mois dans les zones restées favorables, y compris le nord et le nord-est, où de bonnes pluies sont tombées le mois dernier.

Des signalisations de criquets continuent à être reçues par les populations locales, les agriculteurs et les nomades dans le nord de la Somalie, principalement dans les zones qui ont reçu de fortes pluies associées au cyclone tropical de novembre. Des prospections sont en cours pour clarifier la situation.

WFP is helping to build a more nutrition-secure Malawi through an innovative programme aimed at preventing stunting. Some 47 percent of Malawian children have stunted growth -- one of the highest rates in Africa.

The prevalence of undernutrition causing stunting in children under five is particularly alarming in Malawi - nearly half of all children are stunted. This is due to a lack of micronutrients that causes delays in growth and cognitive development which are often irreversible. To address this problem, WFP set about registering young mothers and children at health centres in Ntchisi district as part of its stunting prevention programme.

Marita Kasambwe, now pregnant with her fourth child, is one of the women in the programme. Though she has enough maize porridge to feed her children, she recognizes that maize alone will not provide the micronutrients necessary to maximize her children’s growth, development, and learning potential. But she doubts she can solve the problem on her own.

A recent survey showed that 60 percent of households in Malawi have poor to borderline food consumption, and that 50 percent of children eat items from only one or two food groups (Emergency Food Security Assessment 2013). This is much fewer than the minimum of four food groups recommended by the World Health Organization.

A new approach

WFP’s Prevention of Stunting programme, funded by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), aims to reduce the prevalence of childhood stunting in Ntchisi district by 5-10 percent. By helping children to first survive, and then thrive and grow into adults, this programme should ultimately contribute to national development through greater productivity and higher lifetime earnings. The project targets children up to two years of age and their mothers. Starting in January 2014, it will run for three and a half years.

WFP and its partner World Vision are working with the Government of Malawi to pilot an innovative approach to address stunting, founded on the latest evidence about the most effective nutrition and hygiene interventions. This project will deliver the right foods at the right time and aims to improve education about feeding practices as well as access to proper nutrition.

A stunting-focused communications campaign has also been initiated to increase awareness about best infant and child feeding practices, hygiene, and the use of a lipid-based nutrient supplement, Nutributter, which will be provided to all registered children aged 6 to 23 months.

The project will be implemented through a community-based care group to empower and mobilize the community to ensure sustained effectiveness. Through the care group volunteers, women will share knowledge on how to provide a diverse diet to their children and also about hygiene and care practices. The programme has enlisted health surveillance assistants to ensure a sustainable link between these programme activities and other health services.

National and global movement

This programme is part of the Scaling Up Nutrition movement which aims to ensure that all people have a right to food and good nutrition.

WFP is also a partner in the groundbreaking Cost of Hunger in Africa (COHA) study which is currently focusing on Malawi. Early data from the study of other African countries confirms the huge impact that undernutrition and stunting can have on economies.

Children who suffer from undernutrition are more likely to achieve lower educational levels, often making them less qualified for work, in turn reducing their income-earning potential in adulthood. The World Bank estimates that as a result of stunting, countries see a 3% loss of GDP and 22% loss to earnings by individuals as adults.

Given the wide range of health-related and economic impacts involved, it is clear that undernutrition and stunting represent a vital development issue in Malawi – one that is attracting increasing attention across all sectors.