09/14/2014 19:37 GMT

ALGIERS, September 14, 2014 (AFP) - Malian separatist militias agreed Sunday to speak with a "single voice" in talks with Bamako on ending conflicts that still rage a year after Mali returned to democracy.

The APS news agency in Algeria, which is hosting a second round of talks between separatist groups and Malian government representatives, announced the move.

"Now it's one voice who will speak on behalf of the people of Azawad (northern Mali)," APS reported Ibrahim Ag Mohamed Salah, president of the Coalition of the People for Azawad (CPA), as saying.

He said the CPA, the Tuareg National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and the Arab Movement of Azawad (MAA) had signed a Memorandum of Understanding.

In it, they pledged to work together for the "legitimate" aspirations of the people of Azawad, he said after meeting Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra.

MAA general secretary Ahmed Ould Sidi Mohamed said that this step "will be followed by others until the outcome of a just and comprehensive solution" in Mali.

A second round of negotiations between Bamako and the armed groups began on September 1.

Riven by ethnic rivalries, a Tuareg rebellion and an Islamist insurgency in its vast desert north, the west African nation has struggled for stability and peace since a military coup in 2012.

There has been a spike in violence by Islamist and separatist militants in northern Mali, including the deaths in May of at least 50 soldiers in the Tuareg region of Kidal.

The Algeria talks are based on a "roadmap" agreed in July and overseen by a "college of mediators" including Algeria, the African Union and the 15-member regional bloc ECOWAS.

Malian Prime Minister Moussa Mara has suggested that the government will make concessions but has set a "red line", saying that Mali's territorial integrity and secular status are not up for discussion.

The talks are taking place with a new defence agreement in place between Mali and its former colonial power France.

Paris recently wound up Operation Serval, its military offensive launched in January 2013 to oust Al-Qaeda-linked Islamists who had occupied northern Mali.

abh/ao/srm/hc

© 1994-2014 Agence France-Presse

Monday, September 15, 2014 • Sean Hawkey

“There’s been no rain for months,” says cowboy Mikol Hernandez, “and it’s meant to be the rainy season but the rivers have dried up, the wells have dried up, the crops failed and the cattle are dying.

“We moved all the cattle we could up to pastures in El Cuá. We rented some fields up there. The cows were so thin that we couldn’t even sell them, so we moved them. Some didn’t last the journey and a lot of the cows we couldn’t move have died here.”

Across the region, rivers, lakes and lagoons have dried up along with many of the wells that people rely on for drinking water, cooking and washing. As people desperately dig to deepen their wells in search of water, aid agencies are preparing to deal with a major crisis of malnutrition across the region.

Guatemala has declared a state of emergency in 16 of its 22 provinces. Already, major crop losses have been reported – of the region’s staple foods of maize and beans – and emaciated cattle are dying for lack of food and water. Hundreds of thousands of families in the region are facing hunger and malnutrition as the stores of last years crops are finished.

“Most of the wells in San Francisco Libre are already dry,” says Arnulfo Espinoza “and the ones with some water have to serve the whole community now, and they’re drying up quickly too, so we’re deepening the best ones, hoping that they last a while.”

“The jicaro trees can survive a long drought but even they are dying. If this carries on, this whole area will be a desert. And the big employers near here, the rice farms, have sacked their employees, so there’s no income either. People are making ends meet by chopping down the remaining trees to sell firewood for Managua.”

Little water for people, even less for livestock

Salvador Perez, technician with ACT member CEPAD in Nicaragua, works with the communities in the badly-affected area of San Francisco Libre. “We are encouraging people to keep their cattle together, in one place. They die more quickly walking around searching for fodder. But there’s very little water for us, there’s no food or water for the cattle.”

“The Rio Grande has dried up, imagine that, it’s dried up. There are a few remaining puddles of water there, and for people nearby they can take their cattle to water there, but there’s no food, we’re shipping in rice husks for the cows to eat. There’s no government response yet, the government can’t make it rain.”

“At the end of this year, the last reserves that farmers have from the late harvest last year will be finished, scarcity of food has pushed up the food prices so people can’t afford to buy much food. The price of beans has shot up. We’re going to need a lot of humanitarian aid to keep people alive,” says Salvador. “There’s no food, no water, people are going to starve unless we do something.”

ACT members in Guatemala, where 170,000 families have lost all their crops, has issued this alert on the drought. ACT members can see a selection of photos from Nicaragua and Guatemala on the MediaBank.

RÉSUMÉ

Objectifs stratégiques

1. Recueillir les données sur les risques et les vulnérabilités, les analyser et intégrer les résultats dans la programmation humanitaire et de développement.

2. Soutenir les populations vulnérables à mieux faire face aux chocs en répondant aux signaux d’alerte de manière anticipée, réduisant la durée du relèvement post-crise et renforçant les capacités des acteurs nationaux.

3. Fournir aux personnes en situation d’urgence une assistance coordonnée et intégrée, nécessaire à leur survie.

Mesures prioritaires

• La réponse aux besoins alimentaires des populations vulnérables ciblées par le Plan opérationnel du gouvernement.

• Le renforcement des moyens d’existence et des capacités de résilience des populations vulnérables.

• La surveillance nutritionnelle.

• La prise en charge des cas de malnutrition.

• Le renforcement des capacités par les formations.

• L’approvisionnement en intrants.

• La mise en oeuvre des iniciatives de prévention intégrée contre toutes les formes de malnutrition.

• Le rapatriement volontaire ou l’insertion socio-économique des réfugiés maliens vivant au Burkina Faso.

Paramètres de la réponse

Une évaluation faite par le Cadre harmonisé en juin 2014, indique que 333.384 personnes sont en crise et ont besoin d’une assistance d’urgence et 4.462.758 millions1 de personnes environ sont sous stress.

FAITS SAILLANTS

• Plan de contingence du Mali face au risque de l’épidémie d’Ébola

• Programmes d’apprentissage accéléré durant les vacances scolaires.

• Célébration de la Journée mondiale de l’aide humanitaire au Mali

Au sommaire

Plan de contingence contre l’Ebola P.1
Éducation P.2
Nutrition P.3
Violences basées sur le genre P.4
Appel de fonds pour 2014 P.5
Journée mondiale de l’aide humanitaire P.6
Suivi de la performance des clusters P.6

HIGHLIGHTS

• Government of Mali elaborates a contingency plan to face the risk of Ebola in Mali

• Emergency accelerated learning programme implemented during school vacations

• World Humanitarian Day celebration in Mali

In this issue

Ebola prevention and response plan P.1
Education P.2
Nutrition P.3
Gender-based violence P.4
2014 Humanitarian funding appeal P.5
World Humanitarian Day celebration P.6
Cluster performance tables P.6

Central African Republic - The crisis that erupted in the Central African Republic (CAR) in December 2012 triggering widespread sectarian violence, massive internal displacement and an outflow of CAR nationals and migrants into neighbouring countries, will have profound long term social-economic implications for the country, according to this new IOM working paper.

The report comprises four sections that look at the political context of the crisis; the various types of migration in CAR; the impact of the conflict on migration flows; and the short, medium and long term socio-economic implications for the country.

Part I examines the CAR’s history of political insecurity with a specific emphasis on the most recent wave of violence, its deep rooted political complexity and its drift into an ethno-religious confrontation between Muslim Seleka and Christian anti-Balaka militias. According to the report, this sectarian divide was often a mask for generalized violence and banditry. The violence has been declining in recent months.

The section also briefly outlines the current international response, including UN Security Council Resolution 2149, which in April 2014 authorized the creation of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the CAR (MINUSCA), which is scheduled to deploy up to 10,000 peacekeepers in the country from September 2014.

Part 2 of the report explores the various forms of migration in CAR and how various migratory trends have been impacted by the conflict. This includes migration between rural and urban areas, labour migration linked to natural resource exploitation, transhumance or seasonal migration of pastoralists, international migration and massive conflict-related displacement, which peaked at over a million people in January 2014, but has since declined.

Part 3 looks at the immediate impact of the crisis on migrants and displaced populations. It highlights the specific vulnerabilities and key issues faced by the different ethno-religious and migrant groups and examines how the crisis has compounded livelihood insecurity both in CAR and in neighbouring countries, notably Chad and Cameroon. It also looks at the implications of massive outward migration from CAR to neighbouring countries lacking adequate resources to process and reintegrate either their own nationals, refugees or migrants from third countries.

Part 4 summarizes the short, medium and long term implications of the crisis on displacement and mobility. It examines how future mobility patterns will impact the overall socio-economic situation of the country, which has progressively worsened over the course of the conflict. It highlights in particular the risks of food insecurity and potential land and property challenges related to returns and citizenship, which may be a source of further or repeated displacement.

“Migration Dimensions of the Crisis in the Central African Republic” is one of a series of papers produced as part of IOM’s Migration Crisis Operational Framework (MCOF). The papers aim to help policy-makers and practitioners gain a deeper understanding of the full spectrum of mobility issues during a crisis, including the humanitarian, security, cultural and socio-economic ramifications for transitioning to eventual post-conflict recovery. To date, similar publications have been released on Mali, Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia.

For more information please contact

Patrice Quesada IOM HQ Email: pquesada@iom.int

Nowhere is answering the question of how to increase resilience more critical than across the Sahel, a region plagued by chronic poverty, food insecurity, drought, ecosystem degradation, and conflict. Mercy Corps conducted field research in Mali, Niger, and Northern Nigeria to examine the differing vulnerabilities and capacities of men, women, boys, and girls to understand what helps build the resilience of individuals, households, and communities. We found numerous structural barriers and unequal power dynamics that need to be addressed to ensure a truly resilient Sahel. Among the many factors, one issue looms largest: gender inequality.

Mercy Corps believes that it is impossible to build resilience in households and communities without also addressing systemic gender inequality. As an aid community, when we do not account for and address gender inequality, we ignore factors that entrench vulnerability for the entire population. We also miss factors that would enable us to support households and communities to become more resilient.

AMOUNT: EUR 33 000 000

0 . MAJOR CHANGES SINCE PREVIOUS VERSION OF THE HIP

Since May 2014, the north of the country has relapsed into conflict. Contrary to what had been expected, Government services will not be fully re-established in the short-term, thus further aggravating the situation of 1.9 million food insecure people in country and preventing the expected return of 140 000 refugees from Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger, who are also in need of assistance. Despite problems of security and access, humanitarian agencies remain the only actors providing basic services such as food, water and healthcare in Northern Mali.

An additional amount of EUR 5 000 000 needs to be urgently allocated to ensure that food pipelines are rapidly and adequately mobilised. Increase access to health and water should be ensured in areas of new displaced population. Care and maintenance of refugees' camps should be maintained in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mauritania.

Suisse - D’après un nouveau rapport de l’OIM intitulé « Migration Dimensions of the Crisis in the Central African Republic», la crise qui a éclaté en République centrafricaine (RCA) en décembre 2012 provoquant des violences sectaires généralisées, des déplacements massifs de population et la fuite de ressortissants centrafricains et de migrants vers les pays voisins, aura de graves conséquences socioéconomiques à long terme dans le pays.

Le rapport est divisé en quatre sections qui examinent le contexte politique de la crise, les différents types de migration en RCA, l’impact du conflit sur les flux migratoires, et les conséquences à court, moyen et long termes dans le pays.

La partie I est centrée sur l’histoire de l’insécurité politique en RCA, plus précisément sur la récente vague de violences, sa complexité politique enracinée et sa dérive vers une confrontation ethno-religieuse entre les milices musulmanes Seleka et les milices chrétiennes anti-balaka. Selon le rapport, cette division sectaire a souvent permis de masquer la violence généralisée et le banditisme. La violence a tendance à diminuer ces derniers mois.

Cette section expose également brièvement la réponse internationale actuelle, notamment la Résolution 2149 du Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies, qui, en avril 2014, a autorisé la création d’une Mission multidimensionnelle intégrée des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation en RCA (MINUSCA), qui devrait déployer 10 000 Casques bleus dans le pays à partir de septembre 2014.

La partie II du rapport est consacrée aux différentes formes de migration en RCA et à l’impact du conflit sur les diverses tendances migratoires. Elle étudie notamment la migration entre les zones rurales et urbaines, la migration de main-d’œuvre liée à l’exploitation des ressources naturelles, la transhumance ou la migration saisonnière des pasteurs, la migration internationale, et le déplacement de masse lié au conflit, qui culminait à plus d’un million de personnes déplacées en janvier 2014 mais qui a depuis diminué.

La troisième partie examine l’impact immédiat de la crise sur les migrants et les populations déplacées. Elle met en évidence les vulnérabilités spécifiques et les problèmes clés auxquels sont confrontés les groupes ethno-religieux et les migrants et étudie comment la crise exacerbe l’insécurité des moyens d’existence à la fois en RCA et dans les pays voisins, notamment au Tchad et au Cameroun. Elle s’intéresse également aux conséquences de l’émigration depuis la RCA vers les pays voisins qui manquent de ressources pour réintégrer leurs propres ressortissants, mais également les réfugiés ou les migrants de pays tiers.

La quatrième partie résume les conséquences à court, moyen et long termes de la crise sur le déplacement et la mobilité. Elle étudie l’impact des futurs schémas de la mobilité sur la situation socioéconomique générale du pays, qui est allée en empirant pendant toute la période du conflit. Elle met particulièrement en avant les risques d’insécurité alimentaire et les problèmes potentiels de propriété foncière et immobilière liés aux retours et à la citoyenneté, qui pourrait être source de nouveaux déplacements répétés.

« Migration Dimensions of the Crisis in the Central African Republic » fait partie d’une série de documents produits dans le Cadre opérationnel de l’OIM sur la crise migratoire (MCOF). Les documents visent à aider les responsables politiques et les acteurs concernés à mieux comprendre l’ampleur des problèmes de mobilité lors d’une crise, notamment les ramifications humanitaires, sécuritaires, culturelles et socioéconomiques pendant la transition vers le relèvement après le conflit. A ce jour, des documents similaires ont été publiés au Mali, en Syrie, en Afghanistan et en Somalie.

Pour télécharger un exemplaire du rapport sur la RCA, veuillez-vous rendre sur : http://www.iom.int/cms/CAR

Pour plus d’informations, veuillez contacter

Patrice Quesada
OIM siège
Email : pquesada@iom.int

Summary

The Desert Locust (SGR1) situation remained calm in winter, spring and summer breeding areas in the western outbreak region in August and only low density adults were reported in Mauritania, Niger and Chad, and a similar situation is highly likely in northern Mali where the ongoing security situation continuous undermining survey operations. No locusts were reported in Algeria, Libya, Morocco or Tunisia during this month.

In the central outbreak areas, hatching was reported in northeastern Ethiopia where a few mature copulating small swarms and 1st and 2nd instar hoppers were detected and controlled during August. Survey and control operations are in progress in Ethiopia. In Sudan, scattered low density solitary mature adults were detected in the summer breeding areas in Northern, River Nile, Khartoum, Kassla and Kordofan States. Breeding adults and 3rd instar hoppers were also reported in Wadi Half in northern Sudan, but control operations were not warranted during this period. No locusts were reported in Oman in August and adult groups and immature swarms were reported in northern Red Sea coast in Yemen, but could not be confirmed due to the absence of surveys.

The SGR situation remained calm in the eastern outbreak region and only a few scattered adults were reported along the Indo-Pakistan borders (DPPQS/India,
FAO-DLIS).

Forecast: Breeding will likely continue in northeastern/northern Ethiopia. Limited breeding is also likely in Sudan, and Sahel West Africa where good to heavy rains fell recently. Small-scale breeding is likely along the Indo-Pakistan borders and slightly increase locust numbers during the forecast period, but significant developments are not likely.

Eléments clés

• 19 499 ménages (101 279 personnes) enregistrés et identifiés par l’OIM dans l’ensemble des régions du Mali. 64 362 PDIs sont dans les régions sud et 36 917 PDIs dans les régions nord.

• Les mouvements de personnes déplacées vers le nord continuent même si une tendance à la baisse est observée depuis le début de l’année.

• Une enquête réalisée auprès des populations déplacées au sud et au nord révèle que 77% des ménages interrogés souhaite retourner dans leurs lieux d’origine tandis que 21% souhaite rester sur leur lieu de déplacement.

• 361 836 personnes retournées dans leurs zones d’origine ont été identifiées à Gao, Tombouctou,
  Kidal et Mopti.

• Une enquête réalisée auprès des personnes déplacées concernant les besoins primaires a mis en évidence le fait que 60% des ménages interrogés avaient des besoins alimentaires, 12% des besoins en termes d’articles non alimentaire, 11% des besoins en abris.

Destacados

• LLUVIAS INTENSAS: El huracán Odile deja a su paso por México 7,000 personas evacuadas, cortes de energía y cierre de carreteras.

• SEQUÍA: El Presidente hondureño aprobó US$4.7 millones para responder a crisis. Se calcula que el déficit para implementar el Plan de Acción asciende a US$11.3 millones.

• MIGRACIÓN: Fiscales de México, EEEUU, Guatemala, El Salvador y Honduras crean grupo para diseñar estrategia para proteger a los menores migrantes no acompañados.

• SALUD: La OPS/OMS insta a los países a redoblar esfuerzos para reducir presencia de mosquitos y mantener la atención a pacientes afectados por dengue y chikungunya.

PROJECTED FOOD ASSISTANCE NEEDS FOR MARCH 2015

This brief summarizes FEWS NET’s most forward-looking analysis of projected emergency food assistance needs in FEWS NET coverage countries. The projected size of each country’s acutely food insecure population is compared to last year and the recent five-year average. Countries where external emergency food assistance needs are anticipated are identified. Projected lean season months highlighted in red indicate either an early start or an extension to the typical lean season. Additional information is provided for countries with large food insecure populations, an expectation of high severity, or where other key issues warrant additional discussion.

comment la Nouvelle Alliance du G8 menace le droit à l’alimentation en Afrique.

16 septembre 2014. Il y a deux ans, le G8 lançait la Nouvelle Alliance pour la Sécurité Alimentaire et la Nutrition (NASAN), dans le but affiché d’améliorer la sécurité alimentaire et la nutrition et aider quelques 50 millions de personnes en Afrique sub-saharienne à sortir de la pauvreté d’ici à 2022, en « libérant le pouvoir du secteur privé ».

Dans un rapport accablant publié aujourd’hui, Action contre la faim, le CCFD-Terre Solidaire et Oxfam France dénoncent l’opacité de cette initiative et son impact sur la sécurité alimentaire et nutritionnelle des populations.

Ce rapport est publié en amont de la réunion du Leadership Council, chargé de la mise en œuvre des engagements pris dans le cadre de la Nouvelle Alliance, qui se tiendra le 22 septembre à New York, en marge de l’Assemblée générale des Nations unies [1]. Annick Girardin, Secrétaire d'Etat au Développement et à la Francophonie, y représentera la France.

Pour les ONG, cette initiative pousse les Etats africains à mettre en œuvre des mesures de dérégulation et d’ultra-libéralisation de leur secteur agricole au détriment de l’agriculture familiale et paysanne, sans implication ou presque des acteurs locaux.

Le rapport s’appuie sur des études de terrain menées au Burkina Faso, en Côte d’Ivoire et au Sénégal, des entretiens réalisés auprès de membres de la société civile africaine et l’analyse détaillée des cadres de coopération. Il détaille entre autres les conséquences de la Nouvelle Alliance sur le droit à l’alimentation des populations les plus vulnérables, sur la lutte contre la malnutrition, le développement des PME africaines, les droits fonciers des paysans et leur accès aux semences et aux ressources naturelles.

« Le modèle agricole qui est promu par la Nouvelle Alliance est défavorable aux petits producteurs. Il ne permet pas de lutter de façon durable contre l’insécurité alimentaire et la faim ni d’atténuer les difficultés quotidiennes des Éthiopiens ou des Burkinabés. La sous-nutrition apparait surtout comme un alibi alors que seuls 3% des investissements mentionnent des produits à la fois favorables à la nutrition et destinés au marché local », explique Peggy Pascal d’Action contre la faim.

Le rapport souligne en particulier le rôle trouble de la France. Si cette dernière s’est dans un premier temps montrée réticente face à la Nouvelle alliance, elle figure aujourd’hui parmi les trois premiers contributeurs, à hauteur de à 754 millions d’euros par an.

Surtout, la France fait preuve d’un manque total de transparence quant aux financements qu’elle accorde aux multinationales membres de l’Alliance via PROPARCO, la filière de l’Agence Française de Développement dédiée au secteur privé [2].

« Malgré les critiques formulées au lancement de l'initiative, la France occupe en réalité un rôle central dans la Nouvelle Alliance qui semble bien constituer l’un des bras armés de la diplomatie économique chère au gouvernement de François Hollande. Si elle veut rester crédible sur la scène internationale, la France doit quitter cette initiative, ou agir pour qu’elle soit radicalement réformée », rappelle Maureen Jorand du CCFD-Terre Solidaire.

Les mesures visant à favoriser l’investissement privé, notamment les incitations fiscales, tarifaires et douanières, privent par ailleurs les Etats africains de recettes fiscales qui leur permettraient de renforcer l’investissement agricole public indispensable à la lutte contre l’insécurité alimentaire et nutritionnelle.

« Derrière ses ambitions affichées de lutter contre la pauvreté, l’insécurité alimentaire et la malnutrition en Afrique, le G8 déroule en réalité le tapis rouge aux investisseurs internationaux. D’ailleurs de nombreux pays africains parmi les plus gravement affectés par l’insécurité alimentaire et nutritionnelle sont laissés en dehors de cette initiative. Ce sont plutôt les pays qui offrent le plus de perspectives de croissances et de profits pour les multinationales et les gros investisseurs qui ont été ciblés en priorité » explique Clara Jamart d’Oxfam France. [3]

31 modifications ayant un impact sur les législations financières et fiscales sont prévues pour l’ensemble des pays africains de la Nouvelle Alliance. Il apparaît clairement que les véritables bénéficiaires de cette initiative sont aujourd’hui les multinationales de l’agroalimentaire et les grands traders de matières premières agricoles.

Olivier De Schutter, ancien Rapporteur spécial des Nations unies sur le droit à l'alimentation, signe la préface de ce rapport et souligne que « compte tenu des progrès des technologies agricoles au cours du siècle dernier, nous savons que les obstacles techniques sont surmontables : ce sont le courage et la lucidité politiques qui font défaut ».

Contacts presse :

Action contre la faim : Julia Belusa jbelusa@actioncontrelafaim.org / 01 70 84 72 22

CCFD-Terre Solidaire : Karine Appy k.appy@ccfd-terresolidaire.org / 06 66 12 33 02

Oxfam France : Magali Rubino mrubino@oxfamfrance.org / 06 30 46 66 04

Ebola in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea: Transmission remains high, and case numbers doubled between the last week of August and the first of September in Liberia; in Sierra Leone 150 cases were reported for each of the last two weeks. Fewer cases have been reported in Guinea – 49 between 5 and 7 September – but the case fatality rate has been extremely high, at 65%. Currently, the secondary impact of the epidemic will potentially leave 500,000 in dire need of humanitarian assistance in Sierra Leone, while WFP has targeted 449,000 people for food assistance in Liberia.

Pakistan: Monsoon rains have affected almost 2.5 million people in Azad Kashmir, Punjab, and Gilgit Baltistan. 140,330 evacuations had been made. In Sialkot, Punjab, waterborne diseases have been recorded in Bajwat, Head Marala, Chaprar, and Pasrur (DAWN, 11/09/2014). The flood waters are now moving towards Sindh province, with warnings for Guddu and Sukkur.

Updated: 16/09/2014. Next update: 23/09/2014

Global Emergency Overview Web Interface

L’Allocation du CERF pour une réponse rapide à la crise de Diffa a déjà permis de réduire des gaps, notamment dans le secteur de la sécurité alimentaire. Toutefois, certaines zones inaccessibles n’ont pu être touchées dans le cadre de l’assistance alimentaire. Si la réponse s’accroît à Diffa, il reste que d’importants secteurs présentent toujours des gaps: WASH, santé (prise en charge des personnes vivant avec le VIH), pastoral (2 000 bovins seraient en danger).

Cette semaine, les acteurs humanitaires ont multiplié les efforts afin d’assurer une réponse adéquate et opportune. Durant la période sous revue, le nombre de déplacements internes est passé de 175 à 335 personnes.

Le nombre des arrivées en provenance du Nigéria est en légère baisse comparée à la semaine précédente mais les prix du carburant sont à la hausse sur le marché noir en raison de la rupture de l’approvisionnement dans les États du Nord du Nigeria. Les autorités locales restent préoccupées par les questions de santé et les perspectives alimentaires.

Un cas de polio virus vaccinal a été découvert chez une fillette de 2 ans venue du Nigeria. Elles craignent par ailleurs que le déficit de production agricole dans l’ensemble de la région soit plus important qu’en 2013 à cause du retard des pluies et des semailles.

GENEVA, September 16 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency on Tuesday issued a joint call on donors for US$34 million to fund urgent operations to help tens of thousands of Nigerian refugees in Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

UNHCR and its 16 partners need the funding to provide protection and life-saving aid to the more than 75,000 people who have to date fled from the escalating violence in north-east Nigeria's Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, and to help thousands more expected to arrive in Cameroon, Chad and Niger by year's end.

The Nigeria Refugee Response Plan, presented to donors today, covers the most immediate protection and assistance needs of up to 95,000 people fleeing Nigeria until the end of the year. Given the upsurge in violence, these numbers will probably need to be revised upwards.

UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch told journalists in Geneva that more than 11,000 refugees crossed into Cameroon and Chad in August alone. Some 15,000 people have arrived in Niger's Diffa region since the beginning of August, many of whom have settled on the islands of Lake Chad.

Attacks in September in Borno and Adamawa have prompted new refugees to make for Cameroon and Niger. "In Cameroon, the newly arrived are occupying school buildings and churches; some are staying with host families and others are living in the open and sleeping rough. The high prevalence of respiratory infections among children is of great concern," Baloch said.

"Over the past weekend, newly arrived refugees told our teams at the border area that insurgents had attacked their villages in the areas of Gwoza, Bama, Pulka and Idagala in Borno state, and stole everything before burning their houses. Some refugees are seriously traumatized having seen their relatives being brutally killed," he added.

Refugees reportedly said that a group of 40 to 60 armed men arrived in their village on motorbikes, telling villagers to embrace a more radical Islam and join their ranks, threatening to kill them.

The refugees escaped their homes at night and walked for days before reaching the relative safety of Kolofata, Mora and Fotokol in Cameroon – a long journey for children who arrived exhausted and with wounded feet. Refugees said that villages were mostly empty on the Nigeria side, with only old and disabled people remaining.

Fearing more cross-border attacks in Cameroon, "We have started to transfer the newly arrived refugees to the refugee camp in Minawao, some 120 kilometres further inland. Since the last week of August, nearly 8,000 refugees have been transferred to the camp, which now hosts over 13,000 people," the UNHCR spokesman said.

However, the volatile security situation in Cameroon's Far North region seriously hampers these relocation efforts, and more than 13,000 refugees remain at the border with Nigeria. In total, Cameroon is hosting some 43,700 Nigerian refugees, according to authorities, including 26,753 refugees who have been registered by UNHCR. Dozens arrive on a daily basis.

In Niger, a growing number of people continue to arrive, with more than 70 per cent of them being women and children. An escalation of the violence in Nigeria and the threat on the outskirts of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, would lead to an even greater influx into neighbouring countries. Some Chadian nationals are also arriving, transiting through Niger to return to their country.

Baloch noted that the displaced were seeking accommodation in local villages and this put pressure on the host communities. "These communities are in areas experiencing chronic food insecurity, environmental problems and a general lack of basic services. Therefore, humanitarian efforts are focusing on strengthening local capacities and services, including health and education facilities, involving the host communities," he said.

Meanwhile, Baloch said that in a bid to better protect the nearly 650,000 internally displaced people in Nigeria's six north-eastern states, UNHCR was helping to set up a protection monitoring system that will allow the agency to identify and profile protection problems, followed by an adequate response.

UNHCR and its partners will also provide shelter assistance and domestic items to displaced people with special needs. UNHCR, as part of the UN relief effort, is appealing for an additional US$5.5 million for these activities in Nigeria.

Governments and donor agencies need to know which preventative strategy is most effective, particularly among children under 2 years old who are most vulnerable to acute malnutrition. Here, the researchers compare the effectiveness of seven preventative strategies—including the distribution of nutritious supplementary foods with and without additional household support (food or cash transfer) and cash transfer alone—on the incidence (occurrence) of moderate and severe acute malnutrition among children aged 6–23 months living in 48 villages in the Madarounfa district of Niger between August and December, 2011. Niger regularly experiences a hunger gap between June and October; 12.9% of the population of the Madarounfa district was at risk of severe food insecurity at the time of the study.

Kerac M, Seal A (2014) Preventing Acute Malnutrition in Young Children: Improving the Evidence for Current and Future Practice. PLoS Med 11(9): e1001715. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001715