21 November 2012

BAMAKO – The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria today signed an accord with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to resume a full-scale HIV program including delivery of life-saving HIV treatment to tens of thousands of people in Mali.

Under the accord, the Global Fund approved funding for EUR 58 Million (US$75 million) for HIV screening, prevention and treatment in Mali over the next three years. Some 50,000 people in Mali are currently living with HIV.

“The signing of this agreement involving the Global Fund, the UN Development Programme and Mali brings hope for many of our citizens who can now say they have not been forgotten,” Mali’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Tiéman Coulibaly said.

The program targets key populations at higher risk and one of its priorities is to intensify efforts to reduce the risk of HIV transmission from mother to child and support more systematic voluntary screening of pregnant women.

The Global Fund and its partners took steps to restore confidence in grant management in Mali after mismanagement of funds was discovered.

As a temporary measure, the scope of the Global Fund’s grant was reduced in 2011 to funding of essential services to ensure continuity of treatment for 25,288 people in Mali who were receiving antiretroviral therapy with Global Fund support. Under the arrangement, it was also possible to start new patients on treatment and the total number on treatment has now risen to 30,000.

UNDP was asked by the Mali Country Coordinating Mechanism to take over managing the HIV program grant.

The Global Fund has since 2011 scaled up mechanisms for management and oversight of grants, while UNDP has further strengthened safeguards against fraud and expanded access by the Global Fund to UNDP internal audits of programs financed by the Global Fund.

“The new funding to expand HIV programs in Mali is a major step forward and underscores the Global Fund’s commitment to support life-saving work in the country particularly at a time when the humanitarian situation requires special attention. More than 30,000 people in Mali now get regular treatment and another 20,000 people rely on quality care. We expect these numbers to increase,” said Mark Edington, Head of the Global Fund’s Grant Management division.

UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for Mali, Aurélien A. Agbénonci, welcomed the new partnership and said it would be consistent with the country’s national development strategy.

“We also place this intervention in the context of a larger vision and long-term investment in capacity-building, to encourage a national response strategy less dependent on foreign aid in the long-run and therefore more sustainable,” Mr Agbénonci said.

The Global Fund, an innovative public-private partnership, has played a key role in the global response to the three pandemic diseases through a range of partnerships, including with the United Nations. It is the largest international channel of support for work on these diseases, which disproportionately affect the world’s least developed countries.

UNDP acts as Principal Recipient for about one-tenth of the Global Fund’s overall portfolio, mainly in uniquely challenging environments such as in countries emerging from crises.

UNDP’s partnership with the Global Fund has brought treatment to more than 26 million cases of malaria and 700,000 cases of tuberculosis from Southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo to Liberia, Belarus, Haiti, and Tajikistan.

Since its creation in 2002, the Global Fund has become the main financier of programs to fight AIDS, TB and malaria, with approved funding of US$ 22.9 billion for more than 1,000 programs in 151 countries. To date, programs supported by the Global Fund are providing AIDS treatment for 3.6 million people, anti-tuberculosis treatment for 9.3 million people and 270 million insecticide-treated nets for the prevention of malaria.

The Global Fund has been funding programs in Mali since the December 2003 and has disbursed approximately US$ 90 Million, to provide ARV treatment to 30’000 patients, to detect and treat 17’000 smear positive TB patients and to distribute 720’000 LLINs to population in Mali. In the coming months, the Global Fund expects to sign one Malaria and one TB grant.

A decade ago, virtually no one living with HIV in developing countries had access to life-saving antiretroviral therapy. Now more than 8 million people do.

UNDP works with countries to understand and respond to the development dimensions of HIV and health, and promotes ownership of the response effort by the government and the people, to make it sustainable.

Media contacts

Global Fund
Andrew Hurst
Tel: +41 58 791 1672
Email: andrew.hurst@theglobalfund.org

UNDP
Julie Marks
News and Media
Tel: +1 212 906 5358

Maurice Dewulf
Mali Country Director
Tel: +223 449 803 101

JOHANNESBURG, 21 November 2012 (IRIN) - Refugee crises appear to come and go. In 2011, all eyes were on the Dadaab refugee complex in northern Kenya as it received hundreds of thousands of Somalis fleeing famine and conflict. This year, attention has shifted to the refugee exodus from Syria, even though the majority of Somalis who arrived at Dadaab last year are still there.

In fact, most refugee and displacement crises continue long after public attention and donor interest wane, and others never make it into the spotlight. This often leaves the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and aid organizations with the difficult task of assisting large populations of refugees, forced migrants and internally displaced people (IDPs) without sufficient funding, political will or support from the international community.

Below, IRIN takes a look at some of the most neglected refugee and displacement crises around the world.

1. Sudanese refugees in Chad: Nearly a decade of conflict in Sudan's western Darfur region displaced some 1.8 million Sudanese. Of these, more than 264,000 fled into neighbouring Chad, where they continue to live in 12 camps along the country’s eastern border with Sudan. Chad is one of the world's poorest countries and, according to UNHCR, the working environment is “extremely challenging” due to the region’s lack of infrastructure and natural resources. Women in the camps report they sometimes have to walk all day to find firewood, and lack of access to arable land has made the refugees almost entirely dependent on humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs. Several peace accords between the rebels in Darfur and the Sudanese government have failed to calm the region’s volatility, leaving the refugees reluctant to return home. Meanwhile, humanitarian workers say the long-running nature of the crisis has led to donor fatigue.

2. Eritrean refugees in eastern Sudan: Eritreans have been crossing into eastern Sudan since their country started to agitate for independence from Ethiopia in the 1960s and, more recently, to escape Eritrea’s policy of indefinite military conscription. Currently, about 66,000 Eritreans are living in refugee camps in Gedaref, Kassala and Red Sea states, which are among the poorest parts of Sudan, and a further 1,600 cross the border every month. Many of the newer arrivals view Sudan as a transit country, continuing north with the goal of reaching Europe or Israel. This has made them a target for abuse by smugglers and human traffickers. Those who remain in Sudan cannot legally own land or property and struggle to find jobs in the formal sector. In 2002, refugee status was revoked for those who had fled the independence war and subsequent conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea, but repatriation was halted in 2004 after widespread international criticism of Eritrea's human rights record.

3. Sudanese refugees in South Sudan: Over the past 18 months, an estimated 170,000 people have fled conflict between Sudanese government forces and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North in Sudan’s Blue Nile and South Kordofan states, pouring into South Sudan's Upper Nile and Unity states. Humanitarian agencies are bracing for a further influx once the rainy season comes to an end and impassable roads reopen. Aid workers fear that swelling refugee numbers, flooding and disease outbreaks could aggravate the crisis, and UNHCR is urgently appealing for an additional US$20 million to manage basic needs in the camps. Poor infrastructure in South Sudan has made delivering emergency assistance both expensive and difficult.

4. IDPs in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): Defections from the Congolese army, which gave rise to the M23 armed group, have led to a resumption of violence in the DRC's North Kivu Province in the last six months. More than 260,000 people have been displaced so far, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. A further 68,000 have fled to neighbouring Uganda and Rwanda. The IDPs are living in dozens of makeshift camps across the province, where aid agencies are providing shelter, protection, food and health services, despite a severe funding shortfall and recurrent attacks on aid workers. The new wave of IDPs adds to the 1.7 million already internally displaced in the country, according to UNHCR.

5. Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh: Muslims from Myanmar’s western Rakhine State - commonly referred to as the Rohingya - are an ethnic minority that has endured systemic discrimination and abuse over the past five decades, including being stripped of their citizenship under a 1982 law. Over the past 50 years, thousands have fled the country, the vast majority to Bangladesh. UNHCR has not been permitted to register new arrivals since mid-1992, but it estimates that there are more than 200,000 Rohingya in the country’s southeast. Only about 30,000 of the refugees are documented and living in one of two government-run camps in Cox’s Bazar District, where they are assisted by UNHCR. International agencies, including UNHCR, have been barred by the Bangladeshi government from providing assistance to the undocumented refugees, many of whom live on the periphery of the official camps. Unofficially, several international NGOs are providing services to these refugees, but it remains unclear how long they will be allowed to do so.

6. Tamil refugees in India: More than three years after the end of Sri Lanka’s protracted civil war, there are more than 100,000 ethnic Tamil Sri Lankans in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, including 68,000 in 112 government-run camps. The largest wave of refugees arrived in the camps between 1983 and 1987, with many staying on and having children. It is estimated that more than half of the current refugee population was born in India and knows little of life back in Sri Lanka. Although UNHCR does not have access to the camps, four NGOs are delivering services to the refugees. Since the war ended, just 5,000 have officially repatriated to Sri Lanka with UNHCR assistance. The vast majority remain reluctant to return, citing ongoing reports of human rights abuses and lack of job opportunities.

7. Afghan refugees in Iran: Afghanistan is the source of one of the world’s largest and most protracted refugee crises, with waves of refugees fleeing the country after the 1979 Soviet invasion, then during Taliban rule in the 1990s, and finally during the last decade of conflict between US-led forces and Taliban insurgents. While much has been written about the 2.7 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan, the presence of some 900,000 registered refugees and 1.4 million unregistered Afghans in neighboring Iran has received less attention. Most of them live in urban areas where, under the current regime, intolerance of the refugees has grown and their children are excluded from mainstream education. Promises to naturalize some of the unregistered refugees have not materialized, and they are often subject to mass deportations. Experts warn that forced mass return of refugees to Afghanistan would further destabilize the country, which has a limited capacity to provide jobs, basic services and security to returnees.

8. Horn of Africa refugees in Yemen: Yemen has long been a transit country for migrants trying to reach Saudi Arabia in search of work, but since 2006 it has also become home to increasing numbers of refugees from Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea. Despite conflict, poverty and a sometimes xenophobic environment in Yemen, a record 103,000 refugees and migrants arrived in 2011, bringing the total number of registered refugees to 230,000, in addition to an estimated 500,000 migrants. Their presence has been largely overshadowed by last year’s uprising and political crisis, which displaced hundreds of thousands of Yemenis and contributed to rising poverty in a country that was already the region’s poorest. Refugees living in mostly urban areas are forced to compete with locals for scarce jobs and resources, a situation that has aggravated tensions and increased the vulnerability of many refugees. A funding shortfall of about $30 million has forced UNHCR to limit its assistance.

9. Malian IDPs and refugees in neighbouring countries: During and after the April takeover of northern Mali by Tuareg rebels, who were quickly supplanted by Islamist groups, some 34,977 Malians escaped to Burkina Faso, 108,942 fled to Mauritania and 58,312 went to Niger. Some 118,000 Malians have been internally displaced, 35,300 of them within the north itself, in the regions of Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu. UNHCR faces severe funding gaps in each of the host countries and in Mali, and increasing insecurity is shrinking humanitarian access to populations in need of protection. For host governments and aid agencies, the refugee influx has compounded the food and livelihoods crisis affecting the Sahel region. Should a planned intervention by the Economic Community of West African States be launched in northern Mali, refugee populations are likely to grow further.

10. IDPs in Colombia: Since the start of the conflict between the Colombian government and armed Marxist guerrillas in the mid-1960s, the threat of violence has forced millions to abandon their homes. Indigenous and Afro-Colombian populations living in remote, rural areas have been particularly affected. The government puts the number of IDPs at 3.6 million, but several NGOs estimate the figure is closer to 5 million, pointing out that many of those displaced have not been officially registered. Most now live on the fringes of Colombia’s towns and cities, where they often struggle to adapt to urban life and face discrimination in the search for jobs and opportunities. Lack of identity documents also excludes many from access to public healthcare. Despite recent peace talks between the government and the guerrillas, it remains unsafe for most of the IDPs to return home, making the need for better integration into host communities a priority.

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For more stories on migration, please visit our In-Depth Crossing into the Unknown

Eastern Africa host to 8.52 million displaced people

As of October 2012, there were 8,515,310 people displaced in Burundi, (eastern) DRC, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Of these, 2,041,675 are refugees and 6,473,635 are internally displaced persons (IDPs). Starting August 2012, the coverage of this report has been extended to include Sudan and South Sudan, which as of the end of September 2012 were host to an estimated 1,935,000 IDPs and 349,000 refugees.

IDPs in the region are mainly a result of internal armed conflicts and insecurity. Additionally, some IDPs result from various difficult climatic conditions such as flooding, drought and landslides. These IDPs are usually temporary and their estimates were not readily available. DRC, Somalia and Sudan host the highest number of IDPs at 2.43 million, 1.36 million and 1.77 million people, respectively. Since April, frequent and widespread fighting in eastern DRC has pushed thousands to leave their homes, especially in North Kivu Province. An estimated 400,000 people were displaced internally in DRC, while another 80,000 people were compelled to flee into Burundi, Uganda, and Rwanda in the past six months. IDP figures in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Somalia remain unchanged as no new verification of the population was undertaken during the reporting period. Significant progress has however been made in the protection and resettlement of IDPs in Kenya and Uganda.

Highlights:

The month of October is marked by a general close to average to above average rains in most of the regions in the country with the exception of Awdal, W. Galbeed and parts of Togdheer regions in Northwest where the rains were insignificant. Some of the rain gauge stations in the northern and central areas which recorded above average rainfall include: Buadodle (109mm), Taleex (61mm), Burtnile (110mm), Eyl (184mm), Galdogob (273mm), Iskushuban, (72mm), Galkayo (163mm). In the South, above average rains were observed in Beletweyn, Buloburti and Jowhar with 185mm, 210mm and 200mm of rains, respectively (Table 1).

River flooding was reported in the upper steams of Beletweyn (Hiran) region, while flash floods occurred in some villages of Bay as well as in Beletweyn town in October. In both cases, floods caused loss of property, including livestock, housing and crops. Observed river levels in the month of October indicated a moderate risk of flooding in lower reaches of Shabelle River.
Nevertheless, the Juba River was at stable levels with no risk of flooding.
Satellite derived rainfall estimates (RFE) are comparable with the observed rainfall as presented in Maps 2-5. According to RFE, rainfall deficit areas expressed as a percentage of long term mean (LTM) include Sool, Sanaag, Sool-Sanaag Plateau livelihood zones in Bari, Nugal, Coastal Deeh livelihood zone in Central and Middle Shabelle regions, Bakool and northern part of Bay (Map 9). Field reports indicate normal rainfall performance during the month though with poor spatial distribution, especially in the Northeast and Central.

The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (SPOTVEGETATION-1Km resolution) shows a significant improvement in vegetation, which is attributed to a well established crop conditions in the southern and central cropping areas (Maps 6-8). Small to large increase of vegetation prevails in all rainfed and irrigated livelihood zones across Somalia (Map 10). However, depressed vegetation is visible in small pockets in Bay, Bakool, Gedo, Lower Shabelle and Jubas.

Optimal development of cowpea and sorghum crops is reported in the Cowpea Belt of Central.
Weeding of crops (maize and sorghum) is widely taking place in central and southern cropping areas while in Northwest districts of Borama and Gebiley harvesting of sorghum is on-going. Pasture for both grass and browse terms have profoundly improved in most of the key pastoral areas in the country. The Deyr rains have continued to improve the rangeland conditions and replenished most of the water catchments. Livestock body conditions are generally normal in most areas however in drought stricken areas of Guban livelihood in the Northwest, and the Coastal Deeh of Northeast the livestock body conditions are still below average to poor.

Note: Map in 4 pages

Most households in Southern Africa depend on maize as their main source of food and energy, given the high volumes and ease with which it is produced. Alternative food crops that are consumed as substitutes include rice, wheat, sorghum, millet, and tubers such as cassava and potatoes. Consumption of these substitutes occurs mainly when maize is not available or among those households in areas where such substitutes are more easily available (for example, cassava in northern Mozambique).

The majority of rural households do grow the other cereals — especially sorghum and millet, which are more drought resilient — in relatively small quantities as a buffer in bad production years for maize. Furthermore, wealthier households (especially in urban areas) with access to a variety of costlier cereals (such as rice and wheat) do consume them to diversify their diets.

While wheat is widely consumed in the form of bread, it is produced in relatively small quantities in the region. South Africa is the only country that produces substantial amounts, but still in quantities insufficient to meet domestic requirements. South Africa is also the region’s major producer of maize and acts as a major supplier and exporter. In years of relative maize surplus, sizable amounts of both formal and informal cross border trade occurs between neighboring countries .

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 14:41 GMT

By Kagondu Njagi

NYERI, Kenya (AlertNet) – It may be dismissed by Kenya’s middle classes and elite as primitive, but farmer Leah Wambui, is convinced that bartering promises a new way of protecting rural food supplies as climate change takes hold.

Read the full article on AlertNet

by Olivia Zinzan

As Humanitarian Communications Officer, much of 2011 for me was spent focusing on the devastating food crisis that affected East Africa.

East Africa one year on

Over a year later, I am visiting the refugee camps in Dollo Ado, Ethiopia that received a massive influx of Somalis fleeing drought and conflict in their home country. Save the Children has been saving lives throughout with emergency nutrition programmes.

At the onset of the crisis in 2011, nearly half of the newly arrived refugees in the camps were malnourished and nearly a quarter severely so. Over the past year, thanks in part to Save the Children’s nutrition programmes, the malnutrition rates have reduced dramatically.

In Bokolmayo camp, where Save the Children continues to run nutrition programmes to address the underlying causes of malnutrition, the rate of moderate acute malnutrition has decreased from 22% to 10%, and the rate of severe acute malnutrition has decreased from 11% to 1%.

A new arrival

As always, it’s the individual stories that help bring these numbers to life. Whilst in Bokolmayo I met 2-year-old Deqo and her grandmother Owliya. Deqo arrived in the camp just a month ago along with her two older brothers and uncle after their mother tragically passed away in Somalia.

Owliya came to the Save the Children nutrition centre, which gives specially formulated food to children under five and pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. When children start the programme, they are also screened for malnutrition and illnesses.

Deqo was found to be severely malnourished – Owliya told me, “When the children arrived they were very weak so I brought them here for the food and medication. When I brought Deqo she was critically sick and weak. She used to cry all the time. But then she received food and medication from here and now she is healthy.”

Underlying causes

As well as additional food being given when needed, Save the Children provides routine medication, including antibiotics, vitamin A and folic acid to help treat the underlying causes of malnutrition, such as internal parasites and pneumonia. In this way, we can continue to help reduce the number of children falling victim to hunger.

As always, it was inspiring to meet our teams working tirelessly to respond to the ongoing needs of children and their families in the camps. That day, their resilience was tested once moreas our day trip to Bokolmayo turned into an overnight adventure.

A raging torrent

After driving an hour back towards Dollo Ado town we reached the river we had driven through without hitch that morning. It had rained since though, and the flow that had been calm and shallow was now a raging torrent. We had no option but to return to the Save the Children compound back at the camp.

We were of course warmly welcomed by the team there. Rooms were re-arranged, some moved to tents and I was extremely grateful for the loan of some soap and a fetching colourful Somali dress that swiftly became my pyjamas, sleeping bag and towel.

Daily life

Sharing a bedroom with other staff, a couple of frogs, hundreds of insects and the odd mouse was something of an adventure for me. But this is daily life for the incredible Save the Children staff and volunteers working in the Dollo Ado refugee camps, and for the thousands of families for whom it is still not safe to return home.

It is clear that as Dollo Ado becomes the world’s second biggest refugee camp complex, the impacts of the 2011 crisis are far from over and further support is still desperately needed.

Increased rainfall during the last week helped to improve mid-season dryness across Kenya and Somalia, however moderate seasonal deficits remain for many local areas.

1) Even with a reduction of precipitation last week, several weeks of above-average rainfall has led to significant moisture surpluses. An elevated potential for moderate to heavy rainfall may trigger additional flooding, damage local infrastructure, and negatively impact cropping activities throughout Uganda, Kenya, northern Tanzania,
Rwanda and Burundi.

2) While increased rains helped to mitigate moisture deficits in the last seven days, a continued midseason suppression of Oct-Dec rainfall leaves a lessened period for recovery in the next several weeks. Consequently, this could result in a deterioration of pastoral and agro-pastoral conditions, and possible crop yield reductions by the end of season.

3) Poorly distributed rains have led to early season dryness throughout parts of Lesotho, and the Free State, Eastern Cape, and North West States of South Africa. Since the end of October, decreased rains have also weakened moisture surpluses in neighboring states in the north and east of country which may impede the development of crops that were planted early in the season.

As climate change makes traditional crops like potatoes or maize more difficult to produce, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) estimates that bananas may become an increasingly important food source in Kenya.

Looking ahead to an evolving agricultural market, an entrepreneurial group of youth in Kenya’s high-altitude Kisii County is investing in value-added banana processing and tissue culture technology, positioning them to meet a potential increase in demand for this crop.

The Nyangorora Banana Processing Group, a youth-owned company, is receiving assistance and technical support from Feed the Future to expand banana micro-processing activities and boost the incomes of Kisii’s banana farmers and the community as a whole. The group is specializing in the production of banana flour as well as banana pastries and bread.

“[Feed the Future] has trained us to look at this business as a commercial venture. We’re now establishing formal operational systems to increase efficiency and capitalize on returns,” says Jared Omiso, chairman of the group.

Through Feed the Future, the youth participating in this venture will also receive capacity building on new technology, group governance and management, production operations, financial growth and efficiency.

DAKAR, 22 novembre 2012 (IRIN) - Les travailleurs de la santé, qui vaccinent actuellement des milliers d'enfants et de jeunes adultes contre la méningite A au Bénin, le font désormais sans passer des jours à préparer des accumulateurs de froid, des glacières et des réfrigérateurs pour les charger dans des camions, car le vaccin a reçu l'autorisation d'être stocké à une température maximale de 40 °C pendant quatre jours maximum.

Avant, comme la plupart des vaccins, le vaccin anti-méningocoque A (commercialisé en Afrique sous le nom de MenAfricVac) était homologué uniquement à condition d'être conservé à une température comprise entre 2°C et 8°C.

Cette avancée est le fruit de plusieurs années d'examens rigoureux des effets de la chaleur sur le vaccin menés par l'autorité indienne de régulation des médicaments (DCGI), Santé Canada et le programme de préqualification des vaccins de l'Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS).

Par conséquent, les populations vivant dans des zones très reculées auront un meilleur accès au vaccin, l'organisation des campagnes de vaccination sera simplifiée et le coût de ces campagnes sera réduit, aussi bien pour les partenaires du projet que pour les gouvernements nationaux, ont déclaré Michel Zaffran, coordinateur du Programme élargi de vaccination (PEV) , et Marie-Pierre Préziosi, directrice du Projet Vaccins Méningite, un partenariat entre l'organisation non gouvernementale (ONG) internationale PATH et l'OMS.

Selon l'OMS, les coûts ne vont pas baisser considérablement de façon immédiate, mais ils vont diminuer à mesure que le nombre de vaccins homologués augmentera. Des études sur les implications en termes de coût sont conduites au Bénin et au Tchad.

Si les limitations de la chaîne du froid n'entravent pas la couverture vaccinale, elles représentent une surcharge de travail pour les travailleurs de la santé, affirme l'OMS.

Les campagnes de vaccination nationales des pays industrialisés ont également des difficultés à respecter la chaîne du froid et, chaque année, des milliers de vaccins sont jetés à cause de ruptures dans la chaîne du froid, même si cela n'a pas d'effet sur l'innocuité du vaccin, affirme l'OMS.

« C'est un énorme progrès », a affirmé M. Zaffran. « C'est le premier vaccin au monde à être homologué pour être utilisé dans un pays en voie de développement avec une flexibilité qui nous affranchit de cette structure thermique rigide. Cela simplifie considérablement l'aspect logistique. Et cela ouvre la voie aux autres fabricants ».

Pourquoi a-t-il fallu autant de temps ?

Pourtant, le vaccin n'a rien de nouveau - c'est simplement son homologation qui a changé après des analyses de données récoltées pendant des années sur la stabilité du vaccin - c'est-à-dire sa capacité à résister à des augmentations de température et à d'autres conditions extérieures.

« La possibilité de conserver certains vaccins en dehors de la chaîne du froid en toute sécurité pendant de courtes périodes est bien connue depuis plus de 20 ans », a expliqué M. Zaffran dans un récent communiqué. « Mais c'est la première fois qu'un vaccin destiné à être utilisé en Afrique a été testé et soumis à un examen réglementaire avant d'être finalement approuvé pour ce type d'utilisation ».

Il a fallu des dizaines d'années pour en arriver là, car les agences étaient figées dans un certain modèle de pensée, a affirmé M. Zaffran. Le PEV a été créé dans les années 1970 pour vacciner le plus grand nombre d'enfants le plus rapidement possible, et a mis en place des règles strictes simples pour éviter les risques : l'une d'entre elles était de conserver les vaccins au frais. « Il était assez difficile de changer cette mentalité », a expliqué M. Zaffran.

Les organismes de régulation et les fabricants sont « très conservateurs afin de protéger la population », a déclaré Mme Préziosi. « Réunir toute la documentation pour les convaincre de franchir le pas a pris du temps ».

Des contrôles stricts sont toujours effectués. « Il ne s'agit pas de donner le 'feu vert' pour faire n'importe quoi avec un vaccin - il doit toujours être stocké. à 40 degrés maximum et pas plus de quatre jours », a souligné M. Zaffran.

L'hépatite B, prochaine sur la liste?

« L'élan est donné. Je pense que d'ici un ou deux ans, nous aurons un ou deux autres vaccins homologués dans ce sens », a-t-il dit.

Des analyses sur la stabilité des vaccins contre l'hépatite B et le HPV (le papillomavirus humain) sont en cours ; les prochaines maladies sur la liste sont la fièvre jaune et les infections à rotavirus et à pneumocoques.

D'après une étude récente, le vaccin oral contre la poliomyélite - un des vaccins les plus thermosensibles - s'est également révélé stable lorsque la chaîne du froid a été rompue au Tchad, même si l'OMS a insisté sur le fait qu'au lieu d'être homologué, le vaccin serait abandonné progressivement, à mesure que l'éradication de la maladie gagne du terrain.

La progression de la méningite

Le MenAfricVac, qui coûte un peu moins de 0,50 dollar la dose, a été conçu pour être utilisé dans les 26 pays de la ceinture de la méningite qui s'étend du Sénégal à l'Éthiopie.

Jusqu'à présent, près de 100 millions de personnes âgées de 1 à 29 ans ont été vaccinées dans 10 pays différents ; la campagne de vaccination est programmée dans 16 autres pays d'ici 2016.

Les premiers résultats ont été très positifs : le Burkina Faso a enregistré le plus faible taux de méningite épidémique en 15 ans et la campagne a atteint « l'immunité de groupe » - c'est-à-dire que les individus trop âgés ou trop jeunes pour recevoir le vaccin n'ont pas non plus été touchés par la bactérie.

La méningite A pourrait être éliminée de la ceinture de la méningite si la campagne de vaccination de masse continue, déclare Mme Préziosi, et si les gouvernements l'intègrent aux programmes de vaccination de routine.

Toutefois, un financement supérieur aux 160 millions de dollars de GAVI Alliance et des contributions de gouvernements nationaux sera nécessaire pour terminer la campagne, a-t-elle averti.

aj/cb-fc/amz

Roger Thurow | Feed the Future | Guest Blog

The following is a guest blog by Roger Thurow, author, senior fellow for global agriculture and food policy at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and ONE Campaign fellow. We asked Thurow a few questions about food security.

Traditionally centered around a big meal to celebrate good harvests and time with family, Thanksgiving is also an opportunity to reflect on what we’re thankful for and our wishes for the future. At the top of our list is the hope for a future in which no one goes to bed hungry. What is yours?

Exactly the same: a world free of hunger. Some may dismiss that as an unrealistic goal, but ending hunger through agricultural development is within our grasp. We certainly have precedent on our side, for we have seen agricultural development work in so many countries. Be it here in the United States, or in Europe, or in India or China or Brazil. So we know it can be done: We have the science, the technology, the experience. We know the “way”, but what has been missing is the “will”.

At this Thanksgiving, I’m thankful that we are now seeing this “will” emerging in so many places. As we sit down to our traditional national feast—to celebrate our harvests and our abundance—this is the ideal time to commit to ending hunger no matter where it may be, whether here at home or in Africa or anywhere else in the world.

Even as we are seeing progress in our efforts against global poverty and undernutrition, we know there is still work to do and that we must remain focused. Why do you think this is important, and why do you think Americans should care about global hunger and food security?

First, the very word “security” is important, for how secure can the world truly be with nearly one billion chronically hungry people? During the food price spikes of 2007 and 2008, when stockpiles of major grains dwindled, prices soared, and shortages spread, we saw how quickly gaps in the global food supply can lead to widespread unrest.

Second, how stable can the world economy be when such extreme poverty keeps so many people outside the global economic and trade system?

Securing the global food system is also one of the biggest—if not the biggest—challenge facing us in the coming decades. With the planet’s population expected to increase by more than two billion people by 2050, it is estimated that we need to increase our food production by as much as 60 percent to meet this rising demand. And it is important to not just focus on increasing production, but to put nutrition—growing a cornucopia of more nutritious food—at the center of our efforts as well.

So yes, indeed, Americans should care deeply about global hunger and food security.

Also, it’s what America does—and does best. We are the world’s breadbasket, with the mightiest farmers. Spreading agricultural development has been one of America’s top “soft power” achievements of diplomacy and international relations over the decades. Think of the Marshall Plan and the Green Revolution. Now, the Obama Administration’s Feed the Future initiative continues this lineage.

Feed the Future is a key piece of the U.S. Government’s effort to reduce global hunger and improve global food security. Having spent time observing Feed the Future’s work and reporting in depth about agricultural development, what do you see as different or unique about Feed the Future?

Feed the Future has set out to reverse the neglect of international agricultural development over the past several decades. Feed the Future also recognizes that food security is not just about increasing production, but increasing the nutritional value of the food as well; it focuses on not only the necessary ingredients of growing food but also on the elements farmers need to translate their harvests into profits, determined by the countries themselves. So post-harvest issues like storage and efficient markets are central to Feed the Future. It also stresses the importance of partnerships with the private sector and the governments of developing countries as well as with universities, foundations and humanitarian organizations. These partnerships were vital to the success of the Green Revolution 50 years ago.

I see two other important aspects of Feed the Future: an emphasis on long-term agricultural development (rather than solely focusing on short-term emergency food aid relief) and a focus on the smallholder farmers of the developing world. This means facilitating access to the essential elements of farming—seeds, soil nutrients, training and micro-financing—so that the smallholders can be as productive as possible. These farmers are indispensable in meeting the great challenge of food security I mentioned earlier. If they succeed, so might we all.

And they can succeed. This is the central message of The Last Hunger Season, which brings readers into the lives of four smallholder farmers in western Kenya.

Let’s talk about your book. After spending time with these farmers in Kenya, what did you see as the role and importance of food security, particularly agriculture and nutrition, in their community?

It is absolutely vital. While reporting the book, The Last Hunger Season, I learned that securing enough food for their families is the top priority of women smallholder farmers in Africa. All things flow from that accomplishment. With greater harvests, these women farmers can conquer the dreaded hunger season and the malnutrition of their children, and also have a surplus that can provide income to pay school fees, to afford proper health care and medicine, and to diversify their crops for better nutrition.

You’ve written two books on food security now and you often blog about it in your role at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs—what first interested you in this topic and why are you so personally invested in it?

Covering the 2003 famine in Ethiopia for The Wall Street Journal. It was the first famine of the 21st century; 14 million people were on the doorstep of starvation, dependent on international food aid. On my first day in Addis Ababa, I received a briefing about the extent of the famine by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP). One of the WFP workers told me: “Looking into the eyes of someone dying of hunger becomes a disease of the soul. You see that nobody should have to die of hunger.”

The next day, I was down in the hunger zones, in an emergency feeding tent filled with dozens of severely malnourished children. What I saw in those eyes did indeed become a disease of the soul; I saw that nobody should have to die of hunger, not now, not in the 21st century when more food was being produced in the world than ever before. It was a turning point in my career as a journalist. All other stories began paling in comparison. I knew I needed to stop the usual routine of a foreign correspondent—moving from story to story, place to place—and focus on this one story: hunger in the new millennium. This led me to write my first book, with fellow WSJ reporter Scott Kilman, ENOUGH: Why the World’s Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty.

But for me, ENOUGH wasn’t enough, so I plunged deeper into the issue of hunger and agricultural development. This propelled me to write The Last Hunger Season: A Year in an African Farm Community on the Brink of Change. And I intend to continue writing, taking readers into the eyes of the hungry, spreading the disease of the soul.

Do you have hope that things can change for the better? Why?

Yes, because I see a burgeoning movement, a gathering momentum, to end hunger through agricultural development. I see it in renewed American leadership, manifest in Feed the Future. I see it at universities, at faith-based gatherings, on the ground in Africa. Earlier this year, at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ symposium on global agriculture, food security and nutrition, President Obama called for an “all hands on deck” effort to end hunger in the 21st century. I see these many hands getting to work.

Au sommaire

• Crue de la Komadougou: les eaux aux abords de la ville
• Bilan fourrager déficitaire à Maradi
• Zinder: Malnutrition et paludisme en baisse

NOUAKCHOTT, 22 nov 2012 (AFP) - Le Mouvement des Arabes de l'Azawad (MAA), qui affirme représenter 40% de la population du nord du Mali occupé par des groupes islamistes armés, a mis jeudi en garde contre sa marginalisation dans le processus de négociations en cours et la préparation d'une intervention armée.

"Les Arabes de l'Azawad (nord du Mali) représentent 40% des populations (...) et toute négociation ou solution qui se ferait sans eux sera vouée à l'échec", a affirmé le porte-parole du MAA, Mohamed Moloud Ramadhan, dans une interview à l'agence en ligne mauritanienne Sahara Médias.

"Nous sommes prêts à entrer en négociations (...) nous ne constituerons jamais un obstacle, mais rien ne peut se faire sans nous", a-t-il ajouté.

Des négociations ont lieu à Ouagadougou entre deux des groupes armés présents dans le nord du Mali et la médiation burkinabé dans la crise malienne, menée au nom de la Communauté économique des Etats d'Afrique de l'Ouest (Cédéao).

Elles se tiennent avec le Mouvement national de libération de l'Azawad (MNLA, rébellion touareg) et le groupe islamiste armé Ansar Dine (Défenseurs de l'islam), composé essentiellement de Touareg.

Leur but est de rapprocher le MNLA et Ansar Dine, et d'isoler ce dernier groupe d'Al Qaïda au Maghreb islamique (Aqmi) et du Mouvement pour l'unicité et le jihad en Afrique de l'Ouest (Mujao), composés surtout d'étrangers.

M. Ramadhan a aussi estimé qu'une intervention militaire internationale dans cette région pour en chasser les islamistes armés, actuellement en préparation, "doit se faire en coordination avec les populations du territoire, non sans elles, car sinon ce sera un échec comme en Afghanistan et ailleurs".

Et si ce n'est pas le cas, "nous nous opposerons à cette guerre et serons obligés de la considérer comme un complot international ourdi contre le peuple de l'Azawad aux fins d'y ramener l'armée malienne pour y commettre des exactions contre les populations locales".

Il a cependant affirmé que son mouvement était prêt à "combattre les terroristes responsables d'exactions contre nos populations chassées de Tombouctou", ville du nord-ouest du Mali où vivent de nombreux Arabes.

Le nord du Mali est une immense région aride représentant les deux-tiers du territoire malien où habitent environ 1,4 million de personnes (soit 10% de la population totale du Mali) de diverses communautés, Arabe, Touareg, Peule et Songhai.

hos-stb/mrb/ej

Extension de la menace acridienne à d’autres pays

Au cours de la semaine écoulée, des infestations du Criquet pèlerin ont été signalées en Libye, au Maroc, en Égypte et en Arabie saoudite, tandis qu’une activité plus importante avait lieu au Niger, en Mauritanie et au Soudan.

Quelques petits essaims se sont formés dans les plaines du Tamesna, dans le nord du Niger et le nord-est du Mali, ainsi que dans le nord du Tchad, près de Faya. Les larves et les ailés continuent à grégariser et à former de petits groupes au Niger, principalement dans les plaines du Tamesna, les montagnes de l’Aïr et quelques zones centrales. Les opérations de lutte terrestre se poursuivent au Niger et, dans une moindre mesure, au Tchad.

Durant les périodes de vents chauds de secteur sud, de petits groupes d’ailés se sont déplacés vers le Nord dans le sud de l’Algérie, près d’In Guezzam, le nord-ouest de la Libye, près de Ghadames et de la frontière avec la Tunisie, et le sud-est de la Libye, près de l’oasis de Kufra, où des opérations de lutte ont été réalisées.

En Mauritanie, les opérations de lutte terrestre se poursuivent dans le nord-ouest et le centre contre des groupes de larves et d’ailés. Des effectifs acridiens en augmentation ont été signalés dans le Sahara occidental et le long du versant méridional des monts Atlas, au Maroc.

Au Soudan, les opérations de lutte terrestre et aérienne se poursuivent contre de petits essaims qui se sont formés dans les zones de reproduction estivale de l’intérieur et déplacés vers le nord-est. Des groupes d’ailés ont été observés le long de la vallée du Nil, dans le nord, ainsi que dans les zones adjacentes de la Haute Égypte, près d’Abu Simbel, où des opérations de lutte terrestre sont en cours. Un nombre croissant d’ailés a été signalé dans les zones de reproduction hivernale du nord-est du Soudan, sur les plaines côtières de la mer Rouge dans le sud-est de l’Égypte, où un petit essaim a été observé, et dans le delta du Tokar, au Soudan. Il se peut que des ailés en nombre limité aient traversé la mer Rouge en direction des plaines côtières septentrionales de l’Arabie saoudite, près de Yenbo, au nord de Jeddah.

Tous les efforts devraient se poursuivre pour maintenir et étendre les opérations de prospection et de lutte dans les pays affectés afin de réduire l’échelle de migrations supplémentaires et d’une éventuelle reproduction.

Desert Locust threat extends to additional countries

In the past week, Desert Locust infestations have been reported in Libya, Morocco, Egypt and Saudi Arabia while increased activity occurred in Niger, Mauritania and Sudan.

A few small swarms formed on the Tamesna Plains in northern Niger and northeastern Mali as well as in northern Chad near Faya. Hoppers and adults continue to gregarize and form small groups in Niger, primarily on the Tamesna Plains, in the Air Mountains, and in some central areas. Ground control operations continue in Niger and to a lesser extent in Chad.

During periods of warm southerly winds, small groups of adults moved north into southern Algeria near In Guezzam, into northwest Libya near Ghadames and the border of Tunisia, and in southeast Libya near Kufra Oasis where control operations were carried out.

In Mauritania, ground control operations continue against groups of hoppers and adults in the northwest and centre. An increasing number of locusts were reported in the Western Sahara and along the southern side of the Atlas Mountains in Morocco.

In Sudan, ground and aerial control operations continue against small swarms that have been forming in the summer breeding areas of the interior and moving towards the northeast. Groups of adults were seen along the Nile Valley in the north as well as in adjacent areas of Upper Egypt near Abu Simbel where ground control operations are in progress. An increasing number of adults have been reported in the winter breeding areas in northeast Sudan, on the Red Sea coastal plains in southeastern Egypt where a small swarm was seen, and in the Tokar Delta, Sudan. A limited number of adults may have crossed the Red Sea to northern coastal plains of Saudi Arabia near Yenbo, north of Jeddah.

All efforts should continue to maintain and expand survey and control operations in the affected countries in order to reduce the scale of further migration and eventual breeding.

1. MVAC Vulnerability Update Report

The Malawi Vulnerability and Assessment Committee (MVAC) has released the vulnerability update report following the review of the food security situation in October 2012. The report projects that a total of 1,972,993 people will have missing food entitlements (MFEs) during the 2012/2013 season. This represents a 21%increase from the population that was projected in the June 2012 report. Consequently, maize requirement for the population with MFEs has increased from 75,394 mt to 84,811mt (cash equivalent of MK6,784,897,674). The 16 affected districts include Balaka, Blantyre, Chikwawa, Chradzulu, Dedza, Machinga, Mangochi, Mulaje, Mwanza, Neno, Nsanje, Ntcheu, Phalombe, Salima, Thyoo and Zomba. The food deficit has been attributed to poor rainfall performance, increase in prices of food and essential non-food items, devaluation of local currency and instability in the supply of fuel products which is contributing to logistical problems. Among others, the report recommends the continuation of the on-going humanitarian response programme. It also urges the government and development partners to conduct a nutrition survey in the affected areas to assess the nutritional status of the vulnerable populations. A detailed report of the annual forecast is attached.

Genève / Niamey (CICR) – Le Comité international de la Croix-Rouge (CICR) a évacué aujourd'hui sept blessés de la région de Ménaka (nord du Mali) vers Niamey. Les patients ont été hospitalisés dans la capitale du Niger. Les combats entre groupes armés qui ont éclaté mi-novembre, et qui se poursuivent actuellement dans les environs de Ménaka, ont fait de nombreuses victimes, y compris parmi la population civile. En sa qualité d'intermédiaire neutre, le CICR pourrait être amené à faciliter l'évacuation d'autres blessés, si nécessaire.

« Il est très important que, dans les circonstances actuelles, une organisation humanitaire neutre et impartiale puisse procéder à l'évacuation des blessés graves », déclare Jean-Nicolas Marti, chef de la délégation régionale du CICR pour le Mali et le Niger. Par ailleurs, cinq autres sont actuellement soignés à l'hôpital régional de Gao soutenu par le CICR, où le personnel médical se tient prêt à faire face à tout nouvel afflux de personnes.

« Nous prodiguons des soins de santé à tout le monde, sans distinction, qu’il s’agisse de civils ou de combattants », précise M. Marti. L'accès aux soins de santé est un des principaux problèmes que rencontrent les habitants du nord du Mali touchés par les violences armées. L'hôpital de Gao, seule structure de santé de référence pour tout le nord du Mali, bénéficie d'un soutien important de la part du CICR. En plus de mettre à sa disposition une équipe médicochirurgicale, le CICR approvisionne en médicaments et en matériel médical l'ensemble des services de l'établissement.

Préoccupé par la situation qui prévaut actuellement dans le nord du Mali, le CICR rappelle à tous ceux qui sont impliqués dans les violences armées la nécessité absolue de respecter la population civile et les combattants ne participant plus aux hostilités.

Informations complémentaires :

Jean-Nicolas Marti, CICR Niamey, tél. : +227 96 85 78 68

Jean-Yves Clémenzo, CICR Genève, tél. : +41 22 730 22 71 ou +41 79 217 32 17

Key highlights from the FSNWG meeting held on October 18, 2012 (FSNWG, 18/10/12)

• The seasonal harvests have reached both households and markets in the region improving food availability and access. This has caused a decrease in staple food prices and an increase in food security. Between July and August 2012, grain prices declined in the majority of regional markets in Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan and Sudan. However, stressed and crisis levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 2 & 3) persists in many areas.

• In Sudan, the harvest of the 2012 sorghum and millet crops is expected to start from late October with favourable production prospects. Cereal production is projected at 5.2 million metric tonnes, which is well above last year’s drought affected season and about 15% above the 5-year average.

• The forecast for normal to above normal seasonal rainfall for November – December 2012 in eastern Africa is confirmed as a result of both the moderate El Niño/La Niña-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) anomaly and the favourable conditions in the Indian Ocean.

• Civil insecurity persists in eastern DRC (North Kivu) with over 260,000 people displaced in the past months and 70,000 Congolese are estimated to have fled into Rwanda and Uganda. While the seasonal national IPC analysis is on-going, the food security situation is expected to remain critical.

• The seasonal flooding affecting six states in the Republic of South Sudan is expected to significantly impact the performance of crops and livestock due to reduced production, availability of pasture and forced abnormal migration.

Lesotho is facing a serious food crisis. Due to a series of floods, late rains, and early frost, more than 725,000 people – one-third of the population – will be short of food. Agricultural production has dropped 70 per cent, resulting in Lesotho’s worst harvest in ten years.

'Crop production has declined during six of the last seven years,' said Michelle Carter, Country Director for CARE Lesotho. 'People’s reserves and safety nets have been exhausted, and with another poor harvest the situation has become an emergency.'

A majority of Lesotho farmers are subsistence farmers who rely on agriculture as their main source of food. This year, however, domestic production will meet only 10 per cent of Lesotho’s cereal needs. But many are unable to affford imported food.

Chronic malnutrition is already extremely high in Lesotho. More than one in three children under five are stunted, and the current food insecurity has the potential to increase malnutrition still further, especially among young children, and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Almost a quarter of people in Lesotho are HIV positive or living with AIDS. The combination of low household food production and high food costs forces people living with AIDS to make choices between feeding themselves and their families and continuing with life-saving medications.

Women and children are particularly at risk of exposure to dangerous coping mechanisms such as being forced into trafficking and the sex industry.

CARE's response

CARE has been working in Lesotho since 1968. We have recently distributed seeds to vulnerable households so that they are able to plant in this year’s agricultural season.

Working with our partners, CARE plans to reach over 4,000 households with a combination of cash vouchers and cash-for-work programs to allow people to buy food in the market. Small-scale cash vouchers will target the most vulnerable households: those that have high numbers of children under five and/or pregnant and lactating women, or are caring for people with AIDS.

In addition to meeting immediate food needs, CARE’s response will focus on providing nutritional education, working to combat gender-based violence and HIV transmission, and on rebuilding community safety nets through programs such as Village Savings and Loans Associations.

IOM, in partnership with its local implementing partners, designed and constructed a total of nine water supply systems consisting of three water tanks in each of the nine sites.

Based on the IOM’s quality standards with technical guidance from Japan Nippon Poly-Glu Co., Ltd., among the three tanks, IOM set the first tank to be used to treat the water with Poly-Glu to flocculate the sediments of the water from particle suspension while the second tank for chlorination and the third for the clean and the safe for distribution to the beneficiaries.

Each water system is connected with a water meter to measure the exact amount of the water provided to the IDPs. Routine weekly water testing is conducted to ensure the water is free from contamination. IOM’s water supply systems ensure that beneficiaries have sustainable, cost effective access to clean and safe water, as there is no reliance on commonly used cost-ineffective water trucking.

Water is provided directly from water distribution points piped to the water systems that are set up in areas that are convenient and easily accessible for the beneficiary communities.