The Synagogue Church of All Nations has donated items worth Gh140, 00.00 to the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) in support of the June 3 flood and fire victims.

The items included 1000 bags of rice, 400 blankets, 200 mattresses, 200 pillows, 400 plastic baskets, 400 plastic cups, 50 boxes of key soap, and 50 boxes of cooking oil (frytol).

Mr. Justice John Ajet Nasam, a Judge of the Accra High Court presented the items on behalf of Prophet TB Joshua, the General Overseer of SCOAN and Emmanuel TV partners.

He extended the Prophet’s heartfelt condolence to the victims, government and the people of Ghana. “I am because you are and you are because I am and if God is for a nation who can be against that nation”, he said.

Justice Nasam further stressed that the items be distributed to the victims only and not any other person’s as requested by the Prophet.

Receiving the items, the Acting National Coordinator of NADMO, Brig. Gen. Francis Vib-Sanziri thanked SCOAN for the kind gesture and assured them that the items would be distributed to the affected persons.

He also urged other churches and organizations to emulate the example of SCOAN.

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Sunday 7/5/2015 - 23:48 GMT

by Aminu ABUBAKAR

A suicide bomber blew himself up on Sunday inside a church in the restive northeastern Nigerian city of Potiskum, killing five worshippers in the latest in a new series of attacks blamed on Boko Haram, a police officer and witness told AFP.

The attacker entered the Redeemed Christian Church of God in the Jigawa area on the outskirts of Potiskum and detonated his explosives.

Four worshippers died instantly with a fifth succumbing to her injuries shortly afterwards in hospital, a police officer who helped remove the bodies told AFP.

"The victims included a woman and her two children, the pastor and another worshipper," added the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Witness Garba Manu told AFP that the bomber arrived on a motorised rickshaw, adding that "as soon as he entered a loud explosion ripped through the church which is under construction."

"I saw him walking in and he didn't raise any suspicion," Manu said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Potiskum, the commercial capital of Yobe state, has been hit repeatedly by Boko Haram Islamists during their six-year insurgency, including in suicide attacks.

The insurgents have also launched a series of attacks on mosques, villages and markets in neighbouring Borno state in the past few days, claiming more than 200 lives.

Boko Haram are keen to prove they are not a spent force despite a four-nation military offensive running them them out of several towns and villages they had controlled.

• Attacks on the rise -

The use of improvised explosive devices and suicide bombings has increased since May 29 when Buhari took office vowing to crush the rebellion.

According to an AFP tally, at least 450 people have lost their lives since Buhari's inauguration.

A statement from the president's office on Sunday quoted him as condemning "the resumption of attacks by terrorists on places of worship which are highly revered places of prayer and communion with God for most Nigerians."

"Nigerians are a very religious people and President Buhari believes that the terrorists who wantonly attack our places of worship have wilfully declared war on all that we value, and must therefore be confronted with all our might and collective resolve," it said.

It said the president would do "everything possible to eradicate Boko Haram, terrorism and mindless extremism from Nigeria in the shortest possible time."

Also on Sunday, the police said there were two blasts in the central city of Jos.

"I can confirm that there were two explosions in Jos this evening. One happened at the Bauchi motor park and the other at Yantaya, near the mosque," Plateau state police spokesman Abuh Emmanuel told AFP.

He could not immediately say if there were any casualties but added that police officers had been sent to the scene.

The army said on Sunday that its troops "must have" killed more than 600 insurgents in the northeast in the past one month.

"Over 600 terrorists must have been killed in the last one month while other insurgents are finding life extremely difficult," the army said in a statement.

It said despite "guerrilla tactics of using vulnerable girls and young men for suicide attacks on soft targets, we ensure that their fighters do not escape as they continue to meet their Waterloos in the hand of the troops."

The army said it had also ensured that the Islamists had not captured any territory since Buhari came to power.

"Since the emergence of (the) new administration of President Muhammadu Buhari no single territory in Nigeria is being occupied or proclaimed by the terrorists as their 'Caliphate' even as their leaders are either being killed, captured or on the run," it added.

The spike in violence has sparked concern that earlier gains by the armies of Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon against the militants are being eroded.

A coalition of the four countries -- all of which border Lake Chad, a focal point of Boko Haram unrest -- launched military operations against the jihadists early this year to try claw back some of the territory they had seized.

abu-joa/cb

© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | dimanche 05/07/2015 - 12:29 GMT

Cinq personnes, dont une femme, ses deux enfants et un pasteur, ont été tuées dimanche matin dans un attentat-suicide contre une église de Potiskum, dans le nord-est du Nigeria, ont annoncé à l'AFP un policier et un habitant.

Le kamikaze est entré à 9h55 (8h55 GMT) dans l'église et s'est fait exploser aussitôt, selon ces sources. "Quatre fidèles sont morts tout de suite, tandis que la cinquième victime a succombé peu après son arrivée à l'hôpital", a déclaré un policier qui a participé à l'évacuation. Un habitant a confirmé ces informations.

Le kamikaze a pénétré une église pentecôtiste en construction de l'Eglise chrétienne des rachetés de Dieu dans le quartier de Jigawa dans la banlieue de Potiskum, capitale économique de l'Etat de Yobe, puis a déclenché ses explosifs.

"Figurent parmi les victimes une femme et ses deux enfants, le pasteur et un autre fidèle", a précisé le policier sous couvert d'anonymat.

Un témoin, Garba Manu, a raconté comment le kamikaze est arrivé à l'église à bord d'un rickshaw, vêtu comme les autres fidèles, et a déclenché ses explosifs dès son entrée dans l'église en construction.

"Je l'ai vu marcher dans l'église sans éveiller aucun soupçon. Cinq fidèles, trois femmes et deux hommes, étaient dans l'église quand le porteur de bombe est entré et ils sont tous morts", a-t-il ajouté.

"Le corps démembré du kamikaze a aussi été retrouvé," a déclaré Garba Manu, qui habite dans les environs.

L'attentat n'a pas été revendiqué dans l'immédiat, mais depuis le lancement de l'insurrection islamiste de Boko Haram il y a six ans, Potiskum a été régulièrement la cible d'attaques dont plusieurs attentats-suicides.

En plein ramadan, le Nigeria, avec plusieurs centaines de personnes tuées par Boko Haram en quelques jours, vit sa pire semaine depuis que le nouveau président Muhammadu Buhari a pris ses fonctions le 29 mai.

La vague d'attaques, qui a débuté mercredi soir, a touché plusieurs villages de l’État de Borno, épicentre de l'insurrection de Boko Haram, désormais affilié au groupe État islamique.

abu-joa/dom/de

© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse

Jos, Nigeria | AFP | Sunday 7/5/2015 - 23:02 GMT

Two blasts rocked the central Nigerian city of Jos on Sunday, the police said, in the latest unrest to hit the region.

"I can confirm that there were two explosions in Jos this evening. One happened at the Bauchi motor park and the other at Yantaya, near the mosque," Plateau state police spokesman Abuh Emmanuel told AFP.

He could not immediately say if there were any casualties but added that police officers had been sent to the scene.

"Our men have moved in to evacuate the victims," he said, refusing to give further details.

Witness Mohammed Sani Abubakar told AFP the first explosion went off around 9:14 pm (2014 GMT) at Bauchi road shopping complex, near the Bauchi motor park and the University of Jos.

"A second explosion was heard about four minutes later," he said, adding that it occurred close to the popular Yantaya Mosque.

Abubakar said a van and several other vehicles were seen transporting some of the dead and injured to the hospital.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts but Jos, the capital of Plateau state, has been repeatedly attacked by the Boko Haram Islamist group.

In February, at least 17 people were killed when a twin blast hit a bus park in the city.

str-joa/mfp

© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse

Encourages Participation in Government via U-Report

Lagos 1 July 2015 - UNICEF and Airtel, a leading telecommunications services provider with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, have entered a partnership agreement to expand their collaboration across all 36 states and FCT in Nigeria. The partnership will increase access to social change related information and provide opportunities for participation whilst pushing forward U-Report, an innovative project supported by UNICEF.

The agreement allows UNICEF to tap into Airtel’s mobile services to make health, education, child protection and community-focused content available to Airtel customers across the country. Through improved connectivity, more Nigerians will have free access to mobile applications and services developed by UNICEF, such as U-Report.

U-Report, an innovative SMS-based platform, empowers Nigerians to participate and engage in policy-making and governance and to access real time information on key social issues. The platform, which was launched officially in Nigeria on 29 April, 2015, has over 400,000 registered users, making Nigeria the leading U-Report platform globally, among 16 other countries that are running the same application.

Commenting on the initiative, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Airtel Nigeria, Segun Ogunsanya, said the company is committed to empowering Nigerians and is keen on supporting programmes that will enrich the lives of its various stakeholders. “At Airtel Nigeria, we constantly look for opportunities to excite, delight and empower our customers. This innovative partnership with UNICEF offers Nigerians a golden opportunity to transform the country and we are glad to be part of the U-Report project,” he said.

Jean Gough, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, said “UNICEF is committed to providing innovative solutions towards better delivery of services and social change. This partnership with Airtel has the potential to empower millions of Nigerians through access to information and with opportunities to help them transform their societies.”

About 15 million text messages were sent and received through the U-Report platform while the country battled Ebola in 2014, ahead of the official U-Report launch this year. The awareness messages and real time responses via SMS and on the U-Report Social Media platforms sent out during the Ebola outbreak were able to combat rumours about mythical remedies such as bathing with hot water and salt and taking bitter kola to cure the disease. U-Report participants were informed about how to identify the disease, and how to keep safe.

U-Report Nigeria has sent out more than 70 polls and 25 million messages over the past year on topics as such as prevention of HIV/AIDS, unemployment, maternal and child health, safety and security in schools, child protection, electricity, water and sanitation and hygiene.

UNICEF strongly believes that through U-Report, communities can improve their standard of living and significantly contribute to transparency and accountability in the management of public affairs, which is key to the development of Nigeria.

The support provided by AIRTEL has enabled U-Report to grow into a vibrant tool to empower Nigerians. UNICEF looks forward to continued collaboration and expansion, striving to achieve its target of 1 million U-Reporters by the end of this year.

To become a U-Reporter in Nigeria, text the word ‘JOIN’ to 24453. It is free.

NOTE

To access U-Report information, see http://www.nigeria.ureport.in via a mapping infographic interface, the website shows U-Reporter responses across Nigeria to more than 50 questions over the past one year. Poll questions on a wide range of development topics continue to be asked to U-Reporters every week, providing a deep source of real-time information on the views and opinions of Nigerians.

About UNICEF

UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere. For more information about UNICEF and its work visit: www.unicef.org

For further information, please contact:

Doune Porter, Chief of Communications, Nigeria, Tel: +234 (0)803 525 0273 Email: dporter@unicef.org

About Bharti Airtel

Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company ranks amongst the top 4 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, the company's product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed line services, high speed DSL broadband, IPTV, DTH, enterprise services including national & international long distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel had over 326 million customers across its operations at the end of April 2015. To know more please visit, www.airtel.com

For further information, please contact:

Adefemi Adeniran, Head PR, Airtel Nigeria, Tel: +234 802 222 0106 Email: adefemi.adeniran@ng.airtel.com or

Erhumu Bayagbon, PR Manager, Airtel Nigeria, Tel: +234 802 222 8723 Email: erhumu.bayagbon@ng.airtel.com

VISION

Protection monitoring seeks to collect and analyse information on protection trends in the most affected States to ensure appropriate response by the Protection Sector Working Group (PSWG), Inter-sector Working Group (ISWG) and Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) as well as other stakeholders in Nigeria. It will be used as a basis for evidence-based advocacy, ensuring sectoral protection mainstreaming, as well as for the referral of cases of protection violations.

WHERE MONITORS ARE

Since April 2015, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) have deployed 314 protection monitors to ten States of the North East and North Central region (Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, FCT, Gombe, Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba and Yobe) to carry out both individual and community-level protection monitoring. Thirty monitors and one State supervisor were deployed to each of the States, as well as four additional staff members at NHRC in Abuja to supervise protection monitoring.

I. Introduction

1. In a letter dated 23 December 2013 (S/2013/759), the President of the Security Council informed me of the Council’s concurrence with my recommendation to extend the mandate of the United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWA) until 31 December 2016, and requested that I report to the Council every six months on the implementation of the mandate.

2. The present report covers the period from 1 January to 30 June 2015. It provides an overview of developments and trends in West Africa and outlines the activities undertaken by UNOWA in the areas of good offices, enhancing subregional capacities to address cross-border and cross-cutting threats to peace and security and promoting good governance, respect for the rule of law and human rights and gender mainstreaming. It also outlines the efforts of UNOWA in engaging regional and subregional organizations, in particular the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Lake Chad Basin Commission and the Mano River Union, in order to promote peace and stability in West Africa.

I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to the request contained in the statement by the President of the Security Council of 12 February 2013 (S/PRST/2013/2).

1. The present report, which is my eleventh on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, covers the period from November 2013 to May 2015. It reviews the state of the protection of civilians in key conflict-related crises, identifies existing and emerging protection challenges and highlights ongoing efforts to strengthen the protection of civilians. Finally, it provides recommendations for strengthening the protection of civilians in armed conflict and promoting a more consistent and systematic approach by the Security Council.

2. Over the past decade, the number of people in need of international humanitarian assistance has tripled. The overwhelming majority of those people are civilians affected by armed conflict or complex emergencies, which account for about 80 per cent of the crises requiring an international humanitarian response. Approximately 42 per cent of the world’s poor now live in conflict-affected and fragile States, and that figure is expected to rise to 62 per cent by 2030. Protecting those people from harm and preserving their dignity, in particular by upholding international law and seeking accountability for violations, should be at the very top of the international community’s agenda.

3. Yet shocking levels of brutality and casual disregard for human life and dignity have come to characterize most of today’s armed conflicts. Civilians are killed and maimed in targeted or indiscriminate attacks. They are tortured, taken hostage and disappeared, forcibly recruited into armed groups, displaced from their homes, separated from their families and denied access to the most basic necessities. Sexual and gender-based violence is widespread. Direct attacks on schools and hospitals have become common features of many armed conflicts. Humanitarian and health-care workers are deliberately targeted. In many conflicts, the most basic rules of international humanitarian law are routinely violated with little or no accountability. Impunity remains widespread across conflicts and fuels further violations.

4. The human cost of this dynamic is devastating. Displacement due to conflicts and violence has reached its highest level since the Second World War: an estimated 38 million people have been displaced within their own country and a further 13 million are refugees abroad. In 2014 alone, about 11 million people had to flee their homes and seek safety within their own country to escape attacks or for fear of being attacked. This is the equivalent of 30,000 people uprooted from their homes every day, with little hope of return. The average length of conflict-induced internal displacement is about 17 years. For many, displacement marks the beginning of a lifelong struggle for security and stability.

5. Upholding humanity is at the core of humanitarian action and of the Charter of the United Nations. Civilians caught in armed conflict are among the world’s most vulnerable. They have a right to be protected. Yet the commitment and the ability of the international community to protect civilians in conflict and preserve their dignity are being challenged at every turn. Over the past 16 years, the Security Council has established a robust normative framework on the protection of civilians, embodied in various resolutions and presidential statements and founded on the principles of international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law. The Council has also significantly strengthened the protection and human rights mandates of many United Nations peace operations. This has been bolstered by the regular updating of the aide-memoire for the consideration of issues pertaining to the protection of civilians and the establishment of the Council’s informal expert group on the protection of civilians. The establishment by the Council of thematic mandates on children and armed conflict and conflict-related sexual violence has been crucial in garnering political momentum and promoting responsive action on those issues. However, despite those improvements in the normative sphere, the task of protecting civilians on the ground has been more pronounced in its failures than its successes.

6. The five core challenges to the protection of civilians, outlined in my previous reports, continue to be highly relevant. First, we must strengthen compliance with international law by parties to conflict, in particular in the conduct of hostilities. A united Security Council has a critical role to play in this area. The lack of enforcement and continued violations have eroded international humanitarian and human rights law. Second, we must ensure more systematic engagement with non-State armed groups to press for their compliance with the law and their assurance of the protection of civilians and humanitarian access to people in need. Third, building on the progress to date, we must further strengthen the role of peacekeeping operations in the protection of civilians. Peacekeepers must be given the resources and capabilities necessary to fulfil these mandates while actively engaging national authorities in fulfilling their primary responsibility to protect civilians. Fourth, we need more concerted action from all relevant actors, including those with leverage over parties to conflict, to ensure rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access to people in need of protection and assistance. Where parties to conflict withhold consent to relief operations on arbitrary grounds, there must be consequences. Fifth, there remains an overwhelming need to ensure that those who violate the law are held accountable for their actions. Anything less promotes a culture of impunity within which violations flourish. My previous reports include numerous recommendations to assist the Council, Member States and parties to conflict in meeting the challenges. Those recommendations warrant serious consideration and action. States have the primary responsibility for protecting civilians on their territory, and the ultimate aim of my recommendations is to reinforce, not replace, the responsibility of States.

7. We need to use the World Humanitarian Summit, to be held in 2016, to launch an ambitious agenda for change and measurably reduce violence and the impact of conflicts on civilians, with clear goals and targets. We also need to build on the work of the post-2015 process to truly ensure that “no one is left behind”, least of all the displaced and others affected by conflict. Clearly articulating our ambitions to reduce violence by 2030 and identifying concrete targets and indicators will promote measurability, dialogue and action in this critical area.

Food and nutrition situation at the beginning of the hunger gap period and agricultural outlook in the Sahel and West Africa

Jos, Nigeria - 09:48 GMT

At least 44 people were killed in twin bomb blasts in the central Nigerian city of Jos, the emergency services said on Monday, after a wave of mass casualty attacks blamed on Boko Haram militants.

Sunday's bombings took the death toll from raids, explosions and suicide attacks to 267 this month alone and to 524 since Muhammadu Buhari became president on May 29, according to an AFP count.

The former army general has repeatedly vowed to crush the Islamists and is eyeing the deployment of a strengthened regional force at the end of this month to deliver a hammer blow.

But with the death toll rising, attacks increasing and the military seemingly unable to prevent attacks on civilians, he will be under pressure to act fast.

• Mosque hit -

Sunday's blasts happened within minutes of each other at a shopping complex and near a mosque in the religiously divided capital of Plateau state, which the rebels have targeted before.

"At the moment we have 44 dead bodies and 47 others injured from the scenes of the two attacks," Mohammed Abdulsalam, from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) told AFP.

Umar Abubakar, who was at the Yantaya mosque for the "Tafsir" or Koran commentary session, said a number of attackers opened fire from outside at about 9:20 pm (2020 GMT).

"They fire an RPG (rocket propelled grenade) at the mosque but it hit a metal bar on the facade and exploded," he said. "Many people were killed and injured from the shooting and the explosion.

"It was a miracle I escaped because I can't explain how it happened."

Daybreak showed the mosque pockmarked with bullet holes and stained with blood, while footwear, books and other personal items were strewn on the ground.

• Restaurant attacked -

The second attack targeted the packed Shagalinku restaurant in a shopping complex on the Bauchi Road, which is popular with travellers from the northeast.

Local resident Mohammed Shafi'i, who is a regular at the restaurant, said the whole neighbourhood shook from the blast and he counted 25 bodies, including four waitresses.

"The restaurant was badly damaged. Bits of human flesh, blood stains, plastic tables and chairs and all sorts of personal items litter the place," he said.

The carnage in Jos followed a suicide attack on a church in the northeastern city of Potiskum on Sunday, which left five people dead, including the pastor, a woman and her two children.

Last week, Islamist militants fighters raided a number of villages around the Lake Chad area, killing more than 150 worshippers as they prayed in mosques.

Buhari said on Sunday that Boko Haram, which has allied itself to the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq, had "declared war on all that we value".

He promised to do "everything possible to eradicate Boko Haram, terrorism and mindless extremism from Nigeria in the shortest possible time".

• Guerrilla tactics -

Boko Haram's resumption of guerrilla-style tactics against "soft" civilian targets follows its capture of territory across the northeast last year.

The insurgents have been pushed out towns and villages since the turn of the year but the attacks demonstrate the group is not a spent force.

Security analysts have suggested a decline in intensity of operations by the existing multilateral force of Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon has allowed the rebels to regroup and rearm.

They also said the increase in attacks during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan has coincided with Buhari distracted by other pressing issues such as tackling the faltering economy.

str-abu-phz/txw

© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse

Situation acridienne toujours calme dans tous les pays

De bonnes pluies et au moins deux générations seront nécessaires pour que les effectifs augmentent cet été dans les aires de reproduction estivale traditionnelles du Sahel septentrional d’Afrique de l’ouest et du Soudan ainsi que de part et d’autre de la frontière indo-pakistanaise. Jusqu’à présent, les pluies tardent à tomber sur le Sahel, sauf dans le centre du Niger et l’est du Mali, alors que les pluies de mousson ont débuté de une à trois semaines plus tôt que la normale en Inde et au Pakistan.

Après le début des pluies estivales, une reproduction à petite échelle aura lieu dans le nord du Sahel, de la Mauritanie à l’ouest de l’Érythrée.

En conséquence, des prospections régulières devraient démarrer sous peu dans toutes les aires de reproduction estivale mais certaines zones telles que le nord du Mali, le Darfour et l’intérieur du Yémen resteront inaccessibles à cause de l’insécurité.

Tracking food security trends in vulnerable countries

The Global Food Security Update provides a quarterly overview of key food security trends in vulnerable countries. Information is provided by WFP VAM field teams and partners.

In focus

• Conflict in Yemen is causing increasing food insecurity.
As of June, at least 6 million people are facing Emergency (IPC Phase 4) food insecurity. Millions more could easily fall into the emergency conditions unless a political solution is found quickly.

• The protracted conflict in Syria has caused 50 percent of the population to flee their homes, leaving 7.6 million people internally displaced and more than 3.8 million taking refuge in neighbouring countries. In Syria, 9.8 million people are estimated to be in need of various levels of food, agricultural and livelihood assistance.

• Since January 2014, 2.9 million people in Iraq have fled their homes. Some 8.2 million, nearly a quarter of the population, currently require some form of immediate humanitarian support. Around 4.4 million people require urgent food assistance – a staggering 57 percent increase on the 2014 estimate. WFP monitoring suggests that food security has deteriorated in areas that are directly affected by conflict, where nearly one in ten households is consuming a borderline or inadequate diet.

• In West Africa, the Cadre Harmonisé analysis estimates that up to 7.3 million people will face Crisis and Emergency levels of food insecurity through August 2015. In the coming months, food security could deteriorate because of population movements in the north of Mali and in the Lake Chad basin, the continuing Ebola epidemic, and poor pasture and crop production in the Sahelian strip.

• South Sudan’s latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis identified increasing needs, with 4.6 million people projected to face severe food insecurity (IPC Phases 3 and 4) during the lean period of May–July 2015.

• The Nepal earthquake has significantly impacted food security, with an estimated 1.4 million people in need of food assistance (excluding the urban Kathmandu Valley area). The majority of these live in the most heavily affected areas along the seismic belt and in the mountains, with the rest living in the less severely damaged but densely populated southern areas.

• The food security situation in Ukraine has deteriorated since October 2014. Thirty percent of the population in conflict-affected areas are consuming an inadequate diet.

• In Southern Africa, regional crop production is expected to decrease as a result of uncharacteristic and erratic 2014/15 rainfall.

• Across central Ethiopia, early season dryness worsened in April, creating large rainfall deficits that damaged crop production and pasture development. Belowaverage Belg season crop production is expected.

DISPLACEMENT HIGHLIGHTS

• 1,385,298 IDPs (188,547 households) were identified in Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe states through DTM.

• The number of IDPs in Borno reached1,002,688.

• 122,719 returness who were displaced in Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe and Taraba were identified in Adamawa (Mubi North, Mubi South, Michika, Maiha, Hong and Gombi).

Deux initiatives au Niger et au Sénégal récompensées pour leurs meilleures pratiques de développement durable

6 juillet 2015, Rome– Deux projets de la FAO ont remporté un prix au concours de l'EXPO 2015 visant à mettre en lumière les meilleures pratiques de développement durable en matière de sécurité alimentaire.

Le concours des "Meilleures pratiques de développement durable" a été organisé par la plateforme Feeding Knowledge, une initiative d'EXPO 2015 incitant à renforcer la coopération dans la recherche et l'innovation sur la sécurité alimentaire en mettant l'accent sur les politiques, les technologies, le savoir-faire et les services et produits. Le thème de l'EXPO cette année est "Nourrir la planète, Energie pour la vie".

Le premier prix de la catégorie "Amélioration quantitative et qualitative des produits agricoles" a été décerné aujourd'hui lors d'une cérémonie au projet "Intensification de l'agriculture par le renforcement des boutiques d'intrants coopératives*"*(IARBIC), une collaboration entre la FAO, le Ministère de l'agriculture du Niger, une douzaine de fédérations de producteurs du Niger et tout un éventail d'autres partenaires de développement.

Le projet s'emploie à accroître la production agricole au Niger en améliorant l'accès aux engrais de qualité. Cela passe par la formation d'un vaste réseau de producteurs, coopératives et organisations d'agriculteurs qui apprennent à organiser les commandes d'engrais et à gérer les boutiques d'intrants agricoles**,** en acquérant des connaissances de comptabilité et de gestion, ainsi que de nouvelles techniques agricoles comme l'utilisation rationnelle et avisée d'engrais de qualité.

Au cours des cinq dernières années, quelque 260 boutiques d'intrants agricoles ont été créées et 100 entrepôts construits pour le stockage des récoltes, au service de plus de 100 000 petits exploitants. Outre les engrais, les boutiques d'intrants vendent également des semences et offrent des services phytosanitaires et autres, et ciblent spécifiquement les femmes pour les ventes de plus petites quantités d'engrais.

Le projet a en outre soutenu des mécanismes de financement novateurs tels que le système de crédit sur inventaire connu sous le nom de ‘warrantage'. Par ailleurs, un fonds de garantie de 653 000 euros a été mis en place au profit de huit fédérations d'agriculteurs qui ont donc pu accéder au crédit pour leurs activités agroalimentaires et de la création de l'Union des fédérations de producteurs du Niger (GATANCI), soutenue par IARBIC.

Deuxième prix pour le développement des petites communautés rurales

Le deuxième prix de la catégorie "Développement durable des petites communautés rurales des zones marginales" a été décerné à un autre projet de la FAO: "Eradication de la mouche tsé-tsé Glossina palpalis gambiensis dans les Niayes au Sénégal*".*

Le projet a pour vocation de créer une zone exempte de la mouche tsétsé à l'ouest du Sénégal, réduisant ainsi l'incidence de la trypanosom iase, une maladie du bétail, et de soutenir la mise au point de systèmes de production animale plus efficaces. La FAO travaille en partenariat avec l'Agence internationale pour l'énergie atomique (AIEA), la Direction des services vétérinaires et le Centre français de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement (CIRAD) ainsi que l'Institut pour la recherche agricole du Sénégal.

Le comité de sélection de l'EXPO a mis en vedette les hauts niveaux de collaboration incarnés par les projets lauréats. En tout, dix-huit projets ont été retenus sur 786 candidats par un comité international constitué de personnalités telles que le Prince Albert II de Monaco, Sebastião Salgado, Vandana Shiva et Jeffrey Sachs, entre autres.

Le concours a été organisé autour de cinq priorités thématiques: gestion durable des ressources naturelles; améliorations de la production agricole d'ordre quantitatif et qualitatif; dynamique socio-économique et marchés mondiaux; développement durable des petites communautés rurales dans les zones marginales; et modes de consommation: régime alimentaire, environnement, société, économie et santé.

Les projets lauréats de ce concours sont présentés dans le cadre d'installations vidéo et photo au Pavillon Zéro de l'EXPO Milan 2015.