HIGHLIGHTS

- Boko Haram-related insecurity displaces 2.5 million people; displacement increases significantly in Cameroon and Chad in recent months

- USAID/FFP provides nearly $27.2 million in new funding to WFP in December

- U.S. Ambassador to Chad James A. Knight redeclares a disaster due to the ongoing complex emergency

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

- Ongoing Boko Haram-related violence continues to result in insecurity and has displaced 2.5 million people in the Lake Chad Basin as of December. The UN and its partner agencies released the Sahel Regional Response Plan (SRP) on December 9, requesting a total of $1.98 billion dollars to address the Lake Chad Basin crisis, as well as other regional crises.

- In response to increasing displacement resulting from insecurity in neighboring Nigeria, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) initiated the displacement tracking matrix (DTM) system in Cameroon. As of mid-November, IOM had identified approximately 158,300 IDPs, including an estimated 124,000 people displaced by Boko Haram-related violence. The total represents a more than 33 percent increase since November 2014. IOM continues to utilize the DTM in other Boko Haram-affected countries to trace population movement.

- On December 14, U.S. Ambassador to Chad James A. Knight redeclared a disaster due to the ongoing complex emergency in the country, highlighting continued violence, food insecurity and malnutrition, and loss of livelihoods as requiring continued humanitarian support in Lake Chad Basin.

- In December, USAID/FFP provided nearly $27.2 million in additional funding for the Lake Chad Basin response, bringing total USAID/FFP funding in FY 2015 and 2016 for the response to more than $77.6 million. USAID/FFP-supported programs include in- kind food assistance, as well as funding for capacity building assistance, cash transfers, local and regional procurement of food and food vouchers in Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria.

Lake Chad Basin - Complex Emergency Fact Sheet #3, Fiscal Year (FY) 2016

New York – Ignitia, a high-tech social enterprise, has joined the Business Call to Action (BCtA) with a commitment to deliver reliable, targeted, low-cost tropical weather forecasts via text messages to 1.2 million small-scale farmers in West Africa by the end of 2017. BCtA is a global initiative that encourages companies to fight poverty through inclusive business models. It is supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other international organizations.

Small-scale farmers in the tropics have limited access to reliable weather forecasts, which seriously constrains their ability to plan farming activities. To fill this gap, Ignitia created a forecasting model that creates reliable, GPS-specific weather forecasts. Two-day, monthly and seasonal forecasts are sent to customers via SMS. Launched in Ghana in 2014, iska™ has proven to be 84 percent accurate compared with global forecasts, such as those found on the BBC or CNN, which only achieve 39 percent accuracy in West Africa.

“With iska™, smallholder farmers receive the vital information they need to mitigate risk and create resilience. In doing so, farmers are able to increase yields and improve their livelihoods, year after year,” said Liisa Petrykowska, Ignitia’s Chief Executive Officer. “We are pleased to have our inclusive business recognized by the Business Call Action and look forward to working with the BCtA and our fellow members.”

More than 2.8 billion people – 40 percent of the world’s population – live in the tropics, where the majority derive their livelihoods from small-scale farming. The yields of small-scale farmers in sub-Saharan Africa are the lowest in the world, causing food insecurity, continued poverty and stagnant economic growth. It is estimated that between 20 percent and 80 percent of annual yields are lost due to weather. By comparison, losses due to pests, diseases and weeds affect only 15 percent of yields (Gommes et al, 2011). A study of smallholder maize farmers in Mali found that by using meteorological data alone, farmers could increase their incomes by up to 80 percent (Hellmuth et al, 2007).

Each iska™ forecast is tailor made for a specific farmer’s location by an automated application that fetches the most common GPS coordinate for each subscriber. Farmers are then sent unique forecasts by SMS in text-lite format, which can be received by any basic mobile phone. The farmers are charged the equivalent of US$0.04 per day for the service; they can pay in micro-installments from pre-paid mobile credit. Over an entire season, this typically adds up to less than 2 percent of a farmer’s total expenditure on inputs. iska™ is delivered in partnership with MTN in Ghana, and with other telecommunications partners across West Africa, and is easy for the farmer to opt in or out.

Changes in weather patterns, coupled with the increased frequency and intensity of severe weather are resulting in fewer growing days rendering traditional farming methodologies increasingly less reliable. Iska’s™ accurate short- mid- and long-range forecasting messaging, therefore, offers farmers a crucial climate change adaptation mechanism.

To date, Ignitia has reached more than 80,000 farmers and sent over 6 million weather forecasts. The company plans to expand its service to 20 countries in Africa, Southeast Asia and Central America.

“Ignitia’s inclusive business is an excellent example of leveraging low-cost, easily accessible technologies to reduce poverty and hunger, and deliver on the 2030 Development Agenda,” said Sahba Sobhani, BCtA’s Acting Project Manager. “We are pleased to welcome the company as a BCtA member and look forward to supporting its growth in the months and years ahead."

About Business Call to Action (BCtA)

The Business Call to Action challenges companies to advance core business activities that are inclusive of poor populations and contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goals. Worldwide, 137 companies, from SMEs to multinationals, have responded to the BCtA by making commitments to improve the lives and livelihoods of millions through commercially-viable business ventures that engage low-income people as consumers, producers, suppliers, and distributors of goods and services.

The Business Call to Action is a unique multilateral alliance between key donor governments including the, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), UK Department for International Development (DFID), US Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Finland, and the United Nations Development Programme — which hosts the secretariat — in collaboration with leading global institutions, such as the United Nations Global Compact, and the Inter-American Development Bank’s Opportunities for the Majority Initiative. For more information, please visit www.businesscalltoaction.org or on Twitter at @BCtAInitiative.

About Ignitia

Ignitia is a high-technology company and social enterprise that has recently developed the world’s first accurate tropical weather forecast model. Our platform is aimed to benefit small-scale farmers in West Africa by sending a daily forecast via SMS, provided in partnership with major telecommunication firms. We started in 2010 as a new research team gathered from different renowned universities and research institutions such as NASA. Using an approach that combines proprie¬tary algorithms, uninterrupted 3-D multisource data and predic¬tive artificial intelligence, our team of meteorologists, physicists and mathematicians spent four years developing a technology for superior convective weather prediction.

For more information please visit www.ignitia.se or follow us on Twitter @IgnitiaWeather

Contact Information
Business Call to Action: Jeanne Finestone at jeanne.finestone@undp.org
Ignitia: Lizzie Merrill at lizzie.merrill@ignitia.se

BY VASU GOUNDEN

September 2015 will be remembered as a period when the conscience and morality of our collective humanity was tested, and generations to come will judge us on the decisions we made in this month.

On 2 September 2015, the lifeless body of innocent three-year-old Aylan Kurdi washed up on the shores of a Turkish resort in Bodrum. This image, which went viral on news and social media, highlighted the juxtaposition and the stark contrast of our civilisation; an innocent child and his family escaping starvation, poverty, inequality and conflict washing up dead on the shores of a luxury resort, where people with jobs and wealth come to eat aplenty, play and relax.

On 11 September 2015, the world will mark the 14th anniversary of the deadly attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York City, just a short distance from the United Nations (UN) headquarters. The pictures of people jumping to their death from the twin towers to avoid the fire that engulfed the buildings are etched in our memories. That day represents the day the world was profoundly changed and the day the war on terror started.

On 15 September 2015, world leaders will gather in New York City for the 70th regular session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA70), and between 25 and 27 September 2015, world leaders will adopt the Post 2015 Development Agenda, following a review of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs are eight international development goals that were established following the Millennium Summit of the UN in 2000, and the adoption of the UN Millennium Declaration. All 189 UN member states and some 23 international organisations committed to help achieve the MDGs by 2015.

The Millennium Summit in 2000 was preceded by a two-year consultation process that involved over 1 000 non-governmental organisation representatives from over 100 countries. The Millennium Summit was launched with the report of the Secretary-General, entitled ‘We the People: The Role of the United Nations in the Twenty-first Century’. These events and consultations were followed by a series of UN-led conferences in the 1990s, focused on issues such as children, nutrition, human rights and women. The early 1990s – the period immediately after the end of the cold war – was also the beginning of a proliferation of internal conflicts with poverty, inequality and unemployment as their root causes.

The establishment of the MDGs was therefore a response to these underlying causes of conflict, and they were ambitious goals and targets for countries to achieve by 2015. The Declaration asserted that every individual has dignity – and hence, the right to freedom, equality and a basic standard of living that includes freedom from hunger and violence and encourages tolerance and solidarity. The MDGs set concrete targets and indicators for poverty reduction to achieve the rights set forth in the Declaration.

The death of Aylan Kurdi, the attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Centre and the MDGs are all linked. There cannot be any security for Aylan Kurdi and the victims of the September 11 attacks without us achieving the MDGs; in turn, the MDGs cannot be achieved without security. However, the MDGs cannot merely represent a set of goals and targets – simply numbers that need to be achieved. They must represent a living legacy of our collective decisions that will ensure that more Aylan Kurdis do not wash up on shores or more desperate people do not resort to acts of terror to make their point. The MDGs represent our collective decisions that the 8.5 billion people living in 2030 will judge us on.
We must not fail them.

Vasu Gounden is the Founder and Executive Director of ACCORD.

Independent, Impartial Probes Essential

(Abuja) – The killing of hundreds of Shia Muslim members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), by Nigerian army soldiers from December 12 to 14, 2015, appears to have been wholly unjustified. The Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up by the government should be sufficiently independent and impartial to hold those responsible to account.

Human Rights Watch interviewed 16 witnesses to the killings and five others, including local authorities, who said that Nigerian army soldiers fired on Shia Muslim members of the group at three locations in Zaria, in northern Nigeria. The army said its confrontation with the Shia sect members who had erected a makeshift roadblock near a mosque resulted from an assassination attempt on the army chief of staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, whose convoy was passing by. In an internal military document seen by Human Rights Watch, the army said protesters appeared to be taking up positions near the back of the convoy.

“The Nigerian military’s version of events does not stack up,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “It is almost impossible to see how a roadblock by angry young men could justify the killings of hundreds of people. At best it was a brutal overreaction and at worst it was a planned attack on the minority Shia group.”

The army carried out attacks at the Hussainniya Baqiyyatullah mosque and religious center, at the home of the Shiite leader, Sheikh Ibrahim Al Zakzaky, in the Gyellesu neighborhood and at the sect’s burial ground, Daral-Rahma, over the course of two days. At least 300 Shia sect members, and likely many more, were killed and hundreds more injured, according to witnesses in at least two of the sites and a hospital source. Soldiers quickly buried the bodies in mass graves without family members’ permission, making it difficult to determine an accurate death toll.

Although some people threw stones and had sticks, there has been no credible information that any soldiers were injured or killed.

The Islamic Movement of Nigeria is a Shia sect with close ties to Iran based in Zaria, Kaduna state. It began in the 1980s and is led by Sheik Zakzaky, who was inspired by Iran’s revolutionary movement when he traveled there. The sect has an estimated 3 million followers spread across Nigeria. It is separate from Boko Haram, a radical Islamic group also operating in northern Nigeria, whose members have attacked Shia and others.

Under international human rights law governing the use of force during policing operations such as this, the intentional use of lethal force is only permitted when strictly unavoidable, to protect life.

On December 17, 2015, the Kaduna state governor, Malam Nasir El Rufai, announced the establishment of a state Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the incident. In his news conference, the governor listed a range of grievances against the Shia sect, including how road traffic had been disrupted during Shiite processions and the sect’s disregard for Nigerian government authorities.

President Muhammadu Buhari has yet to make any public statement on the killings. On December 18, a presidential spokesperson said that the incident was “a military affair.”

Principle 22 of the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, applicable to the Nigerian armed forces in this situation, stipulates that, “Governments and law enforcement agencies shall ensure that an effective review process is available and that independent administrative or prosecutorial authorities are in a position to exercise jurisdiction in appropriate circumstances.” Under the same principles, Nigerian authorities are bound to ensure effective investigations.

“Characterizing this terrible carnage against Shiites in Zaria as ‘a military affair’ is shocking,” Bekele said. “President Buhari should ensure the military’s appalling track record of serious human rights abuses is halted and does not continue under his term in office."

Bamako, Mali | AFP | mardi 22/12/2015 - 10:07 GMT | 278 mots

Le gouvernement malien a proclamé l'état d'urgence pour dix jours en raison de "l’évolution de la situation sécuritaire au Mali et dans la sous-région", selon un communiqué officiel publié lundi soir.

Le gouvernement décrète "l’état d’urgence sur l’ensemble du territoire national à compter du 21 décembre 2015 à minuit pour une durée de 10 jours" , indique ce communiqué rendu public à l'issue du conseil des ministres.

La mesure d'exception "vise à donner aux autorités compétentes les moyens de droit leur permettant de mieux circonscrire et combattre tout projet d'atteinte à la sécurité des personnes et de leurs biens et toute tentative de trouble à la quiétude des populations", ajoute le communiqué.

Elle donne notamment plus de possibilités d'interventions aux forces de sécurité et restreint les rassemblements.

Interrogé par l'AFP sur d'éventuelles menaces contre le pays, un ministre malien a répondu, sous couvert d'anonymat : "Même en France, à l’approche des fêtes de fin d’année, il y a des mesures qui sont prises. Le Mali a le devoir de prendre les devants".

"C’est ce que nous faisons. Pour les fêtes de fin d'années, il faut éviter les attroupements. L'ennemi peut profiter de ces attroupements".

C'est le deuxième état d'urgence proclamé au Mali en un mois, après celui décrété à la suite de l'attaque contre un grand hôtel de la capitale.

Le 20 novembre, l'attaque du Radisson Blu de Bamako avait fait 20 morts dont 14 étrangers, en plus des deux assaillants, selon le bilan officiel.

Cette action a été revendiqué par deux groupes jihadistes: le 20 novembre par Al-Mourabitoune de l'Algérien Mokhtar Belmokhtar et le 22 novembre par le Front de libération du Macina (FLM, mouvement jihadiste malien).

sd/mrb/de

© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

OVER 6,000 SEEK REFUGE AFTER BOUAR CLASHES

Fearing more attacks following clashes between armed groups in Bouar in NanaMambéré province in late November, around 6,500 people have fled their homes and sought refuge around the MINUSCA compound and a local church.
Some of the displaced spend the night at the sites and return to their homes during the day. Healthcare, water, hygiene and sanitation are the main needs.

REFEREDUM VOTE PASSED

On 21 December, electoral officials announced that the constitutional referendum held on 13 December was overwhelmingly passed by 93 per cent of voters. This paves the way for presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for 27 December.

EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE

NO NEW CASES REPORTED

No new cases were reported in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in the week ending on 20 December. Incidents of people handling dead bodies were reported in three localities in Guinea’s Forécariah prefecture. Door-to-door information campaigns are ongoing across the country focusing on vigilance at the community level. In Liberia, countyspecific epidemic preparedness and response plans are being rolled out simultaneously in all the 15 counties as a first step towards forming rapid response teams at the county level. Sierra Leone has begun the transfer of some Ebola emergency response tasks from the national and district level to the Office of National Security and the district health teams.

NIGERIA

MORE THAN 1,000 RETURN FROM CAMEROON

On 16 December, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said that it received 1,187 Nigerians who had returned from Cameroon where they had fled to due to Boko Haram attacks. They arrived between 14 and 16 December at a camp hosting internally displaced persons in Fufore in Adamawa state.
The agency also said that 18,600 Nigerians have returned from Cameroon in recent months owing to improving security in northeast Nigeria and concerns by the Cameroonian authorities over their prolonged stay in their country.

COTE D’IVOIRE

REFUGEE REPATRIATION RESUMES

The voluntary repatriation of Ivorian refugees in Liberia resumed on 18 December after halting for more than a year due to the Ebola outbreak. Some 654 people left Harper town and another refugee camp in eastern Liberia for their homes in western Côte d’Ivoire. Two more convoys are planned before the end of the year, bringing the expected number of returnees by the end of 2015 to more than 1,000 people. Around 11,000 of the 38,000 Ivorian refugees in Liberian camps have said they wish to return immediately.

RÉPUBLIQUE CENTRAFRICAINE

PLUS DE 6 000 PERSONNES CHERCHENT REFUGE APRÈS DES AFFRONTEMENTS À BOUAR

Craignant d'autres attaques suivant des affrontements entre groupes armés à Bouar dans la province de Nana-Mambéré à la fin novembre, environ 6 500 personnes ont fui leurs maisons et trouvé refuge autour de l'enceinte de la MINUSCA et dans une église locale. Certains déplacés passent la nuit sur les sites et rentrent chez eux pendant la journée. Des soins de santé, l'eau, l'hygiène et l'assainissement sont les principaux besoins.

REFERENDUM CONSTITUTIONNEL ADOPTÉ

Le 21 décembre, les responsables électoraux ont annoncé les résultats du référendum constitutionnel organisé le 13 décembre où le OUI l’a emporté à 93%. Ce referendum ouvre la voie à des élections présidentielles et législatives prévues pour le 27 décembre.

MALADIE À VIRUS EBOLA (MVE)

AUCUN NOUVEAU CAS SIGNALÉ

Aucun nouveau cas n’a été signalé en Guinée, au Libéria et en Sierra Leone dans la semaine se terminant le 20 décembre. Des incidents impliquant des personnes qui manipulent les dépouilles ont été signalés dans trois localités de la préfecture de Forécariah en Guinée. Des campagnes d’information sont en cours à travers le pays, mettant l'accent sur la vigilance au niveau de la communauté. Au Libéria, les plans de préparation aux épidémies et d'intervention spécifiques au niveau départemental sont mis en place de façon simultanée dans l’ensemble des 15 départements existant. Ceci est le premier pas vers la formation d'équipes d'intervention rapide au niveau des départements. La Sierra Leone quant à elle, a commencé le transfert de certaines tâches d'intervention d'urgence du niveau national et des districts vers l'Office de la sécurité nationale ainsi qu’au aux équipes de santé de district.

NIGÉRIA

PLUS DE 1 000 RETOURS DU CAMEROUN

Le 16 décembre, l'Agence nationale de gestion des urgences (NEMA) a annoncé avoir reçu 1 187 Nigérians rentrés du Cameroun où ils avaient fui à cause des attaques de Boko Haram.
Ils sont arrivés entre le 14 et le 16 décembre dans un camp d'hébergement de personnes déplacées à Fufore, dans l'État de l'Adamawa. L'Agence a également déclaré que 18 600 Nigérians sont rentrés du Cameroun ces derniers mois en raison d'une amélioration de la sécurité au nord du Nigéria et des préoccupations des autorités camerounaises concernant leur séjour prolongé au Cameroun.

COTE D’IVOIRE

REPRISE DU RAPATRIEMENT DES RÉFUGIÉS

Le rapatriement volontaire des réfugiés ivoiriens au Libéria a repris le 18 décembre, après un arrêt de plus d'un an en raison de l'épidémie de maladie à virus Ebola. Quelque 654 personnes ont quitté la ville de Harper et un autre camp de réfugiés dans l'est du Libéria pour leurs maisons dans l'ouest de la Côte d'Ivoire. Deux autres convois sont prévus avant la fin de l'année, portant le nombre attendu de rapatriés d'ici la fin de 2015 à plus de 1 000 personnes.
Environ 11 000 des 38 000 réfugiés ivoiriens dans les camps libériens ont émis le souhait de retourner immédiatement.

This is the time of year focused on children opening special packages. And none more special than the 120 school boxes packed in recent days in Helston. They are bound today for Niger where children and their families have fled the atrocities of extremists Boko Haram

Staff, volunteers and response team members made a special push this week to pack 120 school boxes. Today the boxes are on their way to provide up to 6,000 children with the equipment needed to restart their education in a part of Africa rocked by violence and bloodshed.

Attacks by Boko Haram in North East Africa have forced over a million children out of school, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a report issued this week. The militant group, which aims to establish an ISIS-style government in Nigeria, has killed thousands of people since launching a brutal insurgency in the country six years ago.

Boko Haram's actions are now said by UNICEF to have closed over 2,000 schools across Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, with some shut for more than a year due to the conflict. The schools have been attacked, looted and at times set on fire by Boko Haram militants.

UK-based disaster relief agency ShelterBox has been active in Niger and Cameroon over months. In Niger alone 916 ShelterBoxes have already been sent to families in the western regions of Niamey, Tillaberri and Dosso following severe flooding, 500 ShelterBoxes have been distributed to refugees from neighbouring Nigeria, and a further 100 to the village of Assaga. 484 more are in storage in the region awaiting distribution to refugees.

But it was the plight of refugee children and their education, as spelt out graphically in UNICEF’s report on Monday, that triggered a further fast-track response from ShelterBox in recent days. Inevitably, in the run up to Christmas holidays, there is a shortage of volunteers to help pack boxes at the charity’s Helston, Cornwall HQ. But the call went out, and a mix of volunteers, staff and locally-based response team members rolled up their sleeves and packed 120 school boxes in record time ready for shipment to Niger today.

Operations Coordinator Ayeasia Macintyre says, ‘I would just like to say a huge thank you to everyone that helped with the school box pack for Niger, and a special thank you to the warehouse team for making it happen at such short notice.’

‘The shipment will be picked up on Wednesday and will be distributed to existing schools in the Diffa region that are receiving children of new arriving families, fleeing Boko Haram violence. Education is a really important factor in enabling families to recover, and for children at risk to claim their childhood back and invest in their future.’

The school boxes are to support children that have had to move with their families due to frequent cross-border attacks by Boko Haram within Niger itself. Supporting the capacity of local schools will allow parents the time to focus on their recovery, knowing that their children are safe in school.

Each school box contains essential supplies for teachers, including blackboard paint and chalk, wind-up radios, along with school and writing equipment for 50 children.

Many children are the direct witnesses or victims of atrocities by Boko Haram. The trauma that the sect have inflicted is so severe that some children will not speak or eat when they arrive. The structure of school and psychosocial interventions support these vulnerable children to claim back their childhood, and invest in their future.

Boko Haram, which literally means ‘Western-style education is sin’, is mostly based in north eastern Nigeria, but has lately spread its campaign in neighboring Cameroon, Chad and Niger. The number of children missing out on schooling due to the ongoing conflict adds to the estimated 11 million who were already out of school in the area, according to UNICEF.

ShelterBox school boxes were also distributed in recent months in Aleppo, one of Syria’s most war-damaged cities, via ShelterBox distribution partner, Hand in Hand for Syria.

NEEDS & KEY FIGURES

14.8 million people are affected by the crisis in the north-east of Nigeria precipitated by Boko Haram-related violence since 2009. The armed conflict has affected civilians already living in precarious conditions and undermined poverty reduction and development efforts, putting at risk inter-ethnic and inter-religious co-existence, strained State Government resources and depleted community coping capacities over the past six years. While some internally displaced people (IDPs) live outside the four states of focus, these states, Adamawa, Borno, Gombe and Yobe, have been disproportionally affected by the crisis and are prioritized and referred to collectively here as north-east.

From the affected population, an estimated 7 million people, comprising displaced, confined and hosting civilians, are currently in need of humanitarian assistance.

Humanitarian Needs

1 Protection: 7 million people are suffering from the extreme consequences of armed conflict including displacement, deprivation and disease, affecting the most vulnerable in particular. 2.2 million people have been displaced, many for over a year. 3 million people are estimated to be trapped in inaccessible areas. People are subject to killings, security incidents and flagrant human rights violations. A high toll of physical abuse, abduction, extortion, disappearances, maiming, forced conversion, theft, sexual exploitation, sexual violence and forced recruitment into Boko Haram has been endured by women and children.

2 Access to food and basic services, including health, education, water and sanitation: There are 4 million vulnerable people in accessible areas: a host community population of 1.8 million and 2.2 million IDPs, who have exhausted resources and have limited or no access to basic services. In inaccessible areas the needs of 3 million people are unknown, but reports indicate they are expected to have no basic services and be severely food insecure.
Without sufficient water, sanitation and health care, people are increasingly susceptible to disease. Public infrastructure has been destroyed or damaged; over 600,000 children have lost access to learning due to the conflict. With poor rains, lack of access to agricultural land and limited market access, food insecurity and malnutrition are on the rise.

3 Shelter: Having fled from their communities due to violent conflict, 2.2 million IDPs are living in makeshift shelters, seeking refuge in overcrowded, poorlyresourced camps or centres, including at least 50 schools, or with friends and relatives, which results in serious protection concerns. Over 80% of IDPs are living in host communities, where space and resources are over-stretched, and belongings worn out from protracted displacement. Spontaneous returns have occurred in 2015 as localised security situations change, and this trend is likely to increase. In northern Adamawa an estimated 262,324 people are starting to return to places of origin and they are finding devastated villages, with destroyed houses, schools and other infrastructure and still with serious security concerns

4 Humanitarian Access: reaching the most vulnerable communities with humanitarian assistance remains severely constrained in 26 Local Government Authorities (LGAs) where the needs of approximately 3 million people can only be estimated. As the conflict shifts, and new areas become accessible, different needs will emerge: for vulnerable people reached for the first time, for those in ongoing displacement, for people on the move, and for people starting to rebuild their lives on return.

23/12/2015 - 17:55 GMT

La Commission électorale nationale indépendante du Niger (Céni) a annoncé mercredi qu'elle allait "soumettre au contrôle" de l'Organisation internationale de la francophonie (OIF) le fichier électoral, une décision saluée par l'opposition en vue de la présidentielle de février.

"Nous avons décidé ce matin en plénière de soumettre une requête urgente à l'OIF et lui soumettre le fichier électoral pour contrôle", a affirmé à l'AFP le vice-président de la Céni, Me Kadri Oumarou Sanda.

Le but visé est d'avoir "un fichier fiable", a-t-il déclaré.

"Si l'OIF, comme à ses habitudes, répond promptement, cela nous permettra d'organiser le scrutin dans les délais constitutionnels", a-t-il souligné.

La vérification du fichier par l'OIF, comme en 2010, était une des exigences de l'opposition qui menace de boycotter le scrutin du 21 février où le président Mahamadou Issoufou, élu en 2011, va briguer un second mandat.

Mais le gouvernement nigérien a annoncé lundi avoir validé le fichier "audité" par un "cabinet national" et remis à la Céni pour l'édition des cartes et des listes électorales.

Le ministre de l'Intérieur, Hassoumi Massaoudou, avait estimé qu'un audit international ouvrirait "la voie au report des élections" hors "du cadre constitutionnel".

"En confiant l'audit du fichier à l'OIF, la Céni fait preuve de son indépendance d'organiser des élections dignes, transparentes et inclusives", a réagi Ousseïni Salatou, le porte-parole de l'opposition.

M. Salatou a souhaité que "le parti au pouvoir, l'opposition et les partis non affiliés" soient "associés" aux opérations d'audit pour "renforcer la confiance" entre eux.

Mi-novembre, Sabiou Gaya, un des responsables chargés de l'élaboration du fichier électoral, avait reconnu qu'il comportait "beaucoup de ratés", notamment avec des "bureaux de vote manquants", des "mineurs et des non Nigériens inscrits" sur les listes.

Le climat politique est tendu au Niger à deux mois de la présidentielle.

En août, l'opposition avait rejeté le calendrier fixé par la commission électorale, dénonçant une absence de "consensus".

Elle avait auparavant critiqué la cour constitutionnelle, qui valide les candidatures et les résultats des élections, pour son "allégeance" au président Issoufou.

La semaine dernière, ce dernier a affirmé qu'une tentative de coup d'Etat avait été déjouée, justifiant une vague d'arrestation de militaires.

bh/eak/cyj

SG/A/1620-BIO/4799-PKO/551

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Mahamat Saleh Annadif of Chad as his Special Representative for Mali and Head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).

Mr. Annadif succeeds Mongi Hamdi of Tunisia, who will complete his assignment on 14 January 2016. The Secretary-General is grateful for Mr. Hamdi’s dedicated service and effective leadership at the helm of MINUSMA.

Mr. Annadif brings to this position extensive national and international experience. He served as Minister for Foreign Affairs of Chad from 1997 to 2003, Chief of Staff to the President from 2004 to 2006 and Secretary-General to the Presidency from 2010 to 2012. He also served as Permanent Representative of the African Union Commission to the European Union from 2006 to 2010. In the course of his career, he took part in several peace processes in Africa, including in Niger, the Central African Republic and Sudan. From 2012 to 2014, he was the African Union Special Representative and Head of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

Mr. Annadif holds an engineering degree in telecommunications from the Polytechnic School of Madagascar. Born in 1956, he is married and has six children.

SG/A/1620-BIO/4799-PKO/551

Le Secrétaire général de l’ONU, M. Ban Ki-moon, a annoncé aujourd’hui la nomination de M. Mahamat Saleh Annadif, du Tchad, au poste de Représentant spécial et Chef de la Mission intégrée multidimensionnelle des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation au Mali (MINUSMA).

M. Annadif succède à M. Mongi Hamdi, de la Tunisie, qui achève son mandat le 14 janvier 2016. Le Secrétaire général exprime à ce dernier sa gratitude pour son leadership et le dévouement dont il a fait preuve à la tête de la MINUSMA.

M. Annadif apporte à ses nouvelles fonctions une vaste expérience nationale et internationale. Il a été Ministre des affaires étrangères du Tchad de 1997 à 2003, Chef de cabinet du Président de 2004 à 2006 et Secrétaire général de la Présidence de 2010 à 2012. Il a également occupé les fonctions de Représentant permanent de l’Union africaine auprès de la Commission européenne, de 2006 à 2010.

Au cours de sa carrière, M. Annadif a participé à plusieurs processus de paix en Afrique, notamment au Niger, en République centrafricaine et au Soudan. De 2012 à 2014, il a été le Représentant spécial et Chef de la Mission de l’Union africaine en Somalie (AMISOM).

M. Annadif est titulaire d’un diplôme d’ingénieur des télécommunications de l’Institut polytechnique de Madagascar.

Né en 1956, il est marié et père de six enfants.

À l’intention des organes d’information • Document non officiel.

Highlights

 An estimated 84,100 refugees, IDPs, returnees and third-country nationals are currently displaced in the Lake region following continued deterioration of the security situation in this part the country.

 Preliminary results of the SMART nutritional survey in Chad from October and November 2015, show a national global acute malnutrition (GAM) rate of 13.3% above the warning threshold of 10%. A GAM prevalence analysis in different regions indicate that the situation has worsened in all regions in comparison of last year same period, but is of particular concern in Guera, Wadi Fira, Ouaddai, Barh El Gazal, Kanem and Lac. In addition, 12 regions out of 20 surpass emergency threshold for severe acute malnutrition (SAM).

Impact of violence linked to Boko Haram

As insecurity continues to deteriorate with more frequent attacks, population displacement continues in the Lake Chad region. The humanitarian community estimates that approximately 84,121 people, including refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees and third-country nationals, are currently displaced in the Lake region. Of these, 53,639 are IDPs from the latest wave of massive displacement which began in July 2015.

The security situation in the prefectures of Bol Bagassola, Daboua and Kangalam in the Lake region remains precarious. A State of Emergency in the Lake Region was officially declared by the government early November and has been extended by a decision of the Chad National Assembly for a period of 4 months. Suicide attacks perpetrated by members of Boko Haram continue. Access to the sites hosting IDPs is still very difficult for security reasons. Regular activities have been suspended and assessment missions have been frequently postponed.

The humanitarian situation is stable in the Bagassola area, but remains a concern in the western part of the Lake Region where the government announced a new military operation, after the suicide attacks of November 8th in Ngouboua killing five people and injuring 13 others, against Boko Haram elements and asked people to leave their villages. Following this announcement, people began to move, resulting in new arrivals in Tchoukoutalia, Fourkoulom and Koulkoume, requiring assistance.

Malnutrition and Food Insecurity in the Sahel

The preliminary results of the SMART nutritional survey in Chad show a national global acute malnutrition (GAM) rate of 13.3%. A GAM prevalence analysis in different regions indicate that the situation has worsened in all regions in comparison of last year same period, but is of particular concern in Guera (where GAM has increased from 9.9% in 2014 to 21.2% in 2015), Wadi Fira (where GAM has increased from 12.4% in 2014 to 18% in 2015), Ouaddai (GAM has increase from 9.4 % in 2014 to 17.9% in 2015), Barh El Gazal (from 12.3 % in 2014 to 17.9 % in 2015), Kanem (GAM has increase from 11.7% in 2014 to 14.2% in 2015) and Lac (from 11.6% in 2014 to 13.6 in 2016). According those preliminary results, 7 regions out of 20 surpass emergency threshold for GAM and 12 regions out of 20 surpass emergency threshold for SAM.

Refugees, returnees from CAR and stateless persons in the South

There are still 90,240 Chadian returnees from Central African Republic that are still in need of humanitarian assistance; 71,759 CAR returnees are still living in five sites in Moyen Chari, Logone Orientale and Logone Occidental Regions in Southern Chad and 12,984 other are living in host communities in Mandoul (5,853) and Salamat (7,131) regions. The site of Zafaye, close to N’Djamena host 5,259 CAR returnees. Improved shelter, hygiene and sanitation facilities remain the main needs in sites.

YAOUNDE, Cameroon, Dec 23 2015 (IPS) - Cameroon is on the path to introduce genetically modified organisms (GMO’s). This would be overseen by the Cameroon Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with the National Biosafety Committee, if the Cameroon Cotton Corporation successfully implements a three-year test cultivation of cotton.

The introduction of GMOs is seen by many as a measure to improve Cameroon’s agricultural yields and guarantee food security, despite health risks.

“Genetically modified organisms will help Cameroon solve many problems which researchers of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development have not been able to solve using conventional selection and cross breeding. It will definitely guarantee food security and safety,” Dr. David Akuroh Mbah, Chief Research Officer at the Cameroon Academy of Sciences, told IPS.

He says though Cameroon hasn’t begun using genetic engineering to modify food crops and livestock, “There are a good number of them which will be modified to increase yield. Some health problems will equally be solved. A lot of drugs and pharmaceutical products are produced by genetically modification of organisms, either plants or animals.”

According to Dr. Mbah, insulin which is required almost on a daily basis by a good proportion of the Cameroon population is now produced by use of bacteria and animals. “If it is done in Cameroon, it would be cheaper,” he said.

To further his point, Dr. Mbah cites examples such as the African swine fever, bird flu and a toxic element in cassava tubers which he says can all be eliminated through genetic modification.

“When we introduce this technology, we would be able to introduce genes that will eliminate the toxins in cassava which is currently being consumed heavily by a majority of Cameroonians. Genetic modification has been developed to eliminate the spread of bird flu virus among humans, while increasing the production of chickens. GMO chickens are more resistant to the virus. A technique has also been discovered to make pigs immune to the African swine fever virus, but this is only done out of Cameroon for now,” he said.

The country held its first national forum on GMOS from September 8 to 10, 2015 bringing together biotechnologists, academics, government officials, businessmen and experts from research institutions to brainstorm and pave the way for an effective introduction of use of bioengineering in the country’s agro sector.

Emmanuel Mbonde, the country’s Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development says that participants’ contributions to the forum will later on enable the government to take needed measures to guarantee the security of its economic, social, cultural and environmental space and to make prudent decisions in the face of challenges of modern biotechnology.

A 2014 report by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications, (ISAAA), shows Cameroon is among seven African countries (which include Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi and Egypt) engaged in test cultivation of GMOs.

Dr. Mbah says besides the forum, Cameroon had already adopted a law in 2003, to control modern biotechnology, genetic engineering or DNA technology and cloning.

“Now that the text of the application for the law has been signed, a National Biosafety Committee has been set up to guide the Ministry of Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development on what type of biotechnology to authorize or prohibit.”

The Cameroon Academy of Science and the National Biosafety Committee would examine applications of private companies vying to use GMOs in Cameroon’s agriculture and livestock sectors.

Cameroon is currently testing the use of GMOs on cotton in three localities in the northern part of the country. The first phase of the testing was carried out in 2012, unannounced to the public. According to Celestin Klassou, a researcher at Cameroon Cotton Development Corporation, cotton produced during the first phase was resistant to pest and disease, and produced higher yields.

“There is a gene which is genetically engineered into the cotton. It is an experimental stage being carried out by the Cameroon Cotton Development Corporation in accordance with the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Cameroon law,” said Dr. Mbah.

He equally notes that the same procedure would be used to improve agricultural production, adding that “people who are protesting against this system have insufficient information. We would not import GMOs from abroad. We will develop them here. However, there is a law which obliges traders to label products in shops so that citizens can choose freely between GMOs and natural products.”

Dr. Mbah also told IPS GMOs would be introduced widely in Cameroon if the three-year-long second phase which is on-going in three localities in the northern region is successful. The cotton corporation also produces edible cotton oil for commercialization.

Professor Vincent Titanji, a Cameroonian biotechnologist and Vice Chancellor of the Cameroon Christian University Institute, reaffirms that the benefits of GMOs are greater than any negative affects they might have in future.

“Remember that fire was discovered. It is both useful and harmful. ICTs are the same. I have been in the domain of bioengineering for over 30 years and none of the predicted effects have materialized. It was predicted that weeds will invade the entire ecosystems of countries like Brazil, the US, South Africa and China which produce GMOs massively. Even the toxic substances predicted, have not materialized,” said Proffessor Titanji.

The bio-technician urges Cameroonians to embrace the technology and master it, in order to be able to make the best out of it, and to effectively and efficiently handle any effects which may come up in future.

He says GMOs have been used on crops like maize, soya beans, sorghum, rice and cotton and that the trials on cotton in the north of Cameroon have proven to be better yielding and resistant to pest.“One or two negative effects such as a possible allergy should not scare people away from biotechnology.

Samson Tetang, Coordinator of a Cameroon-based NGO, Sustainable Society International says GMOs are needed for the development of agriculture and livestock. He however insists there must be a mechanism for bio-surveillance put in place to follow the risks. “Food shortage can be fought through the use of GMOs, but serious health hazards could be registered if no one monitors the plants and animals,”he said.

Marcel Moukend, an agro-engineer in charge of a National Support Program for Maize producers at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development tells IPS that the introduction of GMOs in Cameroon is not an emergency solution to food crisis.

He argues that there are programs at the Ministry of Agriculture which can guarantee food security.

“In our program, farmers only need to show us their land and we provide maize seeds to them free of charge. We provide natural composite seeds which yield between five to six tons per hectare and imported improved hybrid seeds which yield between eight to ten tons per hectare. There are programs for other crops,” he argued.

Some of the programs, such as a national program to strengthen solanum potato sub sector, was introduced in 2008.

The program aimed at helping farmers increase and maintain a high quality production of solanum potatoes only went functional this year and was effective, according to reports from the agriculture ministry.

The program targets 250,000 farming families in the West, North West, Adamawa, Far North and South West regions of Cameroon.

The Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development launched 9 billion FCFA-worth agricultural programs this year, the programs dubbed, ‘Agropoles’, cover 17 projects which include the production of avocados, rice, pork, soya-bean oil as well as chicken in the Center, West, South, North and Littoral regions.

Emmanuel Mbom, Monitoring Officer at Counterpart International, told IPS that figures from the National Institute of Statistics show Cameroon is a food deficient country where one third of children under the age of five suffer from chronic malnutrition.

Mbom whose NGO is implementing a U.S government sponsored program which provides food to some 74,000 school children in underprivileged regions of Cameroon, insists yearly food shortages are growing and represent a threat to children and their communities.

In relation to the use of GMOs, to fight hunger and poverty in Africa, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which once owned shares in Monsanto, a top GMO producer, states in its annual letter African farmers could theoretically double their yields using new farming innovations such as the use of high yielding seeds resistant to droughts and disease.

It adds that “With the right investments, we can deliver innovation and information to enough farmers in Africa to increase productivity by 50 per cent for the continent overall.”

UNICEF says hunger is a great problem in Sub-Saharan Africa, where Cameroon is found, despite the fact that the region is home to abundant cultivatable land. It says 70 per cent of the population in the region practice farming but ironically the prevalence of hunger is highest in the world with one in five people underfed. Forty per cent of children under the age of five (25 million children) suffer from stunted growth due to malnutrition.

But in the face of these nutrition problems, some conservatives and civil society activists in Cameroon still believe traditional methods of farming used over the years can be a solution.

Joshua Konkankoh, founder of the Better World Cameroon NGO tells IPS “GMOs account for a great deal to the loss of food sovereignty in Africa and in no way can become a solution.”

He shares the school of thought that the introduction of GMOs is an initiative of private seed companies to kill off Africa’s seed systems. He equally believes GMOs threaten the livelihoods of millions of small-scale farmers who rely on recycling seed for their livelihoods.

During the opening of Cameroon’s first national forum on GMOs in September 2015, civil society leaders stormed the venue of the meeting with placards.

Led by Bernard Njonga, a politician and former president of a farmers association, l’Association Citoyenne de Défense des Interest Collectives, (in French) they carried messages suggesting GMOs are cancerous herbicides and a threat to small scale farmers. Dr. Mbah however dismissed their claims, saying that they are not scientific and emanate from baseless presumptions.

While the debate on the introduction of GMOs in Cameroon is still going on with researchers urging farmers to dialogue with experts and understand the initiative before jumping to unscientific conclusions, a study by Dr. Wilfred Mbatcham, a biotechnology researcher, reveals 25 per cent of imported goods in Cameroon contain GMOs.

The Chief Research Officer at the Cameroon Academy of Sciences tells IPS that the National Biosafety Committee is yet to confirm such reports and identify importers of these products.

Villagers in northeastern Nigeria say Cameroonian troops searching for Boko Haram militants Sunday killed about 70 civilians.

According to witnesses, the soldiers entered the Borno State village of Kirawa-Jimni, asked where Boko Haram militants were hiding, and then began shooting.

Many villagers ran to escape the gunfire. Those who escaped said when they returned the following day, they found about the bodies of 70 people who had been shot.

A local militia group spokesman, Abbas Gava, says the soldiers were "in hot pursuit" of Boko Haram members when they opened fire on the villagers.

Kirawa-Jimni is a village near the Nigerian border with Cameroon, which has been fighting Boko Haram since the Islamist radical group began cross-border attacks in 2013.

Ce document décrit les différents groupes de travail humanitaires actifs dans l’Extrême-Nord du Cameroun. Ces groupes de travail se réunissent régulièrement pour discuter des différentes activités, challenges, problèmes et contraintes auxquelles ils font face dans le cadre de la réponse humanitaire dans l’Extrême Nord du Cameroun. Chaque groupe de travail est chapeauté par un ministère en Co-lead avec une ou des agences des nations-unies. Chaque groupe de travail a une ou plusieurs thématiques définies à travers des secteurs. Le groupe de travail se charge d’évaluer les besoins spécifiques à leurs secteur d’interventions ; définir des objectifs à atteindre, définir la réponse humanitaire appropriée aux besoins des personnes victimes de la crise humanitaire a l’Extrême Nord, ils implémentent, coordonnent et monitorent la réponse

La capacité opérationnelle est définie comme l’ensemble des organisations ayant le potentiel d'offrir des services humanitaires, si nécessaire. Cela signifie que l'organisation a accès à la zone touchée et les ressources humaines pour fournir des services. Les organisations fournissant actuellement une aide sont incluses.

Les informations contenues dans le présent document prennent en compte non seulement la présence mais aussi le positionnement des acteurs humanitaires ayant des activités planifiées en attente de financement ou des activités ayant reçu un financement et qui sont en instance d’être mise en oeuvre.

• Five killed in attack on Niger's border town

• Two killed in Cameroon bombing

• Three suicide blasts reported on Chad island

• More than 2 million displaced in fragile region

By Madjiasra Nako and Abdoulaye Massalaki

N'DJAMENA/NIAMEY, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Suspected Boko Haram militants launched four attacks over 24 hours on villages in Niger, Chad and Cameroon, killing at least seven people, security and administrative sources said on Wednesday.

The Islamist militants are mostly based in northeastern Nigeria but have become a major threat to wider regional security by carrying out attacks in the lawless Lake Chad zone where the borders of Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria meet.

Read the full article here