Maiduguri, Nigeria | AFP | Monday 2/22/2016 - 16:50 GMT

Nearly 6,500 children were found to be severely malnourished last year at camps set up for people made homeless by Boko Haram insurgents, health officials in northeast Nigeria said on Monday.

"We recorded about 6,444 severe cases of malnutrition in the IDP (internally displaced persons) camps during the period," said the head of the Borno State Primary Health Care Board, Sule Mele.

"25,511 others have mild to moderate symptoms, while 177,622 among the children were not malnourished," he told reporters.

More than 2.6 million people have been forced to flee the violence in northeast Nigeria since Boko Haram began its violent campaign to create a hardline Islamic state in 2009.

At least 17,000 people have been killed in the same period.

The figures lay bare the effects of the insurgency, with farming virtually impossible in the mainly agricultural region and delivery of food supplies made difficult because of the unrest.

Aid agencies have long warned about a worsening humanitarian crisis in the region because of the vast numbers of displaced and the pressure on local authorities forced to host them.

Nigeria's government, which maintains it has "technically" defeated Boko Haram, is pushing a policy of returning IDPs to their homes, despite continued sporadic attacks.

But IDPs at one of the camps in Maiduguri told AFP earlier this month they were reluctant to return, citing lack of security, food and clean water.

Education and healthcare have also been severely hit by the fighting.

Mele said the deaths of some 459 children aged one to five in camps last year from preventable childhood diseases such as diarrhoea, vomiting and measles were exacerbated by malnutrition.

Children were not getting the required nutrition from food distributed at the camps, affecting health, growth and physical development, as well as increasing susceptibility to disease.

"Even if the children get enough to eat, they will become malnourished if the food they eat does not provide the proper amounts of micro-nutrients, vitamins and minerals to meet daily nutritional requirements," he added.

Children with severe acute malnutrition were receiving treatment with help from non-governmental organisations but more needed to be done to reduce the problem, Sule said.

str-phz/ccr

© 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse

In 2015, the ICRC stepped up its efforts to help some of the many hundreds of thousands of people affected by the Lake Chad conflict and who lack even the basic necessities of life. With the support of the Red Cross societies throughout the region, the ICRC built shelters, distributed food and essential household items, facilitated access to medical care and water, visited security detainees and helped to re-establish contact among families separated by the conflict.

Below is an overview of the ICRC's work in the region in 2015.

Food, household goods and livelihood support.

Emergency relief distributed in conjunction with the Red Cross societies helped conflict/violence-affected people meet some of their needs and cope with their displacement.

• In Nigeria, 538,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returnees received food, 387,000 IDPs received essential household items, and 57,000 people received cash and vouchers to enable them to purchase basic necessities. A total of 52,000 people who had returned to their places of origin after fleeing violence received assistance (fertilizer, seed or vouchers for agricultural inputs), allowing them to harvest and rebuild their lives. A total of 1,400 women widowed by the conflict were helped to increase their resilience.

• In Cameroon, 14,500 displaced and host families received food; another 7,000 received essential household items; and 5,100 families hosting displaced persons each received 75 tonnes of seed and some 250 tonnes of fertilizer so they could grow staple foods.

• In Niger, 116,000 people received food, more than 9,000 people received seed and fertilizer, and 35,000 pastoral households were assisted to increase their cattle productivity and to ensure that they had sufficient food.

• In Chad, the ICRC and the Red Cross of Chad distributed household items to 2,000 families who had fled violence taking place on the islands of Lake Chad.

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, Feb 23 (UNHCR) – UNHCR's top protection official, Volker Türk, has called on the Nigerian authorities to heed the concerns of internally displaced people (IDP) in the north-east of the country.

"We all need to listen to the IDPs, their aspirations and sense of dignity and safety," he stressed during a visit at the weekend to Maiduguri, capital of Borno state, referring to organized returns to areas back under government control but still considered risky.

Earlier this month, suicide bombers killed more than 50 people and injured dozens in attacks on a site holding some 50,000 IDPs at Dikwa in Borno, the state hardest hit by the Boko Haram insurgency.

The UN Refugee Agency has long been unable to visit the Dikwa site for security reasons. Many of the IDPs in Borno come from towns and villages that have been practically razed over the past two years, lacking infrastructure, basic services and security.

Türk, UNHCR's Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, arrived in Nigeria last Thursday to review the refugee agency's emergency operations in the north-east, where UNHCR helps tens of thousands of IDPs located in camps. He has also met Nigeria's Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in Abuja and government partners to discuss the challenges and areas of cooperation.

During these meetings, he appealed to the government to take advantage of UNHCR's experience in voluntary repatriation and to work closely to ensure the welfare of people of concern. The insurgency has affected about 5 million people, including more than 2.2 million Nigerians who are internally displaced and almost 180,000 who have fled to neighbouring countries. Türk offered to help neighbouring countries organize voluntary repatriation where and when the conditions were right.

While encouraging government institutions and civil society organizations to lead the response to forced displacement, he said: "UNHCR, as part of the international community, will continue to support local initiatives."

The Assistant High Commissioner also met IDPs in Borno and Yola states, listening to harrowing tales of violence and destruction and the continuing suffering and challenges facing people unable to return home. He was deeply moved by their courage and resilience.

At Malkohi, on the outskirts of Yola, capital of Adamawa state, he talked to some of the internally displaced about their concerns and situation. "We want to listen to the people in order to better assist them," Türk said. Hapsatu Amadu, a 47-year-old community leader, told him they needed clothing, food and shelter. "We are exposed to the vagaries of the weather in these grass thatched huts," she explained.

UNHCR and its partners have been providing protection, shelter, camp management training and assistance to about 10 per cent of the IDPs in north-east Nigeria, where most of the displaced live with host families. At Bakassi camp in Maiduguri, visited by Türk, UNHCR has built 450 transitional shelters.

But the needs in Borno, including Maiduguri's 17 organized and 13 informal IDP camps hosting some 125,000 people, are great and increasing. "Borno is the most devastated state; social and health infrastructures are virtually non-existent," a senior local government official, Alhadji Usman Didda Shua, told Türk. "This state should be treated on the same footing with Syria," he added of an emergency that is under-reported and under-funded as well as spreading in the region.

In Borno alone, 16 out of 38 hospitals have been destroyed or looted, and 214 primary health care centres shut. Bama was the second largest city in Borno until 2014 with a population of 600,000. Today it lies in ruins and is deserted. State authorities say it will require millions of dollars to reconstruct.

"In each crisis, there is an opportunity, which we need to seize, hopefully in the form of a new social contract," Türk concluded. He will next visit Cameroon to discuss the situation of Nigerian refugees there and to visit the Minawao refugee camp in the Far North Region before wrapping up his regional visit on Wednesday.

By Hanson Tamfu in Maiduguri, Nigeria

Snapshot 17–23 February 2016

DRC: More than 35,000 people have lost shelter in Zongo, Sud-Ubangi, due to forest fires that have been affecting the territory since mid-December. The fires have destroyed over 2,600 hectares of crops. Assistance delivery is hampered by bad road conditions between Gemena and Zongo.

Fiji: Tropical Cyclone Winston hit Fiji over 20-21 February, with winds up to 330 km/h. Koro Island and the north of Viti Levu, Fiji’s main island, are the worst affected areas, with reports of widespread water, power and communications outages. Some 8,400 people are in evacuation centres, many of whom are unable to return home as an estimated 830 houses have been destroyed in eastern and western divisions. Transport links are being restored, but some roads remain closed and access to remote islands remains challenging.

South Sudan: On 17-18 February fighting between Dina and Shilluk and Nuer communities broke out in the Malakal Protection of Civilians site in Upper Nile. 18 people were killed including two aid workers and over 90 people were injured. An estimated 26,000 people are reported to have fled the site: many are taking refuge in schools and churches in Malakal town while others are in open space close to the site. Areas of the site have been looted and burnt and critical humanitarian infrastructure has been destroyed. Food, health, shelter and WASH assistance is urgently needed.

Syria: In mid-February, seven health facilities, including six hospitals, were damaged or destroyed by airstrikes in Aleppo, Idleb, and Dar’a governorates. 13 attacks on health facilities were recorded in January. In Aleppo governorate, more than 70,000 people have been newly displaced due to a government offensive launched early February. Since September 2015, more than 330,000 people have been newly displaced in northwestern governorates following government offensives.

Updated: 23/02/2016. Next update: 01/03/2016.

See the Crisis Overview 2015: Humanitarian Trends and Risks 2016, ACAPS' overview of long-term trends in humanitarian needs for major crises, and scenarios outlining their potential evolution in 2016

Global Emergency Overview Web Interface

Engagée depuis 2012 aux côté de la Croix-Rouge malienne dans la région de Kayes, au Mali, la Croix-Rouge française a appuyé la prise en charge de plus de 33 000 enfants de moins de cinq ans souffrant de malnutrition.

Située au cœur du Sahel, cette région frontalière avec le Sénégal et la Mauritanie connait en effet des crises alimentaires répétées. En 2014, le taux de malnutrition aiguë globale y était ainsi de 11,3%, soit un taux largement supérieur au seuil d’alerte de l’OMS (enquête SMART, 2014). En appui aux autorités sanitaires, notre projet visait ainsi à la réduction de la mortalité infantile liée à la malnutrition aiguë sévère.

Après quatre années, notre action a permis de mettre en place un dispositif de dépistage communautaire et de prise en charge de qualité, en soutien au système sanitaire dans les 77 structures de santé des districts de Kayes et Yélimané. Plus de 1 000 volontaires de la Croix-Rouge malienne ont ainsi été mobilisés en appui aux communautés, et plus de 200 agents du système sanitaire ont pu bénéficier d’un accompagnement de qualité grâce à l’expertise des délégués de la Croix-Rouge française.

De juin 2012 à décembre 2015, 33 000 enfants de moins de cinq ans ont ainsi pu bénéficier d’une prise en charge de qualité. Et grâce à l’action des volontaires de la Croix-Rouge malienne, les communautés sont désormais en capacité de reconnaitre les symptômes liés à la malnutrition et de référer les cas les plus urgents avant l’apparition de complications.

Si la Croix-Rouge française ne sera plus présente dans la région de Kayes à la fin de ce projet, elle poursuit son engagement auprès de la Croix-Rouge malienne et des autorités sanitaires du pays à travers des projets d’appui à la santé maternelle et infantile, qu’elle met en œuvre à Bamako et dans la région de Gao.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) played a key role in the First International Conference on the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) in Nouakchott, Mauritania, on February 3, 2016, on the invitation of the country’s President, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.

The Conference was opened by President Ould Abdel Aziz and his Senegalese counterpart, Macky Sall, with keynote addresses from Isabella Lövin, Swedish Minister of International Cooperation for Development; Abdlatif Y. Al-Hamad, Director General and Chairman of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development; Louise Cord, Regional Director at the World Bank; and Peter Eigen, the Chair of the International Advisory Group of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative.

A high-level panel included representatives from Governments, international organizations, business and civil society. In their opening speeches, the two Heads of State highlighted the importance of the FiTI, which aims at enhancing responsible and sustainable fisheries through transparency and participation. Senegal’s President also saluted the role played by Mauritania in the fight against illicit fishing and terrorism.

In addition to the opening session, the conference convened four other sessions devoted to global efforts for responsible fisheries, responsible fisheries through transparency and participation (multi-stakeholder panel), the way forward, and adoption of the conference’s declaration.

Speaking as panellist at the multi-stakeholder panel, Sheila Khama, Director of the AfDB’s African Natural Resources Center (ANRC), expressed the Bank’s support to FiTI. She addressed the issue of transparency within the broader context of good governance and sustainable resources development, in keeping with the Bank’s strategic goals. Her remarks focused on the importance of the sector to the Bank’s vision for agricultural transformation, industrialization and human development strategies and objectives, as well as the need to go beyond sheer disclosure and focus on good governance through regulatory effectiveness, fair trade arrangements, transparent contracts, resource conservation and the elimination of illicit trade. She also stressed the importance of resource planning and monitoring to avoid depletion and to ensure equitable access between large commercial companies and small fishermen. Khama underscored the need to enable investment, and to ensure that current and future fishing contracts deliver fair value, allowing regional governments to negotiate future contracts.

Khama delivered a presentation on the role and strategy of the ANRC to the Bank’s Liaison Office in Mauritania, highlighting the mandate, the proposed strategic direction, the operating structure, the business model and the current initiatives of the Center.

At the end of the Conference, participants adopted the Nouakchott Declaration on the FiTI, which endorses seven principles as a foundation for the initiative to reflect the beliefs, objectives and expectations of the FiTI stakeholders. It also welcomes the announcement by the Governments of Mauritania, Senegal, the Seychelles and Indonesia to start the process of forming a dedicated national multi-stakeholder group for fisheries transparency within 2016. The Nouakchott Declaration urges states, business, civil society, international agencies, and donors to take active steps in promoting FiTI and supporting its long-term sustainability.

Against the background of the Conference, the Bank team used the opportunity to deepen its country dialogue on natural resources management and to meet with the Mauritanian Government authorities, namely the Ministers of Economic Affairs and Development, of Mining, Energy and Oil, and of Fisheries and Maritime Economy. The message of Akinwumi Adesina, President of the Bank, was conveyed to each of these authorities by Khama. The AfDB’s delegation also welcomed Mauritania’s leadership to the FiTI and identified areas of interest for the Bank, in particular the ANRC and the African Legal Support Facility (ALSF). These include the exchange of information and knowledge, contract management and negotiation, contract review, and implementation of FiTI. It is envisaged that the AfDB could assist the country in implementing FiTI as a component of an institutional support scheduled for 2017.

The Bank team also comprised the Resident Economist in Mauritania, Marcellin Ndong Ntah; the Fisheries Expert in the ANRC, Jean-Louis Kromer; and an ALSF Legal Expert, Jean-Claude Mabushi. The Executive Director for Mauritania, Tarik Al-Tashani; and his Advisor, Mohamed Hamma Khattar were also in attendance.

BAMAKO, 23rd February 2016 (WAM) --- A delegation from Emirates Red Crescent recently visited Mali follow up an 11 million humanitarian project to improve healthcare, education, food supplies and services in cooperation with international and local agencies.

The delegation which led by Fahad Abdul Rehman Sultan, Deputy Secretary-General for Donations and Marketing oversaw the distribution of food aid to locals affected by the humanitarian crisis in Mali in cooperation with the Mali Red Cross.

Secretary-General of the Mali Red Cross, Mamadou Traore, thanked the Emirates Red Crescent and recalled the efforts of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the UAE "who supported and helped underprivileged people across the world in a non-discriminatory manner."

The UAE, he noted, continues to provide educational, developmental and food aid for the people of Mali.

The Emirates Red Crescent's deputy secretary-general for donations and marketing noted that some 27800 Malians in Timbuktu, Kidal and Gao, have benefited from the Emirati humanitarian four-month project being carried out in cooperation with the UN World Food Programme.

The Red Crescent, he added, is carrying out a three-pronged plan to fight poverty, illiteracy and diseases in Mali.

BENIN
71 CAS DE FIEVRE DE LASSA SIGNALES

Soixante et onze cas (6 confirmés, 10 probables et 55 présumés) de fièvre de Lassa ont été signalés au 16 février dans sept départements. Sept des cas signalés, dont deux décès, se trouvaient parmi les travailleurs de la santé. Depuis le début de l'épidémie le 21 janvier 318 contacts ont été identifiés et 292 sont sous surveillance.

CAMEROUN
19 TUES DANS UN ATTENTAT-SUICIDE

Un double attentat-suicide sur un marché du village de Mémé dans la région de l'Extrême Nord a fait au moins 19 morts le 19 février. L'attaque est survenue une semaine après que les forces camerounaises ont traversé la frontière vers le nord-est du Nigeria pour commencer une nouvelle offensive contre Boko Haram, dans une lutte continue contre le groupe.

REPUBLIQUE CENTRAFRICAINE
NOUVEAU PRESIDENT ELU

L'ancien Premier ministre Faustin Archange Touadéra a été élu nouveau président de la RCA suite à un second tour tenu le 14 février, selon les résultats provisoires annoncés par la commission électorale le 20 Février. Touadéra a remporté 62,7% des votes tandis que son adversaire Anicet Georges Doléguélé a recueilli 37,29% des suffrages. Le Secrétaire général de l'ONU Ban Ki-moon a salué le déroulement pacifique du scrutin et a exhorté les politiciens et les autres parties prenantes à maintenir "l'atmosphère constructive".

TCHAD
DES MILLIERS DE DEPLACES REÇOIVENT UNE AIDE ALIMENTAIRE

Le PAM et ses partenaires ont au cours des dernières semaines fourni une assistance alimentaire et nutritionnelle à des milliers de personnes récemment déplacées par la violence de Boko Haram au Tchad et au Cameroun, a indiqué l'agence le 16 février. Le PAM cible ce mois-ci 35 000 personnes déplacées qui n’ont jusqu'à présent reçu aucune aide.

MALADIE A VIRUS EBOLA
FIN PROCHAINE DE LA RECHERCHE DE CONTACTS EN SIERRA LEONE

La recherche de contacts manquants dans le district de Kambia en Sierra Leone continuera au moins jusqu'au 24 février. Si aucun nouveau cas n’est détecté, la chaine de transmission liée aux cas de janvier sera déclarée terminée le 17 mars. En date du 19 février, la Guinée avait accompli 43 jours de la période de surveillance renforcée de 90 jours après que le virus Ebola a été déclarée terminé dans le pays le 29 décembre. Plusieurs préfectures ont renforcé la surveillance et les cas de fièvre ou de décès sont rapportés de manière plus systématique.

BENIN
LASSA FEVER CASES REACH 71

Seventy-one cases (6 confirmed, 10 probable and 55 suspected) of Lassa fever were reported as of 16 February in seven departments. Seven of the reported cases, including two deaths were among health workers. Since the beginning of the outbreak on 21 January, 318 contacts have been identified and 292 are being monitored.

CAMEROON
SUICIDE BLAST KILLS 19

A double suicide bombing on a market in Mémé village in the Far North region left at least 19 people dead on 19 February. The attack came a week after Cameroonian forces crossed the border into north-eastern Nigeria to begin a new offensive against Boko Haram, part of a continuing battle against the group.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
*NEW PRESIDENT ELECTED *

Former prime minister Faustin Archange Touadéra has been elected CAR’s new president following a run-off vote held on 14 February, according to provisional results announced by the electoral commission on 20 February. Touadéra won 62.7 per cent while his challenger, Anicet Georges Doléguélé, took 37.29 per cent. UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon lauded the peaceful conduct of the polls and urged politicians and other stakeholders to maintain the “constructive atmosphere”.

CHAD
THOUSANDS OF DISPLACED RECEIVE FOOD AID

WFP and its partners have in the past week assisted thousands of people recently displaced by Boko Haram violence in Chad and Cameroon with food and nutrition support, the agency said on 16 February. WFP aims this month to reach up to 35,000 displaced people who have so far not received any assistance.

EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE
SIERRA LEONE CONTACT SEARCH TO END SOON

The search for missing contacts in Sierra Leone’s Kambia district will continue until at least 24 February. If no further cases are detected, transmission linked to the January cluster of cases will be declared over on 17 March. As of 19 February, Guinea had completed 43 days of the 90-day enhanced surveillance period after Ebola was declared over in the country on 29 December. Several prefectures have stepped up surveillance and cases of fever or deaths are being reported more frequently.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Attacks have continued to take place in Nigeria’s north-east, albeit far less frequently during reporting period. The country continues to face a severe protection crisis as insurgency and counter-insurgency measures result in chronic insecurity and human rights violations, which exacerbate the plight of the most vulnerable populations.

• The number of attacks in Niger’s Diffa region has decreased in the past month as a result of ongoing air strikes by the Niger military on insurgent positions and the joint efforts of the Nigerian, Chadian and Niger Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF) forces. Despite improving, the situation remains tense and sporadic attacks take place in the form of incursions from Nigeria.

• Cameroon’s Far North region has been the stage of over twenty insurgent attacks resulting in some 100 deaths during the month. In order to improve security at the Minawao camp, UNHCR and local authorities are working to increase the number of police staff and to reinforce the vigilante committee’s capacity.

• In Chad, local authorities have reported an improvement in the security situation. In light of this, and of a 50 percent decrease in the number of refugees registered in the region, following biometric registration, the relocation exercise from existing camps has been postponed.

Working and discussion papers
November 2015
Veronique Barbelet with Marthe Diallo Goita

Despite rapid progress, humanitarians must become even more sophisticated and holistic in their approach to markets in crises. It is not enough for humanitarians to understand whether markets are functioning or not during a crisis. They must go a step further and consider the implications of changes for vulnerable households.

In arguing for a more proactive approach to markets, this paper looks at how the conflict in Mali affected markets in the north of the country. It explores the impact humanitarian aid had on households via markets and also considers whether market activities contributed to - or detracted from - people’s resilience.

Ultimately, humanitarian organisations should aim to restore markets in ways that support affected populations and not treat them simply as a delivery mechanism. In Mali, fulfilling these goals through market-based programming could involve engaging with challenges around credit, cash flow for traders and the purchasing power of communities.

Read the full report on ODI

Veronique Barbelet en collaboration avec Marthe Diallo Goita

Ce rapport se penche sur l’impact que le récent conflit au Mali a eu sur les marchés dans le nord du pays. Il émane de la conviction que l’analyse du marché de la part des agences humanitaires doit s’effectuer de manière plus sophistiquée et être plus regardante sur un plus large éventail de questions, pour que les interventions humanitaires puissent soutenir réellement les marchés et les aider à fonctionner pendant les crises.

( extrait )

Lire le rapport complet sur ODI

WORKING WITH PARTNERS
UNHCR collaborates with the Ministry of the Interior and Decentralization and local authorities for the coordination of protection and assistance to refugees in Mauritania. The organization actively participates in the UN Country Team and works closely with national and international NGOs. UNHCR holds coordination meetings every two weeks with all agencies in Mbera camp.

2016 ACTIVITIES FOR MALIAN REFUGEES IN MBERA CAMP

Protection
- Maintenance and update of the refugee biometric registration database.
- Tailored assistance to people with specific needs through home visits, psychosocial counseling, walking aid, support for people with disabilities.
- Awareness-raising activities and training on the prevention and response to gender-based violence, as well as child protection for refugees and partner agencies and medical and psychosocial support for victims.

Education
- Support to primary education in Mbera camp with the payment of indemnities for more than 200 school staffs, including directors, teachers and canteen staffs.
- Literacy/numeracy classes for 400 adults in the camp.

Health
- Support access to primary health care in Mbera camp with the supply of medical equipment and medicine to the health center.
- Medical evacuation to Nema and Nouakchott hospitals for refugees with serious medical conditions in need of secondary or tertiary health care.

Food Security and Nutrition
- Monthly distribution of food (rice, pulses, oil provided by WFP) in the camp and monitoring of refugees’ access to food in sufficient quantity and quality through monthly Food Basket Monitoring and quarterly Post-Distribution Monitoring.

Access to energy
- Distribution of charcoal for 1,200 households with specific needs.

Shelter and Non-food items
- Replacement of deteriorated basic items (jerry cans, mosquito nets) and distribution of shelters in the camp under a self-help scheme.
- Maintenance of community infrastructures (reception centre, schools, community centres…).

Water, Sanitation and hygiene
- Maintenance and optimization of the existing water system, construction/rehabilitation of semi-permanent latrines.
- Organization of hygiene awareness-raising activities in the camp and sustainable waste management (more than 10,000 individuals targeted per month).
- Distribution of hygiene kits (soap, buckets, cups etc.) for 100% refugees and distribution of sanitary hygiene kits for women of childbearing age twice a year.

Peaceful coexistence between refugee and host communities
- Strengthening of community-based mechanisms such as mixed committees (composed of refugees and host community), socio-cultural activities and focus groups to promote peaceful coexistence.
- Quick-impact projects in the host population targeting more than 10 villages, including the rehabilitation of water and sanitation infrastructures, the fencing of arable land and support to livestock activities.

Self-reliance and Community Empowerment
- Strengthening refugees’ self-reliance in the camp with the funding 100 new income-generating activities in 2016, technical support and follow-up on 195 projects started in 2014-2015.
- Maintenance of vegetable gardens benefiting more than 1,800 women and their families as well as distribution of dairy-goats for 570 households to strengthen their livelihoods and improve refugees’ diet.
- Strengthening capacity of refugee committees which participate in the management of services and infrastructures in the camp.

2016 ACTIVITIES FOR URBAN REFUGEES/ASYLUM SEEKERS

Protection
- Registration of urban asylum seekers and determination of refugee status under UNHCR’s mandate.
- Training of more than 70 police/military officers and members of the ministries on refugee protection, refugees’ rights and freedom of movement.
- Support to the authorities for the finalization of a national refugee law.

Education
- Primary/secondary education support for urban refugees through tuition coverage and access to remedial courses.

Health
- Facilitate access to the national health system for all refugees and support access to primary health care for urban refugees with specific needs and secondary and tertiary health care for all urban refugees.

Shelter and Non-food items
- Distribution of hygiene kits to women and girls of childbearing age twice a year.

Self-reliance and Community Empowerment
- Follow-up on 29 micro finance projects started in 2015 and start-up of 5 new projects to support small businesses (e.g. fabrics and crafts, fish and grocery shops).
- Access to vocational training programmes for 59 refugees in coordination with public and private training centers.

Durable Solutions
- Identification and submission of resettlement cases (currently 140 refugees in need), assistance to voluntary returns (50 planned in 2016).

On busy days, more than 10,000 people congregate at the newly-renovated Zamaï market in Mokolo city in Cameroon’s Far North Region, along Nigeria’s western border, to trade in cattle, greens and crafts.

The market re-opened this past January after a USD 32,000 three-month refurbishment process that saw a new hangar built with stalls for meat storage and trade, a livestock enclosure to replace worn out fences, and a mended water source.

The renewed facilities have boosted trade at the market that serves both Cameroonians and Nigerians, including refugees from the nearby Minawao camp, home to 55,194 Nigerians seeking shelter from Boko Haram attacks.

Owing to the area’s strong agricultural tradition, Zamaï also attracts traders from cities as far as Douala, in the south of the country. Cattle, poultry and sheep can now be bought alongside sorghum, sweet potato and corn at from 2,000-3,000 vendors at the revamped market.

"Before the implementation of the project this was just a vast area where buyers and cattle vendors met to trade,” says Saïbou Ousman, the market’s lead veterinarian. “With the construction of the stockyard, business is getting better organized, livestock and quality control are provided at the entrance and we now have the data on the number of cattle sold.”

The Zamaï market renewal was part of an early recovery programme set up by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the governments of Cameroon and Japan in 2015 to strengthen emergency preparedness in the country’s northern region.

Prior to the refurbishment, Zamaï operated in precarious conditions. Even though the market is over 40 years old, infrastructure was nearly non-existent.

Merchants stood in makeshift tents under the sun and lack of water and sanitation jeopardized food safety. Trade also took place in a very informal setting, with little control over financial flows, prices and revenue.

”Farmers now pay for their expenses with no exception and revenues increase each market day. Activity is efficiently organized in comparison to the period preceding the project and this is appealing to many farmers,” said Ousman.

He believes the market is, nonetheless, not living up to its potential yet. “We would also love to have a well and a proper slaughterhouse,’’ he adds, with an eye on the future.

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Thursday 2/25/2016 - 08:29 GMT

Nigeria's troops have a foiled a planned Boko Haram attack on a camp of displaced people in the northeastern town of Dikwa, previously targeted by the insurgents, the military said.

"From all indications, the terrorists aimed at causing havoc at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp located at Dikwa," army spokesman Colonel Sani Usman said in a statement late Wednesday.

He said security forces "decisively dealt with the terrorists", killing 26 of the Islamist fighters and seizing weapons and ammunition.

One soldier and a local vigilante assisting the military in the fight against Boko Haram were killed, he said.

Usman said three soldiers and four IDPs were injured in the encounter, adding that anti-aircraft guns, assault rifles and explosives were among the weaponry recovered.

"The casualties have since been evacuated while the troops have been pursuing those terrorists that escaped with gunshot wounds," he said.

Boko Haram, which has increasingly used suicide and bomb attacks as the military pushes them out of territories it once controlled, has previously hit Dikwa, some 90 kilometres (50 miles) from Maiduguri, the birthplace of the sect.

On February 9, two female suicide bombers attacked the IDP camp in Dikwa, killing at least 58 people.

Boko Haram, which is allied to the so-called Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq, wants to create a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria.

At least 17,000 people have been killed since 2009 and 2.6 million forced from them homes in violence that has increasingly hit Nigeria's neighbours Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

joa/pdw

© 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Thursday 2/25/2016 - 16:39 GMT

Four people were killed when an improvised explosive device seized from Boko Haram Islamists detonated at a police station in northeast Nigeria, a rescue official said on Thursday.

"They were all police officers," the Adamawa state coordinator for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Sa'ad Bello, told AFP by telephone.

"Five or six" others sustained minor injuries and were treated in different hospitals but later discharged, he added.

The blast in the Jimeta area of the state capital, Yola, happened at 11:30 am (1030 GMT) and sparked fears of another attack by Boko Haram.

The Islamist insurgents have attacked the city before and have targeted police stations and government buildings across the northeast.

But Adamawa police spokesman Othman Abubakar said: "There was an accidental explosion in an armoury manned by our bomb squad".

He said the device "killed one officer and mildly injured others". He was not immediately available to comment on the higher death toll.

"Contrary to speculation, the explosion had nothing to do with any sabotage or attack. We have recovered lots of explosives from these troubled areas," Abubakar added.

"Usually we screen them and store them for safe-keeping. We don't know what happened. Possibly this wasn't screened properly."

Aliyu Maikano, an official with the Nigerian Red Cross, said the blast "wrought massive destruction on the building" and sparked a fire.

Security personnel kept rescue workers at a safe distance because of fears of further explosions, he added.

On November 17 last year, at least 34 people were killed and 80 others injured when an IED went off at a lorry park in the Jambutu area of the city.

At least 27 people were killed and 96 wounded in a blast at a Jambutu mosque on October 23.

Another home-made bomb left at a camp for people displaced by the conflict in Malkohi, just outside Yola, killed seven on September 11.

The insurgency has left at least 17,000 people dead since it began in 2009 but over the last year a sustained counter-insurgency has recaptured territory lost to the rebels. 

The group has since reverted to attacks on "soft" civilian targets such as markets, bus stations and mosques using suicide bombers and IEDs.

abu-phz/sf/ccr

© 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse

HIGHLIGHTS

• Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria seek US$531 million to assist 5.2 million people.

• El Niño limited impact to date in West and Central Africa, but region remains at risk.

• Rising food insecurity and new LRA-related displacement in CAR.

• Lassa fever outbreak kills 120 in Nigeria and Benin.

• Upcoming elections in West and Central Africa.

Lake Chad Basin: nine million people need assistance

In the Lake Chad Basin, Africa’s fastest growing displacement crisis is unfolding, threatening the lives and livelihoods of some 20 million people in Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria. A year-long surge in violence has forced thousands of families from their homes and deepened destitution among the displaced and the communities hosting them. Around 9.2 million people are already in need of humanitarian assistance.

The protracted violence by Boko Haram and military operations against the armed group have displaced some 2.7 million people in the four countries. North-east Nigeria alone accounts for 2.2 million of the displaced. Around 4.4 million people in the conflict-affected region are severely food insecure with an estimated 223,000 severely acutely malnourished children.

Continuing displacement

In recent weeks, around 100,000 people in Niger’s south-east Diffa region fled their homes in fear of attacks and sought shelter alongside the highway linking the capital Niamey to the east of the country.
A recent needs assessment identified tens of thousands of IDPs in Liwa and Daboua localities of Chad’s eastern Lac region. The IDPs had not been registered before due to insecurity, limiting access to the host communities where they found refuge. The figures are currently being verified and are likely to double the current IDP population in the region, which stood at around 50,000.

Constrained access

The four Lake Chad Basin countries have upped military offensives against Boko Haram since early 2015. In north-eastern Nigeria, the armed group has lost much of the territory it held. However, it remains resilient and continues to carry out suicide attacks and armed raids.

Since the start of 2016, Cameroon’s Far North region has been hit by more than 30 suicide attacks. Similarly in north-east Nigeria, the group continues to raid villages, target markets, mosques and towns with suicide bombings. Chad and Niger maintain a state of emergency in their respective conflict-affected regions.

Humanitarian access is restricted in certain localities of north-east Nigeria and the Far North region of Cameroon. In Chad, humanitarian organizations are able to deliver assistance on the axis between Baga Sola and Bol, which hosts the majority of registered IDPs. At the same time population movement, access to basic services as well as trade, farming and other daily livelihood activities have been constrained.

Niger on 31 January extended the state of emergency in Diffa, pointing out that the ongoing insecurity warranted the measure. Insecurity remains a major impediment to population movement, daily activities as well as humanitarian access.

Scaling up the response

Humanitarian partners have increased their presence in the affected areas, including Cameroon’s Far North region, the Lac region in Chad, Diffa province in Niger, and northeastern Nigeria.

In January, the four countries finalized their Humanitarian Response Plans seeking a total of US$531 million to assist 5.2 million people in the areas affected by Boko Haram violence.

The Humanitarian Response Plans give priority to addressing food insecurity and malnutrition, providing refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and local communities with protection assistance, shelter as well as improving access to basic services.

The Nigeria Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRRP), also launched in January, aims to provide assistance to 230,000 Nigerian refugees and their host communities in the region.

The UN Central Emergency Response Fund has allocated US$31 million to bolster humanitarian response in the four Lake Chad Basin countries, with Nigeria receiving around US$10 million, while Cameroon, Chad and Niger received some US$7 million each.

Moki Edwin Kindzeka

YAOUNDE, CAMEROON— Nigerian refugees who fled the Boko Haram insurgency into northern Cameroon are turning down calls by Cameroon and Nigerian authorities for them to return, saying they do not expect to find peace back home.

Umar Muhamed, a schoolteacher at the Minawao refugee camp, said he would not return until the Boko Haram terrorist group was completely crushed.

"I left Nigeria because of Boko Haram," he said. "They were killing us. I escaped, and then I am still alive. Life here now is better than that we left in Nigeria, because in Nigeria now we are chased like animals, being killed as nothing."

The overburdened refugee camp has about 50 births each month, and many refugees continue to arrive. Among the latest is Kanem Mohammad, 42.

He said he escaped from the northern Nigerian town of Damaturu when his family was attacked five months ago, thinking he would find peace, but he instead saw thousands of bodies on his way to Minawao this month.

"They killed about 15 people in my village that night," Mohammad said. "They came to our house; they attacked our house. I had to jump the fence. Really, it was hell. In Maiduguri, I saw more than 3,000 corpses before I could run [escape].

"When we came here, we had no hope of having anything, thinking that what was happening in Nigeria was to escalate to this place. As we came here, fortunately, the UNHCR took good care of us, and because of the insurgency that is continuing in Nigeria, people come in every day."

Assistance falls short

When U.N. refugee chief Antonio Guterres visited the camp a year ago, he said he asked for $71 million to assist displaced people in Nigeria and neighboring countries, but had received only $6.8 million in donations.

Cameroon's minister of territorial administration, Rene Emmanuel Sadi, said Cameroon was asking the refugees from areas where there is already peace to return because their humanitarian needs are growing more than Cameroon can handle.

He said that after working with humanitarian agencies, human rights groups and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Cameroon requested that Nigeria begin a progressive repatriation of the refugees. He said he's waiting for the movement to begin.

Nigeria's interior minister, Abdulrahman Dambazau, said his country is ready to receive the refugees, but that most of them prefer to stay back because they have family members in Cameroon.

"We are looking at it from the point of view of cultural affinity among border communities, to ensure that we do not give room for arms merchants to smuggle arms into our countries," Dambazau said.

Since December, regional forces from Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria, Niger and Benin have been launching raids on Boko Haram strongholds along the border, provoking huge movements of people.

The United Nations and Amnesty International say Boko Haram's six-year insurgency has killed more than 20,000 people and displaced 2.5 million.