Current situation

Based on the UNDP and Disaster Waste Recovery (DWR) assessment on Waste and Debris (Jan 2015) it’s evident that ongoing hostilities in North Eastern States of Nigeria have led to signicant accumulations of uncollected solid wastes in residential areas and is resulting in serious public health risks through decomposing wastes leading to increase in vermin and high potential for spread of diseases. If this continues without intervention there will be a continued increase in public health risk to vulnerable populations and the environment.

Current situation

Based on the UNDP and Disaster Waste Recovery (DWR) Debris and Waste Assessment (Jan 2015) there is wide scale damage to homes and public buildings in the North East as a result of the on-going armed conict between Boko Haram, the Nigerian military and the Multi National Task Force. In the state of Yobe alone more than 20,000 structures have been either destroyed or damaged. The debris from damaged buildings is a health & safety risk to returnees and an obstacle for their safe return unless measures are undertaken for its removal. The assessment recommends the initiation and scale-up of a comprehensive labour intensive debris clearing and recycling program, with safety at its core. This will provide emergency employment as well as opportunities to recover and recycle many valuable materials resulting in long-term sustainable solutions.

FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT

• Preliminary estimates for 2015 harvest point to significant recovery in cereal production after previous year’s steep drop
• Humanitarian assistance continues to be needed

Cereal production recovered from previous year’s low level

Harvesting of the 2015 cereal crops was completed in November. Growing conditions for cereal crops and pastures were adequate in most parts of the country. The 2015 aggregate cereal production is estimated at about 197 000 tonnes, 13 percent higher than the 2014 harvest but still 10 percent below the five‑year average. Production of groundnuts, the main cash crop, is estimated to have increased by about 13 percent compared to the previous year’s crop.

In 2014, growing conditions for cereal crops and pastures were poor in several parts of the country, mostly in central and western regions, due to irregular rains at the beginning of the cropping season in May/June, which delayed plantings, and subsequent erratic precipitation in July and August. As a result, aggregate 2014 cereal production was estimated to have declined by about 21 percent to 174 000 tonnes compared to the average.

Access to food constrained by high prices of imported food commodities

The Gambia, in a normal year, relies on imports for nearly half of its cereal consumption requirements (mostly rice and wheat) and domestic cereal prices are strongly affected by world prices and the exchange rate of the Dalasi (GMD), the national currency. The Dalasi has depreciated significantly over the past few years, which has put an upward pressure on domestic prices of imported food commodities. As a result, access to food continues to be difficult for several segments of the population.

Continued assistance is still needed, especially for vulnerable people

The combined effects of the recent Sahel food crises, localized heavy flooding in 2012 and 2013, and drought in 2014, have eroded vulnerable households’ coping mechanisms and resulted in protracted food insecurity in pockets of the country and persisting acute malnutrition.

About 60 726 people were estimated to be in Phase 3: “Crisis” and above, according to the last “Cadre Harmonisé” analysis conducted in the country. Child malnutrition is also a cause of concern. Chronic malnutrition ranges between 13.9 and 30.7 percent with North Bank Region and Central River Region surpassing the ’critical’ threshold of 30 percent.

Highlights

• In February 2016, UNHCR received a generous contribution of 3 million USD from the Government of Japan to assist more than 50,000 displaced Malians who found refuge in Mauritania as well as the Mauritanian host population around Mbera camp. Thanks to this contribution, 16% of UNHCR’s financial needs in Mauritania is covered. Additional support is urgently needed in 2016 in order to allow UNHCR and its partners to continue cover refugees’ essential needs and to strengthen its self-reliance programmes for refugees.

• Funding shortfalls have consistently stretched UNHCR and WFP’s capacity to maintain vital assistance in quantitative terms during each general food distribution in Mbera camp. Last month, no pulses were distributed due to financial constraints. To prevent dire consequences on the overall nutritional and health status of the camp’s population and to raise awareness on this issue, a joint UNHCR, UNICEF and WFP Press release was launched in February.

• In February, UNHCR held a participatory needs assessment session in Mbera camp and in Nouakchott with some 800 refugees who discussed their needs and proposed solutions to shape UNHCR’s 2016-2017 humanitarian response strategy.

• In February, UNHCR together with UNICEF, WFP and the Ministry of Health conducted a SMART-SENS Evaluation in Mbera camp to monitor the nutrition situation with a particular focus on children. The evaluation report is under finalization.

• Following the submission by UNHCR of more than 50 individuals, among the most vulnerable, for resettlement in the past months, 32 urban refugees (from Senegal, Central African Republic, Congo, Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Mali) were accepted for resettlement to the United States of America.

DISPLACEMENT HIGHLIGHTS

• 2,241,484 individuals (334,608 households) were identified in Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, Yobe, Nasarawa, Plateau, Kaduna, Kano, Zamfara, states and Abuja.

• In total, 1,920,471 IDPs captured through the DTM assessments have been displaced by the insurgency (85.70% of the total IDP population).

• Majority of the IDPs are identified in Borno (1,525,404) followed by Yobe (139,550) and Adamawa (132,626).

No.s of IDPS by LGA

• 54.53% of the IDP population are children and 26.01% are five(5) years old or younger.

• 92% of IDPs live in host communities while 8% live in camps.

• 84 Camps and camp-like sites have been identified through the DTM assessments.

INTRODUCTION

The Boko Haram insurgency has resulted in the displacement of people across Northeast and North-central Nigeria adding to the pre-existing caseload of IDPs displaced by the communal clashes and natural disasters that continue to affect parts of the country.

Following the escalation of the insurgency in 2014 and in order to respond to the needs for accurate information on displacement, IOM started the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) program in close collaboration with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). The main objective of the program is to support the Nigerian Government and partners in the field to conduct IDPs assessments in a systematic way, as well as to establish a profile of the IDP population.

The DTM assessments are carried out in 13 states (Abuja, Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara) and cover a total of 218 Local Governmental Areas (LGAs) and 1,350 wards where IDPs had been identified. While DTM data collectors have full or partial access to all LGAs in the states mentioned above, only 15 out of the 27 LGAs in Borno State are currently accessible: Askira Uba, Bayo, Biu, Chibok, Damboa, Gubio, Hawul, Jere, Kaga, Konduga, Kwaya Kusar, Mafa, Magumeri, Maiduguri and Shani.

The DTM teams are composed of representatives of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs), the Nigerian Red Cross and IOM. The assessment included the collection of baseline information at LGAs and ward level and detailed surveys in camps and camp-like sites.

The DTM program is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO).
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is also providing financial support to the program.

Flux de migration

Le Niger est un pays de transit pour les migrants de l'afrique de l'ouest et centrale vers la Lybie et l'Algérie. OIM estime à 100,000 migrants qui passe par le Niger en 2015. IEn plus des milliers des nigériens migrent vers l'afrique du nord chaque année faisant du Niger aussi un pays d'origine de smigrants.

Assistance aux migrants

OIM a mis en place 4 centres de transit au Niger par lesquels l'information et l'assistance est fournie aux migrants particulièrement les plus vulnérables. OIM fournit en cooperation avec la croix rouge française et nigérienne des abris temporaires, nourriture et un appui psycho-social ainsi que le retour volontaire vers les pays d'origine et une assistance de reinsertion.

Flux mixte: Réfugiés et migrants

Parmi les migrants passant par le Niger il y'a un nombre limité qui tombe sous le mandat de l'UNHCR. Pour identifier des telles personnes, l'UNHCR et l'OIM ont mis en place un système de référrencement. Ces réfrrencements sont très faibles car les migrants n'ont que comme option de faire une demande d'asile au Niger. Si leur requête aboutit, ils auront le droit de rester au Niger. Aucune réinstallation vers un tierce pays n'a encore eu lieu. Il a été observé ces dernières années que la majorité des demandeurs d'asile n'attendent pas la décision sur leur demande mais abandonnent la procedure pour aller vers d'autres pays.

Contexte opérationnel

Le contexte opérationnel à Diffa a profondément changé depuis février 2015. Les autorités estiment à 137000 le nombre de déplacés internes (préventifs et post attaques) combiné avec plus de 138.000 personnes déplacées en provenance du Nigeria, dont beaucoup ont des besoins qui ne sont pas encore satisfaits. La dégradation de la situation sécuritaire a renforcé les contraintes opérationnelles.
De nombreuses familles d'accueil font aujourd'hui parties des "Personnes Déplacés Internes' réduisant les capacités d'absorption de la communauté d'accueil.

Snapshot 9 – 15 March

Yemen: Insecurity in Aden is increasing, with attacks carried out on civilian targets. At least 150 people have been reported killed in the past three months, including at least 50 in March. Humanitarian actors have increasing difficulty to carry out operations. In Taizz, the west of the city has been taken by pro-Hadi forces after heavy fighting: fighting for the east continues.

Nigeria: The number of IDPs in Borno state has grown by 100,000 since late December, to 1.5 million. People displaced due to the Boko Haram insurgency now make up 96% of IDPs in Nigeria, compared to 84% in December. Overall, the estimated total number of IDPs has increased by 50,000, with more than 2.2 million IDPs identified in 13 states.

Ukraine: Heavy fighting is being reported near a water filtration station in the non-government area of Donetsk. The water plant stopped operating last week and the staff were evacuated. If the facility is destroyed, the water supply to over 400,000 people will be cut off. Civilian casualties in Ukraine doubled between January and February.

Updated: 15/03/2016. Next update: 22/03/2016

Global Emergency Overview Web Interface

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO’s) cash and voucher programmes benefit smallholder farmers who are particularly vulnerable to natural hazards, market volatility, conflicts and protracted crises.

Cash and vouchers play a critical role in response to crises or shocks when farmers and pastoralists no longer have the ability to purchase food, agricultural inputs or livestock because their assets have been damaged or depleted.

Cash and voucher programmes such as cash-for-work, voucher schemes, input trade fairs and unconditional cash transfers enable people to identify for themselves what their most pressing needs are and decide which goods and services they wish to purchase in local markets.

FAO cash transfer interventions provide relief to farmers while also helping them to protect their livelihoods from future shocks (e.g. drought, illness, poor production), overcome cash shortages and improve their food security and nutrition.

When local markets are functioning and quality goods are available, cash transfers are an important tool to develop more productive and resilient agricultural systems that enhance and maintain food security.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

LRA GUNMEN ABDUCT VILLAGERS

Suspected LRA gunmen on 8 March looted a village in the eastern Haute-Kotto province, and kidnapped six men to transport the stolen goods. The attackers are reported to have had 19 kidnapped women and children with them. Separately, authorities in the southeastern Haut-Mbomou province announced the arrest of LRA’s third highest-ranking leader who is to be transferred to the capital Bangui

COTE D’IVOIRE

GUNMEN KILL 18 IN BEACH RESORT ATTACK

Eighteen people were killed on 13 March when armed men attacked a seaside resort in Grand-Bassam, east of Côte d’Ivoire’s commercial capital, Abidjan. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility. In January, gunmen had attacked a hotel and a café in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou, killing at least 28 people, two months after an attack in a Bamako hotel in Mali, that claimed 20 lives. A three-day national mourning has been declared in Côte d’Ivoire following the attack, the first of its kind in the country.

CHAD

TWO KILLED, 60 ADBUCTED BY SUSPECTED BOKO HARAM MEMBERS

Armed attackers suspected to be Boko Haram members on 7 March raided Bikaram island on Lake Chad, killing two people and wounding three others. On 2 March, around 60 people were abducted in the eastern Lac Region by suspected Boko-Haram elements.

The abductees, displaced Chadians in the Baga-Sola area, were trying to return to their homes on Lake Chad islands despite a government ban. Several return attempts have recently been stopped

DRC

KIDNAPPED AID WORKERS FREED

Three aid workers abducted on 3 March in Nord Kivu Province were freed on 8 March.
The three had been kidnapped while driving in a convoy through Lubero region.

NIGER

OVER 400 MENINGITIS CASES REPORTED

From 1 January to the end of February, Niger recorded 417 cases of meningitis, including 34 deaths. One district in the region of Niamey has reached the epidemic threshold, and two districts in the regions of Dosso and Tillabery have hit the alert level.

This year, health authorities have identified 21 districts as being at risk. During the same period last year, around 100 cases had been recorded, rising to 345 by the end of March 2015. Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali and Togo have also reported epidemic levels of meningitis in various districts.

EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE (EVD)

NO NEW CASES FOR NEARLY TWO MONTHS

There have been no new infections since the last case in Sierra Leone on 20 January.
Ebola transmission is set to be declared over in Sierra Leone on 17 March, if no new cases erupt. Guinea is observing a 90-day surveillance period, ending on 27 March.
Liberia was declared free of the virus on 14 January.

RÉPUBLIQUE CENTRAFRICAINE

DES HOMMES ARMÉS DE LA LRA ENLÈVENT DES VILLAGEOIS

Le 8 mars, des hommes armés soupçonnés d’appartenir à la LRA ont pillé un village dans la province orientale de la Haute-Kotto, et ont enlevé six hommes pour transporter les biens volés. Les assaillants auraient été accompagnés de 19 femmes et enfants enlevés. Par ailleurs, les autorités de la province sud-est du Haut-Mbomou ont annoncé l'arrestation du troisième plus haut gradé de la LRA qui doit être transféré à la capitale Bangui.

CÔTE D’IVOIRE

18 TUÉS DANS UNE STATION BALNÉAIRE

Dix-huit personnes ont été tuées le 13 mars quand des hommes armés ont attaqué la station balnéaire de Grand-Bassam, à l'est de la capitale commerciale de la Côte d'Ivoire, Abidjan. Al-Qaïda au Maghreb islamique a revendiqué l’attaque. En janvier, des hommes armés avaient attaqué un hôtel et un café dans la capitale du Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou, tuant au moins 28 personnes, deux mois après une attaque dans un hôtel de Bamako au Mali, qui a coûté la vie à 20 personnes. Un deuil national de trois jours a été décrété en Côte d'Ivoire après l'attaque, le premier du genre dans le pays.

TCHAD

DEUX MORTS, 60 PERSONNES ENLEVÉES PAR DES MEMBRES PRÉSUMÉS DE BOKO HARAM

Des assaillants armés soupçonnés d'être des membres de Boko Haram ont attaqué le 7 mars l’île de Bikaram sur le lac Tchad, tuant deux personnes et en blessant trois autres.
Le 2 mars, environ 60 personnes ont été enlevées dans la région est du Lac par des éléments présumés de Boko Haram. Les personnes enlevées, des déplacés tchadiens dans la région de Baga Sola, essayaient de retourner chez elles sur les îles du lac Tchad malgré l'interdiction du gouvernement.
Plusieurs tentatives de retour ont été récemment empêchées par les autorités locales.

RDC

LIBÉRATION DES TRAVAILLEURS HUMANITAIRES ENLEVÉS

Trois travailleurs humanitaires enlevés le 3 mars dans le Nord-Kivu ont été libérés le 8 mars. Les trois hommes avaient été enlevés lors de la conduite d’un convoi à travers la région du Luberon.

NIGER

PLUS DE 400 CAS DE MÉNINGITE SIGNALÉS

Du 1er janvier à la in du mois de février, le Niger a enregistré 417 cas de méningite, dont 34 décès. Un district de la région de Niamey a atteint le seuil épidémique, et deux districts dans les régions de Dosso et Tillabery ont atteint le niveau d'alerte. Cette année, les autorités sanitaires ont identifié 21 districts comme étant à risque. Lors de la même période l'an dernier, environ 100 cas avaient été enregistrés, passant à 345 fin mars 2015. Le Burkina Faso, le Ghana, le Mali et le Togo ont également signalé des niveaux épidémiques de méningite dans divers districts.

MALADIE À VIRUS EBOLA (MVE)

AUCUN NOUVEAU CAS DEPUIS PRÈS DE DEUX MOIS

Il n'y a eu aucune nouvelle infection depuis le dernier cas en Sierra Leone le 20 janvier.
La transmission Ebola sera déclarée terminée en Sierra Leone le 17 mars, si aucun nouveau cas n’apparait. La Guinée observe une période de surveillance de 90 jours se terminant le 27 mars. Le Liberia a été déclaré exempt du virus le 14 janvier.

This month's issue covers the situations in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Sudan, Burma/Myanmar, Lake Chad Basin, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Central African Republic, South Sudan and Libya.

Missing Migrants Project tracks deaths of migrants along migratory routes across the globe. This map shows the different paths with a focus on Ghana. #MissingMigrants.

Le projet Missing migrants répertorie les morts de migrants le long des diverses routes migratoires dans le monde. Cette carte montre les différents parcours et concentre le Niger. #MissingMigrants.