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Mali: Mali Price Bulletin, March 2016

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Source: Famine Early Warning System Network
Country: Mali

Millet, rice, and sorghum constitute the basic staple foods for the majority of the Malian population. Millet has traditionally been the most widely consumed, but since 2005 rice has become a popular substitute in urban households. Sorghum is generally more important for rural than urban households. Markets included are indicative of local conditions within their respective regions. Ségou is one of the most important markets for both the country and region because it is located in a very large grain production area. Bamako, the capital and largest urban center in the country, functions as an assembly market. It receives cereals from Koulikoro, Ségou, and Sikasso for consumption and also acts as an assembly market for trade with the northern regions of the country (Kayes and Koulikoro) and Mauritania. Markets in the deficit areas of the country (Timbuktu and Gao) receive their supplies of millet and rice from Mopti, Ségou and Sikasso.


Niger: La soudure démarre précocement en zone pastorale et le conflit persiste à Diffa

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Source: Famine Early Warning System Network
Country: Niger

Key Messages

La bonne disponibilité alimentaire favorisée par une production céréalière supérieure à la moyenne et les récoltes en cours de contre saison assure une consommation alimentaire suffisante pour la plupart des ménages agricoles. Les revenus saisonniers de ces ménages sont constitués surtout des ventes des produits de contre saison qui favorisent un accès normal aux denrées de base. Cela va permettre à la majorité des ménages de se maintenir au moins jusqu’en septembre 2016, en insécurité alimentaire aiguë Minimale (Phase 1 de l’IPC).

L’offre de céréales est stable ou en hausse sur certains marchés de gros par rapport aux mois précédents et à la tendance saisonnière à la faveur de la dépréciation récente du naira nigérien incitant le commerce des denrées alimentaires du Nigéria vers le Niger. Sur la plupart des marchés, les prix sont en baisse légère à significative par rapport à février 2016 et à la moyenne.

L’insécurité alimentaire aiguë de Stress (Phase 2 de l’IPC), observée dans les zones pastorales, va persister jusqu’au moins juillet 2016 suite à une baisse de la production fourragère qui conduit les éleveurs à faire une pression supplémentaire sur leurs revenus pour satisfaire les besoins vitaux. Toutefois, la situation va évoluer en situation Minimale (Phase 1 de l’IPC) à partir d’août grâce à la régénération du pâturage et au remplissage des cours d’eau en période hivernale.

Une insécurité alimentaire aiguë en Stress (Phase 2 de l’IPC) et en Crise (Phase 3 de l’IPC) prévaut encore dans la région de Diffa et va persister au moins jusqu’en septembre 2016, particulièrement dans les zones situées au bord du Lac Tchad et de la rivière Komadougou, en raison des effets du conflit de Boko Haram qui continue d’engendrer de nouveaux déplacements et des perturbations des sources de revenus et de nourriture ainsi que des marchés.

Mali: West Africa Price Bulletin, March 2016

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Source: Famine Early Warning System Network
Country: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Chad, Ghana, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal

West Africa can be divided into three agro-ecological zones or three different trade basins (West Basin, Central Basin and East Basin). Both important for understanding market behavior and dynamics.

The three major agro-ecological zones are the Sahelian, the Sudanese and the Coastal zones where production and consumption can be easily classified. (1) In the Sahelian zone, millet is the principal cereal cultivated and consumed particularly in rural areas and increasingly, when accessible, in urban areas. Exceptions include Cape Verde where maize and rice are most important, Mauritania where sorghum and maize are staples, and Senegal with rice. The principal substitutes in the Sahel are sorghum, rice, and cassava flour (Gari), the latter two in times of shortage. (2) In the Sudanese zone (southern Chad, central Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, Togo, Côte d'Ivoire, southern Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Serra Leone, Liberia) maize and sorghum constitute the principal cereals consumed by the majority of the population. They are followed by rice and tubers, particularly cassava and yam. (3) In the Coastal zone, with two rainy seasons, yam and maize constitute the most important food products. They are supplemented by cowpea, which is a significant source of protein.

The three trade basins are known as the West, Central, and East basins. In addition to the north to south movement of particular commodities, certain cereals flow horizontally. (1) The West basin refers to Mauritania, Senegal, western Mali, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, and The Gambia where rice is most heavily traded. (2) The Central basin consists of Côte d'Ivoire, central and eastern Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Togo where maize is commonly traded. (3) The East basin refers to Niger, Nigeria, Chad, and Benin where millet is traded most frequently. These three trade basins are shown on the map above.

Nigeria: Nigeria Situation: UNHCR Regional Update No. 21 (1 - 29 February 2016)

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Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Country: Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria

HIGHLIGHTS

  • In Nigeria, the month of February was marked by a series of insurgent attacks, including against an IDP camp in Dikwa in Borno State. Measures put in place to ensure better security by the Government are bearing fruit but access remains limited and conditions for return are not yet met in the majority of affected areas.

  • In Cameroon, joint military operations carried out by Cameroonian, Nigerian and Multinational forces intensified during the month of February and resulted in over 100 insurgent deaths, the liberation of hundreds of hostages, the destruction of explosives plants, and training camps. Despite these successful operations, insurgent incursions into Cameroonian territory continue.

  • In Chad, the security situation has remained stable, thanks to the continuous deployment of Multinational and Chadian military forces. The humanitarian community is extending its reach to newly accessible areas despite heavy military presence in the region.

  • In Niger, security measures were reinforced during the second half of February as presidential and legislative elections took place on the 21st and 22nd respectively. No major security incidents were recorded during the reporting period but restrictions on movement and bans on trade are still in place.

Niger: Niger HRP 2016: Funding status as of 1 April 2016

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Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Country: Niger

Nigeria: Boko Haram releases new video denying surrender

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Source: Agence France-Presse
Country: Nigeria

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Friday 4/1/2016 - 14:52 GMT

by Aminu ABUBAKAR

Boko Haram released a new video Friday denying any suggestion it might surrender, just over a week after shadowy leader Abubakar Shekau appeared in a rare message looking dejected and frail.

Shekau, unseen on camera for more than a year, released an unverified video late last month saying his time in charge of the Nigerian jihadist group may be coming to an end.

If the video indeed depicts Shekau, he appears thin and listless, delivering his message without his trademark fiery rhetoric.

It prompted speculation from the army that the Islamist group was on the verge of collapse in the face of a sustained military counter-insurgency.

However, in Friday's message, Boko Haram maintained it was a potent fighting force, with men holding AK-47s posing in front of Toyota Hilux pick-up trucks and a lorry mounted with a military cannon.

"You should know that there is no truce, there is no negotiations, there is no surrender," an unidentified masked man in camouflage said in a prepared script in Hausa, the dominant language in the north, in the video posted on ouTube.

"This war between us will not stop."

The video, of markedly better quality than Shekau's and including Arabic subtitles, featured nine masked Boko Haram fighters standing on sandy ground in an undisclosed desert location.

It is unclear if the masked people in the video include the Boko Haram leader.

Shekau was still the head of the "West African wing", said the masked speaker, likening Boko Haram to the Islamist insurgencies in Iraq, Libya and Syria.

In March 2015, Boko Haram pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, another deadly terror organisation.

But there were few signs that Boko Haram -- now styled as Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) -- has drawn benefits from the partnership.

Since then Nigeria's army has won back swathes of territory from the militants, liberating thousands of people who had been living under Boko Haram control.

The video appears to confirm collaboration between Boko Haram and the Islamic State group, Africa security specialist Ryan Cummings told AFP.

"The production quality bears the hallmarks of the Islamic State's media wing," Cummings said, explaining that it is expected that Shekau shun the limelight.

"A hallmark of the group and its affiliates is that you very seldom see leaders," Cummings said.

The analyst said it still remains to be seen what support, if any, the Islamic State group is offering to Boko Haram militants on the ground.

"What we do know is that there has been a pledge of allegiance and we are seeing Boko Haram communiques being spread around cyberspace by Islamic State accounts," Cummings said.

"Whether that has been translated into any operational links in the field, I don't think there's enough verifiable evidence to suggest that."

An estimated 20,000 people have been killed since Boko Haram began its campaign of violence in 2009 to carve out a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria.

More than 2.6 million people have fled their homes since, but some of the internally displaced have begun returning.

abu-sf/phz/ccr

© 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse

Central African Republic: UNHCR Regional Update #65 - Central African Republic Situation, 1 – 29 February 2016

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Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Country: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo

HIGHLIGHTS

  • In the Central African Republic, UNHCR finalized the IDP registration exercise in the capital city Bangui and provided emergency assistance to displaced families affected by multiple fire outbreaks in IDP sites;

  • UNHCR launched a youth community project in Chad, an initiative providing young Central African refugees with the opportunity to develop their own projects;

  • The biometric registration of urban refugees in Cameroon is completed in the capital Yaoundé and ongoing in the city of Douala;

  • In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, UNHCR registered 4,376 Central African refugees living on several islands in the Ubangi River;

  • Refugees benefit from a country-wide vaccination campaign in the Republic of the Congo.

  • The persistent dire funding situation of UNHCR’s operations in all countries is worrisome and additional contributions are required immediately to meet urgent protection and humanitarian needs.

Operational Context

  • In the Central African Republic (CAR), the largely peaceful presidential and legislative elections contributed to achieving important progress in the protection environment in CAR, however, the ongoing fragmentation of the Séléka and anti-Balaka armed factions will prove challenging for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes. Furthermore, attacks and hostilities between various armed groups, and between these groups and international peacekeepers, continue to pose a threat to civilians. In this regard, some hotspots in Haut Mbomou, Haute Kotto, Ouham and Ouham Pendé regions remain of concern (see map). In the northern prefecture of Ouham Pendé, violence between nomadic pastoralists and settled agriculturalist communities in the transhumance corridor continues whilst in Paoua and Koui sub-prefectures a coalition of armed groups are reportedly attacking villages. It must be noted that, overall, access in CAR is improving along with the gradual stabilisation of the general security situation. However, access challenges persist preventing large segments of the population from accessing aid, and protection and aid agencies from reaching them.

  • In asylum countries, most refugees are hosted in areas where they experienc an increased competition for natural resources. The lack of access to livelihood opportunities is likely to contribute to inter-community tensions, notably at a time when many of the World Food Programme’s food assistance operations in the region face severe cuts because of funding shortfalls. During the month, widespread bushfires took place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Sud-Ubangi, where over 2,600 hectares of crops were destroyed and will likely affect the food security situation in the area. In Chad, refugees living in host villages in the south are starting to move from village to village in search of fertile land available. This situation raises the questions of the need to invest in socio-community infrastructures in the new villages such as shelters, water wells, schools, health facilities, etc. Currently, some 5,500 refugees live in 21 host villages and receive some form of assistance that contributes to their self-reliance.

Ethiopia: Cáritas Española apoya sendos planes de emergencia en Etiopía, Sudán del Sur y Níger para ayudar a las víctimas de la sequía y la violencia

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Source: Caritas
Country: Ethiopia, Niger, Nigeria, South Sudan

Cáritas. 1 de abril de 2016.- Cáritas Española está respondiendo a los llamamientos de ayuda de emergencia lanzados por las Cáritas de Etiopía, Sudán del Sur y Níger para garantizar asistencia humanitaria de urgencia a los cientos de miles de damnificados por la crisis de alimentos que asola el Cuerno de Africa y por la violencia terrorista en el Sahel.

Para ello, se han movilizado sendas partidas de 300.000 euros para apoyar los planes de emergencia contra la hambruna en Etiopía, de 50.000 euros para Sudán del Sur y otros 100.000 para los desplazados a causa de la violencia de Boko Haram en Níger.

Hambruna en Etiopía

La región del Cuerno de África vuelve a ser el escenario de una suma de condiciones climáticas adversas y el enquistamiento de conflictos prolongados en los países de la región, que han dado lugar a una grave carestía de alimentos básicos. La sequía provocada por El Niño en diferentes regiones de Etiopía, Eritrea, Yibuti y el norte de Somalia está provocando que, a fecha de hoy, unos 20 millones de personas se encuentren en estado de inseguridad alimentaria, lo que supone un incremento del 64% desde el mes de agosto de 2015.

Las dificultades para acceder a alimentos afectan especialmente a Etiopía, un país en el que el 80% de población subsiste de la agricultura y la ganadería, y donde la sequía ha desencadenado una situación alarmante de escasez de agua y alimentos. Las tasas de desnutrición se han disparado y una cuarta parte de los distritos del país han sido declarados oficialmente en situación de crisis nutricional. Respecto al mismo período del año pasado, ha aumentado en un 65% el número de niños que necesitan tratamiento por desnutrición aguda severa, así como los casos de mujeres y niños que precisan alimentación suplementaria.

Se calcula que a lo largo de 2016 un total de 10,2 millones de personas necesitarán ayuda alimentaria en Etiopía.

Con objeto de hacer frente a la emergencia, Cáritas Etiopía ha lanzado una llamada de emergencia a toda la red internacional de Cáritas para recabar los fondos necesarios para poner en marcha un plan de intervenciones inmediatas para garantizar ayuda básica a las comunidades más vulnerables de nueve de las trece diócesis de Etiopía.

Cáritas Española ha comprometido la aportación de 300.000 euros, de los cuales ya se han transferido a Cáritas Etiopía los primeros 100.000 euros. La aportación de Cáritas Española supone el 35% del presupuesto solicitado por la Cáritas Etíope.

Desde hace más de 15 años, Cáritas Española apoya diversos proyectos de desarrollo y acción humanitaria de la Cáritas Etíope. Existe actualmente una estrategia de Cáritas Española centrada en los ámbitos de la seguridad alimentaria, el agua y saneamiento, y la promoción de la mujer en Etiopia las regiones de Oromia, SNNP y Tigray. Toda esta actuación de cooperación fraterna está siendo acompañada en el terreno desde 2014 por Rodrigo Sáez, un cooperante de Cáritas Española con base en Adiss Abeba.

La próxima semana, y con objeto de conocer en el terreno la situación de las comunidades afectadas por la sequía e identificar cuáles son las necesidades prioritarias, se desplazarán a Etiopía Carmen Cabotá, coordinadora de la región de África en el Area de Cooperación Internacional de Cáritas Española, y Beatriz Tavera, técnica de esa misma Área.

Sudán del Sur: el hambre afecta a un cuarto de la población

Los efectos de la sequía que afecta a todo el Cuerno de Africa son también muy graves en Sudán del Sur, donde se estima que 2,8 millones de personas, la cuarta parte de la población del país, necesitan ayuda urgente. Cáritas Internationalis asegura que más de 40.000 personas estarán abocados a una seria hambruna en las próximas semanas.

El padre Jean Waweru, director de la oficina local de Cáritas en Rumbek, una de las áreas más afectadas del país, asegura que “pueden verse los huesos de los niños que sobresalen porque están desnutridos por la falta de alimento. Con ellos los que están sufriendo de verdad”. A esto se añade que “el año pasado el conflicto a lo largo de la frontera en el Alto Nilo comportó la pérdida de cultivos y de ganadería, y las personas se vieron forzadas a escapar por sus vidas.”

El enfrentamiento bélico en varias áreas del país y la intensificación de la crisis económica están acarreando consecuencias fatales para la capacidad de autoabastecimiento de las comunidades rurales. “La mayoría de estas personas, ya sea agricultores o pastores, no posee los medios para conseguir su propio sustento. Dependen de cualquier tipo de trabajo en la ciudad de Juba y los pueblos necesitan totalmente de la ayuda alimentaria”, alerta Gabriel Yai, director ejecutivo de Cáritas Sudán del Sur

La Cáritas Sursudanesa ha lanzado una llamada de emergencia a toda la red internacional de Cáritas para solicitar fondos con el objetivo de ayudar a 35.000 personas especialmente vulnerables en las zonas de Juba, Rumbek, Tambura-Yambio, Yei y Malakal. El plan de emergencia incluye la perforación de pozos, la distribución de semillas y herramientas, la promoción de salud y la higiene y el suministro de medicamentos y ayuda alimentaria.

Cáritas Española, que cuenta con una larga trayectoria de presencia en la región, se ha sumado a ese llamamiento y ha puesto a disposición de las necesidades de la emergencia una partida de 50.000 euros.

Ayuda para refugiados de Boko Haram en Níger

Otro de los frentes humanitarios abiertos en Africa para la red Cáritas está en Níger, donde la Cáritas local ha pedido también ayuda urgente para acoger a los miles de personas que están huyendo de los ataques de los combatientes de Boko Haram en el sureste del país.

Entre diciembre y enero pasado, alrededor de 100.000 personas fueron obligadas por los terroristas a abandonar sus hogares y 170 aldeas quedaron abandonadas. Asimismo, otros 100.000 refugiados de Nigeria también han huido a Níger.

Cáritas Internationalis ha lanzado un llamamiento urgente para recaudar los 830.000 euros necesarios para proporcionar víveres, albergue, ayuda básica, agua potable y saneamiento a 15.000 personas, tanto desplazados como comunidades receptoras.

Cáritas Española ha respondido a esa llamada con una aportación de 100.000 euros.

A los problemas originados por la violencia, se suma la precariedad causada por la crisis alimentaria que azota Níger y que amenaza a 1,3 millones de niños y a 300.000 madres lactantes.

Los ataques de Boko Haram han dejado un saldo de al menos 17.000 muertos y más de 2,6 millones de personas han tenido que dejar sus hogares desde 2009. Están clasificados como una de las organizaciones terroristas más mortíferas. “La última esperanza de la gente es que se pueda restablecer la paz y la seguridad”, dice Raymond Yoro de Cáritas.


Nigeria: UNHCR Funding Update on the Nigeria Situation: 2016 contributions (USD) as of 29 March 2016

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Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Country: Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria

Chad: Sahel Crisis 2016: Funding Status as of 01 April 2016

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Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Country: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal

Chad: Chad rights groups quit election commission days before key poll

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Source: Agence France-Presse
Country: Chad

N'Djamena, Chad | AFP | Friday 4/1/2016 - 15:35 GMT

Chadian unions and rights groups on Friday pulled out of several state institutions, including the election commission, saying they felt "gagged" in the run-up to closely-watched presidential polls.

The announcement of the groups' withdrawal from Chad's electoral commission and other bodies comes a day after the trial of four leading activists held on controversial charges of disturbing the peace was postponed, prolonging their detention.

"Given the decision to maintain our comrades in detention, we have decided to withdraw" delegates from forums including the CENI (electoral commission), Goukouni Vaima, the deputy head of the UST labour federation, told a press conference.

Oil-rich Chad, whose people are among the poorest in the world, has faced unprecedented protests in recent weeks as longtime leader Idriss Deby Itno seeks to extend his 26-year rule.

"We feel gagged," Vaima said, vowing that a protest march planned for April 5 would go ahead, despite a government ban on the rally.

Vaima said the UST and three allied protest movements called "That's Enough", "Too Much Is Too Much" and "We're Tired" (Iyina in Chadian Arabic) were also pulling out of Chad's economic and social council, oil revenue transparency watchdogs and a forum for political dialogue.

The four activists on trial in the capital N'Djamena were arrested ten days ago for calling for protests against Deby's administration.

The spokesman for the "Ca suffit" ("That's Enough") coalition, Mahamat Nour Ahmed Ibedou, was the first of the four to be arrested, followed by UST general secretary Younous Mahadjir, Nadjo Kaina Palmer, spokesman for "Iyina" and the spokeswoman for the "Trop, c'est trop" ("Enough is Enough") coalition. Celine Narmadji.

Within minutes of their trial opening Thursday it was postponed until April 7.

Anger at the government was already running high following the gang rape in February of a young woman by the sons of several leading officials who posted images of her on Facebook, naked and crying. The video triggered nationwide student protests.

Police and soldiers have cracked down hard on the demonstrations, killing two youths. At the end of February, a strike brought many towns across the country to a virtual standstill.

Deby, a former armed forces chief turned warlord who seized power in 1990, faces 13 challengers for the presidency. The first round of voting takes place on April 10.

In 2004, the constitution was modified to abolish a two-term limit on presidential mandates.

Deby was declared the winner of elections in 2006 and 2011 by a huge majority.

yas-jpc/ccr/cb

© 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse

Nigeria: Nigeria: Humanitarian Funding Overview (as of 01 April 2016)

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Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Country: Nigeria

Nigeria: Chibok girls – do we really care?

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Source: IRIN
Country: Nigeria

#BringBackOurGirls should be more than a hashtag

By Hilary Matfess

The world united in a campaign to demand #BringBackOurGirls after the abduction of the Chibok school girls two years ago by the Nigerian jihadist group Boko Haram. But there has been next to nothing in the way of support to the women that have managed to escape the militants.

Read the gull article on IRIN

Mali: Mali: Présence de bureaux des agences de l’ONU et des ONG internationales dans les cercles des régions du nord et du centre (1 mars 2016)

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Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Country: Mali

Senegal: USAID Spurs Household Vegetable Growth in Senegal

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Source: US Agency for International Development
Country: Senegal, United States of America

Prior to joining a USAID-supported gardening program, Kadiata Ly and her household of 15 people—including seven children— rarely consumed vegetables. Like others in northern Senegal, Kadiata and her family are subject to erratic rainfall and frequent drought, causing crop failures and poor food security and nutrition conditions among vulnerable households.

To assist vulnerable families and bolster their resilience to future shocks, USAID has supported the Centre for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI) to provide more than 68,500 people like Kadiata with food security and livelihood assistance.

Among other agricultural activities, CECI is assisting women to start group vegetable gardens, enabling them to not only achieve household-level food and nutritional security, but to generate income by selling surplus vegetables in local markets.

In 2016, more than 13,400 women in northern Senegal’s Kanel, Podor, and Ranerou departments are participating in group gardens, watered by local wells. As part of the program, the women receive agricultural tools, vegetable seeds, and training on soil, water, pest, and disease management. From June 2014–July 2015, nearly 4,500 women in the three departments participated in gardening groups, producing approximately 528,000 pounds of vegetables—enough food to feed each household for a month and a half. The women sold the surplus vegetables in local markets, earning more than $10,000 to purchase additional seeds and other household needs.

Thanks to USAID-supported gardening activities, Kadiata was able to remain in her village rather than migrating during the lean season, enabling her children to continue attending school. “This year we have easy access to food, especially vegetables,” Kadiata says. “The family eats rich and varied meals daily.” Gardening has also improved social cohesion among Kadiata and her community. “The garden has strengthened our friendship and family ties in the villages,” says Katya, whose gardening association elected her president. “We want to enlarge the garden and continue gardening for vegetables all year round.”


Mali: New beginnings for child beggars in Senegal and Mali

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Source: SOS Children's Villages International
Country: Mali, Senegal

Child beggars, known as ‘talibés’, are a familiar sight in cities across Senegal and Mali. Far from home, and forced to beg, their situations have been likened to modern slavery. SOS Children’s Villages together with the European Commission is running a project to protect these children, bring them home to their families, and give them access to formal education. On a street corner in Senegal’s main city, Dakar, a group of seven barefoot children carrying bowls are roaming the motorway and begging for money from passersby. Like thousands of child beggars in Senegal, not one of them can say a word in French, although it is the country’s official language – a clear sign that they are not getting even a basic education.

Among them is a little boy named Seck*, aged three. Seck’s clothes are dirty, like those of his friends. It seems that Seck has been wearing the same clothes for weeks without washing.

Children begging are a common sight in cities across Senegal and Mali. Locally, these children are called ‘talibés’, an Arabic word for pupils, usually boys, who live in religious schools called ‘daaras’, where the Quran is taught.

How poverty makes talibés

In rural areas of Senegal and Mali, many families live in extreme poverty, with many children to care for, orphaned children of deceased family members often among them. When families are unable to provide for all of them, children as young as three years old may be sent to live at daaras in cities hundreds of kilometres from home

It’s a gamble, but the parents hope a religious education from the daara will give the child a decent education, and a better chance in life. Unfortunately, like Seck, many of these children end up begging on the streets.

With limited resources, some daaras provide the children with a decent education. However, many daaras send the children out to beg on the streets to pay for their room and board and Quranic education. In reality, the actual time the children spend learning is limited, and begging on the streets exposes them to risks of violence, sexual abuse, and disease.

The talibé children normally live in the daaras for up to four years; then they are asked to leave. Yet, after years away from home and begging on the streets, reintegrating with their families can also be difficult; without formal education, they have limited skills for further study.

UNICEF estimated in 2004 that in Senegal alone 100,000 children, mostly talibés, were begging on the streets. A Human Rights Watch report from 2010 compared the situations of such children with modern slavery.

A better life for talibés and street children

In partnership with the European Union, SOS Children’s Villages Belgium, SOS Children’s Villages Senegal and SOS Children’s Villages Mali launched a three-year project in 2015 to protect child beggars, restore their rights and, whenever possible, reintegrate them with their families.

The project involves close collaboration with local partners, including women’s groups, public schools, and daaras to ensure better alternatives for the children

Parents, caregivers, Quranic teachers and educators receive training about children’s rights. They also learn how to generate income without resorting to child begging. Monitoring by the project team ensures that new earned income is used for the children’s best interests.

Depending on needs, some daara also receive mosquito nets, sleeping mattresses, access to safe drinking water, and other items to support better living conditions for the children who live there.

The project also works to protect children who are victims of violence or abuse, and provide them with psychological and emotional care.

In total, 1,500 vulnerable children in five locations across Mali (Douentza and Mopti) and Senegal (Tambacounda, Kaolack and Dakar) are being helped through the project.

Family life and quality education

During its first year of operation, the project team in Mali found the families of 79 talibés and other child beggars and worked with local judicial authorities to reunite them. The team brought an additional 217 marginalised and vulnerable children into the formal education system.

“When we identify the families, we talk with them to know what caused the children to go begging on the streets. And together, we discuss how we can support them to give proper care to the children. We are working to support the long-term capacity of families to take care of their children,” explained Richard Somé Kouré, Regional Coordinator of the Project.

In Senegal, 61 children from daaras were brought into the formal education system in the first year. SOS Children’s Villages partnered with Centre Ginddi, a state-run child welfare organisation, to temporarily host some children, while long-term solutions for their housing and care were found.

To help strengthen families to care for their children, the project provided school kits and uniforms, and paid for children’s public school fees and medical expenses. Direct services are reduced each year as families become more self-sufficient through project-sponsored income generation activities.

The project aims to reintegrate the children into their own communities, reunifying them with their families whenever possible, and ensuring that they have access to quality education. In each case, the project seeks to answer the best interests of each individual child.

“Some child beggars from unsafe areas like Timbuktu or Gao in northern Mali may not be reintegrated into their biological families, due to risk. In this case, foster families are given enough support to care for them properly,” said Mr Somé.

By the time the project ends in February 2018, the families and communities should have the capacities to care for their children independently.

*Child’s name changed for privacy.

Mali: USAID Builds Economic Resilience in Mali

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Source: US Agency for International Development
Country: Mali, United States of America

Protracted conflict in 2012–2013 closed markets, damaged land, and destroyed livelihoods in northern Mali, leaving three out of four households in the area food-insecure by mid-2013.

In Gao Region’s Ansongo commune, food insecurity affected approximately 90 percent of households, forcing families to sell livestock and divert expenses from other household goods to survive.

USAID is assisting Mercy Corps to enhance food security and economic resilience for nearly 55,000 conflict-affected people in Ansongo through community gardening of key cash crops; improved fodder and health services for livestock; the rehabilitation of land, agricultural infrastructure, and irrigation systems damaged by conflict; and support for microfinance and village savings and loan activities to generate and protect incomes.

Among these activities, Mercy Corps is supporting more than 50 agricultural groups with vegetable seeds and training on composting and other techniques, thereby strengthening vegetable production for approximately 1,200 vulnerable people.

Gardening group member Fatoumata Aboubacar recalls her association’s poor harvest prior to Mercy Corps’ assistance: “In 2014, we only used about half of our garden and produced just 4.5 pounds of tomatoes—which earned us $80.”

Thanks to seeds and training provided through USAID support, including the adoption of techniques such as using organic fertilizer, Fatoumata’s group more than quadrupled production in 2016. The association successfully planted its entire garden and harvested approximately 47,000 pounds of potatoes— worth more than $8,700 at current market prices.

With her newfound income from the garden’s success, Fatoumata started a small business selling fish to earn additional income for her family.

Through USAID support, conflict-affected people like Fatoumata are regaining their livelihoods, improving their food security situations, and building their economic resilience for the future.

World: USAID Bolsters Data Collection to Assist Families in the Sahel

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Source: US Agency for International Development
Country: Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal, United States of America, World

Due to chronic food insecurity and malnutrition, vulnerable households across the Sahel Region are particularly susceptible to new shocks. Early warning systems are critical to analyzing the impact of food security and economic trends on these households, enabling response actors to both mitigate risk for potential crises and assist the region’s most vulnerable families when emergencies strike.

To assist host country governments, UN agencies, and international relief organizations to predict and respond to households’ food security and related needs, USAID is supporting Save the Children (SC) to conduct household-level food security data collection and analysis. Through the Household Economy Analysis (HEA) program, USAID assistance is strengthening early warning systems, informing UN and host country response plans, and enabling SC and other partners to target the region’s most vulnerable households.

Since 2013, USAID has supported HEA data collection across seven countries in the Sahel, enabling SC to predict the impact of emergencies on households of various income levels. HEA data has been incorporated into Sahel countries’ national early warning systems, as well as the Cadre Harmonisé, a tool used by UN and host country governments throughout West Africa for the analysis and reporting of food security data.

Countries such as Burkina Faso, Niger, and Senegal are utilizing HEA data in national and international response plans to ensure that response activities address crisis-affected families’ most urgent needs. Similarly, relief actors throughout the Sahel are using HEA data to target the region’s most vulnerable households. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2015, HEA data assisted response actors to reach more than 14.8 million vulnerable people with seasonal safety net, livelihoods, and other assistance.
Through the HEA program, USAID is building international and host country capacity to anticipate and respond to the needs of the Sahel’s most vulnerable families and build their resilience to withstand future shocks.

Chad: Tchad: impact de la crise nigériane dans la région du Lac Rapport de Situation n° 12 (30/03/2016)

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Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Country: Chad, Nigeria

Faits saillants

  • Selon des sources sécuritaires, quelque 60 civils tchadiens déplacés à Baga-Sola auraient été enlevés par des hommes armés le 2 mars à la frontière avec le Nigéria, alors qu’ils tentaient de retourner dans leurs îles d’origine pour pêcher. Deux civils ont été tués dans une attaque armée le 7 mars sur l’île de Bikaram.

  • Suite au signalement de deux cas de rougeole confirmés à Kangalom (district sanitaire de Bol) dont un décès, et à plusieurs autres cas rapportés dans le district sanitaire de Kouloudia, des opérations de vaccinations ont été organisées pour 446 enfants agés de 9 mois à 4 ans.

  • Des évaluations rapides du Cluster Abris/AME/CCCM en mars ont révélé la présence de 16 835 nouveaux déplacés estimés sur le site de Kousseri Tchoukoutalia (sous-préfecture de N’Gouboua), 5 850 sur le site de Diamarom (sous-préfecture de Liwa), et 10 510 sur les sites de Bibi-Barrage et Al-Amné (sous-préfecture de Kangalom).

  • La réponse multisectorielle aux déplacés dans la cuvette nord du Lac continue et confirme une diminution de moitié du nombre de déplacés par rapport aux estimations initiales faites par la mission multisectorielle du 14-19 janvier 2016 dans les sous-préfectures de Liwa et Daboua.

  • Selon le dépistage réalisé par le PAM, les taux de malnutrition sont alarmants sur huit sites de déplacés des sous-préfectures de Liwa et Daboua avec 437 enfants (18,9%) en situation de malnutrition aigüe globale, dont 229 enfants (6,5%) malnutris sévères.

  • L’assistance alimentaire s’est accélérée dans la zone nord de la région du Lac (Liwa et Daboua), avec des distributions générales de vivres en faveur de plus de 31 730 déplacés assistés entre le 10 février et le 20 mars dans 19 des 22 sites de déplacés. Ces distributions ont été couplées à des rations de couverture (blanket feeding) pour 3 306 enfants âgés de 6 à 23 mois.

58 195 déplacés enregistrés depuis mai 2015 Dont : - 47 370 déplacés internes
- 605 ressortissants des pays tiers
- 10 220 retournés Tchadiens
Source: Cluster Abris / AME / CCCM - OIM (Matrice de suivi des déplacements du 21/03/2016).

56 080 déplacés* estimés pas encore enregistrés dans les souspréfectures de Liwa, Daboua,
Kangalom et Tchoukoutalia.
Source: Cluster Abris / AME / CCCM – OIM;
PAM, autorités locales lors de la mission d’évaluation multisectorielle du 14 au 19 janvier 2016.

6 220 réfugiés dont 4 603 dans le camp de Dar-es-Salam depuis janvier 2015.
Source: HCR/CNARR (29/02//2016)

Aperçu de la situation

Le climat d’insécurité perdure dans la région du Lac, où l’état d’urgence s’est terminé le 22 mars 2016. Plusieurs incidents ont été rapportés au cours des dernières semaines. Le 7 mars, une attaque armée sur l’île de Bikaram a fait deux morts et trois blessés civils. Le 2 mars, quelque 60 civils auraient été enlevés par des membres de groupes armés arrivés par la frontière nigériane, selon des sources sécuritaires. Il s’agirait de déplacés internes tchadiens vivant à Baga-Sola qui tentaient de retourner dans leurs îles natales pour pêcher, en dépit de l'interdiction officielle et de plusieurs autres tentatives de retour récemment stoppées par les autorités locales (50 jeunes interpellés à Fourkouloum le 10 février). Le même jour, un vol de 200 bovins a été signalé à la frontière entre le Tchad et le Niger– le bétail aurait par la suite été retrouvé à Kalam (Niger) et ramené à ses propriétaires par des éléments de la Force Multinationale Mixte (FMM).

Malgré le contexte sécuritaire, l’assistance humanitaire se poursuit ainsi que les opérations d’enregistrement et de profilage. Des évaluations rapides du Cluster Abris / AME / CCCM ont permis d’identifier la présence de 16 835 déplacés sur le site de Kousseri-Tchoukoutalia (le 20 mars, souspréfectures de N’Gouboua) et de 5 850 déplacés sur le site de Diamarom (le 12 mars, sous-préfecture de Liwa). Précédemment ; du 1 er au 8 mars, une mission du Cluster régional Abris / AME / CCCM (HCR-OIM) avait eu lieu dans la sous-préfecture de Kangalom, permettant d’estimer la présence de 10 673 autres déplacés (à travers des évaluations rapides sur les sites de Bibi Barrage et Dar-AlAmné), et de confirmer la présence de 1 963 déplacés (à travers des opérations de vérifications). Les 1 800 déplacés de Bibi Barrage seraient arrivés en 2015, majoritairement en provenance des localités de Tetewa et Nguiria, tandis que les 8 710 déplacés de Dar-Al-Amné seraient également arrivés en 2015 en provenance des localités de Doubaba et Farguimi.

Par ailleurs une mission d’investigation conduite par la Délégation sanitaire régionale de Bol (via l’antenne de Surveillance épidémiologique), et l’Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS), s’est rendue début février à Kangalom (district sanitaire de Bol), après la confirmation de deux cas de rougeole, et la notification de quatre autres cas dans le district de Kouloudia. La riposte de vaccination s’est effectuée le 13 février en faveur de 302 enfants âgés de 9 mois à 4 ans à Kangalom. Une autre riposte touchant 144 enfants a eu lieu à Wolé (district de Kouloudia), où a été identifié le premier cas

World: CrisisWatch No. 152, 1 April 2016

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Source: International Crisis Group
Country: Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, China, China - Taiwan Province, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, occupied Palestinian territory, Pakistan, Philippines, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Thailand, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Western Sahara, World, Yemen, Zimbabwe

The month saw violent extremist movements, including the Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda-linked groups, carry out major deadly attacks in Turkey, Pakistan, Côte d’Ivoire, Tunisia and Belgium. In Libya, the arrival of Prime Minister Serraj in Tripoli despite warnings from multiple factions could lead to further destabilisation. Meanwhile in Central Africa, political violence rose in Burundi and could break out in Chad around the 10 April presidential election. Yemen, South Sudan and even Syria saw progress, of varying degrees, toward peace talks or implementation of agreements, and in Colombia the start of talks between the state and the National Liberation Army (ELN) could lead to the end of the 52-year-old conflict.

In Libya, international recognition of the new UN-backed Government of National Accord without support from military factions or the Tobruk-based House of Representatives worsened tensions in an already fragmented security landscape, and Prime Minister Serraj’s arrival in Tripoli on 30 March could trigger worse violence in April. Meanwhile, an IS branch is reportedly gaining strength. To prevent further splintering of Libya’s armed groups and ensure that political and security developments support a negotiated peace, Crisis Group has called for a nationwide security track dialogue in parallel with the UN-guided political track. In Tunisia, at least 50 IS militants stormed Ben Guerdane, 30km from the Libyan border on 7 March, attempting to overwhelm key security installations.

In Turkey, a car bomb attack on 13 March in Ankara saw 38 killed including two assailants. The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), an ultra-radical Kurdish nationalist offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), claimed responsibility, saying it was an act of revenge for ongoing security operations against the PKK in south-eastern urban centres. As Crisis Group has long argued, the only way toward a durable solution is peace talks with the PKK alongside ensuring further democratic rights for Turkey’s Kurdish population.

Elsewhere, violent extremist movements carried out major deadly attacks. In Pakistan, over 70 people were killed in a suicide bombing claimed by the Pakistani Taliban faction Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JA) in Lahore on 27 March. In Belgium 32 people were killed by two IS-linked suicide bomb attacks at the main airport and on the Brussels metro on 22 March, while in Côte d’Ivoire on 13 March gunmen shot dead sixteen civilians in Grand-Bassam, 40km east of Abidjan, in an unprecedented terrorist attack claimed by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Crisis Group’s Special Report Exploiting Disorder: al-Qaeda and the Islamic State examines how such extremist movements benefit from today’s deadliest crises and complicate efforts to end them.

In Burundi, political violence worsened while international pressure on President Nkurunziza failed to stop government repression. There were deadly attacks on three officials including two from the ruling party and the assassination of two high-ranking army officers on the same day, pointing to dangerous divisions in the military. According to the UN, 474 people have been killed in political violence since April 2015, and over 250,000 Burundians have fled to neighbouring states. In Chad, mounting protests against President Déby’s regime and government repression could lead to serious political violence around the presidential election, scheduled for 10 April. Meanwhile, tensions between Morocco and the UN spiked after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon referred to the “occupation” of Western Sahara during a visit to the region in early March.

In Syria, Russia’s announcement that it would withdraw the “main part” of its assets that have conducted operations in the country since September 2015 strengthened the ongoing UN-brokered talks, which resumed on 14 March in Geneva. Since the “cessation of hostilities” that began on 27 February violence has decreased considerably, according to local sources, with the lowest monthly civilian death toll in four years. Meanwhile, in Yemen, the agreement between Saudi Arabia and the Huthis to halt hostilities along the Yemen-Saudi Arabia border in early March paved the way for commitments to a wider ceasefire and peace talks to start in April. Fighting continued, nevertheless, including between government forces and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Aden and IS-linked attacks in the south.

In South Sudan, amid a decline in fighting, April could see significant progress toward the formation of a transitional government of national unity, bringing the country a step closer toward implementation of the August 2015 peace deal. In Colombia, in a welcome step, the government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) announced on 30 March the opening of formal peace talks which, together with those nearing completion with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Havana, are the greatest opportunity to end 52 years of armed conflict.

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