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Nigeria: Nigeria crisis Q&A: 75,000 children could die in the next year

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Source: Save the Children
Country: Nigeria

An escalating food crisis in Nigeria threatens to overwhelm an already desperately under-funded humanitarian response. Here’s what you need to know.

What’s the situation?

Children are paying the price as fighting between insurgents and the Nigerian government has intensfied – on top of seven years of unrest.

Violence has forced a million children to flee their homes. Many have seen friends and family killed, or been attacked themselves.

Now, as new parts of the country are becoming accessible, the devastating scale of children’s needs is becoming clear.

How is the food crisis affecting children?

People’s desperate search for safety has led to hunger and disease in overcrowded camps or overstretched communities. We’re on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe.

According to the UN, 75,000 children could die from malnutrition over the next year. That’s 205 children every day.

We’ve reached 200,000 children but we need support to urgently scale up our response and save more children’s lives.

What’s Save the Children doing about the food crisis?

We’re on the ground – responding to the urgent needs of displaced children and families.

Our volunteers find malnourished children and refer them to our seven therapeutic feeding sites.

We’ve screened over 40,000 children and treated more than 12,000 children for severe malnutrition.

We’re providing food to 7,500 families, and plan to reach another 5,000. With extra support for pregnant women and new mothers.

What else are you doing?

Whatever we can. We’re installing latrines and water pumps to help people stay healthy.

We’re training foster carers and providing case workers so vulnerable children have the care they need to start recovering.

We’re getting children learning again and, at our child friendly spaces – amid the heartbreak and chaos – children are playing once more.

What’s Save the Children calling for?

Nigeria’s government is trying to respond to these needs, but the scale of the suffering is overwhelming.

The UN’s Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O’Brien, has called this food crisis the most under-reported, under-funded and least addressed of the big crises the world is facing.

With the UN’s appeal two thirds unfunded, international donors must urgently increase political and financial support to save thousands of lives.

How many people are displaced?

Around 2.6 million people have been forced to flee their homes – the majority have sought safety in Nigeria but some some 600,000 are spread across Chad, Niger and Cameroon,

1.4 million of those are still in Borno, with the majority staying in and around the state capital, Maiduguri. The majority of the others are in neighbouring states.

Over half of those forced from their homes are children.

Where are they staying?

78% of internally displaced people are staying in towns and villages or in informal camps, and the remainder are in formal camps.

As new areas become accessible, some people have been returning home.

Close to 1 million people have gone back but many have little to return to, with whole towns and communities decimated and the threat of attacks still present.


Niger: Niger HRP 2016: Funding Status as of 18 November 2016

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

Mali: Mali: Rapport sur les mouvements de populations, 10 novembre 2016

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Source: International Organization for Migration, Government of the Republic of Mali, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Protection Cluster
Country: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger

Le contexte de déplacement au Mali reste complexe et fluide. Des mouvements de personnes déplacées résidant actuellement dans les régions du sud vers les régions du nord continuent d'être signalés. Alors que certains ont indiqué être retournés définitivement, d'autres déplacés expliquent faire des allers-retours entre le lieu de déplacement et le lieu d'origine. De nouveaux déplacements continuent également d’être signalés, les conflits intercommunautaires, l'insécurité et les affrontements ou la perspective d’un éventuel affrontement entre groupes armés étant parmi les raisons évoquées pour justifier ces nouveaux déplacements.

Afin de répondre aux besoins des populations déplacées internes, rapatriées et retournées, la Commission Mouvement de Populations (CMP) recueille et analyse les informations sur les mouvements de populations à l’intérieur du Mali, afin de fournir un état complet des mouvements de populations et à la demande de ses partenaires. Les membres de la Commission sont : la Direction Générale de la Protection Civile (Ministère de la sécurité intérieur), UNHCR, OCHA, PAM, UNICEF, ACTED, NRC, DRC, Handicap International, Solidarités International, CRS, OIM, et DNDS. Plusieurs autres entités participent régulièrement aux rencontres de la Commission.

Résumé: A la date du 31 Octobre 2016, les partenaires de la CMP ont comptabilisé 55 539 rapatriés, ce qui correspond à une diminution de 1190 personnes par rapport aux données de septembre 2016 (56 729 Rapatriés1). Par ailleurs, aucun mouvement de personnes déplacées internes ni de retournés n’a été enregistré durant la période. La CMP comptabilise donc 36 690 PDIs et 474 231 personnes retournées. En outre, 135 954 réfugiés2 maliens ont été reportés dans les pays limitrophes par l’UNHCR.

Cameroon: Nearly 200,000 Internally Displaced in Cameroon: IOM

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Source: International Organization for Migration
Country: Cameroon, Nigeria

Cameroon– Some 198,899 people or 35,360 households are now internally displaced in Cameroon’s Far North region, mainly due to the Boko Haram insurgency, according to the fifth round of IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM).

An additional 26,743 unregistered refugees (5,070 households) and 36,068 returnees (6,946 households) were also identified by the DTM in the region, while more than 59,000 refugees are now currently living in Minawao refugee camp.

The displacement was triggered by violence that spread from northeast Nigeria to Cameroon and neighbouring countries. In November 2015, IOM responded to the need for accurate and up-to-date information on displacement in Cameroon’s Far North region by establishing the DTM to inform the response of the government and the humanitarian community.

This fifth round of the DTM is based on data collected between 19 September and 10 October 2016 in 543 villages and in six departments of the Far North region, as well as household interviews with over 1,000 families. The report provides information on the number and location of internally displaced persons (IDPs), displacement trends and processes, socioeconomic conditions of IDPs, and demographics.

The DTM program is implemented in close collaboration with local, national and regional authorities, as well as with the humanitarian community. Its methodology involves the training and deployment of data enumerators to collect information directly down to the smallest local government unit to provide the most accurate information possible on displacement and human mobility.

Compared to the previous DTM round in August 2016, these findings show a 10 percent increase in IDPs and an 80 percent growth in unregistered refugees, as well as a 13 percent rise in returnees. Since the DTM was first conducted in Cameroon, the population tracked increased by approximately 30 percent.

The displacement in the Far North region continues to affect children disproportionally. An estimated 67 percent of the displaced are under 18 years old, and the great majority of displaced households have children (98 percent).

“Humanitarian actors continue to see an increase in displacement that calls for the provision of urgent aid,” noted IOM Cameroon Chief of Mission Roger Charles Evina. “The joint efforts of the authorities, humanitarian partners and donors remain vital to ensure that the basic needs of populations affected by the violence are met,” he added.

Nearly half of the population tracked by the DTM (48 percent) currently resides in the Logone-et-Chari Department, which borders the Lake Chad and Borno State in Nigeria. Overall, 90 percent of the tracked population resides in the Departments bordering Nigeria and most affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.

An estimated 92 percent of the displaced population was displaced by the insurgency and 8 percent by flooding and other natural disasters. An estimated 45 percent of the current population was displaced in 2016, while 28 percent was displaced in 2015, 22 percent in 2014 and 5 percent before 2014.

The DTM report also reveals that the majority of those internally displaced, 72 percent, live in host communities, while 15 percent live in rented housing. Nine percent live in spontaneous settlements, while 2 percent stay in collective centres. The remaining 2 percent are living in the open.

Within the framework of the DTM, IOM Cameroon conducts return intention surveys. The second survey took place in October 2016 and highlighted that an estimated 23 percent of the displaced population intended to return to their place of origin, while 7 percent indicated that they would leave their area of displacement for another location, and 71 percent indicated their intention to remain at their displacement site.

Returns are primarily prevented by the fear and trauma associated with the conflict and displacement (46 percent), a feeling of security in the village of displacement (18 percent), and the limited presence of armed forces in the area of origin (12 percent).

People interviewed said that they would consider returning home if security forces were present in the area of origin (40 percent), humanitarian assistance was provided in the area of origin (23 percent), and access to basic services in the area of origin was improved (14 percent).

This round of the DTM was supported by the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO).

The full DTM report can be found on http://www.globaldtm.info/cameroon/

For further information please contact Roger Charles Evina at IOM Cameroon, Tel. +237 652 234 640, Email: revina@iom.int or dtmcameroon@iom.int

World: Mixed Migration in West Africa, October 2016

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Source: Danish Refugee Council, Regional Mixed Migration Secretariat
Country: Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, World

World: Mixed Migration in West Africa, October 2016

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Source: Regional Mixed Migration Secretariat
Country: Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, World

Monthly regional mixed migration summary for October 2016 covering mixed migration events, incidents, trends and data for the West Africa region.

Nigeria: Nigeria fights myths, fear in polio vaccine drive

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Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
Country: Nigeria

"The child cannot walk. Whenever he goes out, he goes with his mother. She carries him on her back, but they can't go far"

By Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani

ABUJA, Nov 18 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Two years after Nigerian militant group Boko Haram attacked his hometown of Gwoza - killing men and burning down houses - Ali Bello feared the worst when he received a panicked message from his wife.

The rickshaw driver - who works in the nearby town of Mubi in northeast Nigeria - raced home to find that their five-year-old son had been rushed to hospital after falling severely ill.

"When they told me the boy had polio, I did not believe it," Bello told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.

"Some people in Gwoza ... are afraid," he said. "They have been telling their children not to go to our house."

Nigeria was stunned in August when two cases of children being struck by polio were reported in Borno state - Boko Haram's former stronghold - after two years in which the country, and the continent, had appeared free of the disease.

Two more cases have since been recorded by the Nigerian government, but health officials fear many more could come to light. Experts estimate that for every case of polio that paralyses its victim, 200 silent infections go undetected.

The virus, which can cause irreversible paralysis within hours, spreads rapidly among children, especially in unsanitary conditions in war-torn regions, where healthcare is limited.

Boko Haram's seven-year insurgency aimed at creating an Islamic state has disrupted health services across Nigeria's northeast and hampered efforts to get vaccines to children at risk.

While father-of-eight Bello's older children received polio vaccinations many years ago, he said the younger ones had missed out due to the instability caused by the Islamist group.

And as fighting between the militants and the Nigerian army forces people to flee their homes, aid agencies are concerned that the virus could spread to neighbouring Chad, Niger and Cameroon, and nearby Central African Republic.

FIGHTING FEAR

Nigeria and the World Health Organisation (WHO) are strengthening surveillance systems, while a drive was launched by the U.N. children's agency (UNICEF) last month to vaccinate more than 41 million children in West Africa's Lake Chad region.

But health workers in Nigeria must contend not only with fear of the virus itself, but also suspicion of the vaccine.

Some religious leaders in northern Nigeria openly oppose polio vaccination, saying it is a conspiracy against Muslim children and that the vaccines could cause infertility and AIDS.

In 2013, gunmen on motorbikes killed nine health workers delivering vaccines in two separate attacks in the city of Kano.

Yet Nigeria's health minister, Isaac Adewole, said misconceptions about the vaccines were "a problem of the past".

The health ministry has tried to improve the uptake of polio vaccines by working with religious and community leaders, and by ensuring that children who are vaccinated receive incentives like sweets and milk, he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

To reach areas of the northeast that are still unstable due to Boko Haram, local vigilantes accompany the health workers.

"They are armed, but look like normal people so they don't scare anyone," Adewole said, adding that using military escorts in the past had frightened local communities.

While the recent polio cases in Nigeria have cast a shadow over global eradication hopes - Afghanistan and Pakistan are the two countries where the virus remains endemic - Adewole is confident that his nation will be free of polio by next year.

In Gwoza, Bello and his wife are just hoping that their son - who has not been able to walk despite three months of treatment - will be able to get back on his feet again soon.

"The child cannot walk. Whenever he goes out, he goes with his mother. She carries him on her back, but they can't go far."

(Reporting by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani, Writing by Kieran Guilbert Editing by Ros Russell; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit news.trust.org)

Chad: Tchad : Mise à jour sur les personnes en situation de reddition dans la région du Lac - Rapport de Situation no 1 (18/11/2016)

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

Faits saillants

  • Plus de 1 000 personnes en situation de reddition arrivées progressivement depuis juillet 2016 sont internées par les autorités dans trois sites à Baga-Sola.

  • 70% des personnes en situation de reddition sont des femmes et des enfants, selon les données rendues disponibles par la mission conjointe du Gouvernement et du Système des Nations Unies actuellement en cours, et les autorités décentralisées.

  • La détermination du statut des enfants et adolescents de moins de 18 ans est en cours. A ce jour 486 enfants et adolescents ont été interviewés par les Nations unies selon les protocoles du MRM. Ces enfants et adolescents nécessitent une assistance et une prise en charge psychosociale immédiate.

  • Le statut des adultes n’a pas encore été déterminé par les autorités compétentes. Dans ce contexte, une assistance directe de la communauté humanitaire aux adultes ne peut être envisagée, en respect des principes humanitaires.

Aperçu de la situation

Au 15 novembre, 1 034 personnes en situation de reddition ont été rapportées dans la région du Lac (Tchad). Ces personnes se seraient présentées depuis fin juillet 2016 aux autorités militaires dans les zones frontalières et transférées par les autorités à Baga-Sola. L’ensemble des personnes en situation de reddition est actuellement réparti sur trois sites, y compris le lycée de Baga-Sola, surveillés par la Force Multinationale Mixte. Les autorités tchadiennes ont accordé l’accès humanitaire à ces personnes afin de permettre des entretiens individuels permettant de déterminer les groupes les plus vulnérables et leurs besoins spécifiques. La situation est dynamique et les arrivées continuent. La tendance montre une augmentation progressive et significative du nombre: ce sont à présent des vagues de centaines de personnes qui se rendent.


Chad: Chad: Update on the people having allegedly surrendered in the Lac region - Situation Report no 1 (18/11/2016)

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

Highlights

  • More than 1,000 people having allegedly surrendered have progressively arrived in Baga Sola since July 2016 and are held by the Chadian authorities in three locations.

  • 70% of these people are women and children, according to data made available by the ongoing joint mission of the Government and the United Nations, and local authorities.

  • The status determination of children and adolescents under the age of 18 is under way. To date, 486 children and adolescents have been interviewed by the United Nations in compliance with MRM (Monitoring Reporting Mechanism) protocols. These children and adolescents require immediate psychosocial support and care.

  • The status of the adults has not yet been determined by the competent authorities. In accordance with humanitarian principles, at present direct assistance by the humanitarian community cannot be considered.

Situation Overview

As of 15 November, 1,034 people who have allegedly surrendered to the authorities were reported in the Lac region (Chad). These people reportedly presented themselves to military authorities in the border areas since the end of July 2016 and were transferred by the authorities to Baga-Sola. They are currently held in three sites, including Baga-Sola high school, where the Multinational Joint Taskforce assures the security. The Chadian authorities have granted humanitarian access to humanitarian organisations in order to allow individual interviews to identify the most vulnerable within the group and their specific needs. The situation is dynamic as new arrivals continue to be reported. The trend shows a gradual and significant increase, with waves of hundreds of people who have allegedly surrendered.

Nigeria: Nigeria Suicide Bombings Kill 6

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Source: Voice of America
Country: Nigeria

Suicide bombers staged a series of attacks Friday in northeastern Nigeria, killing four of themselves and two civilian defense fighters, police said.

In the early morning, police challenged two women and a man running toward a checkpoint opposite the Federal High Court in Maiduguri, said Victor Isuku, a police spokesman for the northeastern state of Borno. One woman set off her device, killing herself and the male accomplice, he said; while the other woman survived and was being questioned.

Authorities also say two other suicide bombers blew themselves up at a bus and taxi station on the outskirts of the city, killing themselves and the two civilian fighters.

This marked the fifth attack in three weeks on the city that is the birthplace of Nigeria's homegrown Islamic extremist group, Boko Haram.

Northeastern Nigeria has been the epicenter of a seven-year Boko Haram insurgency.

Boko Haram has stepped up attacks recently, after a months-long pause in their Islamic uprising that has killed more than 20,000 people.

Nigerian security forces have managed to foil most of the attacks.

Nigeria: UNHCR Funding Update on the Nigeria Situation: 2016 contributions (USD) as of 17 November 2016

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

107.5 M required for 2016
29.2 M contributions received, representing 27% of requirements
78.4 M funding gap for the Nigeria Situation

Central African Republic: UNHCR - Central African Republic Situation - 2016 Funding Update as of 17 November 2016

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

225.5 Mrequired for 2016
38.9 M contributions received, representing 17% of requirements
186.6 M funding gap for the Central African Republic Situation

Nigeria: Feeding Nigeria’s Hungry Could Starve a Boko Haram Revival

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Source: International Peace Institute
Country: Nigeria

On November 6, the All Farmers Association of Nigeria announced that an estimated 400,000 farmers would recommence activities in Borno state, after being displaced at the 2014 height of the Boko Haram insurgency. A marked improvement in regional security will see these farmers return to the local government areas of Kwaya-Kusar, Biu, Hawul, Askira-Uba, Damboa, Chibok, and Bayo.

The significance of this resumption cannot be overstated. In their joint report on “Monitoring food security in countries with conflict situations,” the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization and World Food Programme noted the mutually reinforcing relationship between conflict and food insecurity. According to their findings, countries experiencing conflict tended to have the highest number of food insecure people. In other instances, food insecurity was either a catalyst for conflict or an obstacle to peace in contexts where conflict was already occurring.

There are few examples of this nexus more conspicuous than northeastern Nigeria, where the Boko Haram insurgency has left an estimated three million Nigerians facing starvation. Indeed, humanitarian agencies have warned that a famine in the northeast is reaching unprecedented levels. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) estimates 10 people are dying daily at internally displaced persons (IDP) camps dotted around Borno and the neighboring states of Adamawa and Yobe.

This mortality rate applies only to the estimated two million IDPs reachable by MSF and other aid agencies. The rate among the remaining one million displaced Nigerians remains unclear at this stage, given their location in territories still inaccessible due to the ongoing threat of Boko Haram: One person was wounded on July 27 when a UNICEF convoy was targeted in a rocket attack on a highway linking the town of Bama to the state capital Maiduguri. A week later, an MSF vehicle struck a landmine along the same highway, though no serious injuries were reported.

By its own account, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs underestimated the extent of the assistance required in the northeast. Its lack of preparation in this regard is a combination of the difficulties associated with getting verifiable information from the conflict zone—where insurgents and soldiers alike have been hostile to outsiders—and a reluctance by the Nigerian government to seek external assistance. The financially constrained administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has been accused of not allocating enough resources to IDPs, and those resources that have made their way to refugee camps have reportedly been appropriated by corrupt officials.

As well as a major concern on their own, millions of hungry and displaced Nigerians could catalyze a revival in Boko Haram’s armed campaign. With the group’s rank and file decimated by mass killings, arrests and even surrenders, its leadership is focused on replenishing its ranks ahead a possible resurgence in the armed campaign. Indeed, the Nigerian government has also raised concerns that the Islamist sect may already be recruiting desperate refugees within the myriad IDP camps in the northeast. There are also indications that the extremists are becoming resurgent following Buhari’s successful multipronged military campaign, which saw vast swaths of territory controlled by the insurgents—part of an area once said to be the size of Wales—reclaimed.

In recent weeks, the sect has launched a spate of armed attacks in northeastern Borno state targeting military interests. The most significant of these was the September assault on the border town of Malam Fatori, in which as many as 40 Nigerian soldiers were killed, allowing Boko Haram to temporarily regain control. The recent uptick in violence comes amid the conclusion of Nigeria’s rainy season, when once waterlogged roads are rendered passable for the insurgents.

The attacks also come as the government is formally entering negotiations with the sect over the release of the so-called Chibok girls. There are reports that the release of 21 of these girlswas achieved in exchange for several Boko Haram detainees that likely include high-ranking militants with skills in bomb-making and strategical and tactical disciplines. More deals of this nature could be likely if pressure on the government to secure the girls is maintained, ultimately leading to further releases of extremists which could significantly reinvigorate Boko Haram’s operational and strategic capabilities.

As shown by the recent announcement on farmers, Boko Haram’s resurgence comes amid a shift in military strategy from reclaiming insurgent-held territories to repopulating and defending these from further rebel attacks. While this seems necessary, the capability of the Nigerian military to achieve it is itself said to still be constrained by inadequate provisions of food, supplies, and ammunition. It is also held back by the prevalence of corruption: There are allegations that military officers have been selling weapons and supplies to Boko Haram members, and that the sect may even be privy to military intelligence such as the movements of commanders spearheading the fight against the Islamist movement. This was recently highlighted by a surprise rebel ambush in Malam Fatori that killed seven soldiers, including Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Abu Ali, who has played a pivotal role in recent army victories against Boko Haram.

This context only creates an added urgency for addressing the mutually reinforcing relationship between food insecurity and conflict. The fate of the Nigerian government’s attempts to stimulate food production and address mass hunger among the IDP population could play an important role in either starving or feeding Boko Haram’s attempts at resurgence.

Nigeria: Nigeria’s ‘Iron Lady’ of water and sanitation

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Source: UN Children's Fund
Country: Nigeria

World Toilet Day is marked every year on 19 November as a way to raise awareness and break taboos around toilets and sanitation. This year, UNICEF is celebrating Toilet Heroes– the children and adults who are making an impact in their communities by demanding toilets and improved sanitation.

By Emily Bamford

In Nigeria’s rural communities, open defecation is a common problem, creating serious public health risks. Learn how Zainabu Abubaker, who leads the water and sanitation department in her local government, has helped her community become almost entirely open defecation free.

BAKORI, Katsina State, Nigeria, 18 November 2016 – “They call me the Iron Lady, I don’t know why,” laughs Zainabu Abubakar. “I’m not ferocious or anything, I’m just doing my job.”

Zainabu is a mother of four living in Katsina State in northern Nigeria. Back in 2009, the State Governor appointed her to become the Director of the newly formed Local Government Area (LGA) Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Department in Bakori, an unusual move in a region which has very few female decision makers.

“I studied nursing back in college because I was always really passionate about improving community health – especially for women and children. This was the perfect role for me,” she says.

Ending open defecation

Zainabu’s job is particularly important in a country like Nigeria. According to the 2013 National Demographic Health Survey, 28.7 per cent of Nigeria’s population practised open defecation, while another 37.3 per cent was using unimproved latrines.

Zainabu works long hours and manages a team of 96 staff – among the largest WASH departments in the country. But it hasn’t always been this way. “We started out as a really small team with not much money, but we fought hard to get both the staff and budget required. It took a lot of work, but luckily our Governor was really supportive. He trusted that once we got the money we would get the results. We made sure that we didn’t disappoint him.”

Since then, Zainabu and her team have gone on to roll out an extensive Water and Sanitation programme in the district. One of the first initiatives to be introduced was Community-led Total Sanitation (CLTS). Back in 2009, it was considered a new and innovative approach, inspiring communities to construct their own latrines and eliminate the practice of open defecation – a common problem, particularly in rural areas. The ongoing SHAWN II project (Sanitation, Hygiene and Water in Nigeria) is being run in collaboration with UNICEF and NGO partners, with funding from UK Aid.

Community engagement

In less than six years, almost 90 per cent of Bakori’s communities have now been certified Open Defecation Free (ODF). This also means that residents practise handwashing and have access to safe water through the installation of new water points.

“CLTS is something that I am most proud of. It’s doing really well, you can really see a difference in the communities – diarrhoea and vomiting have decreased drastically in the last few years. When I visit the ODF communities, this is one of the first things they always tell me.”

As behaviour change is a long-term process, Ward Health Officers visit communities every few weeks to check on their progress. Reports are then carefully vetted by Zainabu’s team. “I really keep track of what’s happening at the community level – I know all the communities and I’m lucky because I know I have a great team who are supporting them.”

Despite the progress made, Zainabu still faces challenges on a daily basis. “Sometimes it’s hard being a female manager,” she says. “It’s just how it is up here, but I’m an outspoken person, I can handle it. I hope it will help to inspire other women to become leaders within the Government too. There needs to be more of us,” she smiles. “It’s difficult, but I know what I believe in and I’m fighting to do what is right for the communities.”

Zainabu ultimately hopes that other Councils will follow Bakori Government’s lead. “There’s still much to be done in Nigeria,” she says. “I hope other Councils will also be able to grow full-fledged Water and Sanitation Departments like ours, it makes such a difference as it means we have enough staff and resources to implement a big programme. At the end of the day, it’s political will and hard work that really makes all the difference. With that, I believe anything is possible.”

South Sudan: UNICEF South Sudan Humanitarian Situation Report #97, 21 October - 14 November 2016

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Source: UN Children's Fund
Country: South Sudan

Highlights

• On 26 October 2016, 145 children associated with the South Sudan Democratic Army-Cobra Faction and Sudan People’s Liberation Army – in Opposition (SPLA-IO) were released in the former Greater Pibor Administrative Area, as a result of extensive advocacy and dialogue undertaken by UNICEF, UNMISS and the National Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Commission.

• The nutrition situation remains critical in most parts of the country, abetted by poor food security due to minimal planting and harvesting as a result of the widespread conflict in areas regarded as the country’s breadbasket.

• With rising insecurity and restricted access in many areas, UNICEF is scaling up the deployment of the Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM), with a recent mission to Yei reaching 51,762 people with lifesaving humanitarian assistance.

SITUATION IN NUMBERS

1.73 million
People internally displaced since 15 December 2013
(OCHA Humanitarian Bulletin, 6 November 2016)

Over 1 million
South Sudanese refugees in neighbouring countries since December 2013
(UNHCR South Sudan Situation Information Sharing Portal, 14 November 2016)

Situation Overview and Humanitarian Needs

The most recent food security outlook shows that food security is expected to deteriorate to extreme levels from February to May 2017 in northern South Sudan. Food security is also expected to atypically worsen in Greater Equatoria despite the ongoing harvest, exacerbated by insecurity preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid to many areas. At least 4.8 million people are now in crisis or emergency phase as per the latest IPC analysis results.

The economic situation is deteriorating, with the South Sudanese Pound continuing to depreciate.
Cereal prices have increased by more than 500 per cent in one year, with insecurity along main roads crippling trade and trader’s ability to access hard currency for imports. This is negatively affecting the purchasing power of the population, impacting the already dire nutrition situation and forcing populations to resort to negative coping mechanisms.

There has been a new upsurge in cholera, with outbreaks now confirmed in nine out of 10 states and alerts in two new areas (Ayod and Mayendit). This is a worrying development after a progressive decline in cases reported indicated that the cholera outbreak would end in mid-October. Meanwhile, a measles outbreak is affecting Gogrial, Kwajok and Fashoda.


South Sudan: WFP South Sudan Situation Report #152, 19 November 2016

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Source: World Food Programme
Country: South Sudan, Uganda

In Numbers

  • 1.87 million internally displaced people (OCHA est.)

  • 1,221,084 South Sudanese refugees (UNHCR est.)

  • 204,520 people seeking shelter with the UN (UNMISS est.)

  • 3.6 million people facing acute food insecurity from October-December (WFP est.)

Highlights

  • At the recent session of WFP’s Executive Board, a budget revision was approved for the Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO). Through the PRRO, WFP seeks to provide food assistance to 1.1 million people focussing on refugee populations and areas in the country that are more stable, where opportunities exist for transition and recovery activities: food assistance for assets (FFA), Purchase for Progress (P4P) and school meals. The PRRO will be implemented alongside the Emergency Operation (EMOP) which seeks to provide life saving food assistance to 3 million people.

  • The number of South Sudanese refugees arriving in Uganda remains high as fighting in the Equatorias region continues. According to UNHCR, more than 44,000 new arrivals from South Sudan have been recorded in the first two weeks of November. Most recently, the majority of people are arriving from Yei, Morobo, Lainya, Kajo Keji and the surrounding areas of Central Equatoria. There are now more than 1.2 million refugees from South Sudan and more than 1.8 million people are internally displaced.

  • In October, WFP provided assistance to 1.6 million people across South Sudan. Food distributions were less than planned largely as a result of commodity shortfalls and insecurity in areas where distributions were planned. Of the people who received food assistance, 54 percent were female. In addition to food transfers, WFP also provided cash based transfers amounting to US$ 1.9 million. This month, WFP aims to assist 2.9 million people through general food distributions, nutrition interventions, school meals, and livelihoods activities.

Niger: Niger: 2017 Aperçu des besoins humanitaires (novembre 2016)

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

BESOINS HUMANITAIRES ET CHIffRES CLÉS

SITUATION NATIONALE

La situation humanitaire reste marquée par cinq crises majeures : l’insécurité alimentaire, la malnutrition, les épidémies, les inondations et les mouvements de population. En 2017, près de 1,9 million de personnes, dont 340 000 à Diffa, auront des besoins humanitaires dans au moins un secteur.

L’analyse des besoins pour 2017, révèle que 1,3 million de personnes dont 50% de femmes, auront besoin d’assistance dans le secteur de la sécurité alimentaire et 1,5 million dont 92% constitués d’enfants de moins de 18 ans, dans le secteur de la nutrition. En outre, 766 000 personnes seront dans le besoin dans le secteur de la santé.

La situation sanitaire est caractérisée par la prévalence de maladies à potentiel épidémique telles que le choléra et la méningite, dans un pays où l’accès aux soins de santé reste faible. Les personnes à risque d’inondations sont estimées à 106 000. Les mouvements forcés de population pourraient directement concerner 302 000 personnes, (réfugiés, retournés et déplacés internes) et environ 200 0002 migrants.

Mali: Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on the holding of local elections in Mali

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Source: UN Secretary-General
Country: Mali

The Secretary-General takes note of the decision of the Malian Government to organize local elections on 20 November 2016. He acknowledges that the Malian Constitution precludes further postponement of the polls, which have already been rescheduled three times.

The Secretary-General notes that important delays in the implementation of key provisions of the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali, pertaining to the establishment of interim administrations, and the security situation in the north and certain parts of the centre of the country, may compromise the organization of the poll. He also notes the reservations expressed by the democratic opposition and some of the signatory armed groups to the peace agreement regarding the holding of the local elections on the date envisioned.

The Secretary-General calls on the Malian Government, the democratic opposition and the signatory parties to the peace agreement to ensure the conduct without incident of the elections in the localities where political and security conditions allow their organization on 20 November. He encourages the Malian Government to pursue a constructive dialogue with all stakeholders to defuse tensions that may arise before and after the poll and to ensure that the holding of these elections do not compromise the advances made in the implementation of the political and security interim arrangements provided for by the Agreement.

The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) will support the conduct of the polls within its resources and in its areas of deployment where it will be possible to conduct the elections by providing logistical and security assistance as provided for by its mandate.

Mali: Déclaration attribuable au Porte-parole du Secrétaire général sur la tenue des élections communales au Mali

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Source: UN Secretary-General
Country: Mali

Le Secrétaire général prend note de la décision du Gouvernement malien d’organiser les élections locales le 20 novembre 2016. Il reconnaît que la Constitution malienne exclut un nouveau report du scrutin, qui a déjà été différé à trois reprises.

Le Secrétaire général note que des retards importants dans la mise en œuvre de dispositions clés de l’Accord pour la paix et la réconciliation au Mali, relatives à la mise en place des administrations intérimaires, et la situation sécuritaire dans le nord et certaines parties du centre du pays, pourraient compromettre l’organisation du scrutin. Il relève également les réserves formulées par l’opposition démocratique et certains groupes armés signataires de l’Accord de paix quant à la tenue des élections locales à la date envisagée.

Le Secrétaire général en appelle au Gouvernement malien, à l’opposition démocratique et aux groupes signataires de l’Accord de paix à garantir la tenue, sans incidents, des élections dans les localités où les conditions politiques et sécuritaires permettent leur organisation le 20 novembre. Il encourage le Gouvernement malien à poursuivre un dialogue constructif avec toutes les parties prenantes pour apaiser les tensions qui pourraient survenir, avant et après le vote, et à faire en sorte que la tenue de ces élections ne compromette pas les avancées enregistrées dans la mise en œuvre des arrangements politiques et sécuritaires intérimaires prévus par l’Accord.

La Mission multidimensionnelle intégrée des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation au Mali (MINUSMA) soutiendra la tenue du scrutin, dans la limite des capacités de la Mission et dans les zones de son déploiement où les élections pourront se tenir,&nbspen apportant un soutien logistique et sécuritaire comme prévu par son mandat.

Mali: Bulletin de suivi de la campagne agropastorale en Afrique de l’Ouest : Bulletin flash cultures - novembre 2016

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Source: Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel
Country: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo

Situation des cultures et prévisions des rendements des prinicpales céréales pluviales en Afrique de l’Ouest

Situation pluviométrique

Vers la fin de la saison agricole 2016, la situation hydrique a été très contrastée dans les pays de la zone CILSS/CEDEAO. En effet, les anomalies des pluies au cours des trois décades du mois de septembre et la première d’octobre montrent des zones déficitaires un peu partout dans la zone (figure 1). Ainsi, la première décade de septembre a été caractérisée par des poches de déficits pluviométriques ayant particulièrement concerné le Nord et le Centre Burkina Faso, la zone pastorale et quelques localités du Centre et l’extrême Ouest du Niger, le Sud Mali, la zone littorale de la Mauritanie, le Nord Sénégal le Nord Benin, certaines localités du Nord et du Sud Nigéria et plusieurs localités du Centre et l’extrême Sud du Tchad (figure 1A). Pendant la deuxième décade de septembre, la situation de déficit hydrique a persisté dans plusieurs localités (le Nord du Burkina Faso, Ouest et Centre du Niger, le Nord Nigéria, le Sud Tchad) et s’est étendue à d’autres localités, notamment au Nigeria, en Côte d’Ivoire, au Ghana, au Libéria, en Sierra Léone, en Guinée et au Mali (figure 1B). Pendant la troisième décade du mois de septembre, le déficit hydrique a encore pris de l’ampleur dans le Sud Tchad, le Centre et Sud Nigeria, le Nord Benin, le Centre Burkina Faso, la majeure partie de la zone agricole du Mali et le Nord Sénégal (figure 1C). Cette figure montre que c’est la troisième décade du mois de septembre qui semble marquer le début du retrait de la saison des pluies notamment dans le Sahel Est. Au cours de la première décade du mois d’octobre, le retrait des pluies a été effectif au centre du Tchad, au Niger et gagne progressivement la bande agricole du Sahel Centre et Ouest (Burkina Faso, Mali et Sénégal) et la partie Nord du Nigeria et le Sud du Tchad.

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