Highlights

• Funding gaps are currently jeopardizing the implementation of all activities. Considering the current level of funding, three regions out of seven will be prioritized for the Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO) and two provinces out of four will be targeted for Country Programme (CP).

Operational Updates

• School year started in October but school feeding has not yet resumed because of delays in food delivery. Daily distribution of locally produced yogurt instead resumed in 20 schools.

• Assistance to ART clients has been suspended since July due to lack of funding.

• Food assistance to Malian refugees and nutrition activities are pursued. Nevertheless, nutrition activities are implemented on a reduced scale because of lack of funding. Blanket feeding activities are pursued for 2,500 children in the East region.

• Food assistance for assets activities have been launched in the East region. They will be progressively expanded and additional households will be enrolled in the East but also in Centre North and Sahel regions.

Challenges

In the current situation, the main challenge for the Country Office is to find additional funding and to mitigate the effects of the lack of assistance for vulnerable people. The interruption of crucial activities (nutritional support to the most vulnerable, school feeding, etc.) threatens human lives and national long-term development.
Against the backdrop of these funding challenges, the Harmonized framework has identified one million people currently in need of food assistance (under stress and in crisis). It is foreseen that this number will increase to 2.7 million in August 2017.

Shantal Persaud Acting Spokesperson: Good morning ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this press briefing that is also being broadcast live on UN Radio Miraya.

Joining us today, are members of the UN Human Rights Commission who are visiting South Sudan for the second time, and many of you as journalists in the room will recall the Commission were here two months ago, and briefed us on September 15.

The Commission have been in country for the last 10 days and have done a fair bit of travelling to the regions, including Bentiu, Malakal (and Wau Shilluk), Torit, Wau, Aweil and Kuda

The Commission is mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor and report on the human rights situation in South Sudan and make recommendations for its improvement to the Transitional Government of National Unity.

While in South Sudan, the team have held meetings and engaged in discussions with a number of stakeholders including the First Vice President CSO, religious leaders, International dip. Corp and other UN agencies

Ms. Yasmin Sooka is Chairperson of the team a leading human rights lawyer, she is currently serving as Executive Director of the Foundation for Human Rights in South Africa, Mr. Kenneth Scott, a researcher on South Sudan with Amnesty International and, Mr. Godfrey M Musila a legal consultant for Avocats sans Frontieres.

As delivered

Chairperson Yasmin Sooka:

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen.

I’d like to start by thanking all the victims of violations who spoke to us during this trip. Many had suffered unspeakable atrocities and yet somehow found it in themselves to recount their ordeals to us. I particularly want to thank several women gang raped in the violence in Juba in July who live in the Protection of Civilian camp number 3 who told us their stories even though they have yet to receive medical attention for the physical injuries they sustained, they’ve also yet to receive any kind of redress or legal access for the crimes that have been committed against them. It is completely unacceptable that South Sudanese mothers have to face rape daily to feed their hungry children but even worse that this huge international aid presence cannot reach these women afterwards and they are left feeling abandoned.

Across the country the victims we met exhibited fatigue and frustration with the constant visits from members of the international community. They told us “people from human rights” keep on coming, then go away, there is no feedback, and nothing changes. One woman in the Malakal Protection of Civilian site asked me why I wasted money on the air ticket if I was unable to solve their problems. In Wau, an interviewee said, `We don’t need another report. We need the international community to do something. All I could do is promise to speak out loudly about their plight and so did my colleagues in the areas that they visited as well.

I don’t need to tell a room full of journalists that there are unprecedented levels of violence and ethnic tension all over South Sudan. Any sense of national identity is crumbling and tribal identity taking over. Given this country is home to 64 tribes this offers a multitude of fault lines along with this nation can fracture. I repeatedly heard of the desire for revenge and a process of concentrating people from one tribe – the Dinka - in the army and civil service. Coupled with that is the fact that forced and child recruitment is being conducted by all parties to the conflict and has even involved NGO staff being swept up and taken to military barracks and then later released after showing their identity cards. This renewed recruitment is an indicator that all parties are preparing for conflict.

JUBA (30 November 2016) - The world’s youngest country, South Sudan, is on the brink of catastrophe, said the three-member* UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan at the end of a ten-day visit. “The stage is being set for a repeat of what happened in Rwanda and the international community is under an obligation to prevent it,” said the chairperson of the Commission, Yasmin Sooka, citing disturbing indicators such as an increase in hate speech, a crackdown on the media and civil society, deepening divisions between the country’s 64 tribes, renewed recruitment in a country already awash with guns and the proliferation of armed groups aligned to both sides engaging in armed conflict.

“There is already a steady process of ethnic cleansing underway in several areas of South Sudan using starvation, gang rape and the burning of villages; everywhere we went across this country we heard villagers saying they are ready to shed blood to get their land back,” said Ms. Sooka. “Many told us it’s already reached a point of no return”.

It’s widely believed that fighting will intensify during the dry season, which runs until the end of February. The Commission enumerated a number of steps that the international community should take immediately to avert mass bloodshed: expedite the immediate arrival of the 4,000 strong Regional Protection Force in South Sudan, ensure that the force is not restricted only to the capital, freeze assets, enact targeted sanctions and implement an arms embargo. “It is also urgent to set up the hybrid court promised for South Sudan,” said Commissioner, Ken Scott. “Large parts of the country literally have no functioning courts and even the traditional reconciliation methods are now breaking down with the result that it’s a free for all”.

The Commission, which is due to report to the Human Rights Council in March, visited Bentiu in Unity State where more than a hundred thousand people are sheltering in a UN protected camp. They met one woman who described being gangraped by soldiers just three days earlier when her village was attacked and heard reports of three women raped that very day by soldiers just outside the camp while going to collect firewood. In Malakal in Upper Nile State, though government officials said it was not in their culture to rape women, it was apparent the practice was condoned and widespread but still vastly underreported. The Commission met several displaced women in the Juba camp who were gang raped in July and four months later have yet to receive adequate medical treatment for resulting complications.

“The scale of rape of women and girls perpetrated by all armed groups in South Sudan is utterly unacceptable and is frankly mind boggling,” said the Commission chairperson. “Aid workers describe gang rape as so prevalent that it’s become ‘normal’ in this warped environment but what does that say about us that we accept this and thereby condemn these women to this unspeakable fate?” In Wau in Western Bahr el Ghazal State, where ethnic tension remains high, civilians gave graphic accounts of how their husbands and children were robbed and murdered by soldiers from the army during violence in June in which at least 53 people were killed. Here and elsewhere victims urged the Commission to push the international community to act, not just produce more reports.

Worryingly an area of the country that was relatively unaffected by the conflict, like the Equatorias, have now become the epicentre of the conflict. “The impact of this spreading violence is much more widespread and serious than earlier thought,” said Commissioner Godfrey Musila who visited the area. The picture emerging is one of the presence of armed groups, displacement based on ethnicity, torching of houses, food insecurity and denial of freedom of movement. The Commission heard numerous accounts of corpses being found along main roads, looming starvation and people fleeing to neighbouring countries on a daily basis.

The Commission is pleased that it was able to meet the First Vice President, the Chief of General Staff of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Justice, senior officials in the states and traditional leaders, the head of the SPLA military justice system, representatives of the African Union, the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), the South Sudan Human Rights Commission, as well as human rights defenders, UN and humanitarian agencies.

“As the UN Special Representative for the Prevention of Genocide said, many of the warning signals of impending genocide are already there – an existing conflict, resort to polarized ethnic identities, dehumanization, a culture of denial, displacement based on ethnicity and in some places indications of systematic violations and planning – but the important thing is there is still time to prevent it,” said Ms Sooka.

ENDS

*The Commissioners are: Yasmin Sooka (Chairperson), Kenneth Scott and Godfrey Musila.

For more information, please contact Joseph Bonsu on jbonsu@ohchr.org and 0041-791096870 and Frances Harrison on francescsharrison@gmail.com and 00447946488089.For more information about the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, please see:

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/CoHSouthSudan/Pages/Index.aspx

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20 November 2016

3.7 MILLION
IN NEED OF HEALTH ASSISTANCE 2016
1.8 MILLION
INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS
2.6 MILLION
2016 TARGET BY HEALTH SECTOR
1,799,506
BORNO STATE POLIO VACCINATED CHILDREN

Highlights

• On 17 November 2016 following harmonization of the data available from the following sources: EWARS, IDP camp surveillance data from SPHCDA, Health sector partners and IDSR, it was concluded that there is an ongoing measles outbreak in Borno State.
   The Borno State Ministry of Health is already conducting a reactive vaccination campaign with the support of partners targeting 18 locations/IDP camps. So far, 35,742 children have been vaccinated in six camps.
  
• Children under the age of five are at highest risk of malaria morbidity with up to seven-disease episode per year and of malaria mortality. Malaria mortality is exceedingly high in the presence of concomitant severe acute malnutrition (SAM) which is prevalent at around 20%. The combination of malaria morbidity with SAM is reported to be able to reach case fatality rates of up to 50% as compared with 3% for uncomplicated malaria.
  
• The upcoming measles catch up campaign would be an ideal opportunity to reach the identical target age group for malaria < 15 years also with malaria MDA.
  

Situation Update:

The humanitarian crisis caused by insurgency in Borno State has resulted in more than 1.4 million IDPs living in more than 100 camps freely mingling with a host population of about 4.3 million people. With an estimated population of 2.36 million children between 6 months to 15 years of age, it has led to massive disruption of the health care delivery system with interruption of such services as Routine Immunization (RI), as seen with the polio outbreak, measles and reported suspected diphtheria cases.

As for the reports in measles cases, following the harmonization of the available data from the following sources: Early Warning and Response System (EWARS), IDP camp surveillance data from State Primary Health Care Development Agency (SPHCDA), Health sector partners and Integrated Diseases Surveillance and Response (ISDR), it was concluded that there is an ongoing measles outbreak in Borno State afflicting camp and non-camp populations.

The Borno State Ministry of Health is already conducting a reactive vaccination campaign with the support of partners targeting 18 IDP camps. So far, 35,742 children have been vaccinated in six camps. This campaign however is inadequate to interrupt the transmission of measles across the state, as it does not involve the host communities nor other settlements and IDP camps where measles cases have also been reported. As the BSMOH is expanding the present campaign to include all accessible estimated 2.3 million children aged 6 months – 15 years in the state without prejudice to the national measles campaign, a request for support (including vaccines and logistics) have been communicated to the Federal MoH. This expanded campaign is planned to take place from 27 – 30 November 2016.

The targeted children who did survive the years without RI, did not as well received adequate access to malaria prevention and treatment and are most likely mostly malaria parasite carriers. Therefore, any other infection be it ARI, diarrhoea, or measles, is likely to spark an acute increase in parasitaemia and a concomitant clinical malaria episode among those already parasitized. Children under the age of five are at highest risk of malaria morbidity with up to seven-disease episode per year and of malaria mortality.

Malaria mortality is exceedingly high in the presence of concomitant severe acute malnutrition (SAM) which is prevalent at around 20%i. The combination of malaria morbidity with SAM is reported to be able to reach case fatality rates of up to 50% as compared with 3% for uncomplicated malaria.

Among the currently reachable target population, it can be expected than children under 15 years be infected with malaria at least once during the ongoing peak transmissions season. If there is no treatment available uncomplicated malaria episodes can be expected to have a 10% case fatality rate, which could rise to 50% among the 20% of children under 5 with and to 30% for the children between five to under 15 years old the untreated association of SAM and malaria. Therefore, a total of 18% of children under 5 or 14% of children between 5 to less than 15 years of age are at are at high risk of dying of malaria between now and the end of this year unless urgent action to alleviate the acute lack of access to antimalarial drugs is taken. It can be expected that adults will have developed semi-immunity in a hyper-endemic area but in face of the widespread prevalence of malnutrition, also among adults, it is recommended to administer one curative dose of antimalarial to all those receiving iron supplementation due to anaemia.

Given the above, WHO and the Global Malaria Programme (GMP) recommends that urgent action be focused on the rapid reduction of malaria mortality among the children under the age of 15, giving first priority to children under the age of five. The upcoming measles catch up campaign would be an ideal opportunity to reach the identical target age group for malaria < 15 also with malaria Mass Drug Administration (MDA). For the 15% of the total population reachable in IDP camps, age-targeted MDA for malaria also could be carried out as a standalone campaign. A written decision in this approach is being awaited from the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP).

Security incidents of the past week indicate the continued fluidity and unpredictability of the general situation in the area. These continued to impact on the humanitarian movements and activities.

For several decades Niger country has been facing recurrent armed conflicts and crises including insurrections, which negatively impact its development by potentially threatening its security and stability.

To contribute to the stabilization of some regions in Niger, Oxfam initiated a project to increase the access of populations, particularly youth and women, to economic opportunities in targeted areas through the development of agro-forestry-pastoral potentialities, diversification of economic activities, and strengthening mechanisms and tools for preventing and managing crises and social conflicts.

One major lesson learned in this project was the importance of community early warning systems. They can play a key role in the stability of an area by monitoring the occurrence of conflicts.

PEOPLE IN NEED IN 2016: 6.1M

PEOPLE TARGETED IN 2016: 5.1M

PEOPLE REACHED IN Q1 2016: 2.89 M

In the second quarter of 2016, the humanitarian situation in South Sudan remained critical, with the onset of the lean season, fighting and displacement in new locations, the spread of measles and the beginning of a cholera outbreak in June.

During the lean season, some 4.8 million people were estimated to be food insecure, with the highest proportions of populations facing Crisis, Emergency and Catastrophe food insecurity in Northern and Western Bahr el Ghazal and Unity.

New displacement was reported. In Western Bahr El Ghazal, clashes in areas south and south-west of Wau in June forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. In the Equatorias, people were displaced by fighting between armed actors in Nagero County in Western Equatoria; fighting between cattle keepers and youth north of Terekeka and in Lobonok in Central Equatoria; and fighting in Maji in Eastern Equatoria.

The overall level of internal displacement, however, remained relatively steady at 1.6 million people. Several thousand people left the Bentiu Protection of Civilians (PoC) site in Unity, primarily to engage in agricultural activities, and there were reports of people returning from Panyijar to Leer and Mayendit counties. During the quarter, some 15,000 people fleeing hunger and insecurity in South Sudan arrived into Sudan (primarily from Northern Bahr El Ghazal) and Uganda (primarily from Eastern Equatoria).

Communicable diseases continued to spread. Measles outbreaks were recorded in 11 counties in Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Warrap, Lakes, Unity and Upper Nile by the end of the quarter, and a cholera outbreak started in June.

Violence against humanitarian staff and assets remained a defining feature of the operating environment, although there were fewer incidents reported in the first half of 2016 (381) compared to the same period in 2015 (499).

As at the end of June, 39 per cent of the $1.29 billion required under the 2016 Humanitarian Response Plan had been received, with funding levels well below the amount received at the same time in 2014 and 2015. Nearly 190 humanitarian organizations across South Sudan had reached about 2.89 million people in need.

Il faut agir de manière urgente pour améliorer la prévention et le traitement de l’infection chez les jeunes

NEW YORK/N’DJAMENA, 1er décembre 2016 – Le nombre des nouvelles infections par le VIH chez les adolescents devrait passer de 250 000 en 2015 à environ 400 000 par an d’ici à 2030 si les progrès pour atteindre ce groupe d’âge faiblissent, d’après un nouveau rapport publié aujourd’hui par l’UNICEF.

« Si d’immenses progrès ont été accomplis à l’échelle mondiale dans le cadre de la lutte contre le SIDA, le combat est loin d’être terminé, en particulier en ce qui concerne les enfants et les adolescents », a déclaré Anthony Lake, Directeur général de l’UNICEF. « Toutes les deux minutes, un nouvel adolescent, le plus souvent une jeune fille, est infecté par le VIH. Si nous voulons en finir avec le SIDA, nous devons redonner à cette bataille toute l’urgence qu’elle mérite et redoubler nos efforts pour venir en aide à chaque enfant et adolescent. »

Le SIDA reste l’une des premières causes de mortalité chez les adolescents. En effet, selon le septième bilan de situation sur les enfants et le SIDA intitulé Pour chaque enfant : mettre fin au SIDA, 41 000 adolescents âgés de 10 à 19 ans sont morts du SIDA en 2015. En 2015, on estimait à environ 2 millions le nombre d’adolescents âgés de 10 à 19 ans vivant avec le VIH dans le monde. Par ailleurs, en Afrique subsaharienne, région la plus touchée par la pandémie, les trois quarts des nouvelles infections chez les 15-19 ans concernaient des filles.

Au Tchad, selon le Comité National de Lutte contre le Sida (CNLS), près de 20 000 adolescents de 10-19 ans vivent avec le VIH/SIDA. Seulement 16% des enfants séropositifs de moins 15 ans sont sous traitement selon une récente étude au Tchad. Selon le CNLS, 12 000 nouvelles personnes sont infectées par le virus chaque année au Tchad.

Selon les estimations de l’ONUSIDA, parmi les populations touchées par le VIH, les adolescents sont le seul groupe pour lequel les chiffres relatifs à la mortalité ne sont pas en diminution. « La plupart des adolescents qui meurent de maladies liées au VIH ont été infectés par le virus à la naissance ou pendant leur adolescence et ignorent souvent leur statut sérologique, parce qu’ils ne sont pas autorisés à faire le test sans le consentement des parents ou de leur tuteur », a déclaré Philippe Barragne-Bigot, Représentant de l’UNICEF. « Il est crucial que les jeunes et les adolescents qui sont séropositifs aient accès à un traitement, à des soins et à un soutien, » a-t-il conclu.

Malgré l’engagement des autorités Tchadiennes dans les domaines de la prévention et de la prise en charge du VIH et SIDA, le Tchad est classé parmi les 5 pays de la région de l’Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre où la prévalence du VIH et Sida reste la plus élevée.

Enfin, malgré les progrès réalisés pour prévenir les nouvelles infections et réduire le nombre de décès imputables à la maladie. Au niveau mondial l’UNICEF constate que le financement de la lutte contre le SIDA est en baisse depuis 2014.

###

Note aux rédactions :

Des contenus multimédia peuvent être téléchargés à l’adresse suivante : http://weshare.unicef.org/Package/2AMZIF5U8W2

Il est possible d’organiser des entretiens.

Pour en savoir plus ou obtenir un exemplaire du rapport, veuillez consulter le site suivant :www.childrenandaids.org

À propos de l’UNICEF

L’UNICEF promeut les droits et le bien-être de chaque enfant, dans tout ce que nous faisons. Nous travaillons dans 190 pays et territoires du monde entier avec nos partenaires pour faire de cet engagement une réalité, avec un effort particulier pour venir en aide aux enfants les plus vulnérables et marginalisés, dans l’intérêt de tous les enfants, où qu’ils soient.

Pour plus d'informations sur l'UNICEF et son travail : www.unicef.org/french

Suivez-nous sur Twitter et Facebook

Pour plus d’informations, veuillez contacter :

Harriet Dwyer, UNICEF New York, tél. : +1 917 244 2215 hdwyer@unicef.org

Maria Fernandez UNICEF Tchad, tél. : +235 66 36 00 42 mfernandez@unicef.org)

In Numbers

• 6.3 million people severely food insecure in areas affected by the conflict

• 4 countries affected

• 2.6 million people displaced, of which 1.8 million in Nigeria alone

• 9.2 million people in need of assistance

Highlights

• WFP provided food and nutrition support to 738,834 people in Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad in October.

• In 2017, WFP will scale up its intervention, targeting 2.1 million people across the four affected countries.

• Insecurity continues to hamper access to remote locations where populations are taking refuge, affecting WFP’s ability to provide assistance to those in needs. WFP is working on mechanisms to enhance access, such as Rapid Response Mechanisms, jointly with UNICEF, to access deep field areas in north-east Nigeria.

Situation Update

• Insecurity continues to hamper access to remote locations where populations are taking refuge, affecting WFP’s ability to provide assistance to those in need. Strikes against security forces in Borno State in Nigeria and Far north, Cameroon continued, while attacks against civilians and military targets in south Borno State and northern Adamawa State increased. Attacks against military targets in Bama LGA directly impacted WFP operations, resulting into a slowdown of supply activities after the ambush of a WFPrented truck. In Niger, two sporadic attacks against WFP partners’ Health Centre in Diffa affected WFP assets.

• WFP is exploring mechanisms to improve access, such as the Rapid Response Mechanism, jointly with UNICEF, the Government and partners, to access deep field areas in north-east Nigeria.

• In Nigeria, the October Cadre Harmonisé indicates an extremely worrisome situation in terms of food security, with a deterioration to be expected in the coming months. Around 4.4 million people are estimated to be food insecure in Borno and Yobe States, 55,000 of which in extreme food insecurity (Phase 5) and 1.8 million in emergency situation (Phase 4).

• In Niger, results of the August Emergency Food Security Assessment in Diffa region, underline that the populations most affected by food insecurity are concentrated in Komadougou where households depend on pepper cultivations (Diffa, Chetimari, Gueskerou) in the receding water and fishing areas (Bosso, Nguigmi) and in pastoral areas (Ngourti). WFP thus plans to increase the number of people assisted in Chetimari and Gueskerou communes by 25,000 people, starting in November.

• In Cameroon, the September 2016 Emergency food security assessment (EFSA) reveals that food security remain at alarming levels, with close to 1.5 million people estimated to be food insecure in the region, including 180,000 severely food insecure.

Key Messages

• La production céréalière de la campagne 2016/2017 est estimée à 2 813 842 tonnes selon le Ministère de l’Agriculture (DPAS) contre une moyenne quinquennale de 2 530 630 tonnes soit une hausse de 11 pourcent. A l’exception du blé (-10 pourcent) en raison des séquences sèches constatées durant la campagne, toutes les cultures céréalières ont enregistré une hausse comparativement à la moyenne quinquennale grâce au niveau favorable des pluies qui étaient bien repartis dans l’espace.
  
• L’excédent céréalier est plus important dans la zone sahélienne du pays (+14 pourcent) qu’au sud du pays (+5 pourcent). Toutefois, le riz et le mil ont enregistré de déficits de 15 et 14 pourcent respectivement comparés à la moyenne quinquennale dans la bande soudanienne à cause des séquences sèches. Les seules régions déficitaires sont le BEG, le Wadi Fira et la Tandjilé qui présentent des déficits céréaliers allant de 6 à 12 pourcent.
  
• Les ménages des régions du Kanem et de Bahr El Ghazal, puis ceux des départements de Kobé (Wadi Fira) et d’Abtouyour (Guera) vont commencer à dépendre du marché normalement en mars et auront des difficultés dans leur consommation alimentaire dès le premier semestre de 2017 compte tenu des fortes baisses de leurs principales sources de revenus. A cet effet, les ménages des deux régions et des deux départements seront en situation de Stress (Phase 2 de l’IPC) en avril et mai.
  
• La situation pastorale est marquée par un bon embonpoint des animaux grâce à la disponibilité très favorable des pâturages pouvant couvrir les besoins alimentaires jusqu’à fin avril 2017 au lieu de fin-mars en année normale. Toutefois, dans les zones de transhumance, le pâturage sera disponible jusqu’à fin février au lieu de fin-mars en année normale suite à des séquences sèches. Les mares resteront bien remplies et peuvent continuer à abreuver les animaux jusqu’à février/mars dans le Sahel et avril dans la bande soudanienne comme d’habitude.
  
• Grâce au niveau de stocks céréaliers meilleurs qu’en année normale, la bonne disponibilité des pâturages, et les revenus de la main d’œuvre agricole, la plupart des ménages est capable de couvrir leurs besoins alimentaires et la majorité des zones resteront en insécurité alimentaire Minimale (Phase 1 de l’IPC) jusqu’à mai 2017, à l’exception du Lac affecté par les conflits avec Boko Haram. Il sera en Stress (Phase 2 de l’IPC) et dès avril en Crise (Phase 3 de l’IPC) suite à l’épuisement précoce des stocks.

Global Overview NOVEMBER 2016

November saw violence escalate again in Syria, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Cameroon. Attacks by pro-regime forces on rebel strongholds in Syria resumed, causing significant civilian casualties. In Myanmar’s Rakhine state intensifying violence displaced tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims, while a major attack by armed groups near the Chinese border threatened to undermine the country’s fragile ethnic peace process. In DRC, violence rose in the east and the regime continued to repress dissent, underscoring the risk that renewed protests, likely in December when President Kabila’s second term officially ends, could turn violent. In Cameroon, Boko Haram stepped up its attacks in the Far North and minority English-speakers clashed with security forces in the North West region. The victory of Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election on 8 November created uncertainty about possible shifts in future U.S. foreign policy priorities and positions, including on a number of conflicts and prominent geostrategic arenas – among them the future of the historic multilateral nuclear accord with Iran.

Key Messages

• In West Africa, regional staple food production during the 2016/17 marketing year is expected to be similar to 2015/16 and well above average. International rice and wheat imports continue to support regional market supplies. Markets remained disrupted throughout the Lake Chad Basin and in parts of Central and Northern Mali. The recent depreciation of the Naira has led to price increases across Nigeria. High prices along with local policy measures created incentives for expanded grain production, but has also led to reduced purchasing power for Sahelian livestock and cash crops.

• In East Africa, staple food prices were mixed, seasonally increasing or remaining stable in surplus-producing Uganda and Tanzania as the lean season started, while seasonally declining in Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya, and Ethiopia with the start of harvests. Prices remain above average across the region, and are especially high in South Sudan. Markets remain disrupted by insecurity in Yemen.

• In** Southern Africa**, regional maize availability is currently adequate, despite consecutive years of well-below average regional production. Maize prices are above their respective 2015 and five-year average levels region wide. Imports by South Africa and Zimbabwe from well-supplied international grain markets have offset a portion of the regional deficit, while maize export restrictions in Zambia remained in place. Prices remain high and variable in Mozambique, which is experiencing supply constraints and where other factors contribute to food trade and price dynamics.

• In Central America, maize and bean supplies from the Primera harvest continued to supply markets across the region. Maize and bean prices seasonally declined or were stable. Hurricane Matthew destroyed crops and market infrastructure across much of southwestern Haiti. Market activities resumed in the major markets of Les Cayes and Jeremie, but varies considerably across smaller markets.

• In Central Asia, average regional harvests and above-average stocks sustained adequate supplies. Prices are below 2015 levels in Kazakhstan and above-average in structurally-deficit Tajikistan. Prices continued to be near average in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

• **International **staple food markets remain well supplied. Regional price indices reflect high prices in East Africa. Rice and soybean prices fell while wheat and maize prices stabilized in October. Crude oil prices remained well below-average.

Les plus graves niveaux d’insécurité alimentaire persisteront dans le nord-est du Nigeria

MESSAGES CLÉS

• Dans le nord-est du Nigeria, l’insécurité alimentaire de niveau Crise (Phase 3 de l’IPC) continue à l’ouest de Yobe, au sud de Borno et dans le nord de l’Adamawa du fait de l’impact du conflit de Boko-Haram, tandis que celle d’Urgence (Phase 4 de l’IPC) prévaut à l’est de Yobe et dans le centre et le nord de Borno. Nombreux ménages dont les moyens d’existences sont détruits font face à des larges déficits de consommation et des taux de malnutrition élevés.

• Dans les zones isolées et inaccessibles au nord-est du Nigeria, bien que les données sont rares, l’information disponible suggère qu’il est possible qu'une Famine (Phase 5 de l’IPC) y est en cours. Compte tenu de situation préoccupante au nord-est du Nigeria et dans le bassin du Lac Tchad qui pourraient continuer jusqu’au moins en mai 2017, l’assistance humanitaire est nécessaire de toute urgence.

• L’insécurité alimentaire de niveau Stress (Phase 2 de l’IPC) se maintiendra jusqu’en janvier 2017 pour les ménages pauvres affectées par le conflit de Boko Haram dans la région du Lac au Tchad et dans la région de Diffa au Niger. Ces zones pourraient évoluer en Crise (Phase 3 de l’IPC) dès février à cause du conflit qui engendre des personnes déplacées, des perturbations de leurs moyens d’existence, des pressions sur leurs ressources limitées, rendant ces ménages déplacés et ceux pauvres incapables de couvrir leurs besoins alimentaires.

• En Centrafrique, malgré la généralisation des récoltes et la fin de la période de soudure en octobre, la sécurité alimentaire reste préoccupante car les disponibilités alimentaires ne pourront pas compenser les déficits alimentaires chez les ménages pauvres résidents dans les zones d’insécurité, les déplacés, et les familles hôtes. Ils seront incapables de couvrir leurs besoins alimentaires et resteront en Crise (phase 3 de l’IPC) jusqu’au moins en mai 2017.

• L’insécurité alimentaire de niveau Stress (Phase 2 de l’IPC) se maintiendra jusqu’en mai dans l’ouest de la zone agropastorale en Mauritanie du fait de l’échec des cultures pluviales. Par contre, ce niveau d’insécurité alimentaire n’interviendra qu’à partir de mars/avril au Mali dans les zones rizicoles du fleuve du fait des baisses importantes des productions suite aux inondations et au Tchad, dans le Kanem, BEG, Guera et Wadi Fira suite à une forte baisse de leurs sources principales de revenus (transferts des migrants, exportation de bétail).

• La majorité des zones restera en situation Minimale (Phase 1 de l’IPC) jusqu’en mai 2017 grâce au bon niveau des stocks ménages, des tendances de productions agricoles supérieures à la moyenne cette année, au fonctionnement normal des marchés et à la mise en œuvre des stratégies habituelles de moyens d’existence Toutefois, des productions inférieures à la moyenne seront observées localement en Mauritanie, au Mali, au Niger et au nord-est Nigeria.

• Les marchés sont bien approvisionnés en divers produits issus des nouvelles récoltes avec des prix stables voir en baisse, facilitant ainsi l’accès. Cependant, au nord du Mali et dans le bassin du Lac Tchad, l’insécurité civile continue de perturber le fonctionnement des marchés. Aussi, la dépréciation de la Naira continue de limiter les opportunités de vente de bétail et de produites de rentes des pays sahéliens vers le Nigeria.

• Le bon niveau de remplissage des points d’eau augure de bonnes perspectives pour les cultures de saison sèche. Les productions de pâturages sont globalement satisfaisantes au Sahel excepté localement au Niger mais les mouvements de transhumance habituels permettront de satisfaire l’alimentation du bétail. Cependant, dans le bassin du Lac Tchad, l’insécurité continuera d’impacter négativement ces mouvements de transhumance.

It’s a bright and sunny morning in Soutouta, a remote village located in Goudiry, in Eastern Senegal. Usually calm at that time of the day, the public square of the village is now bustling and full of people, all waiting patiently in line for their food vouchers.

“Last year’s harvest was very poor. This year, it is even worse,” said Dialang Gassama, a woman living in Soutouta. “We sowed much but harvested almost nothing.”

Crop failure caused by erratic rainfall has led to serious food shortage in the area. For instance, in Dialang, thousands of families in the department of Goudiry, in the region of Tambacounda are struggling, on a daily basis, to put food on table. Across the department, agricultural officials are reporting significant crop failure.

“This year, we have recorded less than 300 mm of rainfall compared to last year. Out of 15 communes of the (Goudiry) department, only areas such as Kouthiary and Koulor have had a fairly good harvest.” said Sory Bâ, head of the agricultural department.

To survive, many families are turning to extreme coping mechanisms such as reducing the number of meals; selling their belongings; searching for wild foods; going into crippling debt or moving into town to look for work.

“We only eat one meal per day and most of the time, we go to bed hungry. The situation is very difficult and stressful when, like in my case, you have four children to feed,” laments Dialang Camara.

In October, the Senegalese Red Cross distributed food vouchers to 1,594 families in the department of Goudiry, through a food security project funded by ECHO, with technical support from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

The Red Cross food vouchers enabled families to buy basic foods at local shops in their villages, in order to meet their immediate needs.

“This is the second distribution we have organized in the department and the third one will take place by the end of November,” explains Boubacar Badj, field project coordinator at the Senegalese Red Cross.

Romain Guigma, operations manager for the IFRC Sahel cluster, explained: “The vouchers gave families the flexibility to buy the equivalent of one month’s food supply according to their preference.” “In most cases, vouchers are preferable to distributing food parcels as they have the extra benefit of stimulating local markets and ensuring food availability throughout the lean season.”

With her voucher, Dialang has collected two bags of 50kg of rice, cooking oil, sugar and other food items. “This will help us survive for some weeks,” said Dialang with a large smile. “We thank the Red Cross and its partners for this invaluable support”.

_The Senegalese Red Cross has been implementing, since the end of May 2016, a programme that aims to prevent acute malnutrition among the households hardest-hit by the food crisis in the department of Goudiry (region of Tambacounda) and in the region of Louga. Funded by ECHO, with the technical support from the IFRC, the programme provides food assistance to 1,594 households through vouchers in the department Goudiry while in the Louga region, the focus is to detect and prevent acute malnutrition among children under five years._

ABUJA – More than 45,000 people received life-saving food or nutrition support in northeastern Nigeria in the last week through a new tactic by the World Food Programme (WFP) to reach those in the most remote, hard-to-access places hit by Boko Haram violence.

With support from UNICEF, WFP designed a Rapid Response Mechanism to supply food, nutrition and health support to people most in need in Borno and Yobe states by flying teams of specialists to remote areas where they stay up to six days. The assistance is then brought in by road.

The tactic targets areas where no humanitarian assistance has so far been provided or where access is severely limited or irregular.

“These missions help avert famine and aim to reach tens of thousands of hungry people stranded in remote areas or in areas difficult to access due to insecurity. They have gone without assistance – food or nutrition support -- for months,” said Sory Ouane, WFP Nigeria Country Director.

In November, around half a million people received WFP food or cash in the northeast and nutritious supplements were given to nearly 100,000 children to fight malnutrition.

With 12 missions per month, WFP plans to provide food and nutrition support to nearly 300,000 people through the Rapid Response Mechanism – including children under five and pregnant and nursing women. Other organizations can join to complement assistance to the most remote communities.

UNICEF aims to treat children suffering from severe acute malnutrition; immunize children against common killer diseases; and work to improve water, sanitation, health and education.

Some 4.6 million people are going hungry in northeastern Nigeria, of whom nearly two million need urgent humanitarian assistance. In some areas, more than 50 percent of children under the age of five suffer from moderate acute malnutrition or severe acute malnutrition.

“Hunger and malnutrition rates have improved considerably in areas that became accessible in the past months so that together with the Government and other partners, we were able to intervene,” said Ouane. “Our teams will carry out emergency missions as long as needed.”

Since August, the number of people in an emergency phase – needing urgent food assistance – has nearly doubled, from about 1 million to 1.8 million people in Borno and Yobe states, according to the latest food insecurity assessment (Cadre Harmonisé, November 2016).

The rapid response missions are part of WFP’s larger response plan – to gradually scale up to reach 1.2 million people with urgent food/cash and nutrition assistance throughout 2017. WFP requires US$108 million over the next six months to continue to scale up its response.

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WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food in emergencies and working with communities to build resilience. Each year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries.

For more information please contact (firstname.lastname@wfp.org):
Adel Sarkozi, WFP/Dakar, Mob. +221 776375964; adel.sarkozi@wfp.org
Jane Howard, WFP/Rome, Tel. +39 06 65132321, Mob. +39 346 7600521;
Gregory Barrow, WFP/London, Tel. +44 20 72409001, Mob. +44 7968 008474;
Gerald Bourke, WFP/New York, Tel. +1-646-5566909, Mob. +1-646 525 9982;

Sécurité

La situation sécuritaire dans la région de l’Extrême-Nord a été marquée par plusieurs attaques de Boko Haram. Six militaires ont trouvé la mort lors d’une attaque du poste de la force multinationale mixte le 21 novembre sur l’île de Darak près du Lac-Tchad, dans le département du Logone et Chari ; huit autres militaires ont été blessés le 22 novembre après l'explosion d'une mine au passage de leur véhicule à Zamga dans le département du Mayo-Tsanaga. En outre, deux kamikazes ont trouvé la mort lors d’une attaque dans la localité de Mora le 24 novembre ; plusieurs personnes ont également été blessées Les autorités locales ont intensifié les contrôles et les fouilles, de jour comme de nuit, et insistent sur le respect des consignes de sécurité en vigueur.

Développements majeurs

La campagne de 16 jours d’activisme contre les violences sexuelles et basées sur le genre a été lancée le 25 novembre dans le camp de Minawao avec pour thème « Relations saines à la maison, à l’école et dans la communauté », mettant spécialement l’accent sur les jeunes. Cette campagne qui se positionne contre toutes sortes de violences sexuelles et basées sur le genre, interpelle chacun à contribuer positivement au bien-être et à la sécurité de tous. C’était l’occasion pour autorités administratives, judicaires et la Communautaire humanitaire, de sensibiliser la communauté réfugiée sur les conséquences néfastes des violences basées sur le Genre et sur la législation nationale réprimant les actes de VBG.

La campagne a également été lancée sur le site de Borgop dans l’Adamaoua par le Préfet du Mbere en présence des autorités administratives, de la communauté humanitaire et des populations réfugiées et hôtes, ainsi que dans les villes de Douala et Yaoundé

La Commission Nationale des Droits de l’Homme et des Libertés a effectué une mission du 22 au 25 novembre 2016 dans le site de Gado. Il était question de faire le suivi de ses recommandations émises au cours de l’année 2015 et relatives au respect des droits des réfugiés, notamment l’accès à la santé, à l’éducation, à l’emploi, l’enregistrement des enfants à l’état civil, la libre circulation, les violences faites aux femmes etc… La mission est rentrée satisfaite, de manière générale, des efforts entrepris par la communauté humanitaire sur le terrain.

En vue d’améliorer la protection et la résilience des enfants réfugiés urbains et de renforcer la stratégie globale du HCR sur la protection de l’enfance, une mission de Genève relative à la protection de l’enfance a séjourné à Yaoundé du 22 au 25 novembre, après son passage à Douala la semaine précédente. La mission a rencontré les autorités locales, le personnel des Ministères de la Promotion de la Femme et de la Famille, et des Affaires Sociales, ainsi que les partenaires, la société civile et les différentes communautés de réfugiés urbains. Elle a relevé qu’il existait de bonnes pratiques déjà existantes à Douala et à Yaoundé et que le dispositif en place, ainsi que les relations avec les partenaires étatiques, offrent d’excellentes opportunités qu’il faudrait approfondir et exploiter pour une meilleure protection des enfants réfugiés urbains.