Adeng’s entire family is struggling to stay alive. Her face fills with worry as she tells me how she watched her healthy and lively children weaken, lose weight, and become frail.

Like so many others in this region of South Sudan, Adeng and her family are suffering because droughts and floods have destroyed most of their crops, and food prices at local markets have leapt out of reach. Families are now eating seeds to survive.

“The nutrition situation in Northern Bahr el Ghazal is one of the biggest malnutrition crises the country has seen in years,” said Becky Hammond, Medair’s Medical Manager in South Sudan.

As if the lack of food wasn’t bad enough, swarms of mosquitoes are infecting people with malaria in massive numbers—a rise of 400 percent in just nine weeks. It seems that in every community there are reports of weakened children dying of malaria.

When our emergency health team met a room full of community leaders, they told us the nearest health clinic was three hours away but hadn’t had medicines for six months. When we told them we would set up a nutrition project, I saw visible relief and joy on their faces. “You will be doing something that will not be forgotten,” they said.

The next day, we ran a nutrition clinic for malnourished children under five. We set up in a clearing near the shade of some trees, and more than 200 children came.

Adeng and her husband walked for 90 minutes with their children when they heard that Medair was coming to help. “I’m hoping to get something to eat, so we’ll live. If not, we’ll die,” said Adeng, staring at the horizon.

By 3 pm (15:00), nearly every severely malnourished child had also tested positive for malaria. I felt extremely thankful that Medair had come in time to give the children malaria treatment and nutrition support.

“Medair is good because they help our children,” said Adeng, who received a week’s supply of nutrient-rich food for her youngest two children, a bar of soap, and a mosquito net to protect her family against malaria.

Near day’s end, I saw a gorgeous little girl sitting on her mother’s lap. Her bright curious eyes stood out in stark contrast to the thinness of her arms and legs.

The girl’s mother, Amir, was beautiful, with a radiant smile that belied her circumstances. She told me she spends every day looking for food for herself and her daughter: “Maybe tomorrow I will die. Only God knows. Even last night I didn’t eat.”

As we talked, I felt great admiration for this strong young woman, just 18, who carried her severely malnourished daughter in the scorching sun to the Medair clinic. She has not given up hope. Neither can we.

Thank you to all our supporters who have donated to Medair South Sudan. With your help, we have already set up several emergency nutrition clinics to treat malnourished children, and we are aiming to set up more. We have also opened a malaria treatment centre in Aweil town and are providing communities with emergency water, sanitation, and hygiene services.

Medair’s work in South Sudan is possible because of the support of the European Commission, US Agency for International Development, UK Government, Common Humanitarian Fund, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, US Department of State, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in partnership with Tear NL, and through the Dutch Relief Alliance Joint Response for South Sudan, Principality of Liechtenstein, and generous private donors.

In Numbers

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

• 4 countries affected

• 3.6 million people displaced, of which 82 percent in Nigeria alone

• 9.2 million people in need of assistance

Highlights

• WFP provided food and nutrition support to 1,114,101 people in Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad in November.

• In November, Rapid Response Teams (RRT) were deployed for the first time to Magumeri and Ngala LGAs, Nigeria. WFP expanded its geographical coverage, reaching for the first time a number of Local Government Areas (LGAs), such as Mafa and Kaga in Borno State and Gulani and Gujba in Yobe State.

Situation Update

• In November, attacks against security forces in northern Borno and against populations in southern Borno, Nigeria, intensified. Banki, Pulka, Damboa and Gwoa continue to face ambushes on civilian convoys.
  The increase in operations near IDP camps in Maiduguri and Jere LGA imposed reinforced security measures, limiting WFP access to the area. The fuel shortage impacted UNHAS operations and reduced WFP’s capacity to rely on air transport for its operations.
  In Far north Cameroon, attacks against security forces along the main supply road to the North and the border with Nigeria also increased. The repositioning of security forces slows down the pace of WFP operations to the north, with a temporary suspension of operations to Kousseri. In Niger, the security situation in Diffa region remained volatile in November with several attacks within Niger. The state of emergency was declared for the next three months due to repeated security incidents in November.

• The food insecurity rate in Chad rose from 15 percent in March 2016 to 22 percent in October 2016. The situation of IDP is poorer than that of the local population with 35 percent of food insecurity, mainly due to the erosion of their livelihoods (unavailability of land for agriculture, limited access to lake waters for fishing, livestock prices collapse) and the inability of households to use traditional strategies due to displacement. Food insecurity in neighboring Kanem and Bahr El Gazal exceeds 45 percent of the population. 30 percent of the population in these regions were directly or indirectly impacted by the crisis in the Lake region. Results of the 2016 SMART survey also show that chronic malnutrition is at 36 percent in the Lac Region, the highest regional rate in the country.

• In Cameroon, a Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM) was carried out jointly by WFP, FAO and the Government between 15 and 30 November 2016 to assess the 2016 crop year and food supply conditions in Cameroon’s four most vulnerable regions (East, Adamawa, north and Far north). Preliminary findings are expected in December.

• Results of community screenings carried out in the Minawao Camp, in Cameroon, in November, indicated a stabilized nutrition situation with global acute malnutrition (GAM) rates of 2.76 percent amongst children aged 6-23 months, targeted by WFP’s nutrition programmes. This is a significant improvement from results from June, when GAM rates were reported at 10.2 percent.

• The latest Cadre Harmonisé assessment, food consumption levels across the sixteen Nigerian states indicate an Emergency situation in Borno and a crisis situation in Yobe. 4.6 million people face crisis levels of food insecurity or worse, which represents a significant increase since March 2016.

North East Nigeria Response Update

"Priorities for the FSS are to improve access to food- including inkind assistance and cash–based programming, livelihoods activities, livestock and provision of agriculture production inputs for crop and vegetable production.

The rapid response mechanism reached people in Magumeri, Gubio and Ngala for the first time. This mechanism brings people who previously received inadequate food into the system and contributed to the sector exceeding its target of 1.5 million people for 2016“

So far, the sector has reached some 1,568,850 persons with food assistance, agriculture production inputs and livelihoods activities.

This represents a 104.6% achievement of the 2016 Food Sector HRP target to reach 1,500,000 people in need with food through in-kind distributions, and through CBTS; provision of Agriculture inputs including seeds, tools and fertilizer; provision of Alternative livelihoods inputs; and capacity development.

Highlights:

· November saw a deterioration of the security context in the Far North, as the dry season brought an increase in improvised explosive devices (IED) and attacks along the main axes, rendering many areas hard to reach. UNICEF and partners are seeking alternate means to ensure their ability to reach vulnerable children safely.

· The Education, Child Protection and C4D programs launched the ECHO- funded Children of Peace integrated project with schools. The project aims at improving security, training teachers to provide · psycho-social support and providing children who have experienced violence with have access to a range of services, from counselling to reintegration assistance.

· A nutrition survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and UNICEF showed that SAM rates are close to the emergency threshold of 2% in Logone, Chari and Adamawa, which underscores the need to extend the current coverage of the nutrition program to these areas.

Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

Over the past year, the ongoing Boko Haram conflict in the Lake Chad Basin has caused the continuous flow of refugees from Nigeria to the Far North.

While the population within the camp has grown since January 2016 to 59,581 Nigerian refugees in Minawao camp, what is of even greater concern is that 26,743 refugees are not registered and live within host communities (DTM 5, IOM, October 2016). Currently the number of IDPs in the Far North is around 198,889 (DTM 5, IOM October 2016) – 67% of whom are children.

Many of the refugees and IDPs are moving into areas with very limited resources, putting pressure on host communities that are already facing nutrition, WASH, health, and education challenges.

The regions of East and Adamawa continue to face the presence of CAR refugees who are further settling into the host communities. The flow of refugees remains relatively small, but continuous, with approximately one hundred new arrivals per month. A total of 274,090 CAR refugees are identified in Cameroon, with 75,815 refugees in the refugee sites and the majority, 183,330, in host communities in the East, Adamawa and North regions.

The situation is compounded by the continuing impoverishment of host communities and first refugees, resulting in increased food insecurity in households and a deterioration in the nutritional status of children, as corroborated by the recent nutritional surveys (SMART, SENS).

This has led to a movement of refugees from the host communities to UNHCR sites to escape food insecurity. However, this has not significantly reduced the socio-economic pressure on host communities, who continue to receive new refugees from CAR. This finding comes at a time when humanitarian actors face a low availability of financial resources to respond effectively to the crisis in both the East and Adamawa regions, to the point that some humanitarian actors are considering targeting their limited resources to the most vulnerable refugees.

Concern is growing in the fields of Protection, Nutrition, Education and Health in terms of sectoral needs. In terms of Child Protection, cases of sexual violence have been observed among girls in host families, indicating a need for a more comprehensive assessment of the phenomenon in order to ensure an appropriate response. The limited health care services, particularly for vaccination and reproductive health, are further stretched due to the additional demand from the refugee populations.

UNICEF and UNHCR are strengthening their operational capacities for improved assessments of the situation and to adapt the response on the ground. UNICEF has deployed new staff to the Bertoua Field Office to strengthen interventions and to improve the resilience of systems and communities, on the basis of a more thorough assessment of the situation of children in the affected communities. These efforts are hampered by the deterioration of security conditions along the border and the reduction in financial assistance, leading to a drastic reduction of humanitarian assistance by certain strategic partners or the withdrawal of others.

By Obi Anyadike

Editor-at-Large and Africa Editor

NAIROBI, 27 December 2016

Across much of the world, the festive season is a time of indulgence. But what if you’re too busy fleeing violence and upheaval, or stuck in a refugee camp on reduced rations?

Read more on IRIN

More than 47 million people are in need of humanitarian aid in the Middle East at the close of 2016, equivalent to three quarters of the UK population, Oxfam said today.

The figures drawn from Iraq, Syria and Yemen as well as Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan show the scale of the humanitarian crisis in the region. A further 15 million are in need in Niger, Nigeria and South Sudan.

Richard Corbett, Oxfam Humanitarian Lead said: "A number of ongoing emergencies have all come to a head in the final months of 2016 with the defeat of opposition-held areas in Syria’s second city Aleppo, the fight for control of Mosul in Iraq and the increasing risk of catastrophic hunger in Yemen. The conflicts at the roots of all these emergencies are years old but have reached new depths of suffering in recent weeks.

"People caught up in these crises are not only fleeing death and destruction but have to cope with freezing temperatures as winter sets in across the Middle East. Humanitarian agencies like Oxfam are trying to keep hope alive."

Protracted conflicts elsewhere mean millions more are in need, including more than six million people in South Sudan, seven million in Nigeria and almost two million people in Niger.

In Yemen more than 14 million people do not have enough food to eat with almost half a million children under five suffering from acute malnutrition. In Syria more than 14 million people don’t have access to safe drinking water and toilets. In Iraq 10 million people are in need of humanitarian aid.

Oxfam is a member of the Disaster Emergencies Committee which has raised £13 million in a recent appeal for aid for Yemen. Across the Middle East, Nigeria, Niger and South Sudan Oxfam provides water, sanitation, food and cash transfers to help people in need.

Corbett said: “As a new year dawns, we can only hope that the underlying political causes of these many crises are resolved. And while we work towards that goal, we will do all we can to keep people alive, get them back on their feet and help them prepare for a better future.”

Oxfam is also working elsewhere in the world to meet emergency need, including Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Malawi.

In addition to the DEC appeal for Yemen, Oxfam is also running appeals for Syria, Iraq, South Sudan and West Africa. To make a donation visit http://www.oxfam.org.uk/donate

// ENDS

For more information or to arrange an interview contact Sarah Grainger on sgrainger1@oxfam.org.uk / 07810 181514 or Jillian Moody on jmoody1@oxfam.org.uk / 07557 077008.

Responding to Nigeria Emergency

Partners have sent medicines, medical kits, tarpaulins, water tanks, generators, prefabricated warehouses, and vehicles to Abuja, Lagos, and Maiduguri.

For information about stocks available through UNHRD’s Loan and Borrow facility, please visit www.unhrd.org or contact unhrd.customerservice@wfp.org.

After a year of record humanitarian needs, 2017 looks set to be even more challenging for aid agencies

By Umberto Bacchi

LONDON, Dec 29 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - After a year of record humanitarian needs, 2017 looks set to be even more challenging for aid agencies as they brace for the fallout from protracted conflicts and other escalating crises.

The United Nations estimates almost 93 million people in 33 countries will need humanitarian aid and has appealed for a record $22.2 billion to help them.

Conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and South Sudan account for half the budget.

In Africa's Sahel belt, poverty, conflict and climate change have left one in six hungry, fuelling migration to Europe, the United Nations says.

The Thomson Reuters Foundation asked aid agencies to name their three priorities for 2017:

UNHCR - Filippo Grandi, head of the U.N. refugee agency

1) Access to safety for those fleeing conflict - upholding asylum for refugees, and tackling xenophobia, scapegoating and populist fear-mongering.

2) Stabilising frontline refugee hosting countries by supporting an early life-saving humanitarian response, and decisive engagement by development actors to mitigate the dramatic consequences of large-scale refugee influxes.

3) Robust international action to prevent and resolve conflict, and renewed focus on the growing number of people who are internally displaced.

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF RED CROSS AND RED CRESCENT SOCIETIES - Garry Conille, head of operations

1) Emerging infectious diseases are becoming more frequent, complex and difficult to manage as they spread in urban settings with poor sanitation, crop up in new places due to migration and move across borders. After Ebola, 2016 saw the wildfire spread of Zika and yellow fever and Rift Valley Fever in new places.

2) Aid for migrants. With no solution in sight to simmering conflicts and other triggers for migration, and little progress in establishing safe and legal routes for asylum seekers, we expect the staggering numbers of people taking flight to continue in 2017.

3) Local preparedness and localised funding. We will help vulnerable communities become more shock resistant (by) investing in strengthening local systems; teaching and delivering first aid, because 90 percent of lives saved at the outset of a disaster are by locals; and boosting community-based disease surveillance.

INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE - Ciaran Donnelly, senior vice president, international programmes

1) Cash for refugees, not just tents or food. Cash assistance empowers people and gives them choice, it helps scarce resources go further, and it supports the local host economy.

2) Refugees need long-term support, not just emergency relief. This means getting refugee children into school, getting their parents into jobs, and working with international financial institutions, host country governments and the private sector.

3) Don't let Europe and the United States off the hook. Fight to protect the hard-won rights of refugees despite the political and popular backlash, and urge governments to do more. Wealthy countries host just 14 percent of the world's refugees and must not leave poorer countries to manage the crisis alone.

OXFAM - Nigel Timmins, director of global humanitarian team

1) The eight-year conflict between Boko Haram and the military in northeast Nigeria has intensified, spreading into Niger, Chad and Cameroon. We are concerned at least 400,000 people could be experiencing famine-like conditions. Unless humanitarian aid is delivered, this could rise to 800,000. Over 2.6 million people have been forced to flee their homes.

2) After three years of fighting in South Sudan nearly 5 million people are desperately hungry. Half the population is already in need of humanitarian aid. Over 1.8 million people have been forced from their homes and more than one million have fled into neighbouring countries. The Ugandan village of Bidi Bidi has become the second largest refugee resettlement area in the world.

3) The Horn of Africa is experiencing a devastating drought where more than 12 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are facing food and water shortages. Forecasts suggest rainfall will not significantly increase, meaning both harvests and livestock productivity will decline sharply in early 2017.

WORLD VISION - Mark Smith, senior director for humanitarian emergencies

1) As the Syria crisis enters its sixth year, civilians continue to bear the brunt of a conflict marked by unparalleled suffering, destruction and disregard for human life. Some 13.5 million people require humanitarian assistance, including 4.9 million trapped in besieged and hard-to-reach areas.

2) In the Lake Chad Basin, more than 2 million people have been displaced by Boko Haram-related insecurity and, according to USAID, 4.6 million in Nigeria's Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe states are experiencing acute food insecurity.

3) South Sudan continues to experience challenges including almost 600,000 refugees having fled to neighbouring Uganda.

CHRISTIAN AID - Jane Backhurst, senior humanitarian advocacy officer

1) Raise awareness and funding for the crises in northeast Nigeria and South Sudan.

2) The Middle East crises in Iraq, Syria and Israel and occupied Palestinian territory will remain a high priority.

3) Scale up our work in Afghanistan as Afghan refugees are returned from Pakistan.

NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL - Jan Egeland, secretary general

1) Do more to be there for those who need us the most, in areas that are hard to reach, from Syria and Yemen, to northern Nigeria and South Sudan. Parties to the conflicts are blocking humanitarian workers from delivering life-saving assistance, and relief in neglected crises in Yemen and Nigeria is woefully underfunded.

2) Protect the displaced, by advocating for their rights. We will push for countries to take their share of responsibility for protecting refugees and we will speak out against barbaric breaches of international humanitarian laws.

3) Education for children affected by conflict. Many countries risk losing a generation to war and conflict. If we are not able to provide these children with an education, who will be there to rebuild these countries and create peace and stability?

ACTIONAID - Mike Noyes, head of humanitarian response

1) Scale up our disaster response capability. This is in part because of the wider impacts of the Syria crisis following the battle for Aleppo and likely knock-on effects of the battle for Mosul (in Iraq). In particular we will be looking at strengthening our capacity to deliver cash-based responses, especially those targeted at women.

2) Look at how we can do more in our work on disaster anticipation, preventing emerging crises from escalating by engaging with the work of the Start Network (https://startnetwork.org/) on forecasting mechanisms and piloting early responses.

3) Ensure we meet the commitments at the World Humanitarian Summit to make a locally-directed response to a humanitarian disaster a reality.

SAVE THE CHILDREN - Daniele Timarco, humanitarian director

1) Drought and hunger crises in Horn of Africa.

2) Coherent global response to migration and displacement.

3) Rapidly changing conflicts including Syria, Iraq, South Sudan.

(Reporting by Umberto Bacchi @UmbertoBacchi, Editing by Emma Batha. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)

In this issue

• About the Nigeria INGO Forum
• Nigeria: Humanitarian Overview 2016
• INGO Forum reinforces advocacy and response analysis for a robust response
• In-Focus: Protection scale up outside Maiduguri
• Did You Know?
• Forum Members’ Products

KEY MESSAGES

• In West Africa, regional staple food production during the 2016/17 marketing year is expected to be well above average.
  Staple food prices declined and remained near average as supplies increased in November with the arrival of recent harvests and continued international rice and wheat imports. Persistent depreciation of the Naira (NGN) has led to price increases across Nigeria, especially for rice, and reduced purchasing power for Sahelian livestock and cash crops.

• In East Africa, staple food prices declined seasonally as supplies increased from ongoing harvests, except in Uganda and Somalia where recent harvests were below average, resulting in atypical price increases. Somalia’s January 2017 (Deyr) harvest is also expected to be below average. Prices remain above average across the region, especially in South Sudan and Somalia. In Yemen, the availability of adequate food supplies past January is uncertain as the Central Bank of Yemen stopped issuing credit to importers due to lack of foreign currency. Insecurity also continues to disrupt markets in Yemen.

• In Southern Africa, regional maize availability is well below average during the 2016/17 marketing year following consecutive years of below average production. Imports by South Africa and Zimbabwe from well-supplied international markets have offset a portion of the regional deficit. Market supplies declined in November with the progression of the lean season. Maize prices are above their respective 2015 and five-year average levels region wide. While prices remain high and variable in Mozambique, security conditions have improved along key marketing corridors, facilitating trade.

• In Central America, maize and bean availability increased with supplies from the extended Primera harvest and the start of the Postrera harvest across the region. Maize prices seasonally declined or were stable, while bean prices were mixed.
  Markets in southwestern Haiti continued to recover from damages by Hurricane Mathew. Locally-produced bean and maize prices increased as supplies remained limited, while imported commodity prices and availability remained stable.

• In Central Asia, average regional harvests and above-average stocks sustained adequate supplies. Prices were below 2015 levels in Kazakhstan, above-average in Tajikistan, and near average in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

• International staple food markets are well supplied. Regional price indices reflect high prices in East Africa (Figure 1). Rice and maize prices fell, soybean prices increased, and wheat price trends were mixed. Crude oil prices remained well below-average.

ABUJA – In barely a month since the beginning of December, WFP has delivered food or cash to more than a million Nigerians in conflict-affected zones in the Northeast. This means that over half of those in need of urgent humanitarian assistance have now been reached.

The milestone came as WFP ramped up its response in Borno and Yobe States, where as many as four million people are food insecure. The region has been devastated by years of violence linked to the Boko Haram insurgency: in some areas, more than half of all children under five suffer from acute malnutrition.

“The needs are of course tremendous, and more has to be done. Even so, this is a dramatic expansion from the 160,000 people we were able to assist as recently as October. It is only thanks to the joint efforts of all humanitarian partners, including the Government of Nigeria, that we have achieved such high numbers,” said Sory Ouane, WFP’s Nigeria Country Director and Emergency Coordinator.

In areas with functioning markets, more than 170,000 people were assisted with cash. Nearly 800,000 people – most of them internally displaced, in camps or in host communities – benefited from food distributions; and almost 180,000 children under five were given specialized nutritious food.

Under its new Rapid Response Mechanism, which includes extensive use of helicopters and the pooling of logistics and telecommunications resources across the humanitarian community, WFP has managed to reach areas that were previously inaccessible.

“While it has been challenging to scale up and provide timely, life-saving food assistance, we are now looking at ways to assist even more people in need – as many as 2.5 million by April 2017,” Ouane added.

WFP is funded entirely by voluntary contributions and needs a total of US$208 million for its humanitarian response in Northeast Nigeria over the next six months, of which US$143 million has yet to be found.

“We have achieved a lot in the past months, and plan to do more, said Abdou Dieng, WFP’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa. “But an operation of this scope and complexity requires sustained funding to maintain momentum.”

# # #

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.

Follow us on Twitter: WFP_WAfrica, WFP_FR

For more information please contact (firstname.lastname@wfp.org): Sory Ouane, WFP/Abuja, Tel. +234 907 720 0070

Highlights

• 15 security incidents were registered in Diffa in November, including two attacks by ex-Boko Haram on health centers (N’Garwa Koura and N’Galewa, where one worker was killed), and one attack on Wor (15 km South-East of Guagam) where three people were killed. The attacks caused a movement of around 1,200 households towards 3 spontaneous sites.

• 2016 RRM/NFI support (UNICEF/IRC) was provided to 5,999 households. 1,610 households were assisted with NFI kits in Karkarwa in November.

• The fourth round of polio vaccination campaign took place in Diffa from 12-15 November. 254,400 children were vaccinated (119% of original target), including 34,981 children refugees.

• 307,940 under-5 children suffering from SAM have been admitted in health facilities for therapeutic care across the country (76.8% of the expected 2016 caseload), including 37,994 cases with medical complications for in-patient facility (IPF) in 44 hospitals

• At the end of November, Niger has recorded 302 suspected cases of the Rift Valley fever (38% children under 5 years old), with a lethality rate of 10.9%. UNICEF supports a communication plan currently being implemented by an NGO partner, targeting 50,000 people from 35 villages at risk.

• The cholera outbreak that started in Dosso region at week 42 continued in early November, with 8 new cases and 1 death, bringing the total to 38 cases. No new cases were reported in the second half of November. Prevention activities by CISP continue in the region, with UNICEF’s support.

Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

Simultaneous humanitarian crises continue to have a major impact on affected children and families in Niger. These include displacement caused by insecurity and increased attacks from Boko Haram, particularly affecting the Diffa region, the ongoing Rift Valley Fever outbreak in Tahoua region, as well as food insecurity and spikes in malnutrition. The Diffa region currently hosts 241,065 IDPs, refugees and returnees (147,050 children). The displaced population is scattered along nearly 100 spontaneous sites. Only 13% of the sites host more than 1,000 households, and over 67% of the displaced population. The major reduction in the number of IDPs from September to October, was due to a change in the methodology of the census carried out by the Regional Directorate for Registration and not to a major return.

In, October, the first cholera case since February 2015 was reported in Dosso region. As of November 30th, 38 cases have been recorded in 2 districts of the region with 11 deaths including deaths outside of health centers in communities. UNICEF and its partner CISP quickly mobilized a rapid response to contain the epidemic and limit its spread through the implementation of prevention and infection-control activities, such as home-based and disinfection of water points, promotion of home-based water treatment and hand-washing with soap, and community sensitization.

In Maradi region, 9 children were diagnosed with Meningitis at Tiadi Health Center. A surveillance system is in place for early detection / referral of cases, but no vaccination response yet as the epidemic threshold was not reached.

Fragility Drivers

• Limited livelihood choices for a bulging youth demographic

• Social political marginalization

• Adversarial/poor community relations

• Sub-national economic and social development disparities

• Ungoverned and contested spaces

Strategic Response

Addressing fault lines, risks and threats in the socio-economic cultural and the institutional landscape at community, national and subregional levels

How

At national and community levels, support livelihoods, governance and peacebuilding pathways to engender progress along the continuum of stabilization to transition towards sustainable development.

At sub-regional levels, mitigate cross border threats to community security, trade and development, establish early warning capacity and support regional platforms to develop coordinated and rights based responses.

Results

• Disengagement and reintegration of radicalized youth through counter narrative programmes

• Resilient communities through inclusive and eective local governance;

• Peaceful coexistence through social cohesion and peacebuilding;

• Strengthened national and regional early warning capacity to mitigate cross border threats;

• Enhanced livelihoods through Communities and religious institutions resilience to the effects of violent extremism.

Facteurs de fragilité

• Choix des moyens de subsistance limités pour une population jeune en plein essor

• Marginalisation sur les plans social et politique

• Précarité des rapports entre communautés

• Disparités en matière de développement économique et social au niveau infranational

• Territoires non gouvernés et contestés

Réponse stratégique

Prendre en compte les lignes de clivage, les risques et les menaces sur les plans socio-économique, culturel et institutionnel, aux niveaux des communautés, des pays et des sous-régions.

Comment

Aux niveaux des pays et des communautés, soutenir les moyens d’existence, la gouvernance et la consolidation de la paix an d’avancer sur la voie de la stabilisation et d’opérer la transition vers un développement durable.

Au niveau sous-régional, limiter les menaces transfrontalières pesant sur la sécurité des populations, le commerce et le développement ; mettre en place des mécanismes d’alerte rapide et soutenir les plates-formes régionales dans l’élaboration d'interventions coordonnées et axées sur les droits fondamentaux.

Résultats

• Désengagement et réintégration des jeunes radicalités grâce à des programmes de contre-propagande

• Communautés devenues résilientes grâce à une gouvernance locale inclusive et ecace

• Coexistence pacique due à la cohésion sociale et à la consolidation de la paix

• Capacité d'alerte rapide renforcée aux niveaux national et régional an d’atténuer les menaces transfrontalières

• Amélioration des moyens d’existence liée à la résilience des communautés et des institutions face à l’incidence de l’extrémisme violent.

Key Messages

• Despite the ongoing harvest, persistent insecurity continues to drive Crisis (IPC Phase 3) and Emergency (IPC Phase 4) outcomes in much of South Sudan. Many internally displaced persons in parts of Western Bahr el Ghazal, Unity, and Greater Equatoria already in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) have limited access to their farms or humanitarian assistance. Extreme levels of acute food insecurity are expected in Unity and Northern Bahr El Ghazal states, where poor households with little harvests could face Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) during the atypically long February to July lean season, in the absence of humanitarian assistance.

• A major food security emergency continues in Yemen as an estimated seven to 10 million people face Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or worse acute food insecurity. In Ta’izz and Al Hudaydah, conflict-related disruptions to livelihoods are causing Emergency (IPC Phase 4) outcomes, with elevated levels of acute malnutrition and excess mortality likely. Although data is limited, some populations could face Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) between October 2016 and May 2017 in areas where conflict has most restricted livelihoods and humanitarian access.

• October to December 2016 rainfall started nearly a month late and was well below average across large parts of Somalia, southern and southeastern Ethiopia, northeastern Kenya, and parts of northeastern Tanzania. Forecasts for below-average Gu/Genna/long rains between March and May 2017 are likely to result in further deteriorations in livestock body conditions, prices, and productivity, as well as below-average production in crop-producing areas. Emergency (IPC Phase 4) is likely in some areas of Somalia, and among some households in Ethiopia, while Crisis is expected for other areas of Somalia, southeastern Ethiopia, and northeastern Kenya through May 2017.

• In Burundi, poor seasonal progress in parts of the eastern lowlands is leading to below-average production. In some of these areas, poor households are likely to face Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes by the peak of the minor lean season in April/May 2017. Meanwhile, the number of Burundian refugees in neighboring countries remains high, but the flow of refugees from Burundi has reduced significantly during December, according to UNHCR. In Tanzania, in the absence of additional funding, pipeline breaks are expected to significantly reduce humanitarian assistance to Burundian refugees, who will likely be in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) between February and May 2017.

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) monitors trends in staple food prices in countries vulnerable to food insecurity. For each FEWS NET country and region, the Price Bulletin provides a set of charts showing monthly prices in the current marketing year in selected urban centers and allowing users to compare current trends with both five-year average prices, indicative of seasonal trends, and prices in the previous year.

Staple Food Markets in East Africa: White maize is the main staple grain consumed in Tanzania, Kenya, and Ethiopia. In Uganda, white maize is grown mainly as a commercial crop for export in the region. Imported rice is a major staple for Djibouti and Somalia, which mainly consume belem—the imported red rice. Tanzania is also a major producer and source of rice in the region while Kenya and Uganda are minor producers. Both red and white sorghum are produced and consumed in the region. This is an important staple in Sudan, Djibouti and Somalia as well as in other marginal agricultural areas of the region. It is also a substitute cereal among the rural poor. Red sorghum is mainly grown in Ethiopia, Sudan, and Somalia, and is the preferred type for households in Djibouti. Beans are an important source of protein and a complementary food crop grown in the high potential agricultural areas of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda,
Burundi and Ethiopia. It is consumed across household types. Maize and beans are the most heavily traded commodities in the region. The cooking banana–matoke is the primary staple in Uganda. Uganda is also a main source of cooking and other types of bananas traded in the region especially in Southern Sudan. However, bananas are not traded nearly as heavily as maize or beans.