KEY FIGURES

166,880 The camp population as at 15th March 2017. The figure is inclusive of Kalobeyei population.

4,429 Total number of South Sudanese new arrivals registered in 2017.

5,951 The total number of new arrivals registered in 2017.

26,002 The population currently hosted at Kalobeyei Settlement.

2,405 The total number of registered UAMs of which 1,175 are from South Sudan.

FUNDING

USD 65M Requested for Kakuma operation.

PRIORITIES

• Movement of new arrivals from Nadapal transit centre to Kakuma - Monitoring of new arrivals trend - Development of Kalobeyei settlement - Maintenance of roads and water network - Relocation from Dadaab Voluntary repatriation (VOLREP)

HIGHLIGHTS

• The operation continues to receive refugees from South Sudan at the Kenya – South Sudan border at Nadapal Transit Centre. A majority of the new arrivals are women and children. New arrival refugees cite insecurity and famine as the cause of flight.

• The Government of Kenya through the Refugee Affairs Secretariat (RAS), The UN Agency for migration (IOM) and the UN Agency for Refugees (UNHCR) continue to relocate non-Somali refugees from Dadaab refugee camp to Kalobeyei Settlement. During the reporting period, a total of 278 Households comprising of 1,208 individuals were relocated to Kalobeyei settlement. The relocates received non-food items (NFIs) and were allocated shelters upon arrival.

• On 1st March 2017, the operation hosted a mission from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). The mission, led by Ms. Ingrid Sandstorm from SIDA, interacted with business people from the host and refugee community and also held a meeting with the Branch Manager for Equity Bank (a local Kenyan Bank). This was a follow up on a high level mission from SIDA that took place on 17th – 18th January 2017.

• On 8th March 2017, the operation hosted the Danish Minister for Development Cooperation H. E. Ulla Tornaes, members of the Foreign Affairs Committee from the Danish Parliament and staff from the Danish Embassy on a 1-day visit. The Minister visited Kalobeyei and Kakuma refugee camps as well as Danish Refugee Council implemented projects at youth centre 4 in Kakuma 4.

• Distribution of 1,020 ALP textbooks, teachers’ guides, assorted reference materials and learning supplies was done to 12 Accelerated Learning Programme (ALP) Centres on 9th March, 2017. This will enhance effective ALP curriculum implementation.

Key Messages
- With famine declared in parts of South Sudan, the hunger crisis in Somalia is on the cusp of becoming a famine, and Kenya experiencing severe drought, the lives of 700,000 children who are suffering severe acute malnutrition are now in the balance. The crisis is not getting the attention it needs to ensure children and their families are protected from a looming catastrophe.
- The hunger crisis is exacerbated by drought, conflict and political instability and is forcing people to migrate into areas affected by conflict and putting children at huge risk of violence, exploitation and abuse.
- As communities fracture and go in search of food and water millions of children have abandoned schools. They risk being separated from families and exposed to harm and violence. Our aim is to help children survive, thrive and return to school.
- World Vision has received 12% funding on its appeal of US$ 92 million. While this money has helped with immediate response in some of the most affected communities, the need is far much greater and urgent. The unmet sum of over US$70 million is urgently needed to scale up humanitarian assistance in the four countries, in-order to meet the health, nutrition, child protection, livelihoods, shelter, education and water and sanitation needs of the most vulnerable.

Key Messages
- The security situation will most likely become more difficult and more complex in the near to medium term. Currently there are 1.8 million individuals internally displaced and 1.5 million are seeking refuge in other countries; 3.39million in total.
- There is significant decrease in food security with the declaration of famine in some parts of the country, currently 4.9 million people who are severely food insecure. If the situation remains the same, more than 5.5 million individuals will be facing severe food insecurity by July.
- The worsening economic situation is having a particularly heavy impact across the country, but particularly on urban populations. The urban population Juba holds a total of 230,000 of those individuals considered severely food insecure.
- Stakeholders must work with regional bodies and other stakeholders to facilitate interstate trade (e.g., Sudan into South Sudan) to supply markets dependent on imports to survive (e.g., Aweil). This is a low cost, high impact intervention.
- The 2017 humanitarian response plan (HRP) is asking for USD 1.6 billion to reach the 5.4 million individuals considered most vulnerable to the current humanitarian crisis. However, the total number of individuals who are in need of humanitarian and protection services totals 7.5 million. Therefore, more needs to be done to support humanitarian, development, and civil society actors support the individuals of South Sudan take tangible steps away from fragility and into resilience.

According to the latest Cadre Harmonise results of the current period (March – May 2017) analysis, a total of about 7.1 million people are in Phases 3 - Phase 5; Amongst this, about 4.7 million people are in the three states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa with about 44,000 people mostly in Borno state being in famine.

The January IOM Displacement Tracking System round XIV identified that the vast majority of IDPs were in Borno (1,506,170), followed by Adamawa (147,528) and Yobe (112,269).Return movements continue to be observed in the areas assessed according to round 14 of the IOM DTM report. An estimated 1,099,509 returnees were identified in Adamawa Borno and Yobe.

So far, the sector has reached some 1,707,603 persons with food assistance, agriculture production inputs and livelihoods activities. This represents a 33% achievement of the 2017 Food Sector HRP that target to assist 5.1 million people in need in 3 most affected states of Borno Yobe and Adamawa with food assistance through in-kind distributions, and through CBTS; provision of Agriculture inputs including seeds, tools and fertilizer; provision of Alternative livelihoods inputs; and capacity development.

WFP and partners ,through their scale up of interventions due to newly accessible areas will see the sector reach more food insecure population

HIGHLIGHTS

• New corridor for the delivery of humanitarian aid to Bentiu,
South Sudan, from Sudan.

• 8,000 people, who fled their homes in East Darfur due to inter-communal violence, have arrived in El Lait, North Darfur.

• 68% of households in Sudan have access to improved water sources.

• Ireland donates €3 million (US$3.3 million) to the Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SHF).

FIGURES 201 7 HRP

# people in need in Sudan (2017 HNO) 4.8 million

# people in need in Darfur (2017 HNO) 3 million

GAM caseload (2017 HNO) 2.2 million

South Sudanese refugee arrivals in Sudan - since 15 Dec 2013 (registered by UNHCR) - as of 15 March 2017 351,000

Refugees of other nationalities (registered by UNHCR) - as of 31 Oct 2016 140,626

FUNDING

566.8 million US$ received in 2016

58.3% Reported funding (as of 26 March 2017)

New aid corridor from El Obeid, Sudan to Bentiu in South Sudan

On 26 March, the Government of Sudan announced the opening of a new humanitarian corridor for humanitarian assistance to be delivered by the World Food Programme (WFP) from El Obeid in central Sudan to Bentiu, a town in Unity State, South Sudan, where 100,000 people are enduring famine amid a deepening humanitarian crisis across the country. The new northern corridor will ensure that food assistance rapidly reaches vulnerable communities in South Sudan before the onset of the rainy season.
WFP will be moving an initial delivery of 11,000 metric tonnes (MT) of sorghum— including 1,000 MT donated by the Government of Sudan—in seven convoys of 30 to 40 trucks, which is enough to feed 300,000 people for three months. The convoys will take up to one week to complete the 500km journey.
The first convoy will transport 1,200 MT of sorghum in 27 trucks by early April. The humanitarian corridor will not only allow for the timely delivery of food aid, but will also help reduce reliance on air operations, which cost six to seven times as much as moving food by river and road. Meanwhile, WFP continues to use the existing corridor in Kosti, White Nile State, to reach people in need in Renk, South Sudan. Since November 2014, WFP has delivered 57,900 MT to over 200,000 people in Renk, of which 3,490 MT was delivered in 2017.
At least 7.5 million people across South Sudan—almost two thirds of the population— need humanitarian assistance. Sudan is currently hosting over 350,000 South Sudanese refugees, who have arrived since the conflict erupted in December 2013.

WFP and the US support food insecure people in Sudan and South Sudan

On 20 March, WFP said in a statement that two US ships docked in Port Sudan and over 47,880 MT of sorghum was unloaded, over 20,000 MT of which will be transported through Sudan into South Sudan. In March and April, more ships will arrive from the US with an additional 47,500 MT of sorghum, 5,000 MT of lentils and 1,700 MT of vegetable oil, destined to provide assistance to South Sudanese refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sudan.

In 2017, WFP plans to assist more than 4.4 million vulnerable people in Sudan—IDPs, refugees, climate-affected populations, and host communities—through a range of activities, including emergency food aid, cash-based transfers, nutritional support, and resilience-building activities to help communities become independent.

Key Findings
- The IDP influx, which has continued since May 2015, lack of agricultural inputs and limited trade routes have left the majority of Nyal’s population dependent on food aid.
- Nyal markets are very remote and lack large supply routes, leaving them isolated from external markets and sensitive to small changes in supply or demand. Any intervention to alleviate market stressors will have significant effects on prices. The fishing sector is likely more resilient due to a large native supply of fish in the nearby swamp.
- Since December 2013, the primary supply route from Sudan into Nyal has been blocked due to insecurity, increasing pressure on the remaining routes to supply the market. Water routes are limited in scale because goods are transported by dug-out canoe.
- The national depreciation of the South Sudanese Pound (SSP) and insecurity along supply routes have restricted suppliers’ ability to restock market goods.

Key Findings
- Akobo market is the only functioning market in North-Eastern Jonglei State, though its current capacity is low due to the economic crisis and limited supply routes.
- Annual supply route constriction caused by the drying of the primary trade river is the market’s greatest constraint.
- Supply constraints have been exacerbated by the depreciation of the South Sudanese Pound (SSP), which has resulted in a loss of profits for traders operating in Akobo. As a result, fewer traders are now operating in the market, leading to a shortage of goods and an increase in prices.
- Trade has been further restricted by declining terms of trade due to the devaluation of the SSP against the Ethiopian Birr (Br).

Key Findings
- Supply routes from Darfur and South Kordofan, although officially closed, remain informally open with goods arriving into key market towns in Northern Bahr el Ghazal.
- The key threat to supply routes comes from insecurity along the Sudan and South Sudan border. Trade blockages by Sudan could be used as political leverage in negotiations between the two countries, especially during the dry season when local cultivation is lower and the population is most dependent on markets for food.
- Aweil, Warawar and Gok Machar, key market towns within Northern Bahr el Ghazal State, remain connected to Juba supply routes via Wau. Staple items, such as flour and oil, are transported from Uganda using this route.
- The depreciation of the South Sudanese Pound (SSP) has caused many foreign traders to leave the area, severely reducing the strength of the supply chain.

Key Findings
- Consumers in Bentiu PoC receive most staple foods through General Food Distributions (GFDs), so staples are generally not sold in the market. Traders either sell local produce or meat, or durable non-local items such as sugar.
- Recent political developments in Unity State have rendered some previously used supply routes from Sudan unviable for importation of large volumes of goods, so most non-local goods sold in the Bentiu PoC markets now come exclusively from Juba.
- Supply routes are highly seasonal. During the wet season, the roads to Bentiu become inaccessible and goods must be transported by air, resulting in limited volumes and higher transport costs. Some traders are forced to close their businesses during the wet season due to supply route challenges.
- Hyperinflation is the primary challenge facing traders in Bentiu PoC.

Key Findings
- The economic crisis that began in April 2016 and insecurity following the outbreak of violence in Juba in July 2016 resulted in the displacement of local communities in Maban and a reduction in purchasing power among consumers left behind due to a reduction in access to livelihoods.
- The depreciation of the South Sudanese Pound (SSP) has forced suppliers to increase prices that most consumers in Maban cannot pay in order to compensate for losses related to the increased cost of goods, supply transportation, and business taxation.
- Suppliers in Maban have adapted to a number of challenges in supplying the market prior to the recent economic crisis and would likely adapt to the most recent market challenges if demand increased.

Key Findings
- Insecurity has reduced local population access to crops this growing season, resulting in a highly dependent market population to meet food gaps.
- Kenya has restricted food exports to South Sudan, causing markets to become heavily dependent on supply routes from Uganda.
- Insecurity in the western part of the state, coupled with the depreciation of the South Sudanese Pound (SSP), has reduced traders’ ability to finance and transport large-scale supplies to the market despite increased demand.
- Heavy taxation on both sides of the border and destination towns has also driven up prices on staple goods.

South Sudan is facing an unprecedented level of humanitarian emergency with approximately 4.9 million reported being food insecure according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. In February 2017, the government and the UN declared a famine in Leer and Mayendit counties in Unity State. It is therefore imperative to monitor market functioning in areas at risk of food insecurity and understand how markets are affected by fluctuations in the humanitarian situation throughout the country.

In this context of increasing food security and livelihood needs, REACH, in partnership with the Food Security Cluster and WFP in South Sudan, conducted a series of markets assessments between October and December 2016, to better understand market functioning and identify possibilities for market interventions. The assessments examined market supply chain system, operational challenges faced by market traders, as well as medium-term trade prospects in the highly vulnerable Unity, Jonglei, former Upper Nile, and Eastern Equatoria States. Data was collected through interviews with 95 key informants.

Overall, markets have reportedly been negatively affected by rapid inflation, insecurity, and logistical constraints when supplying goods. Key informants reported that the devaluation of the South Sudanese pound presented severe challenges affecting importation of goods from neighboring countries as well as populations’ ability to afford market goods. In Akobo, traders reportedly found it difficult to import products from Ethiopia due to the pound’s low purchasing power and subsequently experienced reduced profit margins. However, even in markets where goods are available, such as Bunj in Maban county, former Upper Nile State, consumers’ low purchasing power reportedly reduced demand for goods. Ultimately, this is likely to lead to increased reliance on food assistance and gathering of wild foods as a main source of food, particularly when cultivation becomes unfeasible during the lean months.

As South Sudan enters the lean season, during which populations typically become more dependent on markets as a source of food, it becomes increasingly critical to understand market functioning, supply routes, and the extent to which markets can act as a sustainable source of food for populations. REACH, in collaboration with the Food Security Cluster and WFP, will continue market analysis throughout the dry season, to monitor reported trends and anticipate potential shortfalls in market supply, aiming to inform possible market interventions for a more sustainable, long term access to food.

The ongoing conflict in South Sudan is affecting food security in some of the country’s more “stable states,” the head of UN peacekeeping in South Sudan, UNMISS, has said.

David Shearer, the UN’s most senior official in the country, was speaking during a visit to Aweil in the north of South Sudan.

“Dwindling provisions arriving in the town and skyrocketing food prices have meant that places like Aweil, which are generally peaceful, have suffered the effects of the conflict taking part in other parts of the country,” he said, adding that “it is imperative that fighting stops, so the citizens of the world’s newest nation can live in peace and enjoy the benefits of independence.”

The insecurity has directly affected the cost of goods in greater Aweil. Mr Shearer heard from UN humanitarian agencies working in the region how many families had migrated north to Sudan because they could either not produce crops or could not afford the high price of staple foods in the market.

Those agencies have stepped in to provide emergency humanitarian aid in a region where the UN Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO) says 52 per cent of people are “food insecure.” Speaking to Mr Shearer, the Governor of Aweil State, Ronald Ruay Deng, said his administration was doing all it could to “move our people from dependency on emergency food aid to a more resilient rural agricultural” model of production, including the piloting of a new community farming approach to feed the most vulnerable people.

Mr Shearer also heard about the efforts under way to build peaceful understanding between communities, particularly pastoral communities who arrive on a seasonal basis from Sudan to share water and grazing land with the residents of greater Aweil.

UNMISS is facilitating improved inter-communal understanding through dialogue, an initiative supported by Aweil East Governor Deng Deng Akeui.

In relation to food insecurity in the area, Mr Shearer said “I fear for the immediate future of the people here particularly their ability to cope during the imminent rainy season while their crops are growing.

However, I am optimistic that building a good relationship between the local authorities, United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations, will enable us to tackle the food security challenge.”

# # #

For media enquiries, please contact

Spokesperson: Daniel Dickinson – dickinsond@un.org +211912177770

Highlights

• In 2017, WFP plans to assist 4.6 million people across Sudan including 3.4 million in Darfur and 1.2 million in East Sudan, North & South Kordofan and Blue Nile States. In February, WFP reached 1.9 million people including 844,290 people with general food assistance, as well as 132,680 children under five and 33,170 pregnant and nursing women with nutrition assistance.

• WFP Sudan faces funding constraints of USD 53.4 million against its 2017 annual requirements standing at USD 370.5 million. Most concerning is the critical status of nutrition interventions for which WFP urgently requires USD 11.2 million for super cereal plus and ready-to-use supplementary food (RUSF) for the next 6 months. In addition, serious disruptions to WFP cash-based transfer (CBT) programme are expected in April 2017 if no immediate funds are received.

Operational Updates

• Since the onset of the South Sudan crisis in December 2013, 332,885 South Sudanese refugees have entered Sudan according to UNHCR. Thus far, WFP has distributed 50,400 mt of food assistance to 176,158 refugees from South Sudan. And since the influx of South Sudanese refugees into Darfur in 2016, WFP has provided 7,930 mt to 77,960 refugees in Darfur. There is growing concern of an increased wave of South Sudanese refugees to South Kordofan following the ongoing conflict and famine in South Sudan. At the end of February, some 1,000 individuals per week, mainly women and children fleeing food insecurity, were crossing the border into South Kordofan according to Sudan’s Humanitarian Aid Commission, mainly to El Liri locality. So far in 2017, some 7,200 South Sudanese refugees have crossed the border to El Liri locality – bringing the total number of refugees arriving in South Kordofan this year to nearly 8,200. In March, WFP plans to distribute food assistance to 22,000 individuals in El Liri, including the recent refugee arrivals.

• WFP Sudan continues to utilize the existing humanitarian corridor to deliver urgently needed assistance to South Sudan while advocating for the opening of additional corridors to South Sudan to help alleviate the suffering of individuals in urgent need of food assistance.

• Post-harvest losses significantly affect the productivity and food security of smallholder farmers in Sudan. Due to improper drying and poor storage practices, farmers in Sudan lose 30 – 40% of their crops post-harvest. To support farmers reduce post-harvest losses, WFP is working to improve grain post-harvest handling and storage through the provision of subsidized silos, training for smallholders with focus on improving grain safety and quality and strengthening farmers’ access to markets. In the context of the Farmers to Markets (F2M) initiative, a Post-Harvest Management Project is being implemented in Kassala state to support farmers reduce losses and maintain the quality of sorghum. In February, 250 farmers received post-harvest training, and out of them, 100 farmers received plastic silos.

• WFP faces serious funding constraints for its nutrition interventions. Starting in May/June, WFP’s ability to undertake treatment and prevention of malnutrition activities will be compromised for vulnerable children under five and pregnant and nursing women. Without RUSF, WFP will not be able to provide emergency blanket supplementary feeding for 88,945 refugees and IDPs affected by conflict and displacement nor undertake treatment of moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) for 177,590 targeted individuals. The pipeline break in super cereal plus is going to affect 136,660 children under two years and pregnant and nursing women from receiving a preventative nutrition ration and increases the risk of them becoming moderately malnourished.

• CBT faces a funding shortage in the upcoming year (Mar ’17 – Feb ’18) amounting to USD 69 million of which USD 50 million is the transfer value. If urgent funding needs are not met, CBT modality will have to be discontinued in April 2017 halting significant gains made in the sensitization and positive effects seen for the people assisted as well as affect the first cash programme launched in October 2016 in South Darfur state.

• The cash programme in Otash IDP camp, South Darfur has successfully provided prepaid cards to 95% of planned individuals without encountering any protection and security challenges. Over 72,000 vulnerable IDPs received pre-paid cards, of which nearly 80% of recipients were female.

Many miners in Senegal believe dirtying themselves - by drinking and paying for sex - will boost their chances of striking gold

By Kieran Guilbert

KEDOUGOU, Senegal, March 30 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Huddled together in the corner of a dimly-lit bar in southeast Senegal while men swig beer, smoke and shout over the blaring music, Grace and the women beside her are silent and sombre.

Despite their sequined tops, colourful make-up and striking hairstyles, these women are not here to party.

They are victims of sex trafficking, duped into leaving Nigeria with the promise of work in Europe but dumped in Kedougou, a gold mining region, and forced into prostitution.

"I was so angry when I arrived that I refused to have sex for the first month," Grace told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"Then I thought about getting home one day and helping my family ... What choice did I have?" added the 24-year-old, an aspiring university student from Nigeria's Edo state who believed she would be working in a hair salon in Italy.

Grace is one of more than 1,000 women and girls selling sex in Kedougou, according to United Nations estimates although no official data exists. Many have been trafficked from Nigeria.

Campaigners say the number of women trafficked is rising as a gold rush in Senegal fuels demand for sex workers from miners, many of whom believe dirtying themselves - by drinking and paying for sex - will boost their chances of striking gold.

Stripped of their documents and fearing for their lives, these women are forced to work off debts to their traffickers of up to 3 million CFA francs ($4,900) - in a region where miners pay no more than 2,000 CFA ($3) a time for sex.

Many women recalled being beaten, abused and extorted by clients and even police officers, who activists say are too few and poorly trained to tackle trafficking and identify victims as prostitution is legal here and some women choose to sell sex.

"NO MAN'S LAND"

The state, however, says it has bolstered police numbers, focused on prosecuting traffickers and is working with civil society groups to train officials and give support to victims.

Police representatives in the region could not be reached for comment.

While an informal mining boom across West and Central Africa in recent years has brought wealth to local communities, it has also allowed criminality to thrive, civil society groups say.

"These mines are a murky, grey area when it comes to human trafficking and other crimes," said Jo-Lind Roberts, country head for the International Organization for Migration.

Gold mining is an age-old tradition in Kedougou, yet it has been transformed in recent years by the arrival of foreign firms and migrant workers, locals say.

This growth, coupled with the region's porous borders, has seen the numbers of women trafficked into sex work soar, with most coming from Nigeria, according to anti-trafficking experts.

"These men stop you in the street or come to your home and say: 'I can change your life and make you a big woman,'" said Destiny, 20. "But I arrived here and could barely afford to eat, let alone think about sending money home to my family."

Most of the victims live in squalid huts with no water, electricity, or toilets, and far from health centres.

"It is an awful living and working environment for these women," said Issa Saka of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime. "It really is no man's land for them in the bush."

Many women struggle to go home even after repaying debts - which can take several years with victims having to sleep with an average of more than 1,000 men to buy back their freedom.

Most cannot afford to save for the journey back, some are ensnared by witchcraft which instils fear that they or their relatives may fall ill or die if they disobey their traffickers, while others are simply too ashamed to return home empty-handed.

"If I were to go home without any money, and tell my family what I had been doing here, they would not respect me, not even look at me," said Rita, adding that the two or three clients she sees each day leave her with barely enough money to survive on.

STRETCHED THIN

In Kedougou - a vast, forested and isolated region - an absence of law enforcement, a lack of training and poor laws are hindering efforts to stop sex trafficking, activists say.

Boubacar Fofana of the charity World Vision said the police are stretched too thinly to effectively tackle crime and, with prostitution legal, it was hard to identify trafficking victims as opposed to women willingly choosing to sell sex.

"We need to raise awareness among these women of their rights, and improve confidence in the state and police so that more victims feel like they can come forward," said Awa Ndour of Senegal's anti-trafficking task force.

While the authorities and activists try to reach victims, changing the mindset of Kedougou's miners may prove harder.

"There is a danger that people here may choose to ignore or even hide such crimes, as they don't want it to affect an industry that brings them so much money," said Fofana.

For Grace, like many other victims, relying on the state or the community for help is not an option. All she can do is work for several years in the hope of one day making it home.

"All I want to do is go to university back home," she said. "But the road is far, I have no money and my family know nothing about my life here. I don't know if I can ever make it back."

($1 = 614.4800 CFA francs)

(Reporting By Kieran Guilbert, Editing by Ed Upright and Belinda Goldsmith; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit http://news.trust.org)

Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen are currently facing alarming levels of food insecurity.

• As of March 2017, nearly 25 million people are facing food crisis, emergency and catastrophe (IPC Phase 3, 4 and 5) and require urgent humanitarian assistance across the three countries. Of these people, 100,000 are facing famine conditions in localized areas of South Sudan.

• Additionally, nearly than 13.6 million people are in Stress conditions (IPC Phase 2) across the three countries, and require support for livelihood protection.

• The number of people in urgent need of humanitarian assistance is growing, especially in Yemen, where the population in Crisis and Emergency has increased by 20% as compared to June 2016, and in Somalia, where current figures represent a two-fold increase as compared to August 2016.

• The situation is expected to deteriorate in the coming months in case of inadequate and untimely response. In Somalia, in a worst case scenario, drought might lead to famine.

• The highest proportions of acutely food insecure populations are among the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), host communities and households with high dependency on market purchases.

• Conflict, drought and economic crises are major drivers of escalating food security emergencies in these countries.

• Acute malnutrition is a major outcome of the severe food insecurity in the three countries. According to UNICEF (Feb. 2017), over 900,000 children are at risk of death in 2017 in these three countries.

• Acción contra el Hambre y la Comisión Europea lanzan, con el apoyo de Radio 3, una campaña para hacer oír el sonido del hambre, que aterra cada año a cinco millones de niños en el Sahel, y que en 2017 podría alcanzar los agudos de la hambruna en cuatro países del mundo.

El rechinar de una puerta que se abre poco a poco. Sirenas de ambulancia en la calle. Voces en el pasillo. Un trueno. Hay sonidos que asustan a los niños. Pero hay uno que aterra cada año a cinco millones de niños en el Sahel: es el sonido del hambre, desvelado en el vídeo de campaña cuando una de las cuatro niñas protagonistas se lleva las manos la tripa para calmar el rugir de su estómago.
 

Con este vídeo como punto  de partida comienza una campaña centrada en el hambre estacional, la que se produce cada año cíclicamente en regiones del mundo como el Sahel. El objetivo es sensibilizar sobre este fenómeno, antesala de las grandes crisis alimentarias, y poner en relieve las soluciones que podrían acallar este rugido. Poner en marcha las acciones necesarias para acabar con la estación del hambre podría salvar muchas vidas y ahorrar esfuerzos en intervenciones de emergencia.
 

“Creamos esta campaña pensando en los países en los que, durante la estación del hambre, millones de personas se van a la cama con el estómago vacío porque ven acabadas sus reservas de alimentos hasta la siguiente cosecha, de una forma cíclica pero precisamente por ello evitable. En Sahel 30 millones de personas (uno de cada cinco habitantes) se enfrentará a esta situación este verano. Pero lo cierto es que en 2017 este sonido, el de un estómago vacío, se está haciendo ensordecedor también en otros lugares del mundo como Nigeria, Yemen, Somalia y Sudán del Sur, de modo que hay que prestar más oídos que nunca a este grito y poner en marcha todos los mecanismos necesarios para acallarlo”, explica Carmen Gayo, la directora de Comunicación de Acción contra el Hambre. “El mundo no puede permitirse cuatro hambrunas cuando producimos alimentos suficientes para todos”, añade.

“Todos los años, entre cuatro y ocho millones de personas en el Sahel precisan ayuda de emergencia durante la estación del hambre para sobrevivir. El departamento de Ayuda Humanitaria de la Comisión Europea financia cada año la asistencia alimentaria a las familias en las fases más críticas de inseguridad alimentaria. Esta ayuda cubrió en 2015 un 29% de las necesidades totales de la región. El Sahel es claramente una de nuestras prioridades de actuación”, señala Nicolas Govaert, coordinador para el Sahel de la oficina de Operaciones Humanitarias europeas, ECHO, que también está presente y aporta fondos a la respuesta humanitaria en los países amenazados por la hambruna en África y en Oriente Medio.

La estación del hambre en Sahel

El hambre estacional es un periodo de escasez que se da cada año en países donde su población depende de la agricultura de subsistencia. Las reservas de alimentos de la cosecha anterior se van agotando y esa falta de oferta hace que los precios suban.

Coincide además con el inicio de la estación de lluvias y las aguas no seguras disparan los casos de malaria y otras enfermedades. Quienes las sufren son más vulnerables a la desnutrición ya que no pueden retener y absorber los nutrientes cuando los ingieren.

Por delante, casi cinco meses hasta la próxima cosecha. Cinco meses de hambresilenciosa, predecible y evitable. Una amenaza para más de 30 millones de personas en el Sahel, donde 5 millones de niños ya padecen desnutrición.

• 150 millones de personas viven en la región del Sahel
• 30 millones se enfrentan a la inseguridad alimentaria
• Se espera que 12 millones necesiten asistencia alimentaria en 2017
• 4,7 millones de niños menores de 5 años sufren desnutrición aguda, 1,3 de ellos en su forma más grave, la desnutrición aguda severa. 
• 1 de cada 5 niños sufre desnutrición aguda.
• 4,9 millones de personas han huido de sus hogares.

Naciones Unidas estima que serán necesarios 2600 millones de dólares en 2017 para salvar vidas y aliviar el sufrimiento de 12 millones de personas.

El sonido del hambre, la campaña

Arranca el 30 de marzo esta campaña que, a partir del vídeo principal y con la colaboración de Radio 3 y músicos y ciudadanos a través de las redes sociales, tratará de subir decibelios a medida que el sonido del hambre aumenta su intensidad en Sahel. Todo ello con un doble objetivo: crear la primera exposición sonora contra el hambre, que podrá visitarse en junio en fnac y www.elsonidodelhambre.org y culminar en septiembre con un evento sonoro basado en los sonidos recogidos durante la campaña, coincidiendo con el fin de la estación del hambre.

Sonidos que pueden silenciar el hambre

Frente al rugido del hambre, también se escuchan en Sahel sonidos como el del agua segura que llega a una aldea, el mugido del rebaño que pasta, el grano que muelen las madres y la risa de niños recuperados con el tratamiento adecuado.

La Dirección General Protección Civil y Operaciones Humanitarias Europeas (ECHO) financia, gracias a los impuestos de los ciudadanos, intervenciones humanitarias con el objetivo de salvar vidas durante las crisis o en los periodos más críticos como la estación del hambre, pero también enfocadas a aumentar la resiliencia de las comunidades frente a crisis futuras. En 2015, estos fondos permitieron cubrir el 44% de las necesidades de nutrición en el Sahel, proporcionando tratamiento a más de medio millón de niños desnutridos. Y entre 2014 y 2016, más de 3.5 millones de personas recibieron asistencia alimentaria.

ECHO canaliza su ayuda a través de organizaciones humanitarias presentes en el terreno. En 2015 y 2016, Acción contra el Hambre figuró entre  las cinco primeras organizaciones receptoras de la financiación humanitaria europea en el Sahel. Acción contra el Hambre es responsable del diseño, seguimiento y ejecución de estos proyectos estratégicos para hacer frente al hambre estacional. Algunos ejemplos de estas intervenciones incluyen: al hambre estacional. Algunos ejemplos de estas intervenciones incluyen:

•      Distribuciones de dinero y alimentos a las familias más pobres durante la estación del hambre
  
•      Formación a las madres para la detección precoz de la desnutrición
  
•      Formación a agentes de salud para su tratamiento e la propia comunidad
  
•      Apoyo psico-social en la recuperación de niños hospitalizados
  
•      Asistencia integral en emergencias como la crisis del Lago Chad
  
•      Promoción de políticas públicas de protección social
  
•      Análisis de las causas del hambre en cada contexto
  

[ver dossier de prensa para más detalle]

Acción contra el Hambre es una organización humanitaria internacional que lucha contra las causas y los efectos del hambre. Salvamos la vida de niños y niñas desnutridos. Garantizamos acceso a agua segura, alimentos, formación y cuidados básicos de salud. Trabajamos también para liberar niños, mujeres y hombres de la amenaza del hambre.

La Unión Europea y sus Estados Miembros son el mayor donante de ayuda humanitaria en el mundo. La Comisión Europea, a través de su departamento de Protección Civil y Operaciones de Ayuda Humanitaria (ECHO), ayuda cada año a más de 120 millones de víctimas de conflictos y desastres en el mundo. La ayuda es la expresión de la solidaridad europea y busca salvar vidas, así como prevenir y aliviar el sufrimiento.

Más información y entrevistas con portavoces:
Departamento de Comunicación de Acción contra el Hambre
Alicia García - Nuria Berro
Teléfonos: 91 391 53 06 – 91 771 16 63 - 609 018 735
@Acontraelhambre
www.accioncontraelhambre.org

Comisión Europea
En Bruselas: Carlos Martín Ruiz de Gordejuela – portavoz Ayuda Humanitaria
+32 2 29 65322 Carlos.MARTIN-RUIZ-DE-GORDEJUELA@ec.europa.eu
Daniel Puglisi – responsable de prensa +32 2 29 69140 Daniel.puglisi@ec.europa.eu
En Dakar: Isabel Coello, responsable de información África del Oeste
+221 777 40 92 17 isabel.coello@echofield.eu

Like the four countries facing extreme hunger crises today, the famine that gripped Ethiopia from 1983 to 1985 struggled for attention until it was far too late.

There was conflict. There had been years of consecutive drought – similar to Somalia now. The government spent its money on fighting, not aid. The rich world eventually reacted, with Bob Geldof and Live Aid at the forefront of a public funding campaign. But access in a time of war was hard. By 1984, 200,000 mostly starving Ethiopians had died, young children often the first to go. The final toll was closer to one million.

Read more on IRIN

On Monday, March 27, 2017, the Nigerian Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, officially inaugurated the Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Program, Phase 1 (ATASP-1) Youth Training Center located on the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) premises in Kubwa, Abuja. He also kicked off the National Agribusiness Youth Training on seed production and processing technology.

The training center, which is equipped with a large training hall, smaller syndicate rooms and several offices, is financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) to the tune of US $170 million. The centre aims to promote the creation of additional incomes to an increased number of producers and entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector in Nigeria by providing about 120,000 jobs along the value chain of priority commodities. An additional 20 million tons of key commodity food crops including cassava, rice, and sorghum will be added to the domestic food supply each year. The first phase of the project will provide training to 200 youth farmers.

A significant outcome of the project will be the development of outreach models with young entrepreneurs in agriculture – “IITA Youth Agripreneurs”. This component will be implemented by IITA which has established a Youth Agripreneur scheme at its headquarters in Ibadan, Oyo State, and also in Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia. The Agripreneurs serve as ambassadors of agriculture among other young people in their regions through peer education, training and demonstration of agricultural best practices, and business skills in value chain development.

A goodwill message delivered on behalf of the AfDB Nigeria Senior Director, Ebrima Faal, reiterated the Bank’s support to agriculture in Nigeria, in line with the Government’s Agriculture Promotion Policy (APP: 2016 – 2020) which is building on the successes of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA). He added that the support was aligned to the Bank Group’s “High 5” priorities especially the “Feed Africa” Strategy for Agricultural Transformation in Africa (2016 – 2025).

The Minister urged Youth Agripreneurs to remain steadfast in their mission to promote agriculture. He also highlighted the priority crops for the current administration, which in addition to staple crops, will also focus on export oriented value chains (such as cashew, cocoa, etc.) in view of the need to diversify the economy, given the current low oil prices.