BURKINA FASO
COUP D’ETAT DERAILS TRANSITION
Burkina Faso’s army converged in the capital Ouagadougou on 22 September and demanded the surrender of coup leaders who toppled the country’s transitional government. The 17 September coup has triggered protests and driven up tensions. At least 10 people have been killed and more than 100 wounded in demonstrations. Mediators from the Economic Community of West African States are seeking ways to resolve the crisis. The country had been due to hold elections on 11 October to end the transitional government.

CAMEROON**
3 KILLED IN SUICIDE ATTACKS
At least three people were killed on 20 September in Mora area of the Far North Region, the latest in a series of suicide attacks that have claimed dozens of lives this month in the region that borders Nigeria’s north-east and the heartland of Boko Haram militants.

NIGERIA
45 KILLED IN MULTIPLE BLASTS
On 20 September, at least 45 people were killed and 96 injured in multiple bombings in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State and the birthplace of Boko Haram. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the explosions on the edge of the city centre, but the militant group has been blamed for past suicide and bomb attacks in north-eastern Nigeria.

SIERRA LEONE
9 PERISH IN FLASH FLOODS
Torrential rains and flooding on 16 September caused extensive damage to homes and property in parts of Freetown and led to the deaths of nine people. As of 18 September, 8,165 people were registered as displaced in two Freetown stadiums. Humanitarian partners are providing food rations, water and hygiene kits as well as malnutrition screening for children under the age of five.

EVD REGIONAL
1 NEW CASE REPORTED IN GUINEA
On 16 September, one new case was confirmed in Guinea. The patient was a 10 year-old girl who died at home in Kiterin area of Forécariah prefecture. Investigations to determine the source of the infection are underway in Forécariah, and Ratoma sub-prefecture where the girl hails from. No cases were reported in Liberia and Sierra Leone in the seven days prior to 20 September. In the week ending 13 September, there were five confirmed cases, all in Sierra Leone.

BURKINA FASO
UN COUP D’ÉTAT COMPROMET LA TRANSITION
L'armée burkinabé a convergé vers la capitale Ouagadougou le 22 septembre et a exigé la reddition des leaders du coup d'état qui ont renversé le gouvernement transitoire du pays. Le 17 septembre, le coup a déclenché des protestations et attisé les tensions. Au moins 10 personnes ont été tuées et plus de 100 blessées lors des manifestations. Les médiateurs de la Communauté économique des états de l'Afrique de l'ouest s'efforcent de trouver les solutions pour résoudre la crise. Le pays devait tenir des élections le 11 octobre pour mettre fin au gouvernement de transition.

CAMEROUN
3 MORTS DANS DES ATTENTATS SUICIDES
Au moins trois personnes ont été tuées le 20 septembre dans la commune de Mora située dans l’Extrême-Nord. C’est le dernier dans une série d’attentats suicides ayant couté la vie à une douzaine de personnes ce mois dans la région bordant le nord-est du Nigéria et cœur des militants de Boko Haram.

NIGERIA
45 MORTS DANS DES EXPLOSIONS MULTIPLES Le 20 septembre, au moins 45 personnes ont été tuées et 96 blessées dans des attentats multiples à la bombe à Maiduguri, capitale de l’Etat de Borno et berceau de Boko Haram. Aucune revendication sur les explosions à la périphérie du centre-ville n’a été faite. Cependant, dans le passé, des attentats suicides et à la bombe dans le nord-est du Nigeria ont été attribués au groupe militant.

SIERRA LEONE
9 PERSONNES PERISSENT DANS LES INONDATIONS
Les pluies torrentielles et les inondations du 16 septembre ont causé des dégâts considérables aux habitations et propriétés dans certaines parties de Freetown et ont entrainé la mort de neuf personnes. À la date du 18 septembre, 8 165 personnes ont été enregistrées comme déplacés dans deux stades de Freetown. Des partenaires humanitaires distribuent des rations alimentaires, de l'eau et des kits d'hygiène et effectuent des dépistages de la malnutrition chez les enfants de moins de cinq ans.

MALADIE A VIRUS EBOLA (MVE)/ REGIONAL
1 NOUVEAU CAS EN GUINEE
Le 16 septembre, un nouveau cas MVE a été confirmé en Guinée. Le patient était une fille de 10 ans qui est décédée à son domicile, dans la commune de Kiterin, située dans la préfecture de Forécariah. Des enquêtes pour déterminer la source de l'infection sont en cours à Forécariah et dans la sous-préfecture, Ratoma, d'où la fille est originaire. Aucun cas n'a été rapporté au Libéria et en Sierra Leone dans les sept jours précédant le 20 septembre. Lors de la semaine se terminant le13 septembre, il y avait cinq cas confirmés en Sierra Leone

SUMMARY

• There were 2 confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) reported in the week to 20 September, both of which were in Guinea. Case incidence has remained below 10 cases per week since the end of July this year. Over the same period, transmission of the virus has been geographically confined to several small areas in western Guinea and Sierra Leone, marking a transition to a distinct, third phase of the epidemic. Improvements to rapid and accurate case investigation and contact tracing, rapid isolation and treatment, and effective engagement with affected communities have all played a crucial part in reducing case incidence to its current low level. A refined phase-3 response1 coordinated by the Interagency Collaboration on Ebola2 will build on these existing measures to drive case incidence to zero, and ensure a sustained end to EVD transmission. Enhanced surveillance capacity to rapidly identify a reintroduction (either from an area of active transmission or from an animal reservoir), or re-emergence of virus from a survivor, improved testing and counselling capacity as part of a comprehensive package to safeguard the welfare of survivors, and the increased use of innovative technologies—from vaccines to rapid diagnostic tests—are central to the phase-3 response framework. Accordingly, an increased emphasis will be placed on the monitoring and evaluation of these additional phase-3 measures in the coming weeks.

• After recording 14 consecutive days with zero confirmed cases, two new confirmed cases were reported from Guinea during the week ending 20 September: a 10-year-old girl who died after moving from the Ratoma area of Conakry to Forecariah, and a 24-year-old woman who was identified as EVD-positive in the Dixinn area of Conakry. Neither case was a registered contact, although both cases have a strong epidemiological link to a probable case thought to have died from EVD at the end of August. Investigations incorporating genetic sequencing of Ebola virus from both confirmed cases suggest they are part of the Ratoma chain of transmission—the only chain of transmission known to be currently active (past 21 days) in Guinea.

• No new confirmed cases were reported from Sierra Leone in the week to 20 September. Over 700 contacts have been identified in association with the previous week’s reported case from Bombali: a 16 year-old girl identified as EVD-positive after post-mortem testing. Investigations into the origin of her infection have not yet concluded, but preliminary findings suggest that a survivor may have been the source.

• Robust surveillance measures are essential to ensure the rapid detection of any reintroduction or reemergence of EVD in currently unaffected areas. A total of 719 samples were tested by 8 operational laboratories in Guinea in the week to 20 September. Analyses of the geographical distribution of samples collected indicate that 21 of 34 Guinean prefectures did not collect any samples from either live or dead suspected cases of EVD over the 1-week period. Over the same period, 1887 samples were collected from 100% (14 of 14) of districts in Sierra Leone and tested by 9 operational laboratories. In Liberia, 1435 samples were collected from 100% (15 of 15) of counties in the week to 20 September, although the capacity of the country’s 3 operational laboratories is not currently sufficient to rapidly test all samples. Surveillance in the three countries will be enhanced in line with the phase-3 response framework.

IN SUMMARY

• The Emergency Operations Centres will serve as central coordination offices in the respective countries for response to an Ebola emergency or any other public health threat.

In order to coordinate regional response to future public health emergencies, the United States has helped establish Emergency Operations Centres (EOC) in the three Ebola-hit West African nations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The centers will serve as central coordination offices in the respective countries for response to an Ebola emergency or any other public health threat, said officials.

The Sierra Leone EOC, hosted within the Military Headquarters in Freetown, was inaugurated on Wednesday at a special dedication ceremony.

The severity of the 2014 Ebola epidemic, which began in Guinea and then spread to the rest of the region, has been blamed on lack of proper communications infrastructure, in addition to the existing deplorable health infrastructure in the region.

In 2014, officials from Sierra Leone and the U.S. CDC identified the need to institute a public health emergency management system and establish a physical emergency operations centre (EOC) to coordinate Ebola response activities and future health emergencies.

The CDC Foundation assembled donors to support a temporary EOC, construct a permanent EOC, and institute an incident management system. The Paul G. Allen Ebola Program donated $12.9 million for the projects in the three countries.

In Liberia, the US$6M facility was inaugurated on Monday. A similar ceremony was expected in Guinea.

“From the beginning of the outbreak, we have seen how important it is to work together in times of crisis,” said US ambassador to Sierra Leone John Hoover, at the Freetown ceremony.

“We have seen the need to communicate, coordinate, and collaborate to shape a collective response that will save lives and save communities,” he added.

In Sierra Leone, the package comes along with a six-month running cost supported by the (PGAF).

The EOC filled the gap left by the departure of UNMEER, the UN`s Ebola mission, which left the NERC homeless, said Major (rtd) Alfred Pallo Conteh, NERC CEO.

The NERC had already relocated there since June.

In addition to the NERC, the new facility will also host the Office of National Security and the emergency response unit of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, which is set to take over fully the responsibilities of the NERC at the end of the year.

Sierra Leone and Guinea are still contending with the Ebola epidemic, which has claimed over 11, 000 lives, while Liberia has since been declared free it.

Over one thousand people that have been displaced by flooding in six villages of Bo District, South of Sierra Leone, are in urgent need of food, clothes, medicines and shelter to cope with the traumatized situation that has befell them. The flood victims, most of them depending on agriculture for their food and income, have seen their houses and lands destroyed and flooded by torrential rains. The affected families are now exposed to severe cold and other illnesses as most of them now sleep in school buildings and community centers.

These issues were discerned by an FAO team during a two-day visit to concerned areas from 11 to 12 September 2015 to assess the extent of damage of floods on affected communities.

The heavy downpour which lasted for three days from 4 to 6 September 2015 caused the Hungbayei River in the Bo District to inundate six villages. The floods also affected the main road between Bo and Kenema cities, and for several hours vehicular and pedestrian traffic was cut off at Bebeye Bridge at Gerihun.

This disaster comes at a time that the country is grappling with the multisectoral impact of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak including on agriculture activities and the livelihoods of many. Although there was no reported EVD case in the affected communities, farming and other livelihood activities have been halted following the ban on public gathering, movement restriction and periodic markets that had been temporarily put in place to stop the spread of the disease at the peak of the outbreak. In Njama Village, all houses were destroyed and villagers are now housed at Gerihun. In other communities visited – Gbonjema and N’jala Kandiema, ninety-five houses have been destroyed, leaving over one thousand people homeless. A statistics report provided by the Bo District Disaster Management Committee shows that a total of 2630 people were affected including 614 women, 1252 school children and 301 under five children. The actual impact of the flooding on the next harvest is still to be assessed, as most plots of rice were still covered by water. However, many farmers complained of losing valuable assets, including food and livestock.

Pa Jusu Kamara, a sixty-five years old farmer from Njama, a village that was completely destroyed by the flood, lamented that he had fifteen cattle but all have been drowned by the flood. “My cattle were my major source of income to take care of my seven dependants because I am no longer energetic enough to embark on large scale farming.” he said.

Pa Jusu explained that the manner in which the flooding took over his village did not allow him to take anything along as houses collapsed indiscriminately. “I am only thankful to God that I am still alive, but as I speak, two acres of rice, which is about six weeks old is been overtaken by the flood.” he lamented. One week after the flooding, Pa Jusu was still dressed in the only gray shirt and tattered Jeans trousers that he escaped with on that fateful day.

Pa Jusu and other members of Njama Village have abandoned their farms as they presently sleep on a tarpaulin in a school in Gerihun. Other flood victims in the neighboring villages share similar trauma. Some of them are been lodged by relatives while others, including children sleep in community centres with no sign of rehabilitation in the short-term.

FAO, in collaboration with non-governmental organizations and the Bo District Disaster Management Committee, is carrying out a comprehensive assessment on the impact of the flooding on the affected communities. This report is expected to be shared with the Government and other partners for possible assistance.

DISCHARGED CASES

• Total Survived and Discharged Cases = 4,048

NEW CASES

• New Confirmed cases = 0 as follows:
  Kailahun = 0, Kenema = 0, Kono = 0
  Bombali = 0, Kambia = 0, Koinadugu = 0, Port Loko =0, Tonkolili = 0
  Bo = 0, Bonthe = 0, Moyamba = 0 Pujehun = 0 Western Area Urban = 0, Western Area Rural = 0, Missing = 0

SITUATION OVERVIEW

• As of 22 September, 14,423 people have been registered in Freetown as displaced up from 8,445 on 19 September. 7,909 are registered at the National Stadium (According to the National Security Sector Group as of 23 September roughly 2,170 sleeping overnight) and 6,514 at Atuga Stadium (roughly 936 sleeping overnight – a drop of 200 in 24 hours). In Bo, 3,293 and in Pujehun 800 persons have been registered as affected by floods.
  New rains have caused flooding in Bonthe district and an assessment of the damage is underway.

• For affected communities in Pujehun and Bo access has been challenging and in some cases small boats or helicopters are being used. Schools are hosting some of the displaced.

• The Government has issued statements about relocating up to 15,000 persons living in flood-prone areas in Freetown to a green site outside of Waterloo near Mile 6. Government teams are assessing the site presently but no comprehensive relocation plan has been issued. A ministerial level group has been formed for planning purposes.

• According to the National Security Sector Group the initial flood response operation will continue until 2 October.

• The Ministry of Health and Sanitation is increasing provisions at Atuga Stadium for possible cases of diarrhea and cholera. Cases of respiratory ailments are in evidence due to a lack of blankets

Across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, over 1600 humanitarians have used vital communications services provided by the ETC to support the fight against Ebola.

After an outbreak of Ebola was reported in Guinea in March 2014, the virus rapidly spread to neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone, causing a regional crisis.

Although the Emergency Telecommunications (ET) Cluster is not officially activated, the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) mandated the World Food Programme (WFP) to respond as if the cluster was activated and to lead inter-agency Information and Communications Technology (ICT) efforts.

As the number of confirmed cases of Ebola in West Africa has significantly decreased over the past months, health care facilities are closing and the ET Cluster can begin to demobilise services. By the end of October 2015, the ET Cluster will have completely phased out services across the three affected countries.

Key messages

• Humanitarian air services are a lifeline for millions of vulnerable people in humanitarian crises where quick and safe access is vital to save lives.

• Due to the lack of reliable roads, ports and other infrastructure, access to many crises by land or water is difficult, if not impossible. Humanitarian air services are often the only way to get access to remote places and reach people in need.

• In addition to transporting humanitarian supplies and workers, humanitarian air services perform medical and security evacuations.

• The European Commission, via its Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO), operates its own humanitarian air service called ECHO Flight, with hubs in Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Mali.

• The Commission funds other humanitarian air services as well in order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of humanitarian aid delivery, and organises ad-hoc airlifts from Europe in major emergencies. The Commission also co-finances the transport of humanitarian aid and relief material through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

September 24 2015: On 9 September, the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone ruled in support of President Ernest Bai Koroma's decision to sack his former vice president. Our local correspondent Abdul Brima describes events leading up to the verdict, and its implications for peace in Sierra Leone.

On 9 September, the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone ruled in support of President Ernest Bai Koroma’s decision to sack his former vice president. This verdict stems from previous events which took place on 17 March 2015, when Vice President Alhaji Samuel Sam-Samuna was sacked from his duties by the President, following an alleged request for asylum at the US Embassy. This decision evoked some public outrage, with many perceiving the sacking as a breach of Sierra’s Leone’s constitution and legal process. Samuel Sam-Samuna had previously been expelled from the ruling All People’s Congress (APC) under the claim that the supposed asylum bid ‘demonstrated willingness to abandon his duties and office and Vice President’. The sacked Vice President sought redress from the country’s Supreme Court, and the court ruling was eventually announced this month, a little later than expected.

The verdict

Five Supreme Court judges, who had the herculean task of making this crucial decision, finally gave an overwhelming ‘yes, yes, yes, yes and yes’ in support of president Koroma’s decision to sack Sam Sumana. The judges ruled that the president had the constitutional right to relieve the former VP of his duties without recourse to a parliamentary impeachment procedure set out in section 50 and 51 of the country’s 1991 Constitution. Because Sam Sumana had been expelled the ruling APC party, Justice Vivian Solomon stressed in her ruling that ‘ceasing to belong to a political party expressly created a vacancy in the VP’s position and therefore, the president had right to replace the former VP.’ Failure to do this, she added, ‘would mean failure to discharge his duties as president.’

A court injunction was tendered earlier this year by lawyers of the sacked Vice President, asking the Supreme Court to restrain Sierra Leone’s newly appointed Vice President – Victor Bockarie Foh, from performing his duties until a court decision is reached on ‘whether the country’s constitution gives the President power to sack his vice’.

The legal team of Sam Sumuna challenged the president’s actions on two grounds. First, they were demanding an answer from the Supreme Court on whether the ‘constitution of Sierra Leone empowers the president to remove the vice president’ from office in a manner other than ‘the procedure set out in section 50 and 51 of the 1991 Constitution.’ Secondly, they also wanted to know whether the ‘Supreme Executive Authority’ mentioned in section 41 of the Constitution includes the power to relieve the former VP of his responsibilities. While the plaintiff’s legal term was arguing that no provision of the country’s constitution gives the president right to sack his former VP, the defendants were however arguing that the constitution did make such provision.

Chairman of the panel of judges, Valesius Thomas,argued that ‘indeed section 50 and 51 of the constitution did not give the president right to sack his former VP, though it does state the circumstances under which people in both offices (president and vice president) can be relieved of their responsibilities.’ He stated that section 41 (1) of the same constitution, which states the qualifications to be a president or vice, said that no president or vice president can run for any of these positions as independent candidates: ‘Party affiliations are prerequisites for these positions during and after elections’. When ‘a sitting president loses one of these qualifications, the president has power to appoint another vice.’ Another of the five judges, Justice Vivian Soloman, added that the president had the executive authority to remove his former VP from office since Sam Samuna had earlier ceased to be a member of a political party.

The public reaction: what the verdict means for peace

The dismissal of the former VP in March sparked some outrage in the nation, particularly amongst civil society organisations. The West African Civil Society Forum (WACSOF), which works to create an avenue through which civil society organisations can engage with the national authorities, viewed the situation as unfortunate in light of the country’s recent history. They had perceived the country’s ability to review the crisis as a serious test, and therefore had urged that pressure be brought to bear on all parties to the constitutional matter.

Similarly, the West African Network for Peace Building had raised concern about the growing tension over the sacking and had proposed the establishment of a 9 man committee that could serve as a mediator and negotiator for a peaceful resolution to the crisis. All these efforts fell on deaf ears.

After the ruling on 9 September, the former VP gave his reaction on BBC’s Focus on Africa radio program: ‘It’s a disgrace in the judiciary. With a pedigree, I would for once think that they would stand up to the movement and be independent and dispense justice as one of the three arms of government. I’m very much disappointed in the judiciary that they did not stand up to the moment.’ The former vice president acknowledged that if his supporters were angry, they should be ‘because of what they had been ripped of. It’s not for them today, it’s for generations yet unborn’. The lawyers of the sacked VP have threatened to take this matter to the regional ECOWAS court.

Although the ruling party supporters celebrated the verdict, the general public reaction has been unsurprisingly quiet. Even before this decision was handed down, many had predicted that the former VP’s court action was an already beaten attempt. From the perspective of the general public, this matter was a litmus test for the country’s judicial system. From a conflict perspective, the public had earlier made anxious references to experiences from South Sudan, where a controversial dismissal of a similar nature led to political instability. For now, the public waits with abated breath what the next move of the former VP will be in the next weeks or months.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The week to 16 September 2015 saw the reporting of two new cases – one on 13 September 2015 in the village of Rubaya, Bombali district, and one on 8 September 2015 in Kambia district. The new case in Bombali district is that of a 16-year old girl. The source of the infection is unknown.

• 761 contacts are under quarantine in the village of Rubaya in Bombali district, including 162 children under five and 18 pregnant women. In Kambia, 824 contacts are still under quarantine in the in the two villages of Sella-Kafta, four in the neighboring villages and 13 in the village of Kagboto.

• In response to the new case in Bombali district, UNICEF fast-tracked the deployment of essential WASH services and supplies and child protection officers, and intensified community engagement efforts in the affected area and surrounding villages.

• Seven joint rapid response teams were operationalized in the village of Rubaya (Bombali district). These integrated teams are comprised of social mobilizers, psychosocial support officers, surveillance officers and contact tracers. A total of 800 persons have already been engaged by the rapid response team.

ACTIVITIES AT A GLANCE

• UNFPA, with partners, Marie Stopes International, International Medical Corps (IMC), and Medecin du Monde, supports Ministry of Health and Sanitation clinics at National and Attouga Stadium, providing essential health services for nearly 4,000 women and children, including 100 lactating mothers, 120 Pregnant Women, and nearly 20 teen mothers.

• UNFPA supports the procurement and distribution of essential Reproductive Health hygiene supplies through 1000 Dignity Kits provided to women and adolescents, empowering women in this time of need.

• Community mobilization supports the protection and rights of women, adolescents, and children through engagement activities on SGBV and sexual health by national partners Fine SL and Restless Development

Highlights

• On 16 September, torrential rains in the Western Area of Sierra Leone caused heavy flooding and extensive damage to homes and property in the capital. Many residents were left without shelter and several fatalities were confirmed.

• As of 19 September, there were 5,115 persons registered at the Siaka Stevens National Stadium, including 80 pregnant women, 129 lactating mothers, 88 children under six months, 114 children between seven months and two years, and 331 children in the two to five years bracket.

• A number of displaced persons have also sought shelter and assistance at Atouga Stadium. Registration is ongoing, but as of 19 September, there were 5,038 affected persons from 1,092 households, including 52 pregnant women, 82 lactating mothers, 868 children under five. It was reported that out of the 5,038 affected persons, 608 persons slept at the stadium on 19 September.

Situation Update

• It is not yet clear when the response is likely to end since the rains have subsided. It has been indicated in the coordination meeting that the response is planned for the next two weeks and that the government has a plan to relocate people from the slums that have been affected

GENERAL SITUATION:

• The floods affected three districts-Freetown, Bo and Pujehun

• Total number registered as internally displaced persons in the districts is over 19,000 with over 70% situated in Freetown and Atouga; 17% in Bo and 10% in Pujehun based on reports received from MOHS

• A total of 9 deaths have also been reported

• Within the three districts, health facilities were greatly affected with medical supplies and commodities washed away or destroyed

• Reports received from the National Coordinator of NETHIPS indicated that PLHIV were among those greatly affected by the floods with high risk of ART drug interruption and exposure to opportunistic infection

FAO Representation in Sierra Leone

Highlights

• Torrential rains were experienced in Sierra Leone on 4-6 and 16-17 September 2015 and led to extensive flooding in Bo and Pujehun District as well as the capital, Freetown.

• The main damage is the destruction of houses, properties and key infrastructure by the flood water. In all flooded areas, the floods have caused widespread displacement. In the capital, over 3,000 flood victims temporarily sheltered in the National Stadium. In Bo District flood victims are sheltered in school in two communities – Gerihun and Fallu. In Pujehun District, households displaced by flood water are lodging with relatives, friends, or neighbours.

Situation Update

• While rains have subsided, those whose houses and properties were destroyed remain vulnerable and continue to require support in the short, medium and long term. The response is being coordinated by the Office of National Security (ONS) with the support of other government ministries, the National Ebola Response Centre (NERC), various UN agencies and other humanitarian partners.

• More rain is forecast in the coming few weeks and another episode of heavy rains and flooding is a high possibility.

• 2015 and 2016 are predicted as El Nino years and Sierra Leone is one of the countries that will be affected by this weather phenomenon making the country much wetter than it already is.

Heavy rainfall expected to provide some long-term dryness relief in Central America

Africa Weather Hazards

1. Significantly aboveaverage seasonal rainfall has led to saturated ground conditions in several regions of West Africa. Heavy rainfall is forecast to continue across the region during the next week, which is expected to sustain the risk of flooding.

2. Below-average rainfall over several bimodal areas of Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria has led to a rapid increase in moisture deficits and a degradation of ground conditions. Reduced rainfall is expected in this region during late-September.

3. While the recent increase in precipitation is expected to lead to more favorable ground conditions, a delayed onset and uneven rainfall distribution observed during the June-September season may negatively impact cropping and pastoral conditions in the region.

4. Despite recent increases in rainfall, the much delayed start to the rainfall season has resulted in drought, which has severely impacted ground conditions and led to livestock death across parts of north-central and eastern Ethiopia.

5. Below-average rainfall during August and early September has led to increased moisture deficits in several provinces in southern South Sudan and northern Uganda. Below-average rainfall is forecast in the region during the next week.

What is the Pandemic Emergency Facility?

The World Bank Group (WBG) is working closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) and many other partners to design a global Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility (PEF) so that when the next global health emergency is declared, the world has the financial resources to quickly deploy trained health workers, equipment, medicines and whatever else is required. G-7 and G-20 leaders requested the WBG to accelerate development of the PEF as a means to strengthen the global response to future potential pandemics.

Why do we need a Pandemic Emergency Facility?

A major lesson from the Ebola epidemic is that the world must be better prepared and respond much more quickly to future disease outbreaks. A weakly coordinated global response and the lack of a fast-disbursing financing mechanism left Ebola-affected countries for too long without much-needed support, worsening and prolonging the crisis. The world is in urgent need of a more agile and effective system for responding to such global health emergencies. The traditional approach of mobilizing resources in the wake of an outbreak is slow, inefficient and fragmented.

How big is the economic risk of a pandemic?

The Ebola crisis has had a crippling effect on the economies and development gains in the hardest hit countries: Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. As of April 2015, the WBG estimated that GDP losses for these countries rose to US$2.2 billion in 2015: US$240 million for Liberia, US$535 million for Guinea and US$1.4 billion for Sierra Leone.

Ebola isn’t our first wake-up call that pandemics are costly. From 1997-2009, six major outbreaks of highly fatal zoonoses—animal-borne diseases that can be transmitted to humans, such as Ebola, SARS, avian and H1N1 flu—caused an estimated $80 billion in economic losses. The human and social costs are incalculable.

The economic and human costs of the next pandemic could be much greater. Estimates suggest that an airborne Spanish flu-like outbreak today would kill more than 33 million people in 250 days. Estimates of the cost of a severe outbreak could be 5% of global GDP – or USD $4 trillion

According to a 2013 survey by Towers Watson of 30,000 insurance industry experts around the world, pandemics topped the list of extreme risks that matter most for the insurance industry over the long term.

What activities would the PEF finance?

The PEF is expected to cover a range of response activities such as: (i) rapid deployment of a trained and ready health workforce (“global health corps” or ‘white coats”); (ii) medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and diagnostic supplies; (iii) logistics and food supplies; and (iv) coordination and communication. The PEF would not cover pandemic preparedness or reconstruction efforts. These would need to be financed through existing channels, domestic resources, bilateral development assistance, and multilateral financing, including IDA, the World Bank Group’s fund for the poorest countries, and IBRD loans for middle-income countries.

Who would receive the money disbursed by the PEF?

The PEF is being designed as an open platform that would make finance available, not for the WBG, but directly to affected countries, international organizations or civil society organizations, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), World Food Program (WFP), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and others that can respond quickly to outbreaks.

How would the PEF work with existing WBG financing instruments?

The PEF would build on existing WBG financing instruments, including the IDA Crisis Response Window and the CAT DDO (catastrophe deferred drawdown option). The IDA CRW provides urgent financing to help the poorest countries to respond to crises. A total of $1 billion is available for all 77 poorest countries through June 2017. The CAT DDO provides a line of credit that allows middle-income countries to access immediate financing following a natural disaster. To access the funds, countries have to develop a disaster risk management program to demonstrate that they have taken the necessary steps.

The PEF is complemented by the Ebola Recovery and Reconstruction Trust Fund (ERRTF). The WBG established the ERRTF to augment IDA support to address the economic and social impact of the Ebola crisis. As of September 2015, donors who have contributed to the ERRTF include: Japan (US$20m); Norway (US$15.2m); Denmark (US$4.9m); UK (US$4.5m); Russia ($3m); and (US$4.5m).

What role would the World Bank Group, WHO and other international institutions play in the PEF?

The WBG is playing a lead role in conceptualizing the facility, working in coordination with international organizations, including the WHO, the private sector and other development partners. The world needs a strong WHO to deal with global health crises, and the PEF will complement the new WHO Contingency Fund. The WBG strongly supports the efforts underway to strengthen the WHO’s capacity to prepare for, and respond to, future disease outbreaks, but additional and complementary financing tools are needed.

Development of the PEF is also being done in consultation with multiple global health security assessment efforts underway-- including those by the UNSG’s High-level Panel on Response to Health Crises, the Institute of Medicine, the Global Health Security Agenda, and the outgoing and incoming G7 chairs Germany and Japan --to ensure the PEF is situated within the evolving recommendations to strengthen pandemic response and preparedness.

What role could the private sector play?

Private sector participation in the PEF will be essential to ensuring that the response to future pandemics is timely and effective. The private sector could be involved in a variety of activities, including developing insurance against pandemic threats, training health care workers, and playing an active role in coordinating the humanitarian response to crises. The private sector could also play a role in preparing communities for future outbreaks.

The PEF would purchase insurance coverage from the private sector, on behalf of developing countries, to cover the costs of containing disease outbreaks. It would deliver financing swiftly to governments and responding organizations, once a pre-agreed trigger is invoked.

What products could the PEF offer?

The PEF’s design builds on the existing suite of crisis response tools, within and outside the WBG, and on the WBG’s experience in kick-starting market mechanisms, and could offer a variety of complementary products:

Private insurance mechanism. The PEF, on behalf of countries, could buy insurance coverage from the private sector to cover risks associated with the outbreak. Public funding mechanism. The PEF would rely on long-term donor pledges to IBRD, which could, through bonds or the Bank’s liquidity, be disbursed to contain the outbreak. How would the PEF insurance mechanism work?

The PEF proposal under development includes two options, which are not mutually exclusive: (1) An insurance product developed with private insurance partners that could disburse funds soon after an outbreak occurs; and (2) a financing structure underpinned by contingent long-term pledges from development partners, against which the WBG would frontload funds for the crisis response.

The PEF would purchase insurance coverage from the private sector on behalf of developing countries to cover costs associated with disease outbreak response. When a pre-agreed parametric trigger (based on public and observable data) is activated, the private sector would make the agreed payouts to the PEF, which would disburse resources to eligible implementing partners to finance critical containment measures. Such a mechanism would be able to disburse resources quickly once the trigger is activated, rather than relying on a loss assessment, which typically takes time. The insurance mechanism would need to start small but could be expanded in terms of geography, size, events covered, etc., as the market for pandemic/epidemic risks in developing countries develops.

How would the insurance mechanism be funded?

The leading options to finance the insurance mechanism are through bond markets and insurance companies. These can be very easily combined in a manner to lower the overall cost of premium; this is very frequently done in the private sector to optimize costs and coverage. In both options, the insurance premium would need to be funded largely by donors, but potential beneficiaries may also contribute.

What are the key benefits that the insurance mechanism would bring?

Just as various insurance products for natural disasters have helped create new markets, we expect the PEF will create a new market for pandemic insurance in developing countries that is likely to grow over time; as the market grows, the need for subsidies/public funding will diminish.

If the PEF is designed well, not only will financing be available quickly to respond to the next crisis, but it will bring discipline and rigor into pandemic preparedness as the response strategy is thought out preemptively.

Are there other, similar, insurance mechanisms?

The concept of using insurance to pre-finance sovereign risks is a well-recognized tool to managing climate and disaster risks faced by governments (e.g., Mexico’s MultiCat (for earthquake and hurricane) and the African Risk Capacity (for drought.) Such tools have been well-studied and are considered successes by multilaterals, donors, beneficiary governments and rating agencies.

How would the public funding mechanism complement the insurance mechanism?

To enable the PEF to cover higher frequency events, the WBG is also working with partners on other instruments, including a public funding mechanism, to complement the insurance mechanism. With the public funding mechanism, the WBG could take long-term donor pledges/lines of credit and use its own liquidity or borrow on the capital markets against these pledges once an outbreak happens.

What are the next steps needed to further develop the PEF?

Timeline: Subject to donor fund raising (to finance the insurance premium) and market conditions, in principle, an insurance policy supported by private sector capital drawn from reinsurance and bond investors, could be launched in early 2016. The WBG-WHO team is now seeking feedback on the PEF design and implementation issues, with stakeholder meetings in DC (Sept 21-22, 2015) and Lima, Peru (October 9, 2015), and is establishing a PEF Working Group.

Last Updated: Sep 24, 2015

Crisis Overview

Since early September, several areas of Sierra Leone have experienced flooding due to torrential rains. 2,630 people in three chiefdoms in Bo district have been affected since 4 September. In Pujehun district, 1,951 people have been affected across seven districts. In Freetown, 12,000 people are estimated to be affected, the majority of whom are displaced and staying in stadiums. Priority needs in Bo and Pujehun include food, shelter and NFIs, and WASH. There is a high risk of water-borne disease outbreaks.

In Freetown, the response in underway and immediate needs are covered. Gaps are reported in WASH support, particularly as overcrowding and a lack of hygiene and adequate sanitation increase the risk of Ebola transmission.

Key Findings

Anticipated scope and scale

Nine communities in Kakua, Bagbwe, and Boama chiefdoms in Bo are affected. People have suffered extensive damage to their houses, and more than 1,000 people are displaced in six villages.
They are mainly staying in schools.

In Pujehun, seven chiefdoms have been affected. There is widespread damage to latrines, and a lack of access to safe water. Food losses have been reported in both districts. There is a risk of water-borne disease outbreaks.

Immediate needs of displaced populations in Freetown are covered by the ongoing response.

Priorities for humanitarian intervention

• Bo district: Priorities include shelter and NFIs, particularly to displaced persons. The affected population identified food as a priority, as food items and livestock have been lost.
  Displaced people are at high risk of illnesses such as acute respiratory infections and water-borne diseases due to inadequate sanitation

• Pujehun district: WASH is the priority, as water sources and latrines were damaged by the floods. People have suffered agricultural losses and they have reported food needs. There is a need for health assistance, as some primary health units were damaged, as well as medicine stocks.

Humanitarian constraints

Due to poor road conditions, affected communities were hard to reach after the onset of the floods, which has delayed the response. Some communities are still only reachable by motorbike or canoe.