• The Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) related to Ebola in West Africa was lifted on 29 March 2016. A total of 28 616 confirmed, probable and suspected cases have been reported in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, with 11 310 deaths.

• In the latest cluster, seven confirmed and three probable cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) were reported between 17 March and 6 April from the prefectures of N’Zerekore (nine cases) and Macenta (one case) in south-eastern Guinea. In addition, three confirmed cases were reported between 1 and 5 April from Monrovia in Liberia; these cases, the wife and two children of the Macenta case, travelled from Macenta to Monrovia.

• The index case of this cluster (a 37-year-old female from Koropara sub-prefecture in N’Zerekore) had symptom onset on or around 15 February and died on 27 February without a confirmed diagnosis. The source of her infection is likely to have been due to exposure to infected body fluid from an Ebola survivor.

• Having contained the last Ebola virus outbreak in March 2016, Sierra Leone has maintained heightened surveillance with testing of all reported deaths and prompt investigation and testing of all suspected cases. The testing policy will be reviewed on the 30 June.

• In Guinea, the last case tested negative for Ebola virus for the second time on 19 April. Guinea declared an end to Ebola virus transmission on 1 June.

• On 9 June the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the end of the most recent outbreak of EVD in Liberia. This follows 42 days since the last case tested negative for the second time on 28 April.

Risk assessment:
Guinea and Liberia declared the end of the most recent outbreak of EVD on 1 and 9 June, respectively. The performance indicators suggest that Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone still have variable capacity to prevent, detect and respond to new outbreaks (Table 1). The risk of additional outbreaks originating from exposure to infected survivor body fluids remains and requires sustained mitigation through counselling on safe sex practices and testing of body fluids.

The 2015 International Annual Report describes how SOS Children’s Villages around the world supported children and strengthened families and communities in 2015 through community-integrated responses in care, education, health and emergency services.

The 573 SOS Children’s Villages around the world in 2015 are described as ‘care and protection hubs’ for their local communities, as they provided a range of locally-tailored services to support vulnerable children.

These services included SOS families and supported foster care, family strengthening programmes, kindergartens, schools and vocational training, and health care for communities that lacked infrastructure, the report shows.

More than 553,000 children, young people and adults worldwide benefitted from SOS family strengthening programmes or SOS family-based alternative care in 2015.

Some 125,000 children attended SOS kindergartens and schools, while over 17,000 young people and adults prepared for independent life with SOS vocational training courses.

The organisation provided more than 940,000 health services through its 76 health clinics, and assisted children and families in humanitarian emergencies in over 22 countries.

SOS Children's Villages' range of services, and community-integrated approaches, were made possible through strong local, national and international partnerships, and the support of more than 1.4 million committed givers in 2015.

Disaggregated data from the SOS Children’s Villages Programme Database presents the most common risk factors which resulted in children needing SOS family strengthening or SOS family-based alternative care in 2015.

SOS Children’s Villages’ contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – in particular, goals 1, 4, 8, 10 and 16 – which relate to some of the most common risk factors for family breakdown – is also described.

Case studies in the report illustrate how SOS Children’s Villages in different countries worked to help governments de-institutionalise and reform their alternative care systems, and how the organisation developed an innovative method to measure the social return on investment of its programmes.

​The ECDC Communicable Disease Threats Report (CDTR) is a weekly bulletin for epidemiologists and health professionals on active public health threats. This issue covers the period 5-11 June 2016 and includes updates on Zika virus, an outbreak of enterovirus and yellow fever.

Nigeria and Kenya get poor marks in new survey

By Obi Anyadike

Public approval in Nigeria and Kenya for their governments’ handling of jihadist violence is low, and citizens have a poor opinion of the security forces that are supposed to protect them, according to a survey-based report released this week by Afrobarometer, a pan-African research network.

Read the full article on IRIN

Présentation

On compte plus de 10 000 survivants de la maladie à virus Ebola. Plusieurs problèmes médicaux à court et long terme ont été signalés chez ces personnes, notamment des troubles de la santé mentale, tant pour les survivants que pour les autres membres de la famille et de la communauté.

En outre, il est de plus en plus reconnu que le virus Ebola peut persister longtemps dans certaines parties de l’organisme des survivants, surtout dans le sperme des hommes, ce qui laisse à penser qu’une réintroduction du virus est possible dans les zones où la transmission avait été interrompue.

Ce document présente des recommandations sur les soins cliniques et le dépistage du virus chez les survivants de la maladie à virus Ebola. Il s'adresse principalement aux professionnels de santé qui dispensent des soins primaires aux personnes ayant survécu.

Table des matières

1.Introduction
2.Planifier le suivi d'un survivant
3.Séquelles courantes de la maladie à virus Ebola et recommandations pour l’évaluation et la prise en charge
4.Considérations pour les populations spéciales
5.Surveillance de l’infection due à la persistance du virus Ebola chez les survivants
6.Considérations sur la prévention et le contrôle de l’infection chez les survivants
7.Considérations relatives à la communication des risques

Introduction

In recent years, the need to address and mitigate violence has gained currency in mainstream development thinking and practice. One and a half billion people, or more than a quarter of the world’s population, live in areas affected by fragility, conflict or large-scale, organised criminal violence (World Bank 2011). Violence is the leading cause of death among children worldwide and one of the leading causes of death among those aged 15–44, especially men, according to the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) (Krisch et al. 2015; WHO 2014). A considerable proportion of the world’s poor live in violence-affected areas and some estimate that by 2030, nearly two thirds of the global poor will be living in states exhibiting varying forms of fragility, including violence. Conflicts are often not one-off events, but rumble on in different forms over a long period of time: 90 per cent of civil wars in the period 2000–10 occurred in countries that had already had a civil war in the last 30 years (World Bank 2011). Unsurprisingly, countries emerging from war face a 44 per cent chance of relapsing within five years (World Bank 2007). In some places, particularly areas affected by long-running civil war and other forms of chronic insecurity, violence has become a valid tool for national and community conversations. Improving physical safety and security rank among the most important ways in which people’s lives could be improved in many areas outside of traditional conflict settings. The Global Peace Index estimates that the economic impact of violence on the global economy in 2014 was around 13.4 per cent of world gross domestic product (GDP) and has increased by over 15 per cent against 2008.

Yet, while the need to reduce violence lends a new rationale for aid, and pushes a much needed rethink of the role, pursuit and practice of development in fragile contexts, the global setting for armed violence reduction is highly uncertain. Slowing economic growth in China is having ripple effects across the global economy, darkening development prospects in a number of countries that rely on commodity exports to Beijing, including many that are affected by violence. Although clearly important, the relationship of such changing global economic conditions to violence in different parts of the world is poorly understood; nor do the relationships run just one way. In Syria, internecine warfare drags into a sixth year, with no apparent end to a conflict that has left an estimated 250,000 dead and over 7.5 million displaced (IDMC 2015). Here, declining oil and other commodity receipts have constricted funding flows to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). As the case of Syria shows, many of today’s armed conflicts are internationalised. The migrant and refugee crisis engulfing European countries since 2014 is the largest humanitarian crisis of modern times, with over one million refugees and migrants arriving in Europe by sea in 2015 alone (UNHCR 2016).

As public attitudes harden, and anti-immigrant populism spreads, Europe’s political leaders struggle to agree on an effective strategy or identify more imaginative responses to the mass movement. In Libya, fragmentation of political authority and a surge in violence has followed in the years since the 2011 multinational North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military operation to topple the former Gaddafi regime. In a fractured security landscape with multiple and overlapping combatants, ISIL has carved out a base in the port city of Sirte, prompting speculation of renewed international military involvement. Worsening violence is not only a problem in new flashpoints of North Africa and Syria. In places like South Sudan, Somalia and Burundi, new violence flares in old conflict systems, showing the persistence of conflict drivers and the significant challenges to establishing a durable peace and lasting reduction in violence in the world’s most protracted crises.

Globally, fatalities due to violence – in both conflict and non-conflict settings – fell from an estimated 526,000 people every year in 2004–07 to 508,000 in 2007–12 (Geneva Declaration 2015). Not only is the average rate of lethal violence diminishing, but levels of violence remain low or continue to decline in countries and territories where the incidence of violence has narrowed, as well. Yet, according to the Global Burden of Armed Violence 2015 report, while fatalities due to violence overall continue to decline, conflict deaths surged by 34 per cent between the periods 2004–07 and 2007–12, mostly due to the situations in Libya and Syria. Further, lethal violence continues to rise in some countries not experiencing armed conflict, including Honduras and Venezuela (Geneva Declaration 2015). Thus, while deadly violence has reduced in some places, conflict-related violence has spiked, including in a number of countries that were formerly stable, even while violence persists in other places that are chronically insecure. In addition, violent deaths are only the most visible outcome of violent behaviour, with even more people affected by disease and disability, and a host of other health and social consequences resulting from violence (WHO 2014). Violence is multidimensional and has substantial impacts on the safety and welfare of millions of people which spread well beyond violent deaths.

The argument to focus aid resources on addressing and mitigating violence is that the occurrence and patterns of violent conflict relate to a number of drivers, situations and processes that concern development. For the first time ever, violence features explicitly in a global development framework: reducing violence is the first target of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 on peace, justice and strong institutions, recognition of the interrelationship between security and development. A consensus has emerged at high policy levels around the basic elements of an approach to reduce armed violence. These elements of a violence reduction paradigm include the following:

1. The need to create legitimate institutions, often through efforts to craft political settlements;
2. Strengthening access to justice and security systems;
3. Extending economic opportunities and employment, especially for young people;
4. Fostering societal resilience, both through institutions as well as by considering the sustainability of interventions.

This paradigmatic approach to reducing violence is implicit in the SDGs and proposals to foster more inclusive and secure societies. Still, while there is broad agreement on what needs to be done to transform violent, unstable states and societies into conditions that are less violent, these are statements of long-term transformation. A limitation of the best practice paradigm is that its elements imply that violent places need to evolve to more resemble places that are already peaceful and stable. Yet, as argued below, conditions of comparatively greater peace, stability and security follow extended processes of conflict and change; they are not always evident outcomes of more funding, capacity building and international political attention. Leaving aside the fundamental point that violence exists because it is so often an effective way of doing development and making change happen, a significant obstacle facing development funders and planners who seek to reduce violence is the lack of rigorous evidence pointing to what needs to be done to reduce violence over the short and medium term. Violence is often the currency of politics, the bedrock of development writ large in places now in the most intractable situations, like South Sudan, Somalia and Syria. Given the embeddedness of violence in many political systems, and the longer-term transformations needed to move to more peaceful conditions, how can violence be addressed and mitigated in the near term?

This Evidence Report details key insights from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) Addressing and Mitigating Violence (AMV) programme, which involved detailed political analysis of dynamics of violence as well as efforts to reduce and prevent violent conflict across a number of countries and areas in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and SouthAsia (see Box 1.1). In particular, the evidence highlighted here is from violent settings that do not neatly fit categories of ‘war’ or ‘peace’. The findings of these studies, published as a series of open-access reports, Policy Briefings and blogs, were discussed by conflict and security experts as well as thinkers from aid and advocacy organisations at a consultative session in London in November 2015. This report uses evidence from the programme to critically reflect on policy and programming policy approaches for reducing violence. Specifically, it provides a synthesis of findings around these themes: (1) the nature of violence and how it might be changing; (2) the connectivity of actors across levels and space; and (3) the significance of identities and vulnerabilities for understanding and responding to violence. The report concludes by examining the implications of the research for the violence reduction paradigm.

Agile, resilient and sustainable supply chains for children

Improving accessibility, bridging financial gaps, generating savings and strengthening supply chains with governments

or 70 years, securing the health and wellbeing of children around the world has been at the heart of everything UNICEF says and does.

Between 2000 and 2015, the global community made great strides to improve the lives of children and their families – galvanized by the common objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The collective commitment of governments, donors, partners and international institutions more than halved under-five mortality rates since 2000 (from 12.7 million to 5.9 million children); contributed to an almost 50 per cent fall in extreme poverty (from 1.9 billion to 836 million); provided access to water for 2.6 billion people; and helped 43 million additional children attend primary school each year – many of these are girls. But there is more yet to do.

In September 2015, world leaders committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a renewed global push, between now and 2030, to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice and address climate change. The 17 SDGs include goals that are specific to the health and wellbeing of children and adolescents. Access to affordable, high-quality vaccines, medicines, water and sanitation and education supplies is critical to realizing the SDGs.

UNICEF remains one of the largest buyers of supplies for children and in 2015 procured over $3.4 billion in supplies and services. At the same time, UNICEF Supply responded to increased requests from governments for technical expertise, knowledge sharing and collaboration to optimize supply chains, prevent stock-outs, reduce costs and ensure timely delivery. UNICEF uses evidencebased strategies that focus on competition, transparency, special financing, special contracting and partner collaboration to tackle market issues to achieve value for money, sustainability and meet demand.
These efforts contributed to increased availability and declining prices in 2015:
Over $422.8 million in savings and cost avoidance was achieved in 14 commodity groups across the year, bringing cumulative savings since 2012 to $1.068 billion.

The rapidly growing supply financing area of UNICEF’s work is core to achieving the above and is the theme of this year’s annual report. Initially, UNICEF’s support in this area focused on securing bridge financing for countries experiencing gaps in the timely availability of funds to buy supplies. However, in the last five years, the work on supply financing solutions for children has expanded markedly. It covers special contracting arrangements that help address market uncertainties and contribute to lower prices; technical support to build countries’ budgeting, financing and procurement self-sufficiency; and efforts to encourage expansion of the local supplierbase. The report explains each of these financing interventions, and through country examples, illustrates the impact of these efforts on the lives of children.

Alongside efforts to establish agile, resilient supply chains, UNICEF Supply continued to respond to the needs of children caught in crisis and conflict throughout 2015. The Supply emergency response reached children in Burundi, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Guinea, Iraq, Liberia, Malawi, Nepal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Syria and Vanuatu. UNICEF Supply also supported migrant and refugee children risking their lives to find safety and education in Europe.

Despite this varying and often challenging operational environment, achievements across the year demonstrate the scope and value of UNICEF Supply and its potential to contribute to global efforts to ensure children and young people are healthy, safe, educated and empowered. The drive to integrate sustainability into supply chains for children is built upon ingenuity, perseverance and compassion – qualities that define UNICEF colleagues who procure and deliver supplies that help fulfil every child’s right to a full and healthy life.

by Resident Coordinator's Office

The Permanent Representative of Kenya to the United Nations and Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), Ambassador Macharia Kamau, and the Permanent Representative of Canada and Chair of the PBC Country Specific Configuration for Sierra Leone, Ambassador Marc André Blanchard, led a delegation of the PBC to Sierra Leone from 12 to 14 June 2016. The objective of the visit, which is part of a PBC West Africa tour, which started in Liberia (9-12 June) and will continue to Guinea and Senegal, is to explore the sub-regional peacebuilding priorities and opportunities on the road to recovery after the Ebola outbreak.

The PBC delegation met the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, H.E. Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma and members of Government of Sierra Leone, including the Ministers of Finance, Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs, and Mines and Mineral Resources, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and the Deputy Ministers of Justice, Internal Affairs, and Health. The delegation also met with representatives of Political Parties and members of the Office of the National Security, the Ministry of Youth Affairs, National Electoral Commission, the National Human Rights Commission, the National Youth Commission, the Anti-Corruption Commission, and the Political Parties Registration Commission. Other meetings and consultations included representatives of the Civil Society, Women and Youth Organizations, the United Nations Country Team (UNCT), members of the diplomatic corps and development partners in Sierra Leone.

The PBC delegation also met with the Mano River Union Secretariat. Discussions highlighted the important role of regional and sub-regional organizations in sustaining peace in Africa, focusing on the political, socio-economic and cross-border peacebuilding priorities.

The PBC Chairs commended President Koroma and the people of Sierra Leone for their remarkable resilience during the 2014-2015 Ebola Crisis, and recognized President Koroma’s leadership in the ongoing implementation of the post-Ebola recovery plan.

The PBC Chairs stressed the importance of inclusive political dialogue, including through support for the implementation of the constitutional review process. The PBC Chairs emphasized the responsibility of all stakeholders, especially the political parties, in ensuring an inclusive, accountable and peaceful political process, especially in the run-up to the 2018 elections.

The implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and peacebuilding priorities were also discussed, including the strengthening of the national governance systems, the security and justice sectors, rule of law, human rights and capacity building. Recognizing the crucial role of community engagement and social mobilization in combating Ebola, many interlocutors stressed the need for continued investment in decentralized governance, with a particular focus on the border regions.

The PBC delegation underscored the importance of women and youth participation in sustaining peace efforts. The Chairs commended President Koroma for his Government’s commitment to the promotion of the gender dimensions of peacebuilding, and stressed the importance of gender-sensitive and targeted programming, as well as the strengthening of women’s meaningful participation in peacebuilding. The issue of adolescent girls, who are discriminated against and vulnerable to violence, was particularly emphasized as an urgent matter to be addressed. The delegation also encouraged inclusive participation of youth in peacebuilding efforts.

The PBC Chairs briefed national authorities and the relevant stakeholders on the landmark identical resolutions adopted by the General Assembly (A/RES/70/262) and the Security Council (S/RES/2282 (2016)) on the Review of the Peacebuilding Architecture, which emphasize the primacy of politics, and highlight the need to look beyond post-conflict peacebuilding to embrace the broader concept of ‘sustaining peace’, which encompasses activities aimed at “preventing the outbreak, escalation, continuation and recurrence of conflict”.

The PBC Chairs reassured Sierra Leone of its commitment to continue its engagement in the country through the 2018 elections, recognizing that free and fair elections and a peaceful transfer of power will be an important milestone in Sierra Leone’s continued efforts in consolidating peace and democracy.

The PBC delegation is leaving Freetown today, heading to Guinea and Senegal before returning to New York on 19 June 2016.

• UNHRD continues to dispatch operational equipment for its Partners, most recently supporting WFP by sending ICT equipment to Freetown in Sierra Leone.

• During the worst of the crisis, UNHRD facilities in Accra and Las Palmas served as regional staging areas and the Accra depot hosted UNMEER headquarters.

• On behalf of WFP, UNHRD procured and dispatched construction material and equipment for remote logistics hubs, Ebola Treatment Units (ETU) and Community Care Centres. In collaboration with WHO, UNHRD also procured and dispatched equipment to establish camps for teams tracing EVD. Members of the Rapid Response Team (RRT) set-up supply hubs, an ambulance decontamination bay and ETUs.

The Permanent Representative of Kenya to the United Nations and Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), Ambassador Macharia Kamau, and the Permanent Representative of Canada and Chair of the PBC Country Specific Configuration for Sierra Leone, Ambassador Marc André Blanchard, led a delegation of the PBC to Sierra Leone from 12 to 14 June 2016. The objective of the visit, which is part of a PBC West Africa tour, which started in Liberia (9-12 June) and will continue to Guinea and Senegal, is to explore the sub-regional peacebuilding priorities and opportunities on the road to recovery after the Ebola outbreak.

The PBC delegation met the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, H.E. Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma and members of Government of Sierra Leone, including the Ministers of Finance, Social Welfare, Gender and Children's Affairs, and Mines and Mineral Resources, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and the Deputy Ministers of Justice, Internal Affairs, and Health. The delegation also met with representatives of Political Parties and members of the Office of the National Security, the Ministry of Youth Affairs, National Electoral Commission, the National Human Rights Commission, the National Youth Commission, the Anti-Corruption Commission, and the Political Parties Registration Commission. Other meetings and consultations included representatives of the Civil Society, Women and Youth Organizations, the United Nations Country Team (UNCT), members of the diplomatic corps and development partners in Sierra Leone.

The PBC delegation also met with the Mano River Union Secretariat. Discussions highlighted the important role of regional and sub-regional organizations in sustaining peace in Africa, focusing on the political, socio-economic and cross-border peacebuilding priorities.

The PBC Chairs commended President Koroma and the people of Sierra Leone for their remarkable resilience during the 2014-2015 Ebola Crisis, and recognized President Koroma's leadership in the ongoing implementation of the post-Ebola recovery plan.

The PBC Chairs stressed the importance of inclusive political dialogue, including through support for the implementation of the constitutional review process. The PBC Chairs emphasized the responsibility of all stakeholders, especially the political parties, in ensuring an inclusive, accountable and peaceful political process, especially in the run-up to the 2018 elections.

The implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and peacebuilding priorities were also discussed, including the strengthening of the national governance systems, the security and justice sectors, rule of law, human rights and capacity building. Recognizing the crucial role of community engagement and social mobilization in combating Ebola, many interlocutors stressed the need for continued investment in decentralized governance, with a particular focus on the border regions.

The PBC delegation underscored the importance of women and youth participation in sustaining peace efforts. The Chairs commended President Koroma for his Government's commitment to the promotion of the gender dimensions of peacebuilding, and stressed the importance of gender-sensitive and targeted programming, as well as the strengthening of women’s meaningful participation in peacebuilding. The issue of adolescent girls, who are discriminated against and vulnerable to violence, was particularly emphasized as an urgent matter to be addressed. The delegation also encouraged inclusive participation of youth in peacebuilding efforts.

The PBC Chairs briefed national authorities and the relevant stakeholders on the landmark identical resolutions adopted by the General Assembly (A/RES/70/262) and the Security Council (S/RES/2282 (2016)) on the Review of the Peacebuilding Architecture, which emphasize the primacy of politics, and highlight the need to look beyond post-conflict peacebuilding to embrace the broader concept of ‘sustaining peace’, which encompasses activities aimed at “preventing the outbreak, escalation, continuation and recurrence of conflict”.

The PBC Chairs reassured Sierra Leone of its commitment to continue its engagement in the country through the 2018 elections, recognizing that free and fair elections and a peaceful transfer of power will be an important milestone in Sierra Leone’s continued efforts in consolidating peace and democracy.

The PBC delegation left Freetown yesterday, heading to Guinea and Senegal before returning to New York on 19 June 2016.

Contact Information

Linnea Van Wagenen | Cell +232 79 62 35 21 | Email: linnea.vanwagenen@one.un.org

Abnormal dryness in southern Haiti and parts of East Africa

Africa Weather Hazards

1. Despite enhanced rain over some areas of the Gulf of Guinea over the past few weeks, low and erratic rainfall during April and May has persisted and led to growing moisture deficits over Liberia and parts of Sierra Leone.

2. Low and infrequent rainfall since late March has resulted in drought across parts of southeastern Kenya and northeastern Tanzania. The potential for recovery remains unlikely as suppressed rain is forecast during the next week for coastal regions, and areas inland are now climatologically dry.

3. Consistently below-normal rainfall over the past 4 weeks has resulted in abnormal dryness for portions of Uganda and western Kenya. This pattern has resulted in low soil moisture and poor vegetation health index values.

Central America and the Caribbean Weather Hazards

1. Thirty-day rainfall deficits have persisted across portions of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador despite increased rain during the past week. Heavy rain is forecast to continue during the next week and is expected to help alleviate dryness over many local areas.

2. The risks for flooding remain high across the Pacific and central regions of Guatemala as torrential rain is forecast to continue during the upcoming week.

3. Poorly-distributed rain since early May has resulted in abnormal dryness throughout the southern departments of Haiti and southwestern Dominican Republic. Limited amounts of rain are forecast during the next week, potentially worsening dryness over the region.

The ECDC Communicable Disease Threats Report (CDTR) is a weekly bulletin for epidemiologists and health professionals on active public health threats. This issue covers the period 12-18 June 2016 and includes updates for several diseases.

PROJECTED FOOD ASSISTANCE NEEDS FOR DECEMBER 2016

This brief summarizes FEWS NET’s most forward-looking analysis of projected emergency food assistance needs in FEWS NET coverage countries. The projected size of each country’s acutely food insecure population (IPC Phase 3 and higher) is compared to last year and the recent five-year average and categorized as Higher ( p), Similar ( u), or Lower ( q). Countries where external emergency food assistance needs are anticipated are identified. Projected lean season months highlighted in red indicate either an early start or an extension to the typical lean season. Additional information is provided for countries with large food insecure populations, an expectation of high severity, or where other key issues warrant additional discussion. Analytical confidence is lower in remote monitoring countries, denoted by “RM”. Visit www.fews.net for detailed country reports.

En 2016, le Mali accueille près de 16 000 réfugiés dont 85% d’entre eux sont des réfugiés vivant dans les zones rurales (selon le HCR, mai 2016). Depuis janvier 2016 et en continuité avec 2015, ACTED appuie 33 réfugiés ruraux au sein d’un centre de transit aménagé dans le village de Faragouaran (région de Sikasso), avec le soutien de l’Agence des Nations-Unies pour les Réfugiés (UNHCR).

Le centre de Faragouaran : une transition vers l’intégration locale

Le centre de transit pour réfugiés de Faragouaran dans la région de Sikasso au sud-est du Mali, créé en 1998 avec le soutien du gouvernement Malien et du HCR, représente un véritable havre de paix pour les réfugiés qui ont dû fuir les violences régionales à la fin des années 90 et au début des années 2000 notamment en Sierra Léone, au Libéria et en Côte d’Ivoire. Aujourd’hui, le centre accueille 9 familles composées de 33 réfugiés ivoiriens, pour la plupart arrivés entre 2002 et 2005 suite aux violences post-électorales en Côte d’Ivoire. Depuis 2015, en coopération avec les autorités locales et le HCR, ACTED soutient la stratégie d’intégration locale sur le long terme de ces réfugiés à travers des programmes d’appui à l’éducation des enfants, la santé, l’autosuffisance, la cohésion sociale et d’accès à l’emploi par l’intermédiaire d’activités génératrices de revenu, particulièrement dans le domaine agricole.

La reconversion locale d’Awa dans l’agriculture

Il y a près de 14 ans, Awa a dû fuir avec sa famille son pays d’origine, la Côte d’Ivoire, alors frappée par une crise politico-militaire majeure. Après une période de transit de 3 mois à la frontière ivoiro-malienne, Awa et sa famille ont rejoint en 2002 Faragouaran pour y trouver une protection et des conditions de vie sécurisées. Awa a vite constaté que la région de Sikasso fait figure à juste titre de véritable « grenier » au Mali, à la faveur de terres fertiles et de précipitations abondantes permettant des cultures céréalières diversifiées et un maraichage productif. Bien que n’ayant jamais exercé d’activités agricoles auparavant, Awa s’est lancée dans cette pratique très tôt à son arrivée au centre. En bénéficiant de l’assistance de la population locale initiée à l’agriculture, elle a ainsi pu exploiter une parcelle de terre à l’extérieur du camp. Quand on lui demande pourquoi elle a choisi l’agriculture en arrivant à Faragouaran, Awa répond sans détour qu’elle se « trouvait dans une zone agricole et que l’autosuffisance alimentaire de sa famille était et reste une priorité ».

Le développement continu d’une activité génératrice de revenu

Awa, mariée et mère de 4 enfants, tous scolarisés dans la région de Sikasso, a développé sa pratique agricole au fil des années à tel point qu’aujourd’hui, elle cultive un potager au sein du centre où elle produit des salades, des aubergines, des tomates, des oignons. Elle valorise également un champ où elle récolte du maïs, de l’arachide, du gombo, du niébé ainsi que de la patate douce. Avec les produits de son travail agricole, Awa explique qu’elle utilise ce qu’elle gagne, en vendant ses condiments à la foire du village, pour « l’alimentation de ses enfants et l’achat de la fournitures scolaires ». ACTED a soutenu Awa dans le développement de son activité agricole, comme 6 autres ménages qui ont choisi cette activité. Déjà en 2015, Awa avait bénéficié de 2 bœufs de labour, d’une charrue, d’une charrette, d’un âne, ainsi que d’herbicides et d’engrais pour la culture de sa terre. En mai 2016, Awa a également reçu des intrants agricoles pour anticiper la période de semis qui se profile avec la saison des pluies fin juin, et a pu assister à une formation de 2 jours à Faragouaran sur les techniques agriculturales dispensée par les services techniques de la direction agricole locale avec l’appui d’ACTED. Awa poursuit donc son autonomisation économique et sociale à l’image des réfugiés vivant dans le centre dans l’objectif d’une complète intégration locale au sein des villages avoisinants.

Un véritable exemple de cohésion avec la population locale

Lorsqu’on demande à Awa comment elle a développé son activité agricole, elle met tout de suite en valeur l’hospitalité et le soutien des villageois de Faragouaran avec lesquels elle a tissé tout au long de ces années des liens forts. L’existence du centre au milieu du village a créé une solidarité et un échange important entre les communautés, facteur d’une véritable cohésion sociale dans la zone. Pour célébrer et renforcer cette cohésion sociale intercommunautaire, ACTED en présence des autorités locales a ainsi organisé en mai 2016 un événement récréatif, qui a vu la mise en scène d’un spectacle de danses et chants locaux et la préparation par les réfugiés et les villageois d’un repas commun.

Le Réseau de systèmes d’alerte précoce contre la famine (FEWS NET) surveille les tendances des prix des aliments de base dans les pays vulnérables à l'insécurité alimentaire. Pour chaque pays et chaque région couvert par FEWS NET, le Bulletin des prix fournit un ensemble de graphiques indiquant les prix mensuels de l’année commerciale en cours pour certains centres urbains, et permettant à l’utilisateur de comparer les tendances actuelles à la fois aux moyennes quinquennales, qui indiquent les tendances saisonnières, et aux prix de l'année précédente.

L'Afrique de l’Ouest peut être divisée en trois zones agro-écologiques ou en trois bassins commerciaux (bassins de l’ouest, bassin du centre, bassin de l’est). Les deux sont importants pour l'interprétation du comportement et de la dynamique du marché.
Les trois principales zones agro-écologiques incluent la zone Sahélienne, la zone Soudanaise et la zone Côtière où la production et la consommation peuvent être facilement classifiées. (1) Dans la zone Sahélienne, le mil constitue le principal produit alimentaire cultivé et consommé en particulier dans les zones rurales et de plus en plus par certaines populations qui y ont accès en milieux urbains. Des exceptions sont faites pour le Cap Vert où le maïs et le riz sont les produits les plus importants, la Mauritanie où le blé et le sorgho et le Sénégal où le riz constituent des aliments de base. Les principaux produits de substitution dans le Sahel sont le sorgho, le riz, et la farine de manioc (Gari), avec les deux derniers en période de crise. (2)

Dans la zone Soudanienne (le sud du Tchad, le centre du Nigéria, du Bénin, du Ghana, du Togo, de la Côte d'Ivoire, le sud du Burkina Faso, du Mali, du Sénégal, la Guinée Bissau, la Serra Leone, le Libéria) le maïs et le sorgho constituent les principales céréales consommées par la majorité de la population. Suivent après le riz et les tubercules particulièrement le manioc et l’igname. (3) Dans la zone côtière, avec deux saisons de pluie, l’igname et le maïs constituent les principaux produits alimentaires. Ils sont complétés par le niébé, qui est une source très significative de protéines.
Les trois bassins commerciaux sont simplement connus sous les noms de bassin Ouest, Centre, et Est. En plus du mouvement du sud vers le nord des produits, les flux de certaines céréales se font aussi horizontalement. (1) Le bassin Ouest comprend la Mauritanie, le Sénégal, l’ouest du Mali, la Sierra Leone, la Guinée, le Libéria, et la Gambie où le riz est le plus commercialisé.

(2) Le bassin central se compose de la Côte d'Ivoire, le centre et l’est du Mali, le Burkina Faso, le Ghana, et le Togo où le maïs est généralement commercialisé. (3) Le bassin Est se rapporte au Niger, Nigéria, Tchad, et Bénin où le millet est le plus fréquemment commercialisé. Ces trois bassins commerciaux sont distingués sur la carte ci-dessus.

EMILY BAUMGAERTNER

In January 2016, I spent four hours on a Wednesday afternoon wondering if maybe I had Ebola. I was a week into a reporting trip in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and that morning, I had woken up with a pounding headache, aching joints, and chills in 96-degree mugginess. That week, I had walked through several Ebola treatment units, two with suspected active cases, and touched dozens of potential carriers. Yet in spite of my trip’s mission to uncover how dormant Ebola is still seeking fresh, vulnerable hosts—like me—I didn’t think much of the symptoms. Jet lag?

Read the full article here

SC/12414

7723rd Meeting (AM)
Security Council
Meetings Coverage

The Organization’s intergovernmental advisory body that supports peacebuilding in countries emerging from conflict was improving its impact through more transparent and strategic working methods, improved partnerships with regional and subregional organizations and a focus on peacebuilding needs in the Ebola recovery, the Security Council heard today.

“Over the past year, we took important steps to improve the effectiveness and flexibility of the Peacebuilding Commission, thereby striving to further enhance the relevance of our work, broaden the scope and reach of our efforts and improve the accountability of the Commission,” Olof Skoog (Sweden), former Chair of the body, said, presenting its 2015 report (document S/2016/115).

During its ninth session, the Commission had convened regional and country-specific discussions concerning situations beyond its established agenda, he said. The Organizational Committee had discussed peacebuilding needs and lessons learned in several contexts, including the peace process in Papua New Guinea, elections in Burkina Faso, and financing for peacebuilding in Somalia.

Both the previous and current Commission Chair had travelled to West Africa to address the peacebuilding aspects of helping countries in the region recover from the deadly Ebola virus. Earlier this year, Under-Secretary-General of Political Affairs Jeffery Feltman identified conflict-prevention priorities in a discussion convened on trends and threats to peacebuilding in West Africa. The Commission must further use the momentum to deepen and institutionalize cooperation with regional and subregional organizations, he stressed.

In addition, the Commission had advanced interaction with a more diverse group of actors and begun drafting a gender strategy to help the body put women’s empowerment at the centre of its work. A special session had been organized to advance the youth, peace and security agenda, and to champion youth participation for sustainable peace, he continued, expressing hope that the Commission would build on the momentum of Security Council resolution 2250 (2015).

As the Commission was one of the most important tools to foster greater coherence in international action and break the silos, its convening role must be utilized even further, he emphasized. That, in turn, was a prerequisite to support national leadership and ownership in peacebuilding processes.

He said the two ground-breaking resolutions on sustaining peace adopted in April by both the General Assembly and the Council had given the Commission a clear mandate to diversify its working methods and a strong impetus to strengthen its relationship with the Security Council.

Macharia Kamau (Kenya), current Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission, said those resolutions recognized that sustaining peace required more coherence and coordination among the United Nations system. “We have a unique opportunity to move forward the peacebuilding agenda,” he said, noting the reaffirmed support by the Council and the General Assembly for the Commission.

In that regard, he outlined the Commission’s key initiatives and plans for the remainder of the current session, noting it had convened two important meetings in recent months to discuss trends and challenges to peacebuilding at the regional and subregional level.

He intended to expand that approach to other regions, starting with Central Africa and East Africa, and to pursue deeper conversations with the African Union with a possible visit to Addis Ababa and a retreat with the African Union Peace and Security Council.

Peacebuilding had a key role in post-Ebola recovery, he said, noting that he had just returned from West Africa where he had witnessed the determination of Governments and people to completely eradicate Ebola and to turn their countries around by building economies, integrating societies and nurturing sustainable peace. While countries were on a strong recovery path, sustained international support was needed over the next two years to complete Ebola recovery efforts.

Underscoring the importance of partnerships, he said the Commission’s key value was its ability to engage with such regional and subregional organizations as well as with international financial institutions and civil society organizations, and expressed his intention to further strengthen the relations between the Commission and the African Union. He planned to visit that organization’s headquarters in the second part of the year.

Turning finally to working methods, he said that, 10 years after its creation, Member States were calling for a more effective and efficient Commission. He would dedicate the second half of the session to the issue, he said, stressing: “We need to consider going beyond the rigid mechanisms of country configurations and be ready to respond, in a flexible way, to any request of interested countries” in accordance with the principles of national ownership and leadership in peacebuilding.

The meeting began at 10:05 a.m. and ended at 10:25 a.m.

For information media. Not an official record.

L'ESSENTIEL

• Au Tchad, l’insécurité alimentaire s’est aggravée par rapport aux trois dernières années dans les régions de la bande sahélienne.
  
• Des précipitations moyennes à légèrement excédentaires sont très probables sur toute la bande sahélienne.
  
• Situation humanitaire toujours alarmante dans le bassin du Lac Tchad malgré la diminution du nombre de réfugiés et de personnes déplacées.
  

La période est marquée par la fin des cultures de décrue et l’installation progressive des pluies correspondant au démarrage de la campagne agricole 2016-2017. Dans les pays du golfe de Guinée, des précipitations déficitaires à moyennes sont observées en ce début de saison, tandis que sur toute la bande sahélienne, des précipitations moyennes à légèrement excédentaires sont très probables. La situation pastorale est marquée par une raréfaction précoce des ressources fourragères avec un mauvais embonpoint au Niger, alors que dans le reste de la région, les conditions d’élevage sont globalement moyennes avec des pâturages de moins en moins fournis et des conditions d’abreuvement en dégradation.

Les déplacements de populations liés aux crises nigériane et malienne se poursuivent avec un nombre de personnes retournées croissant et une diminution du nombre de personnes réfugiées et déplacées. Ces retours s’expliquent d’une part par la sécurisation des zones d’origine, et d’autre part par la présence d’acteurs humanitaires dans les zones de retour.

La situation humanitaire dans le bassin du Lac Tchad reste préoccupante. Au Tchad, environ 2 millions de personnes sont en insécurité alimentaire dont 400 000 personnes sous la forme sévère dans les huit régions de la bande sahélienne (Kanem, Lac, Bahr el Gazel, Batha, Wadi Fira, Sila, Guéra, Ouaddaï). Le taux de la malnutrition Aigüe Globale est au-dessus du seuil d’urgence dans six de ces huit régions. Au Nigéria, plus de 800 000 personnes (dont 550 000 à Borno et 255 000 à Yobe) sont en insécurité alimentaire sévère et ont besoin d’une assistance alimentaire immédiate.

CS/12414

7723e séance – matin
CONSEIL DE SÉCURITÉ
COUVERTURE DES RÉUNIONS

La Commission de consolidation de la paix (CCP) doit diversifier et rendre plus souples ses méthodes de travail, renforcer ses actions régionales et thématiques et faciliter la cohérence de l’action internationale en profitant des multiples contacts qu’elle entretient avec une grande variété d’acteurs du fait même de son mandat, ont plaidé ce matin, devant le Conseil de sécurité, ses Présidents actuel et ancien, respectivement M. Macharia Kamau (Kenya) et M. Olof Skoog (Suède).

Cette réunion du Conseil avec la Commission était la première depuis l’adoption, en avril dernier, par le Conseil et l’Assemblée générale, de résolutions relatives à l’examen de l’architecture de la consolidation de la paix au sein des Nations Unies*.

Alors que se déroule la « Semaine de la consolidation de la paix », cette séance offre une bonne occasion de discuter des mesures à prendre après l’adoption de ces deux résolutions, a déclaré M. Skoog, qui a présenté au Conseil le rapport de la CCP**. Les deux résolutions fournissent une très bonne base et l’élan nécessaire pour renforcer le rôle de la CCP et ses liens avec le Conseil, a-t-il estimé.

Dans la ligne du rapport, les deux orateurs ont mis l’accent sur la nécessité pour la Commission de diversifier ses méthodes de travail pour les rendre plus souples et efficaces. Pour M. Skoog, la CCP a déjà pu « exploiter sa souplesse intrinsèque » pour améliorer ses méthodes de travail. Il a ainsi rappelé que la Commission avait pu utiliser ses formations pays pour discuter de questions allant au-delà de son ordre du jour formel.

Le Comité d’organisation de la CCP a, pour sa part, discuté des leçons tirées de l’expérience dans divers contextes, allant du processus de paix en Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée aux élections au Burkina Faso en passant par le financement des élections en Somalie. M. Skoog a toutefois jugé qu’il existait encore une grande marge d’évolution pour la CCP dans ce domaine, ajoutant que les résolutions d’avril lui donnaient un mandat clair pour continuer de diversifier ses méthodes de travail.

Le nouveau Président de la Commission, M. Kamau, a pour sa part souligné la nécessité pour la CCP de diversifier ses méthodes de travail, là aussi pour les rendre plus souples. « Nous devons aller au-delà des mécanismes rigides des formations pays et nous tenir prêts à répondre, de manière flexible, à toute requête d’un pays intéressé, tout en préservant l’appropriation nationale des efforts de consolidation de la paix », a-t-il dit, avant d’ajouter: « Encore plus important, nous devons aller vers une Commission dont les membres s’engageront et seront prêts à mettre en avant son travail ».

Les deux Présidents ont aussi mis l’accent sur les approches régionales de la Commission. M. Skoog a fait état d’une discussion régionale sur les tendances et menaces en Afrique de l’Ouest, organisée en début d’année avec la participation du Secrétaire général adjoint aux affaires politiques, M. Jeffrey Feltman. Il a jugé encourageant que la CCP soit en mesure de poursuivre ce qui a été entrepris lors de ses sessions précédentes.

M. Kamau a lui aussi rappelé que la Commission avait tenu deux réunions, en janvier et en avril. Notant qu’elles concernaient surtout l’Afrique de l’Ouest, il a dit avoir l’intention d’user de son mandat à la tête de la Commission, « qui inclut depuis récemment de nouvelles fonctions, afin de développer une approche similaire pour d’autres régions, à commencer par l’Afrique centrale et l’Afrique de l’Est pour la seconde moitié de l’année ». Il a aussi précisé avoir eu des discussions informelles avec les membres du Conseil de paix et de sécurité de l’Union africaine.

M. Skoog a aussi cité en exemple des questions régionales traitées par la Commission, l’accent étant mis sur le redressement des pays frappés par la crise de fièvre Ebola. « Soutenir l’attention sur les conséquences à long terme de l’épidémie d’Ebola » est d’ailleurs l’un des chapitres principaux du rapport de la Commission, dont trois des formations pays concernent les trois États les plus affectés par l’épidémie.

M. Skoog a rappelé que, dès l’an dernier, la CCP s’était rendue en visite en Afrique de l’Ouest, visite qui a été renouvelée cette année par le nouveau Président de la CCP il y a quelques jours. Il a expliqué que l’épidémie avait mis en lumière la vulnérabilité des pays concernés et aggravé encore les défis économiques et de consolidation de la paix qu’ils doivent relever. Il s’est dit convaincu que ces États, s’ils sont désormais résolument engagés sur la voie du relèvement, auront besoin du soutien durable de la communauté internationale sur les 12 à 24 prochains mois.

Toujours en matière de coopération régionale, M. Skoog a plaidé pour une institutionnalisation de la coopération de la CCP avec les organisations régionales et sous-régionales, que ce soit dans le cadre de l’activité générale de la Commission ou dans celui de ses formations pays. Pour lui, la Commission devrait mieux lier son activité de plaidoyer avec celle, fondamentale, réalisée en matière de prévention des conflits par les communautés économiques régionales. La CCP est en effet bien placée pour entendre et intégrer dans son activité les perspectives locales.

De son côté, M. Kamau a souligné que l’un des apports essentiels de la Commission résidait dans sa capacité à engager non seulement les partenaires clefs régionaux et sous-régionaux mais aussi les institutions financières internationales et les organisations de la société civile. Insistant sur l’importance des partenariats pour les efforts de consolidation de la paix, il a fait part de son intention de renforcer davantage encore les liens entre la Commission et l’Union africaine.

Plus généralement, il existe peu d’organes au sein des Nations Unies dont le mandat prévoit d’interagir avec autant d’acteurs variés que celui de la CCP, a encore expliqué M. Skoog. Concernant ce troisième point, il a cité en exemple le lancement d’une stratégie sur le genre de la Commission afin de placer l’autonomisation des femmes au cœur de son travail.

Il a également rappelé que la CCP avait tenu une session spéciale sur les jeunes, la paix et la sécurité, espérant qu’elle puisse devenir un champion de cette question en élaborant sur la base de la résolution 2250 (2016)&Lang=F) du Conseil. Il a souhaité que le rôle d’organisateur de la CCP soit davantage utilisé, estimant qu’elle représente un des outils les plus importants pour faciliter la cohérence de l’action internationale et abattre les cloisons.

Créée en décembre 2005 conjointement par l’Assemblée générale et le Conseil de sécurité, la CCP a pour mandat de « réunir tous les acteurs concernés, de mobiliser des ressources et de conseiller et proposer des stratégies intégrées de consolidation de la paix postconflit et de récupération ».

Elle doit aussi « attirer l’attention sur la reconstruction et le renforcement des institutions nécessaires au relèvement de conflits et de soutenir le développement de stratégies intégrées afin de jeter les bases d’un développement durable », et fournir des conseils et informations pour améliorer la coordination de tous les acteurs concernés au sein et à l’extérieur des Nations Unies. L’objectif est d’aider à assurer un financement prévisible pour les premières activités de relèvement d’un pays et de prolonger la période d’attention accordée par la communauté internationale au rétablissement postconflit.

La Commission compte un comité d’organisation de 31 membres. Une de ces caractéristiques tient à ces « formations pays » qui visent à suivre la situation dans un pays donné en incluant, outre les membres du comité d’organisation, l’État concerné mais aussi les États de la région intéressés au processus de paix et ceux qui y contribuent, par exemple en fournissant des Casques bleus ou policiers dans le cadre d’une opération de maintien de la paix dans ledit pays, ou en apportant une importante contribution financière à son relèvement.

La CCP compte actuellement six « formations pays », qui concernent toutes des États d’Afrique: Burundi, Guinée, Guinée-Bissau, Libéria, République centrafricaine, Sierra Leone.

• S/RES/2282 et A/RES/70/262 ** S/2016/115