Quantcast
Channel: ReliefWeb - Updates on Sierra Leone
Viewing all 7298 articles
Browse latest View live

Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone Food Security Outlook June 2016 to January 2017

0
0
Source: Famine Early Warning System Network
Country: Sierra Leone

Significant improvement in household food security when harvests begin in September

KEY MESSAGES

  • The below-average 2015/16 off-season and main harvests in most parts of the country continues to negatively affect both household and market stock levels. Prices are rising to above-average levels as the May to August lean season begins, limiting food access and availability for poor households. From June to September, almost all districts will remain in Stressed (IPC Phase 2) food insecurity.

  • Due to normal climatic conditions and the lifting of most EVD related restrictions, the main season harvest of major staples including rice, cassava, and vegetables is expected to be at near average levels. This harvest, as well as improved market functioning, will allow most households to have improved food access and availability. Most areas will improve to Minimal (IPC Phase 1) acute food insecurity from September to January.

  • Kailahun and Port Loko Districts were two of the hardest hit by the EVD crisis, experiencing complete quarantines and market shut downs in many chiefdoms in 2015. Low production and trade opportunities last season were more severe in these Districts and economic recovery has been slow. In Port Loko, the economy also suffered from two large mine operations shutting down. These districts will remain in Stressed (IPC Phase 2) food insecurity through at least January 2017.


Sierra Leone: UNHRD Operations Update - Response to the Ebola Outbreak, as of 28 June, 2016

0
0
Source: World Food Programme
Country: Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone

  • 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.

Sierra Leone: Implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005) - Report of the Review Committee on the Role of the International Health Regulations (2005) in the Ebola Outbreak and Response (A69/21)

0
0
Source: World Health Organization
Country: Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

  1. The Ebola outbreak that began in West Africa in December 2013 was the largest epidemic of the disease ever recorded, resulting in high morbidity and mortality and considerable economic impact on countries hardest hit. Ebola virus disease was responsible for the death of more than 11,000 people in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, affected seven additional countries, and stretched national and global response capacities far beyond their limits. Involving the participation of multiple civilian and humanitarian organizations, the emergency led to the deployment of foreign military forces from several countries, as well as the first-ever United Nations emergency health mission – the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER). Ebola starkly revealed the fact that we still remain ill-prepared in the face of a major public health emergency.

  2. The global response to Ebola, the failures of which mirrored those documented during the 2009 response to the influenza A (H1N1) pandemic, highlighted flaws in the operational mechanisms and strategic framework of the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR), which function to improve global solidarity to protect public health. The IHR, which entered into force in June 2007 in the aftermath of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), are a global legal agreement aimed at preventing and responding to the international spread of disease while avoiding unnecessary interference with traffic and trade. The Regulations are legally binding on States Parties and the World Health Organization (WHO). They place an explicit obligation on States Parties to assess, strengthen and maintain core capacities for surveillance, risk assessment, reporting and response and set out a global leadership role for WHO. The first Review of the functioning of the IHR, published in May 2011, reported that although the IHR provide a workable approach to global health emergencies, there remained serious failures in global preparedness. Both the severity and lengthy duration of the Ebola epidemic have, in unprecedented ways, further challenged the functioning of the IHR, and consideration must now be given to ensuring realistic and practical ways forward to further strengthening its implementation.

  3. In May 2015, at its Sixty-eighth Session, the World Health Assembly requested that the WHO Director-General establish a Review Committee to examine the role of the IHR in the Ebola outbreak and response, with the following objectives:

• to assess the effectiveness of the IHR (2005) with regard to the prevention, preparedness and response to the Ebola outbreak, with a particular focus on notification and related incentives, temporary recommendations, additional measures, declaration of a public health emergency of international concern, national core capacities, and context and links to the Emergency Response Framework and other humanitarian responsibilities of the Organization;

• to assess the status of implementation of recommendations from the previous Review Committee in 2011 and related impact on the current Ebola outbreak; and

• to recommend steps to improve the functioning, transparency, effectiveness and efficiency of the IHR(2005), including WHO response, and to strengthen preparedness and response for future emergencies with health consequences, with proposed timelines for any such steps.

Sierra Leone: Report of the Independent Panel on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Ebola Response

0
0
Source: Government of the United States of America
Country: Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone

Executive Summary

To capture critical lessons from the Ebola epidemic of 2014–2016, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) asked CNA to convene an independent panel of public health, healthcare, emergency response, and communication experts to review the Department’s international and domestic responses. This report summarizes the Independent Panel’s assessment of HHS’s challenges—and, where appropriate, challenges facing the broader U.S. government—and presents recommendations for addressing future urgent public health threats.

The Ebola epidemic that began in West Africa was a seminal event for the global public health response community. The epidemic crystalized the importance of national disease surveillance capacities and timely multilateral coordination. The World Health Organization (WHO) and others acknowledge that investments must be made in the ability of countries to detect, report, and respond to urgent public health threats, and that reforms are needed to strengthen WHO’s role as the worldwide protector of health [1-2].

As part of this global community, HHS made significant contributions to controlling the epidemic abroad and safeguarding the United States from the risk of Ebola. Through its efforts, many lessons emerged. The most salient lessons related to internal government coordination, collaboration with international partners, communication with the public and key stakeholders, and the need to meet the high demand for public health and medical support at home and abroad.

Lessons from HHS’s response to the Ebola epidemic are relevant to current and future outbreaks of infectious diseases, including the current outbreak of the Zika virus. The Independent Panel hopes that the Department will carefully consider the findings and recommendations presented in this report and—if they have not done so already— implement the necessary changes in policy, programs, and plans. By taking action to address issues that emerged during the Ebola response, HHS will help ensure that it and its health response partners around the world are best positioned to address future contagions.

The Independent Panel’s findings and key recommendations are summarized below.

Findings of the Independent Panel

  1. The lack of strong leadership and response coordination from WHO hindered HHS and international response efforts.
  2. The U.S. government was not well prepared to respond to emergent crises that require a rapid, integrated domestic and international response.
  3. The U.S. government did not use all coordination elements of the National Response Framework during the Ebola response.
  4. HHS did not apply existing pandemic plans and coordination mechanisms during the Ebola response.
  5. HHS’s early communications did not demonstrate an appreciation of the public’s perceptions and fear, or discuss the possibility of isolated U.S. Ebola cases.
  6. In the initial months of the crisis, the U.S. government was not prepared to deploy response personnel at the scale or rate required for the Ebola epidemic.
  7. Differing perspectives on the most appropriate ways to use and evaluate investigational vaccines and treatments contributed to incomplete evaluation of the efficacy of these products.
  8. The U.S. government did not anticipate the complications associated with establishing domestic Ebola Treatment Centers and other domestic preparedness measures.
  9. Screening passengers at selected U.S. airports enabled local authorities to identify and monitor individuals who might have been exposed to Ebola.
  10. The Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise collaborated to expedite research, development, manufacturing, and provision of Ebola vaccines and treatments.
  11. HHS initially had difficulty developing credible guidance for, and ensuring an adequate supply of, personal protective equipment for healthcare workers.
  12. Federal, state, and local governments applied different—and, at times, conflicting—policies and authorities for specific response measures, such as waste management and quarantine.
  13. HHS is not configured or funded to respond to a prolonged public health or medical emergency overseas or at home.

World: Women in armed groups and fighting forces: lessons learned from gender-sensitive DDR programmes

0
0
Source: Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre
Country: Angola, Burundi, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Liberia, Mozambique, Nepal, Philippines, Sierra Leone, South Africa, World

By Elisa Tarnaala

Executive summary

Despite their involvement in strategic, material and logistical support and combat, women’s roles as “soldiers” and “victims” are narrowly defined by post-conflict programmes. Most disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) programmes are limited in the ways in which issues specific to female combatants are addressed. Gender-sensitive DDR programming must be linked into the entire peace process, from the peace negotiations through peacekeeping and subsequent peacebuilding activities. This process should include issues such as identifying women and setting the appropriate criteria for their entering DDR processes; understanding identity issues and obstacles facing women’s post-conflict political participation; targeting women as larger units with their children and partners rather than merely as individuals; addressing female health and psychosocial needs; and sensitisation to the particular issues around the gender dimensions of violence and community acceptance. This report highlights lessons learned from gender and DDR processes and notes that with regard to territorial implementation, national DDR commissions should be encouraged to work closely with government entities in charge of gender and women’s affairs, and – especially where governments are responsible for all or part of the DDR process – with women’s peacebuilding networks that can serve as bridges in the transition to civilian life, and facilitate social, political and economic reintegration.

Sierra Leone: Women help minimise risk of flooding

0
0
Source: UN Development Programme
Country: Sierra Leone

When torrential rains hit Sierra Leone last year small businesses like that of 42 year old Rugiatu Daniel were badly affected. The economic and social scars of those monsoon rains have still not healed for Rugiatu, who is the breadwinner of a family of six.

“I still haven’t fully recovered from the September 17 flooding,” she said. “I lost almost everything.”

Torrential rains have been a part of Sierra Leone´s climate for as long as anyone can remember, but due to high levels of deforestation, erosion, lack of waste management, and possibly the impacts of climate change they caused much more damage than in previous years. Slums flooded, people were forced to leave their homes and diseases followed in the footsteps of stagnant water.

Now, with the rainy season looming over Sierra Leone once again, there is a risk of history repeating itself. Waterloo Community Market Chair, Mrs. Yamah Samura warned that the pending rains pose distressing consequences if urgent and appropriate action is not taken by the authorities. “I think we should expect worse than we faced last year,” she stressed.

The Waterloo market leader was speaking at a town hall meeting organized over the weekend, in which some 100 market women alongside top officials from the District Disaster Management Committee (Office of National Security (ONS), National Fire Force, Sierra Leone Drivers Union, civil society, paramount chiefs and the local council participated. The aim was finding ways of minimizing the impact of disasters such as floods in communities like Waterloo.

With the rains here already, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) supported Sierra Leone’s ONS/ Disaster Management Department, through the Western Area Rural District Disaster Management Committee to help Rugiatu and other market women minimize potential disasters in Waterloo through a simple but powerful tool - information sharing.

Rugiatu and other market women are active participants armed with mega phones and messages of how to prevent future floods in the market. She goes stall-by-stall to educate her peers in how to stop dumping garbage in the gutters and prevent illegal structures that can hinder the passage of water from being built. Together, she and her colleagues can make a big difference.

National Fire Force representative Sergeant Simpson said that the problem, as well as the solution, lies in the hands of the communities themselves - in this case the market women. He added “Don’t be silent! Speak up! This is a simple way you can save your communities. Prevention is the key here,” he said.

UNDP Disaster Risk Management Project Officer Margarete Dauda told the women that disaster does not discriminate, adding that communities can make their spaces resilient by working together to address perennial problems like flooding. “We are working with the Disaster Management Department to roll out a nation-wide programme of preparing vulnerable communities to put in place preparedness measures aimed at minimizing the risk of disaster” Mrs. Dauda said.

Liberia: CDC’s Response to the 2014–2016 Ebola Epidemic — West Africa and United States

0
0
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Country: Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, United States of America

Foreword

Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH Director, CDC Corresponding author: Thomas R. Frieden, Office of the Director, CDC; Telephone: 404-639-7000; E-mail: TFrieden@cdc.gov.

The 2014–2016 Ebola virus disease (Ebola) epidemic in West Africa required a massive international response by many partners to assist the affected countries and tested the world’s readiness to respond to global health emergencies.

The epidemic demonstrated the importance of improving readiness in at-risk countries and remaining prepared for Ebola and other health threats. The devastation caused by Ebola in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone is well recognized; what is less widely recognized is that in these countries more people probably died because of Ebola than from Ebola. The epidemic shut most health care systems and derailed programs to prevent and treat malaria, tuberculosis, vaccine-preventable diseases, and other conditions (1,2).

How close the world came to a global catastrophe is even less well recognized. If Ebola had not been rapidly contained in Lagos, Nigeria, a densely populated city with many international airline connections, the disease most likely would have spread to other parts of Nigeria, elsewhere in Africa, and possibly to other continents. Even more people would have died from Ebola, and the disruption of health care systems would have threatened a decade of progress in Africa in vaccine programs and prevention and control of human immunodeficiency virus, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal mortality, and other health conditions; changed the way ill travelers from all affected countries would be assessed; and undermined already fragile systems for health, social, and economic development. This catastrophe was averted through effective response in Lagos, led by Nigerian public health leaders, particularly the CDC-supported polio eradication staff and their implementation of CDC technical guidance for Ebola outbreak investigation, contact tracing, infection control, risk communication, border protection measures, and Ebola subject-matter expertise (3).

When CDC activated its Emergency Operations Center on July 9, 2014, the situation was ominous: Ebola cases in West Africa were increasing exponentially. Without a massive, wellorganized global response, a devastating epidemic could have become a global catastrophe. No matter what steps CDC took, and no matter how quickly the world took action, the epidemic was not going to end quickly. At the end of July, CDC pledged to put an unprecedented 50 staff in the field within 30 days.
The agency not only exceeded this goal, but as the epidemic intensified, launched the largest response in its history.

At the peak of the response, CDC maintained approximately 200 staff per day in West Africa and approximately 400 staff per day at its Atlanta headquarters dedicated to the response.
Overall, approximately 1,897 CDC staff were deployed to international and U.S. locations, for approximately 110,000 total work days, and more than 4,000 CDC staff worked as part of the response. In 2016, CDC staff remain on the ground in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone in newly established CDC country offices to improve surveillance, response, and prevention for Ebola and other health threats.

In addition to their work in West Africa, CDC staff played a critical role protecting the United States by aiding state and local health departments in their preparedness activities and their response to the country’s first imported Ebola cases.

CDC helped international, federal, and state partners establish airport risk assessment of travelers departing and arriving from affected countries, monitored travelers and other potentially exposed persons for 21 days, and helped hospitals across the country prepare to manage a possible case of Ebola through intensive training and preparedness activities.

The response illustrated the need for speed and flexibility. The arrival in a Dallas, Texas, hospital of a traveler from Liberia with Ebola and its subsequent transmission to two nurses working there led to rapid changes in domestic preparedness and response recommendations and practices. The deployment of large numbers of CDC staff to West Africa emphasized the agency’s response capacity. Longer and more repeat deployments would have improved effectiveness but were difficult to achieve because of the unprecedented need for large numbers of highly skilled staff, including French speakers to work in Guinea. At times, responders faced health, safety, and security risks while overseas, and after returning to the United States responders and their families were sometimes irrationally stigmatized.

Through CDC’s collaboration with national and international partners, surveillance, contact tracing, diagnostic testing, community engagement and ownership, infection prevention and control, border health, emergency management, and vaccine evaluation all improved steadily. The implications of sporadic cases during the epidemic tail are still being assessed.
Above all, this epidemic underscored the need for the new Global Health Security Agenda, a program designed to build stronger national and global capacities to prevent, detect, and respond to health threats (4).

This MMWR supplement presents reports that chronicle major aspects of CDC’s unprecedented response to the Ebola epidemic. Written by CDC staff who played key roles, these reports summarize the agency’s work, primarily during the first year and a half of the epidemic. From the start, CDC focused on providing proven public health measures to assist affected countries to defeat Ebola. Some of these key activities included:

  • Supporting the incident management systems of Guinea,
    Liberia, and Sierra Leone to permit effective action to stop Ebola.

  • Establishing CDC teams in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, which have transitioned into permanent CDC country offices.

  • Improving case detection and contact tracing to stop Ebola transmission.

  • Strengthening surveillance and response capacities in surrounding countries to reduce the risk for further spread.

  • Improving infection control in Ebola treatment units and general health care facilities to stop spread of Ebola. This effort included training tens of thousands of health care workers in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone to safely care for Ebola patients and working to ensure the provision and correct use of personal protective equipment.

  • Promoting the use of safe and dignified burial services to stop spread of Ebola.

  • Conducting detailed epidemiologic analyses of Ebola trends and transmission patterns in communities and health care facilities to target and optimize epidemic control.

  • Supporting laboratory needs at CDC’s Viral Special Pathogens Branch (Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases) in Atlanta and transferring CDC laboratory expertise to the field (e.g., establishing an Ebola laboratory in Bo, Sierra Leone).

  • Reducing the likelihood of spread of Ebola through travel, including working with international partners and federal and state health officials to establish exit and entry risk assessment and management procedures, as well as helping establish protocols to track travelers arriving in the United States from affected countries until 21 days after their last potential exposure.

  • Disseminating risk communication materials designed to help change behavior, decrease rates of transmission, and confront stigma, both in West Africa and the United States.

  • Assisting state health departments in responding to domestic Ebola concerns, including the response in Dallas after the first U.S. case of Ebola imported in a traveler from Liberia.

  • Establishing trained and ready hospitals in the United States capable of safely assessing, managing, and caring for possible Ebola patients.

  • Modeling, in real time, predictions for the course of the epidemic, which helped galvanize international support and enabled CDC to act on and align global action to reach goals for control to quickly shift the course of the epidemic.

  • Providing logistic support for the most ambitious CDC deployment in history.

  • Fostering hope for a long-term solution for Ebola, including rollout of Sierra Leone Trial to Introduce a Vaccine against Ebola (STRIVE).
    Although this supplement tells the story of CDC’s contributions to the Ebola response, partnerships have been, and remain, indispensable to CDC’s activities (http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/partners.html).

Throughout the response, CDC assisted the governments of affected countries and worked closely with key international partners, including the World Health Organization, Médecins Sans Frontières, the African Union, other nations, and many local and international nongovernment and nonprofit organizations, including the CDC Foundation. Partnerships with many U.S. government agencies, particularly the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Department of Defense, the Customs and Border Protection service of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and ambassadors from affected countries, as well as state and local health departments and hospitals and health care workers, were critical. Achieving zero new Ebola cases in West Africa can be understood only in light of these effective collaborations with international partners, as well as collaborations from throughout the U.S. government and substantial emergency funding from the U.S. Congress.

At the time this supplement went to press, widespread transmission of Ebola had ended. On March 29, 2016, the World Health Organization declared that Ebola in West Africa was no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, and the CDC Ebola Response was deactivated on March 31, 2016. This deactivation does not mean support from the international community will end. CDC and partners remain in the region and CDC staff continue to be deployed internationally to support ongoing efforts to improve detection, response, and prevention through the Global Health Security Agenda (4). Even though the 2014–2016 Ebola epidemic has been declared over in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, much important work remains to be done, and CDC staff will continue to address a wide range of issues, including resuming and strengthening core public health and health care services, particularly vaccination programs and malaria prevention, treatment, and control initiatives in the aftermath of the largest Ebola outbreak in history.

Future progress requires renewed international focus on global health security to ensure that another preventable epidemic—whether of Ebola or another health threat—does not again get out of control. Documenting CDC’s experiences in responding to the Ebola epidemic is intended to promote understanding and action on the valuable global experience gained to improve the prevention, detection, and response to the next health crisis.

References

  1. Plucinski MM, Guilavogui T, Sidikiba S, et al. Effect of the Ebola-virusdisease epidemic on malaria case management in Guinea, 2014: a crosssectional survey of health facilities. Lancet Infect Dis 2015;15:1017–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(15)00061-4

  2. Elston JW, Moosa AJ, Moses F, et al. Impact of the Ebola outbreak on health systems and population health in Sierra Leone. J Public Health (Oxf) 2015;Oct 27. pii: fdv158. Epub ahead of print. http://dx.doi. org/10.1093/pubmed/fdv158

  3. Frieden TR, Damon IK. Ebola in West Africa—CDC’s role in epidemic detection, control, and prevention. Emerg Infect Dis 2015;21:1897–905. http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid2111.150949

  4. CDC. Global Health Security Agenda. http://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/security

Sierra Leone: IOM Sierra Leone Situation Report, 8 July 2016

0
0
Source: International Organization for Migration
Country: Sierra Leone

Highlights

 IOM field staff completed the Participatory Mapping and Field Observation phase in Kambia’s 4 border chiefdoms, one of the three priority areas of the Health, Border, and Mobility Management (HBMM) project funded by US CDC. In Bombali, IOM staff have begun a similar mapping exercise as part of a Government of Japan Funded Project on strengthening border health.

 IOM supported the recent National Aviation Public Health Emergency Preparedness Plan (NAPHEPP) workshop at Lungi Airport as a major step towards securing Sierra Leone’s air borders against future epidemics. IOM in combination with government partners has been active at Lungi since November 2014.

Situation Overview

  • The 2016 Global Peace Index released in June 2016 ranked Sierra Leone 43 out of 163 countries, up 16 places from 2015. This marks the highest ranking Sierra Leone has received since the Institute for Economics and Peace began including Sierra Leone in 2010.

  • The ambassadors of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to China have called for the revitalization of the Makona River Free Zone Development Project. Initiated in 2013, the Makona project was conceived in line with the Beijing Action Plan, yet progress was halted by the Ebola outbreak in all three countries. The project’s major components include the development of a free trade zone in the Makona River area, development of natural resources and strengthening of transportation infrastructure including railways and sea ports.

  • On 2-3 June 2016, relevant stakeholders gathered at the 2-day Human Resource Health Summit in Freetown to discuss the human resources needs in the health sector. Particular emphasis was placed on maternal and child health, challenges in health service delivery in rural communities, and the importance of investing in quality education. IOM has been in ongoing discussions with partners on facilitating the temporary return of qualified, cross-sectional diaspora medical professionals to reinforce technical mentorship for health facility clinicians.


World: Global Weather Hazards Summary, July 8 - 14, 2016

0
0
Source: Famine Early Warning System Network
Country: Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Honduras, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mali, Mauritania, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Tajikistan, Togo, World

Slight relief to dryness possible over some parts of Guatemala and Honduras

Africa Weather Hazards

Above-average rain fell over the far western West Africa and many parts of the Sahel.

Abundant rain expected in western Ethiopia during the next week.

Nigeria: Despite Electoral Gains, Top Official Warns Violent Extremism Could Destabilize Western Africa, Appealing to Security Council for Bolstered Efforts

0
0
Source: UN Security Council
Country: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo

SC/12442

7735th Meeting (AM)
Security Council
Meetings Coverage

The Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) told the Security Council this morning that he was setting up a regional task force on the prevention of violent extremism in the region, as he appealed for greater efforts to counter the spread of terrorism and associated lawlessness.

Highlighting issues from the Secretary-General’s report on the activities of UNOWAS (document S/2016/566), Mohamed Ibn Chambas drew the Council’s attention to “the credible and peaceful elections” recently held in Niger, Benin and Cabo Verde, as well as the sentencing by an African court on 30 May of the former President of Chad, Hissène Habré, which sent a strong signal against impunity.

But, he underscored how a perceived lack of opportunities, justice and hope had contributed to the emergence of militant movements in the north of Mali and north-eastern Nigeria and which threatened to destabilize the wider region and the Lake Chad Basin area.

“We must not allow this … to spread,” he told the Council, emphasizing how, across the Sahel, 4.5 million people had already been displaced, with 6 million in need of emergency food assistance and millions of children going without education.

He specifically referred to Boko Haram twice overrunning the Niger city of Bosso in June, killing dozens of soldiers and prompting residents, internally displaced persons and refugees from Nigeria to flee. He also noted terrorist attacks in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on 15 January and Grand Bassam, Côte d’Ivoire, on 13 March, adding that “traffickers, criminals and their collaborators” were expanding their networks amid the lawlessness and insecurity.

He said that, on the heels of a regional conference on 27 and 28 June in Dakar, the new task force would work to facilitate the coordination and complementarity of the Organization’s efforts regarding violent extremism. At the same time, he said, he would keep engaging with national and regional actors on the issue.

While proposing more intelligence-gathering capacities for regional forces mobilized under the multinational joint task force, he appealed for more help for civilians caught up in the tragedy, saying it was “deeply troubling” that only 11 per cent of a $1.98 billion humanitarian appeal launched in December 2015 had been received. He went on to emphasize the need to strengthen democratic governance and to address root causes as essential conflict-prevention tasks.

“Looking at the underlying challenges in the subregion and beyond, we … need to think harder on how we can collectively improve international conflict-prevention efforts before crises escalate beyond control,” he said. “We owe it to the people of West Africa and the Sahel, who have shown such remarkable resilience to persisting multifaceted challenges.”

Looking ahead, Mr. Chambas said the remainder of 2016 would see legislative elections in Côte d’Ivoire, presidential elections in the Gambia, legislative and presidential elections in Ghana and long-overdue local elections in Guinea and Togo. He expressed deep concern about repression — and ensuing allegations of torture and death of detainees — in Gambia following peaceful protests in April that had called for electoral reforms. Together with the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, UNOWAS had conducted a high-level joint mission to Gambia and it would continue its engagement to support the people during the electoral process, he said.

Several countries, meanwhile, were reviewing their constitutions, with commissions having been established in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone, he said. UNOWAS was helping to support those processes, which had already seen a referendum in Senegal endorsing a shorter presidential term and the submission in Benin of recommended reforms after only six weeks. “We have good hope that these West African and Sahel countries will emerge from these reform efforts more cohesive, better governed and with more women taking part in decision-making,” he said.

In Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy, he said, falling oil prices had undermined Government efforts to revamp the economy amid community tensions, disputes over resources and renewed militant movements in the north-east, the Biafra area and the Niger Delta, he said. With the Central Bank unpegging the national currency from the United States dollar likely to trigger price rises and socioeconomic hardship, deeper reforms were needed. Examples from Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and other places demonstrate the strength of policymaking to develop more balanced and resilient economies, he said.

The meeting began at 10:06 a.m. and adjourned at 10:21 a.m.

For information media. Not an official record.

World: IOM IPC Training Aims to Enhance Effective Disease Outbreak Response in Africa

0
0
Source: International Organization for Migration
Country: Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, World

Kenya - IOM last week (6-8 July) organized a three-day training on Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) in Nairobi, Kenya.

The workshop, which brought together 35 health assessment physicians from across Africa, was designed to enhance participants’ knowledge and skills in effectively and efficiently preventing, detecting and responding to public health events occurring in health assessment settings.

The training is of critical importance for health workers. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there were 513 deaths out of 881 reported cases of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) among health workers in the recent unprecedented outbreak in West Africa. Health workers were up to 32 times more likely to be infected with EVD than the general population.

IOM Director of Migration Health Dr. Davide Mosca told participants: “Out of some 9,000 IOM staff deployed at field level, over 1,000 are involved in the implementation of health programmes in some 60 countries, including in crisis situations. This training has been designed to empower participants with the necessary knowledge and skills to efficiently respond to public health threats in the challenging environments in which they operate.”

The training is in line with current global health discourse in which IPC is a fundamental component of global health security. Proper IPC practices ensure effective responses to public health threats to protect health workers, migrants and the community from infectious diseases.

Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea are emerging from the grip of an EVD outbreak that devastated the population and weakened already fragile health services with the loss of numerous health workers, including doctors. IPC resources and infrastructure at hospitals were badly depleted.

IOM is capitalizing on its Sierra Leone experience in delivering IPC training to EVD care providers and making knowledge and skills available to all its staff. A second IPC training will take place in October 2016 targeting a similar number of migration health specialists.

For further information, please contact Vyona Ooro at IOM Nairobi, Tel: +25701431817, Email: vooro@iom.int

World: Department for International Development - Annual Report and Accounts 2015-16

0
0
Source: Department for International Development
Country: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Ghana, Guyana, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, occupied Palestinian territory, Pakistan, Philippines, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Viet Nam, World, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Annual Report

The Annual Report meets DFID’s obligation to report on its activities and progress under the International Development (Reporting and Transparency) Act 2006. It includes information on DFID’s results achieved, spending, performance and efficiency.

Accounts

DFID’s Accounts are prepared in accordance with the 2015-16 Government Financial Reporting Manual (FReM), issued by HM Treasury. The accounting policies contained in the FReM apply International Financial Reporting Standards as adapted or interpreted for the public sector context. DFID’s Accounts are similar in many respects to the annual accounts prepared by private sector businesses. They contain the primary financial statements recording the full costs of activities, DFID’s assets and liabilities as well as providing information on how resources have been used to meet objectives.

The format is tailored to central government accounting including, for example, financial comparisons against the Department’s resource-based estimates. Those not familiar with the format of the accounts might like to focus on the Financial Review within the Performance Report, which summarises the key areas of performance. The Financial Statements and certain sections of the Accountability Report are audited by the National Audit Office before they are presented to Parliament.

Results headlines

By 2015–16, DFID had achieved the following results towards its commitments for 2011–15. Further information on results is set out on pages 15–19.

■ Wealth creation – supported 69.5 million people, including 36.4 million women, to gain access to financial services to help them work their way out of poverty (Exceeding DFID’s commitment of 50 million)

■ Poverty, vulnerability, nutrition and hunger – reached 30 million children under 5 and pregnant women through DFID’s nutrition-relevant programmes, of whom 12.1 million were women or girls (Exceeding DFID’s commitment of 20 million)

■ Education – supported 11.3 million children in primary and lower secondary education, of whom 5.3 million were girls (Exceeding DFID’s commitment of 11 million)

■ Health – supported 5.6 million births with skilled birth attendants (Exceeding DFID’s commitment of 2 million)

■ Water, sanitation and hygiene – supported 64.5 million people, of whom 22.6 million were women, to access clean water, better sanitation or improved hygiene conditions through DFID’s WASH programmes (Exceeding DFID’s commitment of 60 million)

■ Governance and security – supported freer and fairer elections in 13 countries in which 162.1 million people voted (Meeting DFID’s commitment of 13 countries)

■ Humanitarian assistance – reached over 13.4 million people with emergency food assistance, including 5.6 million women and girls

■ Climate change – supported 17.7 million people to cope with the effects of climate change Shown below are some of the latest available results delivered through the multilateral organisations that DFID supports.

■ Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, immunised 56 million children in 2014

■ Global Partnership for Education (GPE) trained 98,000 teachers between July 2014 and June 2015

■ UNICEF helped 10.4 million children in humanitarian situations to access basic education in 2014

■ The Asian Development Bank (ADB) provided 166,000 households with a new water supply in 2015

■ The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) provided 339 million people with essential health, nutrition and population services between 2013 and 2015

Further information on DFID’s work with multilaterals is included on pages 37–38.

World: Majority of men and women oppose Female Genital Mutilation in countries where practice persists – UNICEF figures

0
0
Source: UN Children's Fund
Country: Guinea, Sierra Leone, World

NEW YORK, 14 July, 2016 – Approximately two-thirds of men, women, boys and girls in countries where female genital mutilation is common say they want the practice to end – according to UNICEF data.

In countries with available data, 67 per cent of girls and women and 63 per cent of boys and men oppose the continuation of the practice in their communities.

“Although female genital mutilation is associated with gender discrimination, our findings show that the majority of boys and men are actually against it,” said Francesca Moneti, UNICEF Senior Child Protection Specialist. “Unfortunately, individuals’ desire to end female genital mutilation is often hidden, and many women and men still believe the practice is needed in order for them to be accepted in their communities.”

Data show that in some countries men oppose FGM more strongly than women. In Guinea – the country with the second highest prevalence in the world – 38 per cent of men and boys are against the continuation of FGM, compared to 21 per cent of women and girls. The same pattern is seen in Sierra Leone, where 40 per cent of boys and men want the practice to end, compared to 23 per cent of girls and women.

The most striking difference between men and women’s perceptions regarding FGM is also in Guinea, where 46 per cent of men and boys say FGM has no benefit, compared with just 10 per cent of women and girls. The findings also show that in just over half the 15 countries with available data, at least 1 in 3 girls and women say FGM has no benefits. The proportion is very similar among boys and men in all but two of the 12 countries with data.

In addition to a large majority of people opposing the harmful practice where it is concentrated, there is evidence of growing momentum and commitment to end FGM.

In 2015, both Gambia and Nigeria adopted national legislation criminalising FGM. More than 1,900 communities, covering an estimated population of 5 million people, in the 16 countries where data exist, made public declarations to abandon FGM. The Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 2015 include a target calling for the elimination of all harmful practices such as female genital mutilation and child marriage by 2030.

UNICEF’s research also reveals a possible link between a mother’s education and the likelihood that her daughter will be cut. Among the 28 countries with available data, around 1 in 5 daughters of women with no education have undergone FGM, compared to 1 in 9 daughters with mothers that have at least a secondary education.

At least 200 million girls and women alive today in 30 countries around the world have undergone FGM – a range of procedures that can cause extreme physical and psychological pain, prolonged bleeding, HIV, infertility and death.

“Data can play an important role in exposing the true opinions of communities on female genital mutilation,” said Moneti. “When individuals become aware that others do not support the practice it becomes easier for them to stop FGM. More work is needed with young people, men and women, entire communities and religious and political leaders, to highlight these findings, and the harmful effects of FGM, to further accelerate the movement to end the practice.”

UNICEF and UNFPA co-lead the largest global programme to encourage elimination of FGM. It currently supports efforts in 17 countries - working at every level, from national to communities.

Download broadcast quality photos and video here: http://weshare.unicef.org/Package/2AMZIF3AZGS

About UNICEF

UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.

For more information about UNICEF and its work visit: www.unicef.org

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Melanie Sharpe, UNICEF New York, + 1 917 251 7670, msharpe@unicef.org
Rose Foley, UNICEF +1917 340 2582, rfoley@unicef.org (currently in GMT+07:00 Time Zone)
Timothy La Rose, UNICEF Guinea (+224) 622 350 251 tlarose@unicef.org

World: Food Assistance Outlook Brief July 2016

0
0
Source: Famine Early Warning System Network
Country: Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Honduras, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tajikistan, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, World, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

PROJECTED FOOD ASSISTANCE NEEDS FOR JANUARY 2017

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, Similar, or Lower. 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.

Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone stops mandatory testing of corpses for Ebola

0
0
Source: Agence France-Presse
Country: Sierra Leone

Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Friday 7/15/2016 - 15:24 GMT

Sierra Leone declared Friday that it would stop the mandatory testing of all dead bodies for the Ebola virus, lifting a restriction put in place at the end of an outbreak that claimed thousands of lives.

The World Health Organization said on March 17 there were no more known cases of the virus in the country, which surfaced in neighbouring Guinea before spreading to Sierra Leone in May 2014.

Swabs of saliva were ordered to be systematically taken from any recently deceased person from November 2015, as part of a period of heightened surveillance following the successful containment of the virus.

From now on however, the director of Sierra Leone's Public Health Emergency Operation Centre Foday Dafae said "only deaths that meet the criteria set by the Ministry of Health will be investigated and swabbed", rather than every single corpse.

"We still want people to report all deaths so that we can (maintain) surveillance and monitor all infectious diseases, which is a key to prevent any outbreak materialising," he cautioned.

Ebola, one of the world's deadliest viruses, is spread through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person showing symptoms such as fever or vomiting.

The virus is infectious even after a victim has died, putting at risk people caring for the sick or handling corpses.

The disease is best contained by limiting exposure through patient isolation and safe burials.

"We are now focusing our attention to step up working with communities to prevent any future outbreak," Dafae said.

The epidemic infected a reported 28,600 people across the three hardest-hit nations, half of which were recorded in Sierra Leone, with the rest in Liberia and Guinea.

rmj/jom/har

© 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse


Sierra Leone: UNHRD Operations Update - Response to the Ebola Outbreak, as of 15 July, 2016

0
0
Source: World Food Programme
Country: Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone

  • 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.

Kenya: Kenya: Kakuma New Arrival Registration Trends 2016 (as of 18 July 2016)

0
0
Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Country: Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Yemen, Zimbabwe

World: Selon l’UNICEF, une majorité d’hommes et de femmes est opposée à la mutilation génitale féminine dans les pays où persiste cette pratique

0
0
Source: UN Children's Fund
Country: Guinea, Sierra Leone, World

NEW YORK 14 JUILLET 2016 – Selon des données de l’UNICEF, environ deux tiers d’hommes, de femmes, de garçons et de filles des pays où la mutilation génitale féminine (MGF) est la plus répandue affirment vouloir voir cette pratique disparaître.

Dans les pays pour lesquels des données sont disponibles, 67 % des filles et des femmes et 63 % des garçons et des hommes sont opposés à la poursuite de cette pratique au sein de leurs communautés.

« Bien que la mutilation génitale féminine soit associée à la discrimination sexuelle, les chiffres montrent que la majorité des garçons et des hommes y sont en fait opposés », a dit Francesca Moneti, Spécialiste de la protection de l’enfance à l’UNICEF. « Malheureusement, le désir de mettre fin à la mutilation génitale féminine est souvent dissimulé et de nombreux hommes et femmes croient toujours que cette pratique est nécessaire pour qu’ils soient acceptés dans leurs communautés. »

Les données montrent que dans certains pays, les hommes s’opposent plus fortement à la MGF que les femmes. En Guinée, le pays ayant le deuxième taux de prévalence dans le monde, 38 % des hommes et des garçons s’opposent à la poursuite de la MGF par rapport à 21 % des femmes et des filles. La même tendance s’observe en Sierra Leone où 40 % des garçons et des hommes souhaitent voir cette pratique disparaître par rapport à 23 % des filles et des femmes.

La différence la plus frappante entre les perceptions des hommes et des femmes sur la MGF se trouve aussi en Guinée où 46 % des hommes et des garçons affirment que la MGF ne présente pas d’avantage particulier contre seulement 10 % chez les femmes et les filles. Il apparaît aussi que dans seulement un peu plus de la moitié des quinze pays pour lesquels des données sont disponibles qu’au moins une fille et une femme sur trois affirment que la MGF ne présente pas d’avantage particulier. Cette proportion est très similaire chez les garçons et les hommes, sauf dans deux des douze pays pour lesquels des données sont disponibles.

En plus d’une vaste majorité de personnes s’opposant à cette pratique préjudiciable là où elle est le plus exercée, de nombreux éléments indiquent l’existence d’un mouvement et d’un engagement croissants pour mettre fin à la MGF.

En 2015, la Gambie et le Nigeria ont adopté une législation nationale criminalisant la MGF. Plus de 1900 communautés, couvrant une population estimée à 5 millions de personnes dans seize pays pour lesquels des données existent, se sont prononcées publiquement pour l’abandon de cette pratique. Les Objectifs de développement durable adoptés par l’Assemblée générale de l’ONU en septembre 2015 comprennent une cible demandant l’élimination de toutes les pratiques préjudiciables telles que la mutilation génitale féminine et le mariage des enfants d’ici 2030.

Les recherches de l’UNICEF révèlent aussi l’existence d’un lien possible entre le niveau d’éducation de la mère et la probabilité que sa fille sera excisée. Parmi les vingt-huit pays pour lesquels des données sont disponibles, environ une fille sur cinq de femmes n’ayant pas fait d’études a subi la MGF par rapport à une fille sur neuf de mères ayant fait au moins des études secondaires.

Au moins 200 millions de filles et de femmes vivant aujourd’hui dans trente pays de la planète ont subi une MGF, un ensemble de procédures pouvant entraîner des douleurs physiques et psychologiques extrêmes, des hémorragies prolongées, le VIH, la stérilité et la mort.

« Les données peuvent jouer un rôle important en mettant en évidence les opinions des communautés sur la mutilation génitale féminine », a dit Francesca Moneti. « Quand les individus se rendent compte que les autres ne soutiennent pas cette pratique, il devient plus facile pour eux de mettre fin à la MGF. Il est nécessaire de mener une plus grande action auprès des jeunes, des hommes et des femmes, auprès de l’ensemble des communautés et des responsables religieux et politiques pour mettre en avant les résultats provenant de ces recherches et les effets préjudiciables de la MGF, cela afin de davantage accélérer le mouvement qui s’est engagé pour mettre fin à cette pratique. »

UNICEF, avec le FNUAP, mène le programme international le plus important destiné à encourager l’élimination de la MGF. Il appuie actuellement des opérations dans dix-sept pays en conduisant une action à tous les échelons, du niveau national au niveau communautaire.

Téléchargement de photos et de vidéos de qualité professionnelle sur le lien suivant : : http://weshare.unicef.org/Package/2AMZIF3AZGS

À propos de l’UNICEF

L’UNICEF promeut les droits et le bien-être de chaque enfant, dans tout ce que nous faisons. Nous travaillons dans 190 pays et territoires du monde entier avec nos partenaires pour faire de cet engagement une réalité, avec un effort particulier pour atteindre les enfants les plus vulnérables et marginalisés, dans l’intérêt de tous les enfants, où qu’ils soient. Pour en savoir plus sur l’UNICEF et son action, veuillez consulter le site : www.unicef.org/french

Suivez-nous sur Twitter et sur Facebook

Pour plus d’informations ou organiser une interview, merci de contacter :
Melanie Sharpe, UNICEF New York, + 1 917 251 7670, msharpe@unicef.org
Rose Foley, UNICEF +1917 340 2582, rfoley@unicef.org (GMT+07:00 Time Zone)
Timothy La Rose, UNICEF Guinea (+224) 622 350 251 tlarose@unicef.org

World: Red Cross Red Crescent Magazine: Bright Ideas, Local Solutions - Issue 1, 2016

0
0
Source: International Committee of the Red Cross, International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies
Country: China - Taiwan Province, Kenya, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, World

Contents

Cover story

Bright ideas, local solutions

As humanitarians explore new technologies and innovation, how do they make sure these developments empower the people who need them most? A pilot project in two informal settlements in Kenya and South Africa offers some answers.

Phones, drones and beyond

Humanitarian innovation comes in many shapes and sizes but it’s not only about new gadgets and gizmos. Explore a sampling of humanitarian innovations, from 3D printing to novel approaches to fund-raising and partnership.

32nd International Conference

Movement meeting tackles mounting crises

As the world faces mounting humanitarian crises, government representatives from 169 countries met with National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the IFRC and the ICRC in Geneva, Switzerland in December 2015 to explore the best ways to reduce risk and enhance protection for vulnerable people.

Focus

A human touch in the face of Ebola

In many of the photographs taken by Victor Lacken during the outbreak of Ebola virus disease in 2014 and 2015, the faces of his subjects are obscured by masks and goggles, their bodies covered head-to-toe in protective gear. His photographs, however, still capture the humanity of the person within.

Technological disasters

Preparing for the worst

Technological disasters present great challenges for local first responders. Five years after the Fukushima nuclear accident, the Japanese Red Cross Society is at the forefront of Movement efforts to be ready for the specific dangers of man-made disasters. Meanwhile, 30 years after Chernobyl, the Movement’s preparations for such events are expanding.

Local action in times of upheaval

Helping hands

Civil unrest or conflict poses some of the greatest challenges for local humanitarian organizations. Often unprepared for the scale of needs, and the depth of divisions caused by conflict, they must expand rapidly under great pressure. The experience of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society offers insights.

National Societies

At the crossroads of crisis

People travelling to Turkey in May 2016 for the World Humanitarian Summit will have an unique chance to get to know the Turkish Red Crescent Society, which draws on a rich history and a spirit of innovation as it faces one of its greatest humanitarian challenges.

Resources

Publications, videos and online tools from the ICRC and the IFRC.

World: ‘Measuring Gender’ In Peacebuilding: Evaluating peacebuilding efforts from a gender-relational perspective

0
0
Source: International Alert
Country: Congo, Guinea, Lebanon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Timor-Leste, World

Peacebuilders have a duty to understand and demonstrate the impact of their work in terms of helping to create more peaceful, more inclusive and equitable societies. Gender is a key factor in conflict and peacebuilding, and in determining people’s positions of relative power or vulnerability, and thus having a better understanding of how different women, girls, men, boys, trans- and intersex persons are affected can only help in better grasping both conflict and peacebuilding. In practice, however, the task of grasping one’s impact on complex, long-term processes of societal change such as peacebuilding or enhancing gender equality is challenging.

This report aims to help peacebuilders to better capture the impact of integrating gender and dialogue into peacebuilding projects. It is based on a review of existing design, monitoring and evaluation (DME) tools and approaches to examining gender in a peacebuilding context, discussions with practitioners and academia, as well as case studies. The main objective of our project is to help identify innovative, comprehensive and realistic ways of measuring the interplay of peacebuilding projects and gender relations. We do not present one overarching gender indicator or one ‘measuring gender’ method that would be applicable in all cases, as this is an impossibility. Rather, we will examine different tools for measuring different kinds of gendered impacts of peacebuilding efforts on beneficiary individuals and communities.

For the case studies, we chose four projects that all fall under the broad ‘gender in peacebuilding’ category, but are otherwise quite different. Geographically, one was located in the Mano River region (Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone), one in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), one in Lebanon and one in Timor-Leste. Thematically, the projects cover women’s political participation, economic empowerment, dialogue and attitudinal change on gender equality, and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).

The projects were examined at different stages and different DME approaches were tested:

  • in the Lebanon case, an ongoing project was used as a basis for devising a gender-sensitive design of a future project on more gender-equal political participation;
  • the Timor-Leste project was accompanied1 throughout its implementation period of 2012– 2015, testing the adaptation of Gender-Equitable Men (GEM) scales;
  • in DRC, the research team assisted with the design and development of indicators and in the initial phase of the project using a basket of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) approaches, including everyday peace indicators; and lastly
  • the West Africa case study was revisited around five years after its completion in order to test Most Significant Change (MSC) and Social Network Analysis (SNA) approaches to examine medium-/long-term impacts.

In addition to the case studies, we present an overview of different DME approaches and methods that can be applied in peacebuilding projects. With all of the approaches, an adaptation to the given context is necessary and this needs to be based on a thorough understanding of the given context – an understanding to which the DME can and should contribute.

Throughout, we argue for a comprehensive, nuanced approach to gender, which looks at women, men and other gender identities, and which examines gender in relation to other factors such as age and class. While this will initially require dealing with more complexity, it will allow for a more focused approach and effective use of resources down the line. Proper DME is essential to better peacebuilding and to better understanding gender dynamics of peacebuilding, but it requires sufficient resources in terms of budgets, time and human resources.

Viewing all 7298 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images