HIGHLIGHTS

• US$739 million required for Lake Chad Basin crisis.

• Food insecurity on the rise across the conflict-hit Lake Chad Basin.

• Above average rainfall across much of Sahel and West Africa.

• Record flooding expected to hit Mali’s inner Niger delta in the coming months.

• Côte d’Ivoire officially reopens border with Guinea and Sierra Leone following the end of Ebola outbreak.

KEY FIGURES

• Severely food insecure people in Lake Chad Basin 6.3M

• People facing “crisis” and “emergency” levels of food insecurity in north-east Nigeria 4.4M

• Meningitis cases during the December - June epidemic season 19,700

US$739 million needed for Lake Chad Basin crisis

Humanitarian organizations working to assist millions of conflict-affected people across the Lake Chad Basin revised their financial requirements in September, seeking US$739 million from $520 million at the beginning of the year. The scale and the impact of the long-running violence has become even more apparent in recent months, as millions more people in areas formerly controlled by Boko Haram are being reached. Food insecurity has also deepened, with pockets of famine reported as the lean season progresses.

In Nigeria’s north-east, more than 4.4 million people are estimated to be facing “crisis” and “emergency” levels of food insecurity across north-eastern Nigeria. At least 65,000 people are experiencing famine-like conditions. The overall figure represents a 50-per cent increase compared to March projection, which estimated that 3 million people were at crisis level and above. Malnutrition rates are also high: 134 children are at risk of dying every day if no assistance is provided.

Key Messages

• In West Africa, market availability reached seasonally low levels in August, at the peak of the lean season. However, supplies were generally adequate from above-average 2015/16 regional harvests, and international rice and wheat imports. Markets remained disrupted throughout the Lake Chad Basin and in parts of Central and Northern Mali. The recent depreciation of the Naira has led to price increases across Nigeria and reduced purchasing power for livestock and cash crops in the Sahel.
• In East Africa, staple food prices remained extremely high in South Sudan following abrupt escalation of conflict in Juba in July and the resulting significant disruption of market activity. Despite well below average supply from production in Ethiopia in late 2015 and early 2016, staple food prices have remained stable with the availability of food through humanitarian assistance programs, imports, and the start of green harvests in some areas. Maize prices were seasonally stable in surplus-producing Tanzania and Uganda. Markets remain disrupted by insecurity in Yemen.
• In Southern Africa, maize availability is well below average following consecutive years of well-below average regional production. Production in Zambia is estimated as average, while South Africa did not produce enough to meet domestic requirements. Maize prices did not decline during the post-harvest period and are well above-average levels across the region. Imports from outside of the region (likely from well-supplied international markets) are required to fill the very large maize import gap.
• In Central America, the lean season continued with the delay of the Primera harvest. Maize prices were atypically stable as imports sustained supplies while bean price trends were mixed. Locally-produced staple food prices declined in Haiti with the progression of harvests in August, while imported rice and what prices remained stable.
• In Central Asia, wheat availability remained adequate. Prices are significantly below their respective 2015 levels in Kazakhstan, the main exporter in the region, and significantly above the average in Tajikistan. Prices continued to be near average in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
• International staple food markets remain well supplied. Wheat prices were mixed, while maize, rice, and soybean prices fell in August. Crude oil prices increased and remained well below average.

Aide-mémoire N°383
Octobre 2016

Principaux faits

• Les gens qui vivent ou ont vécu une situation d’urgence souffrent de divers problèmes de santé mentale.
• Les personnes qui se sentent en sécurité, liées à d’autres, calmes et pleines d’espoir, qui ont accès à un appui social, physique et émotionnel et qui trouvent des moyens de s’aider elles-mêmes après une catastrophe sont davantage capables de se remettre à long terme.
• Les agences humanitaires ont élaboré une pyramide d’interventions, depuis les mesures et les services essentiels à la base jusqu’aux interventions hautement spécialisées au sommet, pour aider les pays à adopter des stratégies d’intervention qui correspondent aux besoins de la communauté et reposent sur des compétences appropriées.
• Au cours des situations d’urgence humanitaire, l’OMS recommande au moins un membre du personnel de santé, sous supervision, dans chaque établissement de santé général, pour évaluer et prendre en charge les problèmes de santé mentale.
• Malgré leur caractère tragique et leurs effets indésirables sur la santé mentale, les situations d’urgence sont également l’occasion de mettre en place de meilleurs systèmes de santé mentale pour soigner tous ceux qui en ont besoin.
• Les progrès mondiaux pour réformer la santé mentale iront plus vite si, à chaque crise, des efforts sont faits afin de transformer les intérêts à court terme dans ce domaine en une dynamique aboutissant à une amélioration sur le long terme.
• La santé mentale est essentielle pour le bien-être général, le fonctionnement et la résilience des individus, des sociétés et des pays en phase de relèvement après des situations d’urgence.

Les gens qui vivent ou ont vécu une situation d’urgence risquent davantage de souffrir de divers problèmes de santé mentale.

Certaines personnes développent des troubles mentaux après une situation d’urgence, tandis que d’autres ressentent une détresse psychologique. Les personnes qui souffraient déjà de troubles mentaux ont souvent besoin de plus d’aide qu’auparavant.

L’aide psychologique de première urgence recommandée par l’OMS implique d’offrir un soutien empreint d’humanité et une assistance pratique aux personnes qui souffrent après avoir vécu une situation d’urgence. Cette aide devrait être apportée d’une façon qui respecte la dignité des personnes, leur culture et leurs capacités. Elle couvre l’appui social et psychologique.

Une aide psychologique et psychiatrique doit être apportée immédiatement pour certains problèmes à régler d’urgence; elle est fournie par des spécialistes de la santé mentale dans le cadre de l’action sanitaire.

Les communautés touchées par des situations d’urgence ont besoin d’un accès aux soins de santé mentale sur le long terme, l’adversité étant un grand facteur de risque pour un grand nombre de problèmes de santé mentale.

Répercussions des situations d’urgence

Certains problèmes sont causés par la situation d’urgence, d’autres par l’intervention pour y faire face, d’autres enfin sont antérieurs à la situation d’urgence. Certains problèmes sont plus graves que d’autres.

• Les problèmes sociaux importants sont:

  • provoqués par la situation d’urgence: séparation d’avec la famille, manque de sécurité, discrimination, perte de la source de revenus et du tissu social habituel, manque de confiance et de ressources;
  • engendrés par la réponse humanitaire: surpeuplement, manque d’intimité dans les camps, perte du soutien communautaire ou traditionnel;
  • préexistants: appartenance à un groupe marginalisé.

• Les problèmes de nature plus psychologique sont:

  • préexistants: dépression, alcoolisme ou troubles mentaux graves comme la schizophrénie;
  • provoqués par la situation d’urgence: chagrin, détresse, abus d’alcool et de substances psychoactives, dépression et anxiété, état de stress post-traumatique (ESPT);
  • engendrés par la réponse humanitaire: anxiété due au manque d’information sur la distribution de produits alimentaires ou sur le moyen d’obtenir d’autres services de base.

Symptômes de détresse

Chez les personnes ayant traversé une crise, on observe généralement des manifestations de détresse telles que:

• symptômes physiques: maux de tête, fatigue, perte d’appétit, douleurs;
• pleurs, tristesse, chagrin;
• anxiété, peur;
• fait d’être sur ses gardes, nervosité;
• insomnie, cauchemars;
• irritabilité, colère;
• culpabilité, honte (dite «culpabilité des survivants»);
• confusion, hébétude;
• isolement, prostration (immobilité);
• désorientation (ne plus savoir son nom ou d’où l’on vient);
• incapacité à s’occuper de soi-même ou de ses enfants.

Tous ceux qui ont vécu une crise ne nécessitent pas ou ne désirent pas forcément un soutien.

La plupart des personnes se remettent bien avec le temps, si elles peuvent faire face à leurs nécessités de base comme auparavant, trouver des moyens de retrouver un état normal et obtenir un appui quand elles en ont besoin. L’accès à la prise en charge clinique est important dès que les symptômes interfèrent avec le fonctionnement de la personne dans la vie quotidienne.

Efficacité de l’action d’urgence

• L’expérience et les données factuelles montrent que les personnes qui se sentent en sécurité, reliées à d’autres, calmes et pleines d’espoir; qui ont accès à un appui social, physique et émotionnel; et qui trouvent des moyens de s’aider elles-mêmes après une catastrophe, sont davantage capables de se remettre à long terme des effets sur la santé mentale.
• L’OMS et ses partenaires ont élaboré une pyramide d’interventions, depuis les mesures et les services essentiels à la base jusqu’aux interventions hautement spécialisées au sommet, pour aider les pays à adopter des stratégies d’intervention qui correspondent aux besoins de la communauté et reposent sur des compétences appropriées. Par exemple, les services cliniques de santé mentale, situés au sommet, devraient être fournis sous la supervision de spécialistes de la santé mentale, tels que les infirmières en psychiatrie, les psychologues et les psychiatres.
• L’aide psychologique de première urgence peut être apportée par des personnes qui travaillent sur le terrain, y compris des agents de santé, des enseignants ou des volontaires ayant reçu une formation, et ne nécessite pas toujours l’intervention de spécialistes de la santé mentale.
• Formés et encadrés, les membres du personnel des services de santé généraux peuvent dispenser les soins de première intention pour les troubles mentaux.

Tirer parti des situations d’urgence et améliorer les systèmes de santé mentale

De nombreux pays ont tiré parti de situations d’urgence, malgré la nature tragique de celles-ci, pour renforcer leur système de santé mentale. La forte augmentation de l’aide des donateurs internationaux, combinée à un intérêt accru pour les questions de santé mentale, offre des possibilités d’améliorer les soins de santé mentale.

L’OMS apporte son soutien à des systèmes de santé mentale durables

• À la suite du tsunami de 2004, les services de santé mentale dans la province indonésienne d’Aceh, jusque-là fournis par un seul établissement hospitalier, ont été transformés en un système opérationnel de soins, centré sur les soins de santé primaires et appuyé par des soins secondaires prodigués dans les hôpitaux généraux.
• L’afflux de réfugiés irakiens en Jordanie entre 2003 et 2007 a permis d’établir, au niveau local, des dispensaires de santé mentale dans le cadre d’un projet pilote. Le succès de ces dispensaires a donné une impulsion pour mener une réforme plus vaste dans le pays.
• L’accès aux soins de santé mentale dans les établissements de santé généraux est meilleur en 2016 qu’avant la guerre dans de nombreuses régions de Syrie. Avant la guerre, ils n’étaient disponibles que dans les grandes villes. Au cours de la guerre, plus de 500 agents des soins de santé primaires ont été formés et dispensent ces soins dans les établissements de soins primaires.

Ces exemples et d’autres expériences dans le monde entier montrent qu’il est possible de mettre en place des systèmes de santé mentale dans le contexte de situations d’urgence.

Action de l’OMS

L’OMS est la principale institution donnant des conseils techniques sur la santé mentale dans les situations d’urgence. En 2016, elle agit dans ce domaine en Cisjordanie et dans la Bande de Gaza, en Guinée, en Iraq, au Liban, au Libéria, au Népal, au Pakistan, en Ouganda, en République arabe syrienne, en République centrafricaine, en Sierra Leone, en Turquie, en Ukraine et au Yémen.

L’OMS travaille dans le monde entier pour s’assurer que l’action pour la santé mentale dans les situations d’urgence humanitaire soit coordonnée et efficace puis, ensuite, pour que les systèmes de santé mentale soient reconstruits et durables.

L’OMS élabore et évalue des outils pour répondre aux besoins des personnes en situation d’urgence dans le domaine de la santé mentale. Ces outils portent sur l’évaluation, les premiers secours psychologiques, la prise en charge des troubles mentaux et le relèvement des systèmes de santé mentale.

Les conseils et outils de l’OMS sont utilisés par l’immense majorité des organisations internationales d’aide humanitaire agissant dans le domaine de la santé mentale.

WFP and UNCDF partner to digitize cash-based transfers in Sierra Leone

BY RESIDENT COORDINATOR'S OFFICE ON OCTOBER 7, 2016

FREETOWN – _The World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) sign an agreement in an effort to scale up WFP’s assistance to support the local economy in Sierra Leone through innovative cash-based transfers. The partnership will enable WFP to build a robust system for delivering cash transfers to the most vulnerable households._

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) are collaborating to deliver greater accountability, efficiency and cost-savings for WFP’s food assistance in Sierra Leone. Through expanding the use of digital cash transfers, this partnership will result in greater transparency and financial inclusion for the people WFP serves.

During the Ebola crisis, UNCDF provided vital support to facilitate cash transfers to the emergency response workers.

“Building on UNCDF’s technical expertise digitizing financial services and capitalizing on Sierra Leone’s increasing mobile network coverage, this partnership will enable WFP to develop a more robust cash-based transfer system and ensure that the most food insecure and vulnerable households gain access to financial services that expand opportunities and reduce vulnerabilities,” said Peter Scott-Bowden, WFP Representative in Sierra Leone.

According to the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sierra Leone, Sunil Saigal, > “This partnership signed between WFP and UNCDF clearly demonstrates that by working together, UN agencies can deliver greater results for the people of Sierra Leone.”

WFP and the Government of Sierra Leone are both members of the Better Than Cash Alliance, a partnership of governments, companies, and international organizations that work together to accelerate the transition from cash to digital payments to reduce poverty and drive inclusive growth.

According to Tenzin Keyzom Ngodup, UNCDF West Africa, > “Working with WFP, the world’s largest humanitarian agency, UNCDF will support WFP to push cash into the formal financial system, thereby creating a business case for the private sector in Sierra Leone. Cash transfers will facilitate the expansion of the financial ecosystem and deliver services outside of the country’s urban centers to reach food insecure communities in rural areas.”

WFP aims improve food security and strengthen livelihoods and resilience of over 200,000 vulnerable households through cash-based transfers.

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WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. Each year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries.

Follow us on Twitter: @WFP_WAfrica, @wfp_media

UNCDF is the UN’s capital investment agency for the world’s 48 LDCs. With its capital mandate and instruments, UNCDF offers “last mile” finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development. This last mile is where available resources for development are scarcest; where market failtures are most pronounced; and where benefits from national growth tend to leave people excluded.

Follow us on Twitter: @UNCDF

For more information please contact (email address: francis.boima@wfp.org):
Jordan Sisson, WFP/Sierra Leone, jordan.sisson@wfp.org
Tenzin Ngodup, UNCDF/Sierra Leone, tenzin.ngodup@uncdf.org

This report, produced by the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health to document its work on HC3’s Ebola Risk Communication project in Liberia, details the project’s goals of understanding and documenting Ebola-related communication efforts in the country to better inform communication approaches to future crises. This resulted in the development of a codebook that was then applied in order to further analyze the messages communicated across various media sources.

Sector Overview

USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) integrates monitoring, evaluation, and learning (ME&L) activities into emergency response and disaster risk reduction (DRR) programs worldwide to improve the quality of programming, enhance accountability, and ensure that USAID/OFDA-supported assistance is appropriate and effective.
As a critical component of program management, ME&L helps USAID/OFDA and its partners understand the progress and results of recent and ongoing humanitarian responses so that future programs can better save lives, alleviate human suffering, and reduce the social and economic impacts of humanitarian emergencies.
In Fiscal Year (FY) 2016, USAID/OFDA provided nearly $11 million to directly support ME&L activities, including third party monitoring programs in difficult-toaccess areas and external performance evaluations across various contexts.
USAID/OFDA’s ME&L support complements and builds upon ME&L work conducted by the partners implementing USAID/OFDA-funded humanitarian programs.

Third Party Monitoring in Complex Emergencies

In countries experiencing complex emergencies, security concerns can prevent USAID/OFDA and expatriate partner staff from conducting regular site visits to monitor the progress of programs. Contracting a third party to conduct quantitative and qualitative output monitoring and activity verification in such cases is both highly relevant and useful. Third party monitoring aims to increase USAID/OFDA and partner understanding of the assessed outputs, progress, challenges, successes, and lessons learned of USAID/OFDA-funded programs. USAID/OFDA also seeks to understand both the scale and context of the results, requiring contractors implementing third party monitoring projects to combine quantitative and qualitative methods—including surveys, individual interviews, focus group discussions, direct observations, and document reviews—for data collection at program sites. Subsequently, the contractors prepare monthly reports that allow USAID/OFDA and implementing partners to make real-time programmatic adjustments to improve the quality of assistance in complex emergencies. Third party monitoring projects can also inform future USAID/OFDA program design and strategic decision making. In FY 2016, USAID/OFDA provided approximately $6.9 million to support third-party monitoring in complex emergencies.

Performance Evaluations: West Africa, Nepal, and EAP

USAID/OFDA also funded three external performance evaluations in FY 2016, including assessments of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) response in West Africa, USAID/OFDA DRR programs in Nepal, and Incident Command System (ICS) programs in the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region. These evaluations are scheduled for implementation over the course of the coming year.

Assessing the EVD Response USAID/OFDA plans to examine the relevance, coordination, timeliness, and effectiveness of its participation in the U.S. Government (USG) response to the EVD outbreak in West Africa, which spanned more than two years and primarily affected Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. This evaluation aims to improve USAID/OFDA’s understanding of the performance of its regional response and inform future large-scale humanitarian responses to infectious disease outbreaks.

The West Africa EVD outbreak began in southeastern Guinea in December 2013, spreading to the neighboring countries of Liberia and Sierra Leone in early 2014.
In August 2014, the USG deployed an interagency Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to the region to assist host country governments in containing FISCAL YEAR 2016 EVD transmission. During the response, the multi-country DART included disaster response, public health, and other experts from USAID/OFDA, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. National Institutes of Health, and U.S. Public Health Service. The USG stood up a corresponding Washington, D.C.-based Response Management Team (RMT) to support the DART and enhance coordination efforts. During its 17 months of operation, the DART coordinated the $2.6 billion USG emergency response to West Africa’s EVD outbreak, supporting critical interventions, such as health and humanitarian coordination, case management, surveillance and epidemiology, restoration of essential health services through infection prevention and control measures, social mobilization and communications, and logistics activities. Between FY 2014 and FY 2016, USAID/OFDA committed nearly $805 million for the EVD response. Following the significant decrease in EVD transmission by late 2015 and strengthened in-country capacity to rapidly address new cases, the DART and RMT deactivated in early January 2016.

With nearly $3 million from USAID/OFDA in FY 2016, IBTCI will conduct an external performance evaluation with four complementary focus areas: overall efficacy, effectiveness of various programmatic components, relevance, and coordination of USAID/OFDA’s response to the EVD outbreak in West Africa. The evaluation—expected to take one year—will address multiple questions under each focus area.

Evaluating USAID/OFDA DRR Programming in Nepal USAID/OFDA has supported natural disaster preparedness and resilience in South Asia for decades. In Nepal, USAID/OFDA has provided approximately $17 million to bolster DRR efforts since 1998, including grants and cooperative agreements with nongovernmental organizations to implement DRR programs in close coordination with national and local Government of Nepal authorities.
Regionally, USAID/OFDA investments totaled more than $4.7 million in stand-alone regional DRR programming in FY 2015 and nearly $7.9 million in FY 2014, not including USAID/OFDA programs that integrated DRR activities with disaster response.

In FY 2016, USAID/OFDA sought to examine the effectiveness of USAID/OFDA DRR programming in Nepal prior to the magnitude 7.8 earthquake, which struck the country in April 2015, and to better understand its performance in improving Nepal’s preparedness and resilience to large-scale natural disasters. With more than $648,000 in USAID/OFDA FY 2016 funding, The Mitchell Group, Inc. will evaluate the performance of two USAID/OFDA-supported DRR projects implemented in Nepal from 2010–2016: the Program for Enhancement of Emergency Response (PEER) and Building Code Implementation Program in Municipalities of Nepal (BCIPN). The performance evaluation—expected to take nine months—will inform and improve future USAID/OFDA-funded DRR activities in Nepal and glean lessons for broader efforts to promote disaster-resilient societies worldwide.

Understanding ICS Performance in East Asia and the Pacific USAID/OFDA’s DRR strategy in EAP includes support for programs aiming to increase national ICS capacities for effective disaster response. The overall objectives of ICS training programs are to enhance the capacity of countries to manage disaster response operations, particularly during the initial emergency phase prior to the arrival of external assistance. USAID/OFDA supports the U.S Forest Service (USFS) to conduct ICS capacity-building activities across EAP, providing funding for ICS trainings in the ASEAN member countries of Brunei, Burma, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, as well as in non-ASEAN member nations Mongolia, Solomon Islands,
Timor Leste, and Vanuatu. The first phase of the program, which began in 2003, introduced ICS to ASEAN members through trainings and a study tour in the United States. Under the ongoing second phase, USFS is continuing regional training activities, including basic and intermediate ICS courses, advanced training for establishing Incident Management Teams, and development of Emergency Operation Center systems.

With approximately $356,000 in USAID/OFDA FY 2016 funding, DevTech Systems, Inc. will examine the effectiveness and sustainability of ICS programming in Indonesia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand, allowing USAID/OFDA to better understand the performance of its ICS program in the EAP region. The evaluation—conducted over a period of eight months—will also guide future decision making and contribute to USAID/OFDA’s evidence-based DRR programming.

Global Hunger Index: Over 45 Countries on Pace for “Moderate” to “Alarming” Hunger Levels by 2030 UN Deadline OCT 11, 2016

Report Rates Hunger “Serious” or “Alarming” in 50 Countries in 2016

29 Percent Reduction in Global Hunger Index Scores Since 2000

October 11, 2016—The global community is not on course to end hunger by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal deadline of 2030, according to data from the 2016 Global Hunger Index. If hunger declines at the same rate as the report finds it has since 1992, more than 45 countries - including India, Pakistan, Haiti, Yemen, and Afghanistan - will still have “moderate” to “alarming” hunger scores in the year 2030, far short of the goal to end hunger by that year.

“Simply put, countries must accelerate the pace at which they are reducing hunger or we will fail to achieve the second Sustainable Development Goal,” said IFPRI Director General Shenggen Fan. “Ending global hunger is certainly possible, but it’s up to all of us that we set the priorities right to ensure that governments, the private sector and civil society devote the time and resources necessary to meet this important goal.”

The Central African Republic, Chad, and Zambia had the highest levels of hunger in the report. Seven countries had “alarming” levels of hunger, while 43 countries – including high-population countries like India, Nigeria, and Indonesia – had “serious” hunger levels.

The report outlined some bright spots in the fight to end world hunger. The level of hunger in developing countries as measured by the Global Hunger Index has fallen by 29 percent since 2000. Twenty countries, including Rwanda, Cambodia, and Myanmar, have all reduced their GHI scores by over 50 percent each since 2000. And for the second year in a row, no developing countries for which data was available were in the “extremely alarming” category.

But declines in average hunger levels across regions or individual countries do not tell the whole story. The averages can mask lagging areas where millions are still hungry, demonstrating the need for data and targeted solutions for the communities facing the greatest need. Although the Latin America region has the lowest regional GHI score in the developing world, Haiti, for example, has the fourth highest GHI score at an “alarming” 36.9. Mexico has a low level of overall hunger, but also contains areas within its borders where child stunting—an indicator of child undernutrition—is relatively high.

“Whilst the world has made progress in the fight against hunger there are still 795 million people condemned to facing hunger every day of their lives,” said Dominic MacSorley, CEO of Concern Worldwide. “This is not just unacceptable, it is immoral and shameful. Resources like the Global Hunger Index provide us with a critical insight into the scale of the global hunger crisis. Agenda 2030 provides us with the ambition and commitment to reach zero hunger. We have the technology, knowledge and resources to achieve that vision. What is missing is both the urgency and the political will to turn commitments into action.”

Another obstacle for reaching zero hunger is the lack of complete data for calculating the index scores for 13 countries. 10 of these countries have indicators like stunting, wasting and child mortality that raise significant concern for having high hunger levels, including Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, and the Syrian Arab Republic. “Armed conflict is a leading cause of hunger and undernutrition in many of these countries,” said Bärbel Dieckmann, President of Welthungerhilfe. “Zero Hunger will only be possible if we significantly increase political commitments to conflict resolution and prevention.”

The GHI, now in its 11th year, ranks countries based on four key indicators: undernourishment, child mortality, child wasting and child stunting. The 2016 report ranked 118 countries in the developing world, almost half of which have “serious” or “alarming” hunger levels.

The GHI score for the developing world as a whole is 21.3, which is in the low end of the “serious” category. Regionally, Africa South of the Sahara has the highest hunger level, followed closely by South Asia. Rounding out the top 10 countries with the highest levels of hunger after Central African Republic, Chad, and Zambia are: Haiti, Madagascar, Yemen, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Timor-Leste, and Niger.

Around half of the populations of Haiti, Zambia, and the Central African Republic are undernourished—the highest in the report. In Timor-Leste, Burundi, and Papua New Guinea, approximately half of children under five are too short for their age due to nutritional deficiencies.

"The 2030 Agenda set a clear global objective for an end to hunger - everywhere - within the next 14 years," says David Nabarro, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Climate Change. "Too many people are hungry today. There is a need for urgent, thoughtful and innovative action to ensure that no one ever goes hungry again."

More information can be found at: https://www.ifpri.org/topic/global-hunger-index

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) seeks sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty. IFPRI was established in 1975 to identify and analyze alternative national and international strategies and policies for meeting the food needs of the developing world, with particular emphasis on low-income countries and on the poorer groups in those countries Visit: www.ifpri.org.

Welthungerhilfe is one of the largest non-governmental aid organizations in Germany. It provides fully integrated aid from one source, ranging from rapid emergency relief to reconstruction programs, as well as long-term development projects with local partner organizations following the principle of help toward self-help. In addition, we aim at changing the conditions that lead to hunger and poverty by awareness raising and advocacy work at national and international level. Visit: www.welthungerhilfe.de.

Founded in Ireland in 1968, Concern Worldwide is a non-governmental, international, humanitarian organization, dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working toward the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty. The mission is to help people living in extreme poverty to achieve major improvements in their lives which last and spread without ongoing support from Concern. Concern currently works in 27 of the world’s poorest countries, with offices in London, New York, Belfast and Dublin and more than 2,900 committed and talented staff. Visit: www.concern.net.

Les pays en développement ont fait des progrès considérables dans la réduction de la faim depuis 2000. L’Indice de la faim dans le monde 2016 (GHI) montre que le niveau de la faim pour l’ensemble des pays en développement a diminué de 29 %. Mais les progrès ont été inégaux et de grandes disparités persistent entre les régions mondiales, les pays ainsi qu’à l’intérieur des pays. Pour atteindre l’Objectif de Développement Durable 2 (ODD 2) de Faim Zéro et pour ne laisser personne pour compte, il est essentiel d’identifier les régions, les pays et les populations qui sont les plus vulnérables à la faim et à la dénutrition et d’accélérer les progrès dans ces domaines. Les scores GHI varient fortement entre les pays et les régions. A l’échelle régionale, ce sont encore l’Afrique subsaharienne et l’Asie du Sud qui présentent les scores GHI les plus importants, et par conséquent les niveaux de faim les plus élevés. Bien que les scores GHI pour ces régions aient diminué au fil du temps, ils sont toujours « graves » : plus proches de la catégorie alarmante que de la catégorie modérée. Certes, l’Afrique subsaharienne a réalisé la plus grande amélioration depuis 2000 et l’Asie du Sud a connu une réduction importante, mais la baisse de la faim doit s’accélérer dans ces régions pour atteindre l’Objectif Faim Zéro.

The new MEST education project ‘Girls Access to Education’ (GATE) programme, supported by DFID and UNICEF, will benefit nearly 200,000 girls nationwide.

Close to 200,000 girls across Sierra Leone will be supported by a new project, funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), led by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST), and implemented in collaboration with UNICEF and partners, to improve the transition and completion rates of girls in secondary school.

The project – launched by the Government on the International Day of the Girl (11 October) – will support more than nine-hundred Junior Secondary Schools to address the safety of girls from violence, support girls from disadvantaged households, and also help out-of-school girls back into education. The 18 month project is being supported by USD 6.7 million of funding from DFID, through UNICEF.

“School data shows there are roughly equal numbers of boys and girls in primary school, but transition rates are lower for girls from one level to the next at secondary level,” said Dr. Minkailu Bah, Minister of Education, Science and Technology. “By tackling the issue from various fronts, we hope to reduce barriers such as school violence, poverty and low awareness on the importance of girls being in school.”

As part of the project – which will also see partnership with local NGOs – communities will be helped to come up with their own solutions to support girls to stay in school. And boys and girls will be encouraged to become a positive influence on the school environment by supporting change.

“I am delighted that the UK people are supporting the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in their work to enable adolescent girls to stay in school. Helping girls finish their education is vital for each girl herself. It is also critical for Sierra Leone, paving the way for women to play a full part in Sierra Leone’s development,” said Sally Taylor, Head of DFID Sierra Leone.

Project partner UNICEF also used the International Day of the Girl to highlight a new UNICEF global report which for the first time quantifies that challenge of household chores for girls – something that can be a factor in girls dropping out of school or performing poorly. The report found that girls between 5 and 14 years old spend 40 per cent more time, or 160 million more hours a day, on unpaid household chores and collecting water and firewood compared to boys their age.

“The overburden of unpaid household work begins in early childhood and intensifies as girls reach adolescence,” said Geoff Wiffin, UNICEF Sierra Leone Representative. “As a result, girls sacrifice important opportunities to learn, grow, and just enjoy their childhood. In the GATE project communities will be incentivized to support girls to stay in school, including through decreasing household chores. We hope this will help girls reach their full potential at school.”

The new project builds on the post-Ebola teenage pregnant girls’ education project, also implemented by MEST with support from DFID and UNICEF, which helped 14,000 girls continue their education, with many returning back into formal schooling.

Foreword

As we write this, Africa is suffering from the strongest El Niño it has faced in decades, causing major floods and droughts throughout Africa, leading to rising economic losses and major impacts on the lives and livelihoods of millions across the continent. Countries across the continent are declaring states of emergency, and are calling on the international community for support.

Such crises in Africa are becoming the new norm as the impacts of disasters continue to increase. Natural disasters, such as droughts, oods, landslides, storms, and earthquakes are a regular occurrence, and climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of weather-related hazards even further. The impacts of natural disasters and climate change are further compounded by poorly planned development – as the fastest urbanizing continent in the world, Africa faces a huge challenge as people and assets continue to be placed in harm’s way.

Forced to face these challenges, African countries are emerging as strong leaders in driving the resilience agenda forward by reforming their emergency management systems, establishing new legislation for risk reduction, modernizing early warning and preparedness systems, exploring innovative risk financing solutions, and shaping the global and regional policy dialogue.

In our support to African countries, and in alignment with our twin goals of ending poverty and enhancing shared prosperity, the World Bank is stepping up its e orts to systematically invest in disaster and climate resilience, as highlighted in the Africa Climate Business Plan launched at COP21 in Paris. To illustrate this engagement, the plan intends to bring early warning systems to 100 million people across 15 African countries and pilot new urban resil- ience approaches.

These ambitious targets cannot be achieved without broad-based partnerships and cooper- ation e World Bank works with the African Union and the Regional Economic Communities, as well as technical agencies to promote coordinated and comprehensive approaches to managing common disaster and climate risks. In addition, partnerships with international organizations, bilateral donors, and major regional development partners – such as the African Development Bank – are ramping up resilience activities across the continent the World Bank’s Africa Disaster Risk Management program could not have achieved as much as it has to date without the strong sup- port of the Global Facility for Disaster Reduc- tion and Recovery (GFDRR), and its donors, particularly the European Union and Japan, who have boosted the program’s impact in recent years.

This Strategic Framework 2016–20 clearly articulates the way forward in increasing knowledge, capacity building and advocacy, partnerships and investments, as we collectively strive toward disaster and climate resilient development in Africa We thank all partners and institutions who have contributed to the development of the Framework, and look forward to joining forces on its implementation.

Chronic food insecurity and malnutrition, cyclical drought, locust infestations, seasonal floods, disease outbreaks, and recurrent complex emergencies have presented major challenges to vulnerable populations in the West Africa region during the past decade. Between FY 2007 and FY 2016, USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) and USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) provided humanitarian assistance to address the impacts of a diverse range of crises, including food insecurity and malnutrition in the Sahel; complex emergencies in multiple countries; disease outbreaks, including Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), cholera, meningitis, and measles; an explosion in Benin; and flooding throughout the region.

From FY 2007 to FY 2016, USAID provided approximately $3 billion to respond to disasters in West Africa. USAID/ OFDA assistance included more than $1.2 billion for programs in agriculture and food security; economic recovery and market systems; health; humanitarian coordination and information management; logistics support and relief commodities; nutrition; protection; search and rescue; shelter and settlements; and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). USAID/FFP support included more than $1.8 billion for food assistance in the form of U.S.-purchased food, locally and regionally purchased food, cash transfers, food vouchers, and related activities, including asset-building activities, nutrition sensitization, and climate-smart agriculture activities.

Over the last decade, USAID responded to 97 disasters in the West Africa region. USAID deployed Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DARTs) to the region— including to Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone from FY 2014 to FY 2016 for the EVD outbreak—and activated Washington, D.C.-based Response Management Teams to support coordination and response efforts. USAID also sent humanitarian assessment teams to Côte d’Ivoire, the Sahel, and Lake Chad Basin countries in response to complex emergencies and food insecurity. In West Africa, USAID has focused on addressing immediate needs—such as food, basic relief items, health services, protection, and WASH assistance—while supporting recovery activities to build resilience against future crises, including insecurity, drought, floods, below-average agricultural yields, and other shocks.

HIGHLIGHTS

• No new EVD cases reported since April 2016

• Response actors continue to strengthen health care capacity and surveillance systems in EVD-affected countries to mitigate the impacts of future disease outbreaks

• USG provides more than $406 million in FY 2016 humanitarian funding for EVD response activities

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

• The UN World Health Organization (WHO) declared an official end to the large-scale 2014/15 EVD outbreak in West Africa in January 2016. The most recent confirmed case of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in West Africa was identified in Guinea on April 6, 2016. In June, WHO declared an end to EVD clusters in Guinea and Liberia; WHO previously declared an end to the latest EVD cluster in Sierra Leone in March. All three countries completed 90 days of heightened surveillance per WHO’s recommended guidance.

• In FY 2016, the U.S. Government (USG) continued to respond to humanitarian needs related to the outbreak. As the number of new EVD cases declined, USG partners transitioned from emergency response activities toward efforts to build national- and community-level capacity to prepare for and respond to future infectious disease outbreaks. Since FY 2014, the USG has responded with more than $2.7 billion in humanitarian assistance for EVD response efforts.

West Africa - Ebola Outbreak, Fact Sheet #12, Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 (September 30, 2016)

Africa Weather Hazards

1. Below-average seasonal rainfall and persistent moisture deficits in the region have negatively impacted developing crops across parts of the eastern Oromia and SNNP provinces of Ethiopia.
2. There is a potential for increased number of locusts migrating from the Arabian Peninsula which may negatively impact cropping activities.
3. Increasing locust density over northwestern and southern Mauritania since mid-September heightens the risks for an outbreak, according to recent Food and Agriculture Organization locust watch.

Central Asia Weather Hazards

No hazards posted.

Central America and the Caribbean Weather Hazard

No hazards posted.

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.

DUBAI, 19th October, 2016 (WAM) -- Dubai Cares, DC, today announced the allocation of AED 73,470,000 (US$ 20,000,000) for the International Network for Education in Emergencies, INEE, which helps promote access to quality, safe, and relevant education for persons affected by crises.

The commitment by DC, which is part of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's Global Initiatives, will initially cover three programmes in Lebanon, Niger and Sierra Leone. Future programmes will also be announced in the coming year.

The announcement was made at a press conference today, attended by Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer at Dubai Cares, and Jennifer Sklar, Deputy Director of Education at the International Rescue Committee.

Dubai Cares also launched a new community awareness and fundraising campaign, known as #LastILearned, in support of its Education in Emergencies strategy. The campaign will run for one month and aims to raise funds and build awareness of the plight of children affected by conflict and natural disasters.

Education is a fundamental right of every child, yet in times of conflict and disaster, access to education gets disrupted and in many cases results in lost generations of children and youth. Dubai Cares’ #LastILearned campaign takes away the numbers and tells the real stories of the children affected by emergencies, such as the story of 15-year-old Nadia, who has not been receiving an education since the beginning of the Syrian conflict and who shares the last thing she learned in school.

Emphasising the importance of Education in Emergencies, Tariq Al Gurg, said, "Despite the growing number of children caught in conflict and natural disasters, statistics show only one percent of overall humanitarian aid is spent on education. This makes the needs of children living in fragile states an urgent priority for us."

He continued, "We need to show greater commitment to the children and their parents who have voiced their need for education despite their uncertain conditions. We have to unite and act faster than ever to ensure that children’s education is not interrupted, resulting in generations missing out on an education they so desperately need. The opportunity costs of these years lost due to conflict and natural disasters is exceedingly high and we need to do everything we can to prevent it. My belief is that the adults of the future will only be literate if all children of today get the education they deserve."

Since the beginning of the year, representatives from DC have been visiting countries and regions around the world to see firsthand the struggles faced by children and young adolescents caught up in conflicts, gathering and feeding back information that guided the organisation’s strategy for Education in Emergencies and provided insight for the #LastILearned campaign.

Today, one in 113 people are either a refugee, internally displaced, or seeking asylum, and more than half of the world’s refugees are children. The average length of displacement today has reached 17 years and the average length of conflict today is 37 years. According to the United Nations, girls are almost 2.5 times more likely to be out of school in conflict-affected countries and adolescent girls are nearly 90 percent more likely to be out of secondary school in conflict-affected countries than their peers in stable countries.

Al Gurg continued, "#LastILearned is an extremely novel campaign that I have no doubt will prove to be highly effective and impactful. The problems faced by children and adolescents impacted by conflict and natural disasters cannot be ignored, and we at Dubai Cares intend to do everything we can to help them. The Education in Emergencies programmes we are announcing today are just a start. We are committed to providing children affected by emergencies with the education they need to give them hope, make them more resilient and help them achieve their full potential."

The new programmes in Lebanon, Niger and Sierra Leone, are part of "Education in Emergencies: Evidence for Action", or 3EA, which is a new initiative that brings together Dubai Cares, the International Rescue Committee, IRC, and the Global TIES for Children /New York University, NYU, in a pioneering three-year initiative that seeks to have a catalytic effect on the Education in Emergencies sector by testing the impact of key interventions in these emergency settings.

Jennifer Sklar said, "We are grateful to Dubai Cares for their strong commitment to Education in Emergencies. Through the 3EA initiative, we will ensure that children and youth exposed to years of war-related traumas will have access to safe and predictable learning opportunities that teach them both the academic and social-emotional skills they need to learn and thrive. We hope this initiative will jumpstart change in the humanitarian sector and develop the knowledge and evidence we need to inform global policy and practice."

Over the past 9 years, DC has successfully launched education programmes reaching over 16 million beneficiaries in 45 developing countries. With the support of the UAE community, it continues making a difference in the lives of children and their communities by building or renovating 1,580 classrooms and schools, provided more than 770 water wells and potable water sources, constructed more than 5,900 latrines in schools, and trained over 63,990 teachers. It also distributed over 2.8 million books written in local languages and established over 5,100 Parent-Teacher Associations.

Also in attendance at the conference were key campaign donors, Mohammad Al Ansari, Chairman and Managing Director, Al Ansari Exchange, Salim M.A., Director, Lulu Group International and Noor Al Ghafari, on behalf of Waleed Al Ghafari.

L’Institut de Médecine Tropicale (IMT) d’Anvers que soutient la Coopération belge au développement, a accueilli en septembre, environ 250 experts et spécialistes internationaux du secteur de la santé. L’objectif était de discuter des progrès réalisés face au virus Ebola au cours de la conférence internationale « 8th International Symposium on Filoviruses & 58th ITM colloquium - Ebola: 40 years after Yambuku » qui était organisée à Anvers.

En 1976, un thermos renfermant des échantillons de sang d’une religieuse belge, victime d’une maladie inconnue à Yambuku, arrivait à Anvers. Ce fait mit les scientifiques, Guido van der Groen et Peter Piot, sur la voie d’un nouveau virus, nommé ‘Ebola’.

Le 12 septembre, quelque 250 experts et chercheurs de la santé venant du monde entier se sont réunis à Anvers pour se concerter sur l’étude de traitements et de vaccins suite à la dernière épidémie en Afrique de l’ouest en 2014. Cette dernière a touché près de 11.000 personnes. Que peuvent faire les chercheurs pour empêcher la propagation de ces épidémies mortelles et pour éviter toute nouvelle épidémie incertaine? Telle fut la question majeure qui a guidé le débat lors du congrès.

Les spécialistes ont alors étudié la question de l’amélioration des soins de santé en Afrique subsaharienne ainsi que observé les leçons à tirer de ces 40 dernières années. Néanmoins, il n’existe à ce jour aucun traitement pour contrer le virus de l’Ebola.

D’après Peter Piot, le monde ne serait pas prêt dans le cas où une nouvelle épidémie viendrait à voir le jour. Les raisons sont diverses : tout d’abord, il y a un manque conséquent de médecins dans les pays en voie de développement. Ensuite, l’assistance et les besoins médicaux ne sont pas suffisants pour faire face à un tel phénomène. Et finalement, lors d’une épidémie telle que celle du virus Ebola, les populations sont aussi sujettes à la malaria ainsi qu’à la mortalité infantile et maternelle. Par conséquent, le manque d’infrastructures pour les soins de santé constitue un problème de taille.

Au cours de ce congrès, divers points furent discutés : les enseignements recueillis jusqu’à présent ; les priorités de recherche étant donné que l’épidémie en Afrique de l’ouest est passée ; et les actions à prendre pour être prêt face à une nouvelle apparition de la maladie. Les conclusions de la conférence seront rassemblées et plus amplement étudiées lors d’une proposition commune pour un agenda de recherche sur le virus de l’Ebola.

Pour plus d’informations : http://bit.ly/2e6lsjx

Lire aussi dans Glo.be ‘Ebola : quand la faiblesse des systèmes de santé nous concerne tous’.

www.glo-be.be/article-magazine/ebola-faiblesse-systemes-sante-concerne/

IN 2015, ACTION AGAINST HUNGER’S GLOBAL NETWORK SERVED 14.9 MILLION PEOPLE IN 47 COUNTRIES.

AFGHANISTAN. BANGLADESH. BOLIVIA. BURKINA FASO. CAMBODIA. CAMEROON. CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC. CHAD. COLOMBIA. CÔTE D’IVOIRE. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO. DJIBOUTI. EGYPT. ETHIOPIA. GEORGIA. GUATEMALA. GUINEA. HAITI. INDIA. INDONESIA. JORDAN. KENYA. KURDISTAN REGION OF IRAQ. LEBANON. LIBERIA. MADAGASCAR. MALI. MAURITANIA. MONGOLIA. MYANMAR. NEPAL. NICARAGUA. NIGER. NIGERIA. OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES. PAKISTAN. PERU. PHILIPPINES. SENEGAL. SIERRA LEONE. SOMALIA. SOUTH SUDAN. SYRIA. UGANDA. UKRAINE. YEMEN. ZIMBABWE.

ABSTRACT

This paper examines how women’s empowerment is essential for food and nutrition security and resilience in West Africa and suggests policy “pointers” arising from the West African experience that can help inform policies and strategies, particularly in view of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. West African women play a significant role at each stage in the food system, from production to distribution to nutrition, and they contribute to building resilience and adaptability to uncertainty and shocks including the effects of climate change. While it is clear that women significantly contribute to the eradication of hunger and malnutrition, it is also evident that there is a need for greater political representation and participation in policy dialogues.

Keywords: gender, women, food systems, empowerment, West Africa

JEL classification: J16, R11, R58, Q18, Q01, Q15