Author: pr.web

GENERAL OUTLOOK

ETHIOPIA

In Ethiopia, nearly 10 million people, including 4.4 million children, are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance in drought-impacted areas. (UNICEF, Jul 19 2022)

Four consecutive failed rainy seasons have brought on severe drought in Ethiopia’s lowland regions of Afar, Oromia, the Southern Nations Nationalities, Peoples’ (SNNPR) and Somali regions. Water wells have dried up and millions of livestock have died, resulting in mass displacement. Malnutrition rates are increasing at an alarming rate due to the drought. Across the four drought-impacted regions, an estimated 600,000 children will require treatment for severe acute malnutrition by the end of the year. In the Somali region, there has been a 43% increase in severely acute malnutrition admissions (SAM) for under 5 children in May 2022 compared to May 2021.

KENYA

Drought conditions have persisted in ASAL counties (Arid & Semi-Arid Lands) following multiple failed successive rain seasons. This has led to conditions of severe to extreme vegetation deficit coupled with challenges of access to water. This has led to increased trekking distances to water points and grazing sites for livestock, leading to worsening livestock body condition scores and mortalities in some pockets of Garissa, Wajir, Marsabit, Isiolo, and Mandera.

The trend in the distance trekked by livestock in search of water sources from grazing areas, compared to the previous month, has continued to worsen across most counties.

74% of counties were above the Long Term Average with most counties being on a declining trend.

SOMALIA

The drought emergency has worsened. 7.7 million people, or about half of the population, require humanitarian or protection aid. At least 7 million people have been affected by the drought, with 918,000 displaced in search of water, food, and pasture, including members of minority groups. Available reports point to a reasonable chance that famine may occur in 17 districts if crop and livestock production fails, food prices continue to climb, and humanitarian aid is not sustained to reach the most vulnerable populations.

The number of districts under Operational Priority Area (OPA) 1 has increased from 26 to 34 due to a spike in the number of people facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 5). There is need for urgent humanitarian assistance to be scaled up to avert catastrophic hunger & starvation.

Source: Action Against Hunger USA

This week’s feature shows some of the ways that contributions to WHO are helping save the lives of children, from those caught in an historic drought in the Horn of Africa to those fleeing war in Ukraine.

Read also about the battle to end pediatric HIV, malaria and noma, stop polio, prevent drowning, and promote breastfeeding and vaccination.

Protect and promote breastfeeding, leaders urge

Breastfeeding provides a ready, nutritious food source for babies, and governments should use their resources to support it, WHO and UNICEF urged during World Breastfeeding Week in August.

The two organizations called upon countries and other stakeholders to make policies that provide mothers with the time, space and support they need to breastfeed.

WHO points out the special resource breastfeeding provides in emergency situations, where food might be more difficult to obtain.

Read about World Breastfeeding Week activities in: Malawi, Somalia, Tajikistan

Ramping up the polio response in Africa

Mass-vaccination campaigns are under way in southern Africa after a case of wild poliovirus was detected earlier this year in Malawi.

“This is a dangerous disease with no cure, but full vaccination can prevent paralysis,” said Dr Modjirom Ndoutabe, Polio Programme Coordinator at WHO’s Regional Office for Africa. “We are supporting these five countries (Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe) to deliver quality and effective vaccination campaigns, which will safeguard children and stamp out the virus.”

WHO’s International Health Regulations Emergency Committee agreed at a June meeting that the risk of international spread of poliovirus remains a public health emergency of international concern; a young adult was diagnosed with polio recently in the United States (the state of New York), and hospitalized with paralysis.

Read: Ending polio in Somalia and Mopping up polio in Zambia

WHO calls on global community to “do one thing” to stop drowning

For World Drowning Prevention Day (25 July), WHO recommended six ways to prevent drowning: building barriers around water, training rescuers, teaching swimming and water safety at school, providing day care, enforcing boating, shipping and ferry regulations, and doing better at managing flood risks.

Free vaccinations for Ukrainian refugees in Moldova

Since the first day of the war, the Republic of Moldova has been providing free health and immunization services to Ukrainian refugees. As of mid-July, more than 1000 doses of routine vaccines had been administered to refugee children. The shots protect against measles, mumps, rubella and other childhood illnesses.

Also read about Germany’s US$ 4.6 million contribution for childhood and COVID-19 vaccinations in Somalia.

Alliance launched to end AIDS in children by 2030

The Global Alliance for Ending AIDS in Children by 2030 was introduced this month at the International AIDS Conference in Montreal to reignite the fight against HIV in children.

“The wide gap in treatment coverage between children and adults is an outrage,” UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said. “Through this alliance, we will channel that outrage into action. By bringing together new, improved medicines, new political commitment, and the determined activism of communities, we can be the generation who end AIDS in children. We can win this – but we can only win together.”

The Alliance, made up of health organizations, civil society and Member States, has introduced a four-pronged plan of treatment, prevention, testing and protecting human rights to push toward its 2030 goal.

In Somalia: “Our lives have changed thanks to the water we now have in our camp.”

WHO’s recent repair of boreholes in Somalia has brought access to clean drinking water to nearly 20 000 people. Clean water means fewer waterborne diseases like cholera and diarrhoea, healthier populations, and better sanitation.

The United Nations General Assembly has recognized access to water and sanitation as a human right.

Read about WHO’s funding appeal for the humanitarian crisis in the Greater Horn of Africa.

Historic funding to expand roll-out of malaria vaccine in Africa

The world’s first mass vaccination against malaria was brought a step closer in July as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance opened a process for countries to apply for funding to roll out the new vaccine.

Nearly US$ 160 million in international support will fund the effort.

WHO recommended the new vaccine in 2021 after a two-year pilot programme showed it could save tens of thousands of children every year when used in conjunction with mainstay malaria-fighting tools such as insecticide-treated bed nets.

Malaria is a leading cause of childhood illness and death in sub-Saharan Africa, killing more than 260 000 children under the age of five every year.

Nigeria seeks to eliminate a severe and often-lethal mouth disease

WHO and other organizations are helping Nigeria develop its capacity to fight back against noma, a disfiguring and often fatal mouth and face infection whose sufferers tend to be malnourished children living in extreme poverty.

Construction on a 100-bed hospital began in May in Abuja, and hundreds of health workers are receiving training to tackle noma. In July, OpenWHO launched an online noma course for health workers.

“This disease is still not very well known in our communities, including among health care workers who often mistake it for cancer or other illnesses. But I am optimistic that this is beginning to change,” said Dr Shafiu Isah, chief Medical Director at the Sokoto Noma Children’s Hospital in northwest Nigeria. “With the help of other stakeholders, I think we are getting there.”

Support for the activities comes from the German non-profit Hilfsaktion Noma e.V., the Noma Aid Nigeria Initiative, Médecins Sans Frontières and WHO.

Source: World Health Organization

FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT

Cereal production in 2022 estimated at above‑average level

Cereal imports forecast to decline to below‑average level in 2022/23

Food prices increased in 2022, underpinned by elevated global prices

Cereal production in 2022 estimated above average

Harvesting of the 2022 main season cereal crops, consisting mostly of maize and sorghum, was completed in June. Cereal production is estimated at 80 000 tonnes, down from the bumper harvest in 2021 but still 22 percent above the five‑year average, owing to an above‑average cereal acreage. Crop yields are estimated at slightly below‑average levels, as high temperatures and low rainfall amounts in January and February 2022 – an important period for grain development, created less‑than‑ideal conditions and curbed crop productivity. Water supplies and grazing conditions for livestock were reported to be satisfactory as of June across most of the country, except for the North East District.

Cereal imports seen to decline slightly in 2022/23

The country is a net importer of cereals, mostly maize and wheat, which on average satisfy about 70 percent of the domestic needs for both food and feed. Cereal import requirements in the 2022/23 marketing year (April/March) are forecast at 370 000 tonnes, an 8 percent decline compared to the five‑year average level reflecting the large domestic production in 2022. Despite the forecast for reduced import quantities, the total import bill is expected to increase year on year in 2022/23, owing to the elevated global prices of cereals and energy. According to the latest data by Statistics Botswana, the value of cereal imports represented 20 percent of the total food bill in May 2022, compared to 15 percent in May 2021, primarily reflecting a significant increase in the cost of importing wheat, largely sourced from or through South Africa.

Food prices rise in 2022

The annual food inflation rate in June was estimated at 10 percent, up from 7 percent a year earlier. The upturn is mostly due to rising prices for transportation and food, reflecting high global prices and given the country’s net importing status for foods and fuel. Prices of bread and cereals, which account for the largest share of an average person’s calorie intake, increased by 9 percent in the 12 months to June 2022.

Localized pockets of food insecurity persist

According to the latest Botswana Vulnerability Assessment Committee (BVAC) report, released in July 2022, almost 37 000 people are in need of food assistance until at least March 2023. The current prevalence of food insecurity is close to the number estimated in the previous year.

Disclaimer: The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of FAO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Your Excellency Mr. Zhang Jun, President of the Security Council,

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I thank you for inviting me to brief the Council on this important topic “Peace and Security in Africa: Capacity Building for sustaining peace”.

With the onset of a global pandemic, an economic downturn and changing conflict dynamics the challenges to peace and security have multiplied. There has been increased interest from countries and regions in Africa to engage with the Commission in expanding and strengthening their capacities for peacebuilding and sustaining peace.

Since its inception, the Commission, in line with its mandate, and through its country and region-specific engagements has consistently supported Africa and provided its platform to discuss their national peacebuilding priorities and garner support for strengthening the capacity of institutions.

Allow me to share some of PBC’s engagements in Africa in the field of capacity building:

In the Central African Republic, the government has prioritized the fight against impunity and the reinforcement of access to justice. During a meeting of the PBC on the rule of law and transitional justice mechanisms in April this year, the Minister of Justice, Human Rights Promotion and Governance presented the initiatives of his government in the field of peacebuilding. He informed of the reforms and measures undertaken in the judicial and penitentiary sectors, noting the adoption of a Justice Sector Policy, the convening of criminal sessions at the Bangui Court of Appeals and the creation of a rapid response unit within the police and gendarmerie to investigate sexual and gender-based violence. The PBC utilized the meeting to mobilize resources and address the impact of budgetary constraints for the country’s Special Criminal Court and the Truth, Justice Reconciliation and Reparation Commission.

In Liberia, significant efforts have been made to help build capacity for inclusive peacebuilding, especially by ensuring full, equal and meaningful participation of women in social, political and economic lives. Liberia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection briefed the Commission in June, highlighting notable progress in gender equality through the adoption of the Revised National Gender Policy 2018-2022, the second National Action Plan on Women Peace and Security 2019-2023, and a gender-responsive Local Governance and Land Rights Act. The Chair of the Liberia Configuration has recently visited the country and noted the encouraging trend and efforts within political parties to ensure increased women representation in party leadership and broader participation in elections and the role played by women peace huts in building social cohesion at community level.

In Burundi, the government has promoted the decisive role youth can play in their country’s socio-economic development. Advancing youth empowerment and economic inclusion has been operationalized in Burundi’s National Program for Peace Capitalization, Social Stability and the Promotion of Economic Growth, with initiatives in support of youth entrepreneurship and job creation as well as education and training. In November last year, the Administrator Director-General of the Burundi’s Youth Investment Bank, formed in 2020, addressed the Commission and informed of the Bank’s efforts in financing youth enterprises and cooperatives owned by more than 1800 youth members. The Commission also heard from several young men and women entrepreneurs who emphasized how transformative the capacity building support had been in their lives.

In the Lake Chad Basin, the Lake Chad Basin Commission has been making consistent efforts to translate its Regional Strategy for Stabilization, Recovery and Resilience into an implementable plan. The Executive Secretary of the Lake Chad Basin Commission updated the Peacebuilding Commission in April on newly created coordination and management structures and the building of both vertical and horizontal partnerships including with a civil society platform and a task force of implementing partners. The Lake Chad Basin Commission has also supported governors in Boko Haram affected areas of the Basin to articulate their locally owned initiative, the Territorial Action Plans, in support of the regional Strategy.

Mr. President,

Based on these and other PBC engagements in Africa, I wish to share following observations:

First, It is critical to support nationally owned and led efforts to build effective, accountable, inclusive and responsive institutions at the national and local level for reducing vulnerability, and protecting and empowering citizens. There is an abundance of examples globally as well as in Africa, how the pandemic has exacerbated governance gaps affecting the health, economic and social sectors and causing additional strains on social cohesion with potential implications for the peace and security landscape. In view of this, the Peacebuilding Commission recognizes the need to increase collective efforts in strengthening effective, accountable and inclusive public service institutions, within the framework of the rule of law, cutting across all the sustainable development goals, in an integrated and coordinated manner.

In this regard, the Commission will continue to encourage partnerships with international financial institutions (IFIs), including the World Bank and the regional development banks, which have leveraged resources, expertise, and capacities to help build national and local institutions in conflict-affected countries.

Second, enhancing capacity building for sustaining peace is indeed a complex process, one that must be carried out in a step-by-step manner with measures tailored to the specific conditions of each country and region. However, as experience has shown, measures that are not inclusive, ultimately risk sustainability, leaving the drivers of conflict unaddressed. In view of this, the Peacebuilding Commission emphasizes the importance of ensuring that women, youth and those who are in vulnerable situations are included in efforts to build capacity at the local, national and regional levels. The Commission emphasizes that inclusivity is key to advancing national peacebuilding processes and objectives in order to ensure that the needs of all segments of society are taken into account. The Commission also stresses that civil society can play an important role in advancing efforts to build and sustain peace.

Third, capacities for sustaining peace are enhanced with the sharing of lessons learned, the identification of scalable good practices and innovative solutions, and the exchange of expertise. In this regard, the Peacebuilding Commission promotes the role of regional and South-South and triangular cooperation in addressing common challenges to peacebuilding and advancing the long-term goals of economic recovery and sustainable development in Africa. The Commission also wishes to promote sharing of best practices, as and where applicable, across continents.

Fourth, the importance of African Union and other regional and sub regional organizations in Africa, in addressing peacebuilding challenges and fostering regional strategies in support of regional capacities to sustain peace, cannot be overstated. For its part, the Peacebuilding Commission is committed to working more closely with the African Union and its Peace and Security Council in support of these strategies and in mobilizing peacebuilding tools to sustain peace.

Lastly, the Commission acknowledges the invaluable contributions of the Peacebuilding Fund in supporting the strengthening of inclusive national and local institutions and organizations, including in the rule of law, transitional justice, disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration, political dialogue, electoral frameworks, democratic governance, human rights, security sector reform, state capacities and extension of state authority. Noting that the continuing demand for PBF support has significantly outpaced available resources and stressing that capacity building requires timely and effective financial and technical support, the Commission reiterates calls for adequate, predictable and sustainable financing for peacebuilding, and promotes the confluence of various funding streams towards shared objectives in the spirit of “good peacebuilding financing.”

I thank you.

Source: UN Peace Building Commission

ADDIS ABABA – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Ethiopian Government Refugees and Returnees Service (RRS) appealed today for US$73m to provide food rations to over 750,000 refugees in Ethiopia, over the next six months. WFP will completely run out of food for refugees by October, leaving vulnerable families who are dependent on food assistance at risk of undernutrition, micronutrient deficiency, susceptibility to diseases/infection and increased protection risks, the three agencies warn.

Due to protracted funding shortfalls, WFP has already been forced to cut rations for 750,000 registered refugees living in 22 camps and five sites in hosting communities in Afar, Amhara, Benishangul-Gumuz, Gambella, Somali and Tigray regions of Ethiopia.

Food rations for refugees in Ethiopia were first reduced by 16 percent in November 2015, by 40 percent in November 2021, and by 50 percent in June 2022. Food insecurity amongst the refugees has risen as a result of the cuts and is even further compounded by current global limitations to food availability, economic shocks, rising costs of food and energy, the fallout of COVID-19, conflict and insecurity.

To understand the impact of ration cuts on the food security and socio-economic situation of refugees, WFP, UNHCR and RRS conducted a rapid assessment in April which was based on 1,215 households residing in camps located in Afar, Beneshangul-Gumuz, Gambella, and Somali regions.

The results show that more households continued to adopt negative coping strategies by reducing the number of meals eaten in a day, consuming less expensive or less preferred foods, or limiting the portion of the meals served. More households reported to have engaged in demeaning activities, including engaging children in income generation activities, the collection and sale of firewood, while several borrowed cash, relying on friends/relatives for food. This forces refugees to rely on the resources of the hosting community and environment they live in which also increases the likelihood of resource-based conflicts between refugees and host communities.

More resources must be mobilized urgently to meet immediate food and non-food needs of refugees to avert further suffering, whilst similar investments are made to enable sustainable food solutions embedded in the commitments made under the Global Compact for Refugees (GCR)[1] and the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF)[2] for refugees and hosting communities through livelihoods and cash programmes, in line with the UNHCR and RRS strategies. As a short-term measure, WFP and its partners continue to prioritize the needs of children aged 6 to 23 months and pregnant and breastfeeding women under the undernutrition prevention programme (blanket supplementary feeding).

“Three quarters of a million refugees will be left with nothing to eat in just a matter of weeks unless we receive funding immediately,” said Claude Jibidar, WFP’s Representative and Country Director for Ethiopia.

“The priority for us all must be to restore assistance to at least minimum levels for refugees, all of whom are solely reliant on WFP’s cash and food assistance for survival.”

“We have a shortfall of US$73 million for refugees’ minimum needs and we are deeply concerned that if funding cuts continue, they may consider returning to their places of origin when it is unsafe.”

If there is an immediate response from donors, WFP will be able to buy food available in the region and transport it to meet the dietary needs of the refugees. WFP will also transfer cash to the refugees which gives them the choice of how to meet their immediate needs and stimulates local markets.

“We are very concerned about the lack of food for refugees. The continued lack of full rations for refugees, coupled with the impact of the most severe drought that the country has experienced in over 40 years, will greatly undermine the gains made in refugee protection and risk impacting the peaceful co-existence between refugees and their host communities,” said UNHCR’s Deputy Representative in Ethiopia, Margaret Atieno. “We are grateful for what donors have provided so far, but more funding is needed and quickly.”

“Ethiopia, with its progressive refugee policy and commitments, has been striving to ensure the sustainable self-reliance of refugees and host communities with its scarce resources, struggling with recurrent funding gaps from the international community. The subsequent deduction of the overall humanitarian assistance fund for refugees in Ethiopia in recent years has not only affected the immediate basic needs of refugees, but also hindered the long-term intended sustainable self-reliance and co-existence of refugees and host communities.” said RRS Director General, Tesfahun Gobezay.

“The ongoing resource constraints create conflict and stress due to competition over the existing scarce local resources. The persistent budget cuts and the recent 50 percent deduction of the food and cash assistance to refugees from the minimum recommended standard seriously affect the lives of refugees, exposing them to chronic hunger, anaemia, sexual exploitation, and deaths, as more than 85 percent of refugees in Ethiopia are fully dependent on the monthly WFP food rations. This will drawback the positive development of Ethiopia towards ensuring the self-reliance and co-existence of refugees and host communities and above all make the entire life-saving efforts difficult.”

WFP, UNHCR and RRS continue to prioritise the food needs of refugees and have established an effective system to identify the food assistance needs of refugees through biometric verification, ensuring accountability and entitlement to monthly food and cash assistance. The three agencies are calling on all partners to strengthen efforts to address both the medium and long-term food needs of refugees, in line with the Government of Ethiopia’s 2019 Refugee Proclamation, and the commitments contained in the GCR and the CRRF.

Ethiopia hosts more than a million registered refugees and asylum-seekers. Most of them are from South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan. Of these, about 750,000 are fully dependent on humanitarian food assistance. RRS is managing the distribution of food and cash assistance to refugees in a more accountable and transparent manner in accordance with the biometric database. RRS will continue to ensure that asylum-seekers and refugees have access to biometric (level three) registration to meet their assistance and protection needs.

WFP, UNHCR and RRS continue to count on the donor community for extended funding support for the refugees based on the principle of shared responsibility to implement basic humanitarian life-saving activities.

Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Benin, After four days of complaining of fever, headache, fatigue and cough, 40 years old Mr V Ehosa (not real name), a land seller residing in Benin, Edo State, tested positive for monkeypox.

Mr Ehosa got admitted to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Edo State, four days after he presented at the hospital with symptoms such as unusual body rashes, fever, and headache.

“The rashes covered my whole body, and I have no explanation on how I contracted the disease because I did not travel, eat bush meat or have no contact with bush or domestic animals in the last 30 days.

Before contracting the disease, I had limited knowledge of it, but now I know more about monkeypox and that the disease is contagious”.

Mr Ehosa said he gave the list of those he was in contact with within the last 14 days to the health officers for necessary contact tracing.

In the case of 22-year-old Osazee, a student residing in Benin city, he presented at the hospital with fever, nausea and itching lesions.

“I have been at home due to the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union Universities. I do not know how I contracted the disease but there is a dog in our compound, though I have no contact with it”, he said.

Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease endemic in Nigeria and some parts of Africa. However, there has been sporadic spread to other countries as more than 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported across more than 70 countries so far this year, and the number of confirmed infections rose 77% from late June through early July.

The virus is being transmitted from animals to humans.

Recently, WHO activated its highest alert level for the growing monkeypox outbreak, declaring the virus a public health emergency of international concern.

Strengthening response

Since the beginning of the year, Nigeria has reported 357 suspected cases with 133 confirmed monkeypox cases from 25 states – Lagos, Adamawa, Delta, Rivers, Edo, Bayelsa, Nasarawa Plateau FCT, Ondo, Anambra Cross River, Kwara, Borno, Taraba, Oyo, Imo, Kano, Katsina, Gombe, Niger Ogun, Kogi, Bauchi, Akwa Ibom and Abia.

Meanwhile, eight persons have so far tested positive for monkeypox in Edo state, and all the people diagnosed with the disease have recovered.

The Director, Public Health, Edo State Ministry of Health (MOH), Dr Ojeifo Stephenson, said it has become imperative to warn the residents of the state about the health risks that the virus poses and reiterate the need to be cautious and adhere to preventive measures.

He said the state MOH with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, has ramped up surveillance, diagnostics and other activities to curb the spread of infectious diseases.

“We have stepped up surveillance including prompt investigation of suspected cases, facilitating documentation of contacts, contact tracing and monitoring, as well as developed and disseminated public health advisory to raise awareness about the disease among residents of the state,” he said.

Additionally, Dr Benson Okwara, who works at UBTH, said WHO has been an invaluable partner to the response of monkeypox diagnosis and treatment in the facility.

Dr Okwara has five years of experience in managing patients with monkeypox.

He lamented that the disease spreads within the communities because of the poor health-seeking behavior and late presentation of the case to the hospital.

“However, with WHO’s coordination, there is an early response following notification of suspected/confirmed cases with detailed case investigations using the monkeypox case investigation form (CIF) to collect data on patient contacts.

“There is a need for continuous risk messaging to educate people about infectious diseases and the importance of seeking medical care early and at appropriate health facilities to prevent the spread of diseases,” he said.

Across Nigeria, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), supported by WHO, has activated Monkeypox Emergency Operations Centre to strengthen in-country preparedness and contribute to the global response of the outbreak.

Furthermore, WHO is supporting the coordination of technical assistance and operational support of partners, including the national One-health risk surveillance and information sharing (NOHRSIS) group, to facilitate timely information exchange on all prioritized zoonotic diseases.

Source: World Health Organization