Niger - IOM Niger has organized a three-day “Festival on Safe and Informed Migration” in Agadez, Niger.

The objective was to raise awareness and increase access to information about migration for transiting and potential migrants, the host population and migrants living in the city’s migrant ghettos.

“We have never had a festival that brought together migrants like this, because we never could access the ghettos to talk to the migrants and involve them in cultural activities. In fact, we couldn’t have received a more enthusiastic reaction from them. This has been a great way to disseminate information about migration and integration. It has also broken down barriers between the local community and the migrants,” said the manager of the IOM Agadez transit center, Azaoua Mahaman.

The festival opened at the IOM transit center with a video screening exploring migration in Niger and in the region. It included documentaries from Odysseus 2.0, a project which produced photos and videos of the migration route to Europe.

Other activities on Day 1 included a football match in the town square between a migrant team and young people from Agadez and an evening of participatory theatre to encourage debate about informed decisions about migration and safer alternatives to irregular routes.

Day 2 focused on the host community and a public discussion was organized at the Sultanate of Aïr with the active participation of Agadez Association of Women. In the evening a mobile cinema caravan showed more videos and an educational movie on the economy of migration: “Ouaga Saga.”

On the Day 3 IOM staff took part in a radio talk show “Cercle des Migrants”, produced by IOM, to answer to listeners’ questions. The festival concluded with a video forum in an Agadez ghetto, followed by a Question and Answer session.

The festival was part of an IOM project: “Supporting Informed Migration in Niger,” co-funded by the European Union and the Italian Ministry of Interior.

See photos from the festival here.

For further information, please contact Linda Cottone at IOM Niger. Tel: +227 89 31 16 45, Email: rcottone@iom.int

Nairobi, 29 April 2016 – The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today launched its 2015 Annual Report website and print edition in all six UN languages. The report showcases many of UNEP’s big results of the last year – from key work in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement to securing investor pledges to decarbonize $600 billion worth of assets under management – and zooms in on projects helping communities in countries like Colombia and Cambodia to adapt to climate change and develop sustainable livelihoods.

You can view the report and download PDFs at www.unep.org/annualreport

Bogotá, Colombia, 28 de abril de 2016 (OPS)- A pesar del descenso registrado en los nuevos casos de zika en Colombia, la Directora de la Organización Panamericana de la Salud/ Organización Mundial de la Salud (OPS/OMS), Carissa F. Etienne, pidió "no bajar la guardia" en el enfrentamiento al virus en el país y en la región.

"Colombia ha sido uno de los primeros países de las Américas en detectar la circulación del virus del Zika, luego de Brasil, y ha mostrado un gran liderazgo en su respuesta para controlar la enfermedad y al mosquito transmisor", sostuvo Etienne. "Debemos mantener una guardia alta frente a un virus nuevo en la región sobre el que todavía existen muchos interrogantes y cuyo comportamiento todavía se está estudiando", consideró.

La directora de la OPS/OMS está de visita oficial esta semana en Colombia para participar de una serie de reuniones con autoridades del país y del lanzamiento en el país de la Semana de Vacunación en las Américas, este sábado en Leticia, Amazonas.

En una reunión con el ministro de Salud y Protección Social de Colombia, Alejandro Gaviria, y los equipos técnicos de la cartera sanitaria y de la representación de la OPS/OMS en el país, Etienne destacó el potencial de las investigaciones en curso en Colombia, las cuales aportarán evidencias que podrán fortalecer la respuesta de salud pública del país, así como servir de guía a otros países de la región.

Asimismo, llamó la atención sobre la importancia de buscar y aplicar enfoques innovadores para reducir la población de mosquitos Aedes Aegypti, el principal vector para la transmisión del zika y de otros virus como el dengue, chikungunya y fiebre amarilla.

"Estamos viendo un descenso de la epidemia en Colombia, pero no tenemos que relajarnos", coincidió Gaviria y marcó como un desafío "la contabilización en tiempo real de los casos de microcefalia" asociados al zika.

Colombia ha notificado 71.322 casos de zika, de los cuales 3.292 fueron confirmados en laboratorio, y cuatro casos de microcefalia asociados al virus.

Según datos oficiales del boletín epidemiológico de la semana 15 de 2016 del Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INS) de Colombia, hay 1.703 casos confirmados por laboratorio de embarazadas con la enfermedad y más de 10.000 casos de embarazadas sospechosos de zika. Además, del total de infectados se registraron 462 personas con un algún síndrome neurológico con antecedente de enfermedad compatible con la infección por virus Zika, de las cuales 304 corresponden al síndrome de Guillain-Barré.

Gina Watson, representante de la OPS/OMS en Colombia, subrayó que los países tienen que "comenzar a pensar en la rehabilitación", tanto de los niños que nacen o nacerán con síndromes neurológicos asociados al zika, como de las personas que padecen el síndrome de Guillain-Barré.

A raíz del aumento de casos de microcefalia y de otras afectaciones neurológicas en los países afectados por el zika, la directora general de la OMS, Margaret Chan, declaró el 1 de febrero pasado que se trata de una emergencia de salud pública de importancia internacional, siguiendo las recomendaciones del Comité de Emergencia para el Reglamento Sanitario Internacional (RSI).

La OPS/OMS ha desarrollado una estrategia para ayudar a los países a mitigar el impacto del zika, a través del fortalecimiento de sus capacidades para detectar la introducción y propagación del virus, reducir las poblaciones de mosquitos, garantizar los servicios de salud necesarios, y comunicarse de manera efectiva con el público sobre los riesgos y las medidas de prevención.

Etienne y Gaviria conversaron también sobre vacunación y acerca de la salud en el proceso de paz en Colombia.

Virus del Zika - Incidencia y tendencia

Hasta la fecha, 35 países/territorios de las Américas confirmaron casos autóctonos (transmisión vectorial) de infección por virus del Zika (Figura 1). Desde la última Actualización Epidemiológica del 21 de abril de 2016 de la Organización Panamericana de Salud/ Organización Mundial de Salud (OPS/OMS) no hay nuevos países o territorios que hayan confirmado la transmisión vectorial del virus del Zika.

En algunos países de la Región de las Américas los casos nuevos (sospechosos y confirmados) de enfermedad por virus del Zika muestran una tendencia decreciente, lo cual coincide con lo observado en otras enfermedades transmitidas por mosquitos en años anteriores. Por el contrario, la tendencia de los casos sigue en aumento en los países y territorios en los que el brote se inicio más tardíamente, tal como se ilustra más abajo en la República Dominicana y Guadalupe.

Arrivals and Departures

In April, there were an average of 119 daily arrivals to the Greek shores. This figure represents an 86% decrease as compared to the average arrivals in March of 870 people daily.

In Italy, the number of refugees and migrants who arrived in April was noted to be 8,490. As compared to the same month in 2015 (16,063), the total number of arrivals has dropped by more than half.

Critical Developments

During the past few weeks, debates took place regarding the closure of the refugee route from Turkey to Greece, noting concerns that this may result in a surge of refugees and migrants through North African countries towards Italy.

Though arrival levels from Libya are no higher than they were last year, European governments have discussed and announced measures of border controls as a response to this possibility.

Last week, during the European Union Justice & Home Affairs (JHA) Council on 21 April, EU Interior Ministers reached agreement on a position regarding the proposed EU Border and Coastguard Agency, to support ‘the future management of the EU's external borders’. The Council and European Parliament, however, must agree on a common text before it can enter into force. The European Parliament should reach its initial position by the end of May before beginning negotiations with the Council. The European Council and Commission hope to conclude this process before the end of the Netherlands presidency in June to allow the new force to be operational by the end of the summer.

Last week, on 21-22 April, the Interior and Foreign Ministers of Bulgaria, Greece, Albania and Macedonia met to discuss possible measures regarding border controls in case of a refugee and migrant inflow into Europe. During their meeting on Monday, Bulgarian Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev and his Croatian counterpart Josip Buljevic agreed to consolidate the regional and trans-border cooperation between the two countries.

The number of refugees and migrants found passing between Turkey and Bulgaria has fallen despite the closure of other routes to Europe. In the first quarter of 2016, detected crossings fell by 20% compared to last year. Bulgarian officials detected just over 2,800 irregular crossings in the first three months of 2016 as cited in the media; compared to about 3,500 for the equivalent period in 2015.

Austria outlined plans on Wednesday, 27 April, to erect a short fence at a border crossing with Italy escalating the debate between the two countries over how to handle the refugee and migration crisis. Austrian authorities have requested their Italian counterparts to implement measures to reduce the number of refugees and migrants traveling towards northern Europe or they will introduce further border controls at the Brenner Pass in the Alps. The Austrian government also announced similar border management measures at its border with Hungary.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi last week insisted Italy is not facing a surge in arrivals by boat from Libya stating that fears are being exacerbated by rumors that Italy is becoming the main entry point into Europe . Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, however, highlighted Austria's deep concerns as Austria received 90,000 asylum applications and hundreds of thousands were transiting through the country last year whilst 154,000 had arrived in Italy in 2015.

In March 2016, the Council on Foreign Relations’ (CFR) International Institutions and Global Governance program held a workshop on the shortcomings of the institutions, financing mechanisms, and legal frameworks for managing refugee flows, delivering humanitarian assistance, and handling asylum applications, and prospects for reform. The workshop was made possible by the support of the Robina Foundation. The views described here are those of workshop participants only and not those of CFR or the Robina Foundation. The Council on Foreign Relations takes no institutional positions on policy issues and has no affiliation with the U.S. government. In addition, the suggested policy prescriptions are the views of individual participants and do not necessarily represent a consensus of the attending members.

CONFERENCE TAKEAWAYS

 The global humanitarian regime is not equipped to handle an era of chronic emergencies, accelerating climate change, and revolutions in transportation and information technologies.

 The architecture and financing of global humanitarian cooperation should adapt to new trends in the flows of refugees, the internally displaced, and migrants. Priorities for reform include defining the differences between migrants and refugees, addressing the needs of internally displaced populations, linking development aid and humanitarian assistance, incorporating new donors and actors into response efforts, and adopting education and employment programs that promote self-reliance among refugees.

 The upcoming World Humanitarian Summit and U.S.-led high-level meeting on refugees and migrants are opportunities for achieving substantive reforms and durable financing options.

Latin American and Caribbean countries are engaging the public in the fight against Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that transmits Zika, dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever

Washington, D.C., 28 April 2016 (PAHO/WHO)— As part of Vaccination Week in the Americas (April 23 to May 2), health authorities in a number of Latin American and Caribbean countries are urging people to clean up potential mosquito breeding sites in and around their homes to prevent the spread of Zika and other mosquito-borne diseases.

The focus on mosquito control reflects concern over the rapid spread of Zika to countries and territories throughout the Americas and the fact that there is currently no vaccine against the disease. Moreover, the same mosquito that transmits Zika—Aedes aegypti—also transmits dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever, which have sickened millions of people in the Americas over the past few years.

"Given the current situation with a number of mosquito-borne disease outbreaks, namely Zika, dengue and chikungunya, many countries are taking advantage of Vaccination Week in the Americas to share information on personal protection and vector-control activities," said Carissa F. Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). PAHO coordinates Vaccination Week, the largest international health initiative in the Americas, which this year is celebrating its 14th year.

Attacking Aedes

Aedes mosquitoes are well adapted to human settlements, preferring to breed in clean water that collects in man-made recipients such as bottles, cans, plastic containers and discarded tires. Successfully eliminating these potential breeding sites requires the active participation of families and communities in environmental clean-up efforts.

PAHO has developed recommendations for preventing and eliminating Aedes breeding sites. The recommendations urge individuals, families and communities to:

• Make sure all tanks, water deposits and containers are covered and sealed to keep out mosquitoes.
• Change the water and brush the insides of sinks and water barrels at least once a week. Change water in flower vases and pet bowls weekly as well.
• Safely dispose of unused containers that can collect water and serve as breeding sites.
• Turn over any containers that cannot be thrown away and protect them from rain.
• Pour out water from flower pots and planters and replace with damp sand.
• Keep swimming pools treated according to recommendations.
• Clean all drains and gutters.
• Keep grass short and weed-free, and keep patios clean.

One of the countries that is mobilizing communities to undertake such efforts during Vaccination Week in the Americas is El Salvador, where health authorities are also carrying out fumigation. Haiti is urging its population to prevent and destroy mosquito breeding sites while also advising women, in particular, on how to protect themselves against mosquito bites.

Also in the Caribbean, Saint Lucia is organizing community clean-up campaigns to reduce vector breeding sites, Sint Maarten is sponsoring health information sessions on vector control for children 17 and under, and Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago are disseminating information on prevention and control of mosquito-borne diseases in general. Bolivia, meanwhile, is intensifying surveillance of measles, rubella and acute flaccid paralysis in areas where Zika is circulating.

In addition to mosquito-control efforts, at least 21 countries are promoting other complementary prevention activities during this year's Vaccination Week. The activities include deworming, vitamin A supplementation, distribution of oral rehydration therapy, chronic disease and obesity screening, prenatal checks, dental health activities, childhood growth and development screening, work wellness and school health programming, and vaccination of pets.

About Vaccination Week in the Americas

Vaccination Week in the Americas began in 2003 as part of the regional response to an endemic outbreak of measles in Venezuela and Colombia. To prevent future such emergencies, the ministers of health of the Andean countries proposed a coordinated international immunization initiative. Since then, Vaccination Week has taken the benefits of immunization to more than 580 million people of all ages and has become a key driver of progress in immunization in the Americas.

PAHO engages in technical cooperation with its member countries to organize and carrying out Vaccination Week each year, providing assistance with planning, resource mobilization, social communication campaigns, procurement of vaccines and supplies, and evaluation. The PAHO Revolving Fund also provides key support for Vaccination Week by helping PAHO member countries pool their resources to procure high-quality vaccines, syringes and other supplies at the lowest prices.

PAHO, founded in 1902, is the oldest international public health organization in the world. It works with its member countries to improve the health and the quality of life of the people of the Americas. It also serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of WHO.

Links

— Vaccination Week in the Americas 2016

— Infographic: How to prevent mosquito breeding sites

— PAHO Director's message

— PSA with Usain Bolt

— Tools for social media

— Posters and banners

— http://twitter.com/opsoms #GetVax

Brussels, 18 April 2016

The European Commission today announced the introduction of 20 new measures in the Sahel region and Lake Chad Basin, worth over EUR 280 million in total.

The European Commission today announced the adoption of 20 new measures to assist the Sahel region and the Lake Chad Basin under the 'Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa'.

These measures, with a budget of over EUR 280 million, correspond directly to the commitments made under the Action Plan adopted at the Valletta Summit (11‑12 November 2015). The aim of the measures is to improve the management of migration flows, create sustainable economic opportunities for young people and address the factors of instability and vulnerability. Under these measures, EUR 100 million are earmarked for the Lake Chad region, in particular to support those affected by the Boko Haram terrorist group.

EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, added: 'With these twenty new measures worth almost EUR 300 million, the Trust Fund is demonstrating once again its added value in swiftly launching projects to tackle the root causes of instability and irregular migration in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin regions. We are focusing in particular on job creation, especially for young people, and the socio‑economic reintegration of vulnerable groups. These sections of the population are the main victims of instability and they should be the main beneficiaries of our projects.' The measures are targeted specifically at the areas of origin and transit of migrants and the main areas of instability. They are part of a comprehensive response by the European Union and are the result of an enhanced political dialogue with its partners on the question of migration.

Eight countries in the region will benefit from this assistance through an integrated approach which reflects the complexity of migration and the diversity of the challenges in the region:

• Three measures (EUR 63 million) will be geared to the regions of origin of migrants in Senegal and Mauritania in order to create economic opportunities for young people, prevent irregular migration and promote voluntary returns.

• Two measures (EUR 37 million) will target the areas of transit in Niger in order to increase employment opportunities and income-generating activities for migrants and local populations.

• One measure (EUR 6 million) will be aimed at setting up a joint investigation team in Niger to combat networks engaged in smuggling migrants and human trafficking.

• A regional measure (EUR 5 million) will build on the capacities of the countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in the fight against organised crime, trafficking and terrorism by creating or strengthening capacity to collect, pool, manage and share police data.

• One measure (EUR 3 million) will help to protect migrant children from exploitation and human trafficking in Mauritania.

• One measure (EUR 6 million) will be aimed at strengthening the commitment of the Malian diaspora in Europe to developing Mali's economy and in particular the areas of origin of migrants.

• One measure (EUR 10 million) will underpin the implementation of the Northern Mali Peace Agreement.

• Eight measures (EUR 118 million) will target the Lake Chad region and the areas affected by the crisis linked to Boko Haram in order to boost the resilience of vulnerable groups, in particular women and the displaced, and strengthen conflict prevention and management.

• Two measures (EUR 30 million) will be aimed at supporting the most vulnerable groups and contributing to the socio-economic integration of women in northern Burkina Faso.

Other measures more specifically aimed at combating migrant smuggling and human trafficking, supporting internal security forces, border management and governance of migration flows are currently being formulated and will be presented in the coming weeks.

Following the adoption of 10 measures in January 2016 worth EUR 100 million in addition to today's EUR 280 million, the Fund thus confirms its ability to respond swiftly and in a targeted manner to the specific challenges of the region, complementing other EU action.

For more information

MEMO/16/1426 : Factsheet on the 20 new measures adopted

Press release on the initial 10 measures adopted in January 2016: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-16-68_en.htm

Ten new measures adopted in January 2016: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-16-69_en.htm

Brussels, 28 April 2016

The European Commission has today announced the approval of 10 new actions worth €117 million to improve stability and address the root causes of irregular migration and forced displacement in the Horn of Africa region.

The European Commission has today announced the approval of 10 new actions for an amount of €117 million in the Horn of Africa region under the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa.

EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, said: "In addition to the first set of actions worth €253 million decided in December, we now have a second set of actions worth €117 million, enabling the EU to provide substantial additional support to the many refugees, displaced persons and host communities in the Horn of Africa. We are working hard to move ahead with these new actions as fast and effectively as we did with those from December."

The package of actions consists of:

• sustainable development and protection programmes for refugees and host communities in Ethiopia, Sudan and Kenya (€60 million);

• employment opportunities and technical skills for young people in peripheral areas of Coastal and North East Kenya (€12 million);

• the promotion of a culture of tolerance and dialogue in Somalia (€5 million);

• support to the people in Sudan, with two projects to strengthen the resilience of refugees, IDPs and returnees (€19 million) and a third project to improve food security policy and decision-making through data collection and analysis (€6 million);

• a regional project to create a more conducive environment for legal migration and mobility within the countries of the Horn of Africa (€10 million), and - a regional project to provide capacity building support to promote greater resilience in the region (€5 million).

These actions will build on a previous package of actions worth €253 million for the Horn of Africa region adopted in December 2015. This was part of an ongoing response to the commitments made by the EU and African partners at the Valletta migration summit last November.

They also follow last week's announcement of 20 new measures worth €280 million for the Sahel region and Lake Chad Basin region decided last week. A first set of actions for this region worth €101 million had been approved in January 2016.

The actions announced today will also contribute to deepening progress on high level dialogues on migration with African partners, at both national and regional level.

Background

The European Commission launched an “Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa” at the Valletta migration summit last November. The Fund is made up of €1.8 billion from the EU budget and European Develop­ment Fund, combined with contributions from EU Member States and other donors.

For more information:

FACTSHEET: Second package of measures approved to tackle the root causes of irregular migration and forced displacement in the Horn of Africa

• Almost 3/4 of migrants in "temporary" structures

• Arrival of unaccompanied migrants has spiked this year

• Italy seeking to expand shelter network to hold 150,000

By Steve Scherer

CALTAGIRONE, Italy, April 29 (Reuters) - When police arrested Lamin Darboe's father two years ago, the 16-year-old had to quit his studies and work on his uncle's farm in Gambia. Desperate to go back to school, he stole his uncle's bull to pay his way to Europe.

Read the full article here

Johannesburg, 29 April 2016 – According to the new World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for the prevention, treatment and care of HIV and Hepatitis, all 26 million people currently living with HIV in the African Region are now eligible for antiretroviral treatment (ART). This is more than double the number of the current 11 million on treatment.

“The recommendation that anyone infected with HIV should begin antiretroviral treatment as soon as possible after diagnosis will revolutionize treatment outcomes, where people living with HIV will be able to live long and healthy lives,” says Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, “WHO AFRO will work with countries to provide technical support in the transition from current treatment modalities, to ease burden on national health systems.”

With its “treat-all” recommendation, WHO removed all limitations on eligibility for anti-retroviral therapy (ART) among people living with HIV – all populations and age groups are now eligible for treatment. In the past, people living with HIV had to fulfil certain criteria before receiving treatment.

The expanded use of anti-retroviral treatment is supported by recent findings from clinical trials confirming that early use of ART keeps people living with HIV alive and healthier, and reduces the risk of transmitting the virus to partners.

WHO now also recommends that anyone at “substantial” risk of becoming infected should be offered preventive anti-retroviral treatment, termed as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). PrEP should be seen as an additional prevention choice based on a comprehensive package of services, including HIV testing, counselling, voluntary male medical circumcision, access to condoms and safe injection equipment.

In addition to the new directions towards expanding ART access to all people living with HIV and broader use of PrEP, the consolidated guidelines make new clinical recommendations on preferred antiretroviral drugs and regimens, new testing strategies for infants, the increasing role of viral load and the appropriate use of CD4 testing. Service delivery recommendations will focus on interventions to reduce losses along the cascade of HIV services from testing to viral suppression, and the role of community-based models of ART delivery.

The WHO guidelines for the prevention and control of HIV and Hepatitis were discussed in detail with 18 countries in the African Region at a workshop held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 25–29 April 2016.

During the workshop, countries engaged in dialogue on operational and programmatic implications for adoption and implementation of the strategies and guidelines on national health systems. Country plans for in-country dialogue and technical assistance needs for adaptation and implementation were also identified. Countries also developed draft country roll-out plans, including the priority actions for country adaptation along with technical assistance that may be required for timely and effective implementation of the new guidelines.

For more information, please contact:

Dr Frank Lule, Regional Adviser, HIV Programme lulef@who.int Tel +47-241-39162,
Loza Mesfin Tesfaye, Communications Officer tesfayel@who.int Tel +47-241-39779
C. Boakye-Agyemang, Regional Communications Adviser boakyeagyemangc@who.int Tel +47-241-39420

KEY MESSAGES

• In West Africa, market availability was good in March with supplies 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 Northern Mali. The recent depreciation of the Naira has led to price increases across Nigeria (Page 3).

• In East Africa, maize prices followed seasonal trends in surplus-producing Uganda and Tanzania. Harvests are estimated to be well below average in Ethiopia, but prices have remained stable with the availability of food through humanitarian assistance programs underway. The South Sudanese Pound was allowed to float in December, leading to a persistent depreciation of the local currency and reducing purchasing power. Markets remain disrupted by insecurity in South Sudan and Yemen (Page 4).

• In Southern Africa, although maize supplies remained well below-average, supplies from green harvests improved availability and generally eased pressure on prices, except in Mozambique where maize prices continued to increase sharply. Maize prices are well above-average levels across the region (Page 5).

• In Central America, maize and bean supplies were stable with supplies from the Postrera and Apante harvests. Maize prices were generally stable, except in Nicaragua, while beans prices were mixed. Locally-produced bean and maize availability remained below-average in Haiti, while imported commodity prices and availability remained stable (Page 6).

• In Central Asia, wheat availability remained adequate region-wide. Prices are below their respective 2015 levels in surplus-producing areas (Page 7).

• International staple food markets remain well supplied. Maize, wheat, rice, and soybean prices were stable in March and below their respective 2015 levels (Figures 2 and 3). Crude oil prices increased but remained well below-average (Page 2).

Dry conditions developing in the Gulf of Guinea region and northern Hispaniola

Africa Weather Hazards

1. Poorly-distributed rainfall since O ctober 2015 has resulted in large moisture deficits, leading to wilted crops, livestock deaths, and reduced water availability over many areas of Southern Africa. With the season coming to an end, recovery is unlikely.

2. Irregular and poor rainfall over the past four weeks has led to increasing rainfall deficits over Liberia, portions of eastern Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, and western Ghana. Limited rain is forecast during the next week, likely maintaining moisture deficits.

3. Insufficient rainfall since late March has led to moderate to large moisture deficits across central Kenya and parts of southern and central Somalia. Moderate to heavy rain is expected across the Greater Horn of Africa during the next week, which should help alleviate dryness over some areas.

4. Consistent downpours over eastern Ethiopia over the past few weeks have caused the Shabelle River to exceed its level over downstream localities of Somalia. The risks for flooding are high over the River Basin as heavy and above-average rain is forecast over the Greater Horn during the next week.

5. Torrential rainfall is expected off-shore of Tanzania during the upcoming week, which could trigger flooding along the coastal areas of the country and neighboring southeastern Kenya.

Rome, Italy | AFP | Saturday 4/30/2016 - 15:19 GMT

Eighty-four migrants are still missing after an inflatable craft sank off the coast of Libya, according to survivors cited by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Saturday.

Twenty-six people were rescued from the boat which sank on Friday, and were questioned overnight.

"According to testimonies gathered by IOM in Lampedusa 84 people went missing," IOM spokesman in Italy Flavio Di Giacomo wrote on his Twitter feed.

Di Giacomo told AFP that the survivors indicated 110 people, all from assorted west African states, had embarked in Libya.

In an email, he added that the vessel "was in a very bad state, was taking on water and many people fell into the water and drowned.

"Ten fell very rapidly and several others just minutes later."

Earlier Saturday, Italy's coastguard said an Italian cargo ship had rescued 26 migrants from a flimsy boat sinking off the coast of Libya but voiced fears that tens more could be missing.

The coastguard received a call from a satellite phone late Friday that helped locate the stricken inflatable and called on the merchant ship to make a detour to the area about four miles (seven kilometres) off the Libyan coast near Sabratha.

Rough seas and waves topping two metres (seven feet) hampered attempts to find any other survivors.

The rescued migrants were transferred to two coastguard vessel and taken to the Italian island of Lampedusa.

Images released by the coastguard showed two women wrapped in shawls and blankets stepping off one of their vessels.

An IOM spokesman said five unaccompanied minors aged between 16 and 17 were among those rescued.

More than 350,000 people fleeing conflict and poverty have reached Italy on boats from Libya since the start of 2014, as Europe struggles to manage its biggest migration crisis since World War II.

Most of the 27,000 people who have made it to the Italian coast this year hail from Nigeria, Gambia and Senegal.

Some 500 were rescued on Friday by monitoring vessels in the area while Di Giacomo said two bodies had been spotted in one inflatable craft.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimates 1,261 people have drowned in the Mediterranean this year, chiefly on precarious voyages to Greek islands, in desperate attempts to secure a new life.

The additional migrant flow from the Syrian conflict has put further pressure on search and rescue operation efforts.

Last year, the IOM estimated that around 3,800 people died or were listed as missing in the Mediterranean -- though some UN estimates put the figure at nearer 5,000.

ob-nl/cw/har

© 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse

29-04-2016, Nairobi: The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) this morning held the 4th Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainability Initiative (IDDRSI) General Assembly in Nairobi. The official opening ceremony was presided over by Hon. Mwangi Kiunjiru, Cabinet Secretary-Ministry of Devolution and Planning of Kenya, in the presence of Hon. Egziabher Yohannes, State Minister of Livestock and Fisheries of Ethiopia, and HE Amb. (Eng.) Mahboub Maalim, Executive Secretary of IGAD.

This 4th general Assembly was preceded by the 6th IDDRSI Steering Committee Meeting as regular preparation phase to the GA.

In his opening remarks, Hon. Mwangi highlighted that Kenya has made good progress in mitigating drought emergencies during the last couple of years even if challenges remained. He then gave a comprehensive overview of the various steps his Ministry and the government of Kenya took towards ending drought emergencies in the near future before declaring the GA open.

Hon. Egziabher reminded the audience of the pledge against drought emergencies taken by IGAD member states heads of state and government in 2011 in Nairobi. He then continued with highlights of steps taken by Ethiopia government in its fight against drought emergencies wwithin and outside the IDDRSI framework.

Amb. Maalim related the ddays preceding the GA where the 6th IDDRSI Steering Committee prepared the ground durg two days for the GA, and the IDDRSI Mid Term Review exercised on the 26th of April on the same venue. He assured the audience of the advanced status of the operationlization of the Initiative his organization has been in charge of.

Representatives of development partner organisations supporting IDDRSI, such as the United Nations Agencies, the World Bank Group, the African Development Bank, the United States Agency for International Development, and the European Union, also took the floor during the opening ceremony to reaffirm commitment and support to the Initiative.

Keynote address was delivered by the Governor of Mandera County, Kenya, in which he appraised the cross border approach to ending drought emergencies in particular and in addressing regional issues at large.

The below Communique' was adopted at the end of the 4th IDDRSI General Assembly.

A report from the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA)

As the humanitarian crises following the Arab spring enter their sixth year, the media coverage of war, displacement, and migration in the Middle East and North Africa tragically have become all too familiar. For mainstream media, the millions of people whose lives have been upended are mostly data points, illustrations of the misery and upheaval that have swept across Syria, Yemen, Gaza, Iraq, and many places between. Yet for those who are caught in the crises, and plagued not only by insecurity and uncertainty but a lack of information, relatively little is available to help them make informed decisions for their own survival.

CIMA’s report, Media as a Form of Aid in Humanitarian Crises, examines how humanitarian crises around the world have led to a major change in the priorities and approaches in media development efforts. The report, by Jeffrey Ghannam, an expert on news media in the Middle East, argues that traditional efforts aimed at building sustainable media systems and institutions have had to give way to the more pressing needs of these crises.

The report cites Internews' role in developing tools and technologies for addressing the information needs of people in humanitarian crises.

Download the report

ISTANBUL, April 30 (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Saturday around 20 Syrians had been readmitted to Turkey under an EU migrant deal designed to help stem migration to Europe across the Aegean Sea.

Read the full article here

By Laurie Goering

DHAKA, April 29 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - When residents of the low-lying Del Rosario slum settlement in Valenzuela City in the Philippines noticed floodwater was lapping half a finger's length higher up their homes each year, they decided it was time to do something.

Read the story on the Thomson Reuters Foundation

Chronic violence and instability in the Horn of Africa have spurred major investments in resilience in the hopes of preventing future humanitarian crises. Yet how best to build resilience in conflict contexts remains unclear. Mercy Corps began tackling these issues through previous research that demonstrated that peacebuilding interventions can have positive effects on pastoralists’ abilities to cope with and adapt to severe drought. Building on these insights, Mercy Corps conducted research in Uganda and the Mandera Triangle to examine how conflict management programs might strengthen resilience.

The central question this research sought to answer was: How do conflict management and peace-building programs affect households’ resilience to shocks and stresses in pastoral areas in the greater Horn of Africa? Specifically, Mercy Corps looked at the effect of social cohesion (opportunities for groups in conflict to interact and build trust) and an enabling institutional environment (helping informal and informal leaders work together to prevent conflict and resolve disputes). The study adopted a mixed methods approach, which included quantitative and qualitative data collected and analyzed first in early to mid-2013, and again in early to mid-2015.

Key lessons and recommendations

• Building resilience through peacebuilding efforts can support food security goals. Household food security is gravely affected by economic and climate-related shocks. But these effects can be mitigated by strengthening community and institutional conflict management systems, strengthening the case for scaling up peacebuilding work.

• Peace is stronger where conflict management skills and systems are institutionalized. Where government representatives and traditional leaders work together, more conflicts are resolved satisfactorily. This supports Mercy Corps’ efforts to bring together formal and informal leaders in conflict resolution initiatives.

• Not all forms of social capital appear to be equal when it comes to building resilience.Greater links across ethnic boundaries did not appear to improve peace or food security; however stronger bonds within communities did. Such intra-ethnic social cohesion can manifest as a community-level social safety net, for example, where community members help each other out during times of stress. Development actors should support interventions that strengthen these types of networks that people rely on during times of stress.

Read the Pathways from Peace to Resilience research brief

Read the Pathways from Peace to Resilience full report

Contact

Jon Kurtz, jkurtz@dc.mercycorps.org
Kate McMahon, kmcmahon@mercycorps.org

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Small island states are a group of 39 countries that are small, geographically isolated, and highly vulnerable to shocks.

• They represent two-thirds of the countries suffering the highest relative losses due to natural disasters – between one and nine percent of GDP annually.

• These losses are being further exacerbated by climate change.

In Samoa recently, villagers gathered on a roadside overlooking the ocean to examine maps on an iPad. Since 2012, this strip of coastline – long prized for its fishing and other resources – has suffered multiple cyclones and storms, devastating farms and communities.

The maps being used by villagers are not run-of-the-mill cartography. Laser imaging mounted on aircrafts is being used to equip government officials with three-dimensional maps, which communities can use to identify flooding and landslide risk, protect roads and homes, change their fishing routes, and plan evacuation.

“This type of aerial imaging is just one of the impressive set of innovations we are seeing in small islands states,” said Ede Ijjasz Vasquez, Senior Director at the World Bank Group’s Social, Urban, Rural and Resilience Global Practice. “As the community mapping exercise demonstrates, these tiny nations are not taking climate change lying down. They know that sustainable development can’t be achieved unless we reduce the risk of disaster.”

Samoa is one of the 39 small island states on the front lines of climate change and intensifying natural disasters. Just last week, the UN announced that 175 nations signed the Paris climate treaty and that 15 countries – many of them small islands states – have already taken the next step of ratifying the agreement.

“Small island states are the most vulnerable when it comes to natural disasters,” said Sofia Bettencourt, Lead Operations Officer at the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery. “Climate change magnifies the risk and increases the costs of disasters.”

The journal Nature Climate Change estimates that up to 73% of island states – home to 16 million people – will face increasingly dry conditions by the middle of the century, while sea levels continue to erode coastlines. And a United Nations report released late last year found that future disaster losses represent “an existential threat” to small island states, where expected annual losses are equivalent to almost 20% of total social expenditure, compared to only 1.9 % in North America and less than 1% in Europe and Central Asia.

“The recurrent losses caused by national disasters and climate variability create a ‘leaking bucket’ effect that undermines growth and adds to national debt,” said Bettencourt. “Jamaica’s economic growth, for example, could have approached 4% per year in the absence of tropical cyclones – instead, it experienced an average of 0.8 % over the last 40 years. Resilience is at the core of the development challenge for small island states.”

Many small island states are developing the tools, models, and institutions to withstand climate change and preserve their unique cultures. But faced with geographic isolation, limited resources, and small economies of scale, most small island states experience enormous difficulty financing and managing resilience.

Between 2010 and 2014, many small island countries were managing 15-20 projects each, imposing a huge administrative burden on a small number of operational staff. The vast majority of the projects were below US$1.5 million, yet contributed only 10% of total funding.

However, better practices are emerging. In the very early 2000s, most Caribbean countries were managing multiple small projects of US$1-5 million each. A decade later, eight Eastern Caribbean countries including Dominica and Saint Lucia were directly managing resilience programs of US$20-70 million each. Intensive and hands-on implementation support has been crucial to helping island nations scale up their investments commensurate to the challenges – bringing the World Bank’s annual support for resilience in small island states to an average of US$180 million per year.

World Bank support includes:

• The Small Island States Resilience Initiative (SISRI), with a team of 45 specialists from across the World Bank. Under SISRI, the Bank is helping small island states access funding and global expertise, as well as piloting “debt for resilience” swaps to help countries buy back high-cost commercial debt to free up finances for basic sustainable development needs.

• A new Small States Secretariat, elevating support for the issue within the World Bank.

• Increased collaboration with development partners in Australia, Japan, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and the Asian Development Bank, in a joint effort to increase resilience in small island states.

• A forum on resilience in island nations, to be held on May 16 in Venice, at which officials from more than 20 Caribbean, Pacific, and Indian/African Ocean countries will meet. Facilitated by the World Bank, the forum aims to share project insights, exchange best practices, and build a network of practitioners.