Au menu:

· Tchad : ouverture d'un sommet sur le développement durable, la pauvreté et le climat (AFP, 11/05/13)

· Le Tchadien Djimet Adoum nommé secrétaire exécutif du CILSS (AFP, 13/05/13)

· Canada provides emergency assistance for refugees and displaced in eastern Chad (CIDA, 13/05/13)

· Nigeria declares 'massive' military campaign on borders (BBC, 15/05/13)

· Greening: We must break the cycle of food shortages in Western Africa (DFID, 15/05/13)

· UN envoy says CAR in 'state of anarchy' (Al Jazeera, 16/05/13)

Media Note, Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
May 16, 2013

One year after the food crisis and the takeover of northern territories of the country by armed groups in Mali, the humanitarian situation is critical and its effects are making themselves felt throughout the region. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has been in the country for 35 years, and has had to adapt to these successive crises. Since mid-February 2013, Lucas Riegger, a member of the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit, has been providing support for the activities of the SDC’s Cooperation Office (Coof).

The security situation, which had remained largely calm during the month of April, deteriorated on the 21st April with the takeover of Ber, located 53 km east of Timbuktu, by the Mouvement Arabe de l’Azawad (MAA), and this occurred two weeks after two serious security incidents in Timbuktu.
The incident in Ber further illustrates the growing tension between the Tuareg and Arab communities.

The Global Overview collates information from a range of sources and displays it in a manner that allows for quick comparison of different humanitarian crises.

WASH

Since the beginning of the year 71,428 persons have received permanent access to an improved potable water source and 454,567 people received temporary access to potable chlorinated water. Roughly 15 per cent of the 1,222 Health centers throughout the country have a presence of WASH actors providing support for the WASH minimum package. In anticipation of the risk of cholera epidemic associated to the approaching rainy season, WASH partners have been identified in all areas (District Sanitaires) for which the risk has been identified as ‘extreme’, ‘elevated’ or ‘medium’.

Normal start in bi-modal zone and a good progression of the season in Guinean-Sudanian zone

KEY MESSAGES

• February to April rainfall estimates (RFE) indicate that the onset of rains occurred earlier than normal this season with generally above normal rainfall levels in the bi-modal zone, as well as the southern part of the Guinean-Sudanian zone. According to medium term forecasts, an on time or early onset of the rains is expected for the northern part of the Guinean-Sudanian zone.

Many of the 45,000 children in Mauritania's most populous refugee camp have been there for over a year now. They need stable education facilities.

Link: Mali Situation Update No 17 - 1 April 2013