This is a summary of what was said by the UNHCR spokesperson at today’s Palais des Nations press briefing in Geneva. Further information can be found on the UNHCR websites, www.unhcr.org and www.unhcr.fr, which should also be checked for regular media updates on non-briefing days.

A cholera epidemic declared by the Niger government on May 11 has left 7 people dead in the west of the country, including 2 Malian refugees.

Après plusieurs mois d’extinction, l’épidémie de choléra aurait fait sa réapparition dans la région de Tillabéry où 210 cas seraient confirmés. Six personnes en seraient décédées.

Emergency relief for the most vulnerable people in Mali and the West African Sahel region

The UK will help to prevent desperate food shortages and make Mali and the West African Sahel more stable and secure, International Development Secretary Justine Greening has announced.

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.

INTIKANE, Niger, 7 mai (HCR) – La longue colonne d'animaux, flanquée d'hommes perchés sur leur selle, se dirige vers l'est en direction de nouveaux pâturages à une allure régulière, soulevant des nuages de poussière sur leur passage.

Cela peut ressembler à une scène de Western, mais ce drame se joue à des milliers de kms de l'autre côté de l'océan, au Niger, en Afrique de l'ouest. La distribution comprend 800 animaux, des nomades touaregs originaires du Mali et l'agence des Nations Unies pour les réfugiés.

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’.

INTIKANE, Niger, May 7 (UNHCR) – The long column of animals – flanked by men sitting high in the saddle – headed eastwards at a steady pace, raising clouds of dust on the trek towards new pastures.

It may sound like a scene from a Western, but this drama was being played out thousands of miles away and across an ocean in the West African nation of Niger. The cast includes 800 animals, ethnic Tuareg nomads from Mali and the UN refugee agency.