25,000 IDPs are reportedly in Sake from Goma while 60,000 IDPs previously hosted in Kanyaruchinya have been forced to flee again due to the fighting.

GENERAL HIGHLIGHTS

• As of 1 October, the total number of Malian refugees in Niger, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Togo and Guinea is 202,206 persons. The new figures of internally displaced persons (IDPs) resulting from the crisis in Mali is estimated at 118,795. The current number of Malian refuges and IDPs is 321,001 persons.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Over 240,000 people affected by flooding in eastern Africa

• 70 people killed by intercommunal clashes in Kenya

• Ebola outbreak under control in Uganda as a new strain kills 11 people in DRC

• Over 600,000 people have been displaced by fighting in DRC since January

• A sixth camp in Dollo Ado, Ethiopia has been endorsed by the government

• The flow of refugees and migrants from the Horn of Africa towards Yemen exceeds previous records

In this issue

OCHA adds 500 free humanitarian symbols to communications tools and services

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs (OCHA) has created a set of 500 freely available humanitarian icons to help relief workers present emergency and crisis-related information quickly and simply.

HIGHLIGHTS/KEY PRIORITIES

• Civilians are paying a heavy price for this week’s increase in violence in Rutshuru

• Population movements continue, including towards Kibati, Katale and Goma

• 60,000 children may be out of school in September as schools are looted or damaged

Yemen a year after the civil unrest – deeper humanitarian crisis compounded by chronic underdevelopment; challenging political transition and volatile security affecting access; aggravated socio-economic situation manifested by a collapse of basic social services and rising cost of living leading to greater disparities and inequity, and shrinking community resilience.

Children continue to bear the brunt of the crisis. They constitute half of the population.

Highlights

• Over 220,000 IDPS in recent weeks in North Kivu; access and funding critical to relief effort
• Host families primary source of shelter for IDPs in North Kivu
• Resurgence of diseases illustrates dysfunctional health system; long term engagement critical
• Critical food security programme short on funds
• HAP 2012 critically underfunded, continuing a trend in funding shortfall

Salvador, Bahia, 7 June 2012 (PAHO/WHO) - Representatives of several international organizations pledged this week to promote investments in water and sanitation infrastructure as key steps toward the elimination of cholera from Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The pledges were made during the launch of a new Regional Coalition on Water and Sanitation for the Elimination of Cholera in the Island of Hispaniola, on June 4 in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

FOREWORD

2011 was an important year for the humanitarian community and for OCHA. There was barely a moment when our community was not faced with a relentless series of natural disasters, political crises and chronic emergencies.

But in the midst of this, we achieved something quite remarkable. At the end of December, humanitarian response partners, UN agencies, NGOs and the International Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement agreed on a series of reforms that focused on making our response efforts faster and more effective.