Afghanistan

HIGHLIGHTS

• Two million people at risk of becoming severely food insecure due to the ongoing drought.

• Humanitarian partners need US$115 million to respond to the needs of the 1.4 million most vulnerable people hit by the drought.

• REACH study sheds light on stark living conditions and lack of services in areas under control of armed groups.

• Health professionals call for universal access to health care on 7 April for World Health Day.

• Qatar is a new donor to the CHF-Afghanistan with a $2 million contribution

Meet a doctor at the frontline of polio eradication

Almost everyone in the Killa Saifullah district of Balochistan, Pakistan, knows and respects 35-year-old Taj Muhammad. A dedicated and passionate doctor by profession, Dr Taj spends his days working as a Union Council Medical Officer in his local public health facility, and his evenings running a free medical clinic for local residents.

In his capacity as Medical Officer, he coordinates polio eradication efforts at the Union Council level, which is the smallest administrative unit in Pakistan.

Summary of major revisions made to emergency plan of action:

Tropical Cyclone Mekunu is expected to hit Yemen and Oman next week

Africa Weather Hazards

1. Insufficient rain since January has resulted in large moisture deficits and below-average vegetation conditions over portions of northwestern Angola.

2. Poorly-distributed rain since late February has resulted in abnormal dryness across central and northeastern Ethiopia.

3. A slow onset to seasonal rainfall across the southern Gulf of Guinea countries has led to strengthening moisture deficits throughout the region.

• New on www.polioeradication.org: Rotarians are at the heart of the fight to end polio, and in Pakistan, are reducing chance of virus spread through provision of clean drinking water.

• This week, the World Health Assembly is meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, and will be presented with a Strategic Action Plan on Polio Transition (including the Post-Certification Strategy), a status report on polio eradication, and a proposed resolution on containment of polioviruses.

How do vaccinators ensure that every child is reached?

Every child needs to be vaccinated to protect them from poliovirus. To achieve this, detailed plans are prepared for vaccination teams. The aim is to find each child under 5 years of age – in Afghanistan, that is around 10 million altogether – and to reach them with vaccines.

TALOQAN - Government officials at a UN-backed symposium in Takhar’s capital city gathered with activists, professors and other community leaders to discuss recent efforts in the north-eastern province to improve protections for women’s rights.

Some 30 people attended the one-day event, organized by UNAMA’s Kunduz regional office, to consider practical ways to work together, at the district level, to empower Afghan women at all levels of society, from the social to the political, and enable them to enjoy their fundamental rights.

KABUL - The United Nations in Afghanistan welcomes the release in Kabul of a colleague and her child held hostage since January, while expressing outrage at their abduction and the earlier murder of another colleague who was also seized during the same incident.

The release of the woman and her young son is of enormous relief to their loved ones, colleagues and to the entire UN family in Afghanistan.

KUNDUZ: More than 1000 houses were destroyed or badly damaged by the recent floods triggered by heavy rain in the Imam Sahib district of Kunduz province, residents said Monday.

The rain and flood hit Qatar Blaq, Zard Qamar, Kanjak, Gumbaz, joye Begum and some other areas of Imam Shaib district, destroying and damaging more than 1000 houses, local residents told Afghan Islamic Press (AIP).

They said the floods also swept away crops over hundreds of jerab of land.

Oxfam developed a multi-sector Coping Strategy Index (mCSI) to provide the humanitarian community in Afghanistan with a tool to assess and monitor the impact of interventions – especially multi-purpose cash grants – with data collected from Nangarhar, Herat, Kunduz, Kandahar and Kabul provinces. The project was funded by EU humanitarian aid and Oxfam.

This report explains how the index was developed and tested in the field to verify its validity as a proxy of overall household stress. Also available to download is an introduction to the methodology.

Kathmandu, May 23, 2018 — Protracted conflicts in Asia have negatively impacted development and growth, nationally and regionally. Local conflicts, associated with land and natural resources, along with urban crime, are on the rise as Asian countries develop and urbanize.

By: Jeff Krentel; Nathaniel L. Wilson

An evaluation of a three-year USIP program to strengthen capacity in the field to counter violent extremism revealed that effective project design, thoughtful recruitment strategies, and tailored course content are critical. Participants reported applying what they learned to either adjust existing CVE programs or develop new programs altogether. This report explores the lessons from the project for funders and practitioners to develop more effective projects.

Summary

Afghanistan

Displacement continues to affect Afghanistan with over 27,000 new IDPs in the past week. Conflict is the primary reason for displacement, although drought and food insecurity are other important reasons.

Conflict has displaced some 10,000 people in Ghazni, while some 4,000 people have been displaced to Kabul and Bamyan. Other significant population movements have recently been reported in Farah due to shifting territorial control, and in Hirat and Kandahar provinces due to drought.

Introduction

Executive Summary

Civilians were majority of casualties from anti-vehicle mines in 2017

The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) have released a new global report of anti-vehicle mine incidents in 2017. The report records a 15 per cent increase in casualties from anti-vehicle mines in 2017, compared to 2016.

Alors que plus de 128 millions de personnes dans le monde ont besoin d'une aide humanitaire immédiate, principalement en raison de la guerre et de la violence, le Secrétaire général des Nations Unies a exhorté la communauté internationale à faire davantage pour protéger les civils pris dans les conflits.

António Guterres a lancé cet appel lors d'une réunion du Conseil de sécurité mardi, au cours de laquelle il a présenté un rapport décrivant trois façons dont les gouvernements peuvent intensifier leur action.

A global fund that provides rapid humanitarian aid for overlooked crises, is marking the second anniversary of the World Humanitarian Summit by sharing the impact of its 4th year, through its new annual report released today.

The Start Fund fills a critical gap in humanitarian financing. It pools funding from donors for immediate release for underfunded small to medium scale crises, spikes in chronic humanitarian crises, and to act in anticipation of impending crises.