Guinea: Measles Outbreak - Feb 2014

Key Findings

• Livelihoods have been affected by the crisis and opportunities are expected to decrease further. Poor households and families affected by the loss of a member are facing food insecurity.

• The already weak health systems have been overwhelmed by the crisis, leading to an increase of non-Ebola related mortality.
  The weakened monitoring system, together with a lack of diagnosis and treatments, could potentially lead to an increase in preventable morbidity and mortality.

GENEVE/DAKAR/CONAKRY/FREETOWN/MONROVIA, 9 janvier 2015 – L’UNICEF aide les gouvernements et les communautés à relancer les programmes de vaccination contre la rougeole dans les pays affectés par Ebola. Le nombre de cas de rougeole a fortement augmenté dans ces pays où les systèmes de santé sont débordés et des dizaines de milliers d'enfants sont exposés à des maladies mortelles.

GENEVA/DAKAR/CONAKRY/FREETOWN/MONROVIA, 9 January 2015 – UNICEF is helping governments and communities restart stalled immunizations amid a surge in measles cases in Ebola-affected countries, where health systems are overwhelmed and tens of thousands of children are left vulnerable to deadly diseases.

“Measles is a major killer of children that can easily be stopped through a safe and effective vaccine,” said Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa. “But immunization rates have dropped significantly, further threatening children’s lives.”

A. Situation analysis

Description of the disaster

CHF 120,982 was allocated from the IFRC’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) on 31 January, 2014 to support the Red Cross Society of Guinea (RCSG) in delivering assistance to some 1,600,000 beneficiaries.

Iraq: 1.2 million people have been displaced by the ISIL June offensive and the Anbar crisis. Humanitarian access to militant-held areas remains a challenge. The security situation in Anbar, Ninevah, Salah al Din and Diyala is volatile and unpredictable. Host communities are facing difficulties assisting new IDPs and over 226,000 Syrian refugees.

Pakistan: The military offensive against the Taliban in North Waziristan has reportedly killed up to 30 Taliban and displaced at least 300,000 people to neighbouring provinces as well as Afghanistan.

DAKAR, 12 June 2014 (IRIN) - With health authorities and medical personnel battling Guinea’s first outbreak of Ebola, there have inevitably been concerns about finding the human and physical resources to combat other diseases. Unlike Ebola, measles and meningitis are well known to Guinea and require a major, coordinated response from both the state and NGOs. Despite the ‘Ebola factor’, health organizations say they have maintained their operations and are combating measles and meningitis effectively.

Ebola still advancing

CAR: The security situation in Bangui has reportedly deteriorated; 25 have been killed in renewed clashes. Violence has disrupted the April–May planting season, which will likely lead to below-average 2014–2015 harvests.

Syria: 241,000 people are estimated to be living under siege, 196,000 besieged by government forces, and 45,000 by opposition forces. Nearly 2,000 civilians are reported to have been killed in air strikes on Aleppo this year. Humanitarian access to both government and opposition controlled areas dropped significantly in May.

Balkans: On 13 May, cyclone Tamara hit the Balkans. Heavy rainfall resulted in extensive flooding in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia; 1.6 million, 1.5 million, and 38,000 people have been affected, respectively. In total, 81,879 people have been evacuated. Relief efforts are being hampered by landslides, damaged infrastructure, blocked roads, and blackouts.

South Sudan: A cholera outbreak was reported in Juba, with 43 suspected cases and two deaths recorded. Displacement figures have climbed to 1,005,000 IDPs and 310,000 refugees in neighbouring countries. Juba and the South Sudan Democratic Movement/Army – Cobra Faction signed a peace agreement over conflict in the Greater Pibor area.

Iraq: 6,000 people fled the Iraqi military’s shelling of Fallujah over 6–16 May. The Iraqi Government has denied using barrel bombs, but residents keep describing what appear to be such devices.

South Sudan: Peace negotiations in Addis Ababa have resulted in a ceasefire agreement between South Sudan’s president and the head of the opposition. The number of IDPs in South Sudan stands at 983,000. Following fighting in Upper Nile state, at least 11,000 new South Sudanese refugees have crossed into Ethiopia, bringing the total to 120,000. Altogether, 341,000 South Sudanese refugees are in neighbouring countries.

06-05-2014 Bulletin du terrain

Tour d'horizon des activités de la délégation du CICR à Conakry.

Sommaire

• Guinée : bulletin d'information des activités du CICR, avril 2014
  
• Une année difficile en Guinée
  
• N’Zérékoré : laisser passer la Croix-Rouge
  
• Être préparé aux urgences
  
• La campagne contre les abus de l'emblème de la croix-rouge

Syria: The security situation had deteriorated with escalating violence in the West of the country resulting in population displacement and hampering the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Large numbers of newly displaced are heading to the calmer regions of Idleb governorate, which hosts over 500,000 IDPs. In the East, Iraqi helicopters hit an opposition convoy in the first strike claimed by Iraq inside Syria since the conflict began.

Contents
- 141 Progress towards measles pre-elimination, African Region, 2011-2012
- 151 Monthly report on dracunculiasis cases, January- February 2014

Sommaire
- 141 Progrès en vue de la préélimination de la rougeole dans la Région africaine 2011-2012
- 151 Rapport mensuel des cas de dracunculose, janvier-février 2014

Highlights

 From January to 26 March 2014, Guinea has recorded a total of 103 suspected cases of viral haemorrhagic fever with 66 deaths (including 36 community deaths), representing a case fatality rate of 64%.

 To date, 41 samples were analyzed and 15 were positively identified as Ebola virus. The epidemic affects mainly prefectures of Guéckédou, Macenta, Kissidougou, and Conakry, and the ability for the disease to reach other areas is very high.

 Five cases reported in Conakry, four confirmed Ebola, one dead.

Syria: Violence continues, with opposition infighting in the northwest and heavy clashes across large parts of the country, including Rural Damascus. While several military ceasefires have allowed some access to besieged areas, insecurity continues to interrupt aid distribution, and access to Ar-Raqqa, Deir-ez-Zor and areas around the capital remains highly constrained. To date, over nine million people are estimated to have been displaced by the crisis, at least 2.5 million of whom have crossed into neighbouring countries.

Towards the end of 2014, humanitarian partners in Guinea started reporting an upsurge of measles cases across the country. Highly contagious and a leading cause of death amoung children, measles outbreaks are common in Guinea.

On 27 February, the Emergency Relief Coordinator approved a US$1 million CERF rapid response allocation to help contain the outbreak. The funds will go to the provision of vaccines, management and detection of new cases, and monitoring of the epidemic.

Syria: Violence is ongoing across the country, with rebel infighting in the northwest and renewed clashes in parts of Damascus. While several military ceasefires have allowed some access in besieged areas, insecurity continues to interrupt aid distribution, and access remains highly constrained from Damascus to Rural Aleppo, where 1.25 million people are estimated to be in need of food assistance. To date, over 9 million people have been displaced by the crisis, 2.5 million of whom have crossed into neighbouring countries.

Syria: Violence is ongoing across the country, with further government bombardments in the southeastern governorates of Damascus and Dara’a. To date, an estimated 2.5 million people have crossed into neighbouring countries, while 6.5 million are now internally displaced. In a separate development, the UN Security Council adopted a non-binding resolution to boost humanitarian access to Syria as increasing security incidents at the Turkish border threaten to compromise access to the north of the country.

Syria: Conflict continues in the country with further infighting reported between armed groups in Deir-ez-Zor, clashes between opposition and government forces in Idleb, and governmental bombardments on the governorates of Rif Dimashq, Dar’a and Aleppo. To date, over 2.4 million people have fled the country, and an estimated 6.5 million are internally displaced. Meanwhile, the latest round of Geneva II peace talks between Syrian Government representatives and opposition leaders came to an end with little progress being made.

Jennifer Lazuta

DAKAR, SENEGAL — Mass emergency vaccination campaigns are now under way in Guinea to control a spreading outbreak of measles. The World Health Organization warns that measles is one of the most highly contagious diseases, and is a leading cause of death among children.

Doctors Without Borders and UNICEF said they were working with Guinea’s Ministry of Health to vaccinate more than two million children between the ages of six months and 10 years against measles.