Sahel Crisis: 2011-2017
OngoingOverview
In the Sahel, extreme poverty, climate change, armed conflict and insecurity continue to threaten the lives of millions already living on the brink. These interdependent drivers are behind the staggering levels of structural, chronic and acute vulnerability present in the region. Where the chronic seasonal cycle is broken, progress and success can be seen. Where conflict hits, hard-won gains are quickly lost and new challenges appear.
Communities across the region remain highly vulnerable. In 2017, around 30 million people are expected to face food insecurity, and almost 12 million of them at crisis and emergency levels. Pockets of pasture deficits have been observed in certain areas of Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, and risks of locusts have been identified in Mauritania and neighboring areas. The situation of people living in the conflict-affected regions of Mali and the Lake Chad Basin, is particularity critical.
In 2017, in the more stable regions of the Sahel such as Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Senegal, where needs are driven by chronic vulnerability, humanitarian action has been fully aligned with resilience and development frameworks.
Lake Chad Basin: The scale of suffering remains huge and is expected to grow: around 11 million people will require assistance in 2017. Humanitarian partners have requested US$1.5 billion to provide aid to 8.2 million people. While the response strategy focuses us on providing emergency, life-saving assistance, humanitarian actors are also calling for a collaborative approach to help address the deeper causes of the Lake Chad Basin crisis that include abject poverty, the impact of climate change, rapid population growth and under-investment in social services. At the Oslo conference on 24 Feb 2017, 14 donors pledged $458 million for relief in 2017 and an additional $214 million was announced for 2018 and beyond. (OCHA, 24 Feb 2017)
Mali: Needs remain high with more than 3.5 million people being food insecure and some 852,000 people in need of nutrition assistance. More than 37,000 people remain internally displaced. The majority of those in need of assistance are in Mali’s northern region. In April 2017, the Humanitarian Response Plan for 2017 for $293 million was only 11.6% funded. OCHA warned of destabilizing consequences, as the humanitarian situation is quickly deteriorating as a direct result of the conflict. (OCHA, 28 Apr 2017)
For 2017, the humanitarian community will require US$ 2.66 billion to help 15 million people, across 8 countries. (OCHA, 7 Dec 2016)
As of 18 August 2017, the humanitarian response plan for West and Central Africa was 34% funded. (OCHA, 18 Aug 2017)
Appeals & Funding
- Sahel 2017 | Overview of humanitarian needs and requirements EN/FR
- Sahel 2016 | Rapport de suivi périodique (Octobre-Decembre)
- Sahel: 2014 - 2016 Regional Humanitarian Response Strategy Reviewed
Useful Links
September 16: Gunmen killed three in Lokoja, Kogi.
September 17: Boko Haram killed five in Magumeri, Borno.
September 17: Kidnappers abducted five in Akoko South-West, Ondo.
September 18: Three suicide bombers killed themselves and fifteen others in Konduga, Borno. Boko Haram was suspected.
September 18: Pirates kidnapped five in Calabar, Cross River.
September 18: A cult clash resulted in six deaths in Lagos Island, Lagos.
SITUATION
Poverty and armed conflict in parts of Nigeria contribute to high levels of food insecurity and chronic malnutrition. As of August 2017, conflict in northeastern Nigeria had displaced more than 1.7 million people within the country and forced nearly 205,000 people to flee into neighboring Cameroon, Chad and Niger, straining food resources in the region.
Response to Corporate Emergencies
January - June 2017
Level 3 Emergency
South Sudan
WFP continues to provide vital humanitarian assistance to hard-to-reach locations across South Sudan. WFP conducted 1,314 airdrops delivering 36,263 mt of humanitarian cargo.
Syria
Chad is facing interconnected humanitarian crises in a context of chronic poverty and low economic development. The security situation in neighboring countries has led to large population movements into Chad, as well as internal displacement for several years.
Le Tchad fait face à des crises humanitaires interconnectées, dans un contexte de pauvreté chronique et de faible développement économique. La situation sécuritaire dans les pays voisins a entrainé d’importants mouvements de personnes vers le Tchad, ainsi que des déplacements internes depuis plusieurs années.
Experts from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda convened in Entebbe, Uganda, to identify and discuss opportunities to strengthen cross-border interventions for guinea worm disease eradication. Participants mapped a joint action plan for 2018 to strengthen surveillance, communication and coordination for guinea worm disease eradication. They further charted a strategy to strengthen cross-border surveillance among refugees to prevent the disease from spilling over to refugee host-communities.
This paper assesses the role of village savings and loan associations (VSLAs) in building resilience to climate extremes and disasters in Niger. The findings aim to inform a broader conversation on how financial inclusion can be considered a pillar of resilience programming.
By Mirabelle Enaka Kima, IFRC
In Cameroon’s far north, Bintou Abba Ali, a mother of thirteen, was forced to flee her village after a suicide attack devastated her family.
“My husband and three of my sons were killed during a suicide attack. I left my home and fled with seven of my children in the hope of finding a safer place for them,” recalls Bintou.
The Monaco Red Cross is launching an appeal for solidarity to help curb one of the widest food crises which is currently rife in Africa
Maiduguri, NIGERIA – Yana, 25, was three months pregnant when she fell sick with cholera just days ago. “I was already suffering, but then I started bleeding, and the baby is gone now,” she told UNFPA in one of the tent wards for cholera patients at a displacement camp outside Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria’s conflict-scarred Borno State.
Last July hostilities between armed groups in Kidal forced 847 people to leave their homes. SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL set up an emergency response for displaced people.
SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL takes action to assist people in precarious and vulnerable situations. Our teams provide households with drinking water, they receive 20 litres of water per person per day. Our teams also distribute water purification tablets to treat 10m3 per day.
Among them: 186 men, 288 women and 373 children.
In Nigeria, while 1.7 million people are displaced in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states to flee violence between armed groups and the Nigerian army. A cholera outbreak has been detected in the northeast of the country.
The conflict has damaged or destroyed 75% of water and sanitation facilities in affected areas. 6.2 million people now have an urgent need for drinking water. Contaminated water leads to the spread of the cholera outbreak. The epidemic has already affected more than 2,600 people and killed 48 in Borno state.
OPERATIONAL OVERVIEW
8.5 MILLION PEOPLE IN NEED OF LIFE-SAVING ASSISTANCE IN 2017
6.9 MILLION PEOPLE TARGETED FOR LIFE-SAVING ASSISTANCE IN 2017
Le Secrétaire général condamne l’attaque perpétrée aujourd’hui contre un convoi de la Mission intégrée des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation au Mali (MINUSMA) dans la région de Gao dans laquelle trois casques bleus du Bangladesh ont été tués et cinq autres gravement blessés.
Le Secrétaire général transmet ses condoléances au Gouvernement du Bangladesh et aux familles endeuillées. Il souhaite un prompt rétablissement aux blessés.
Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General
The Secretary-General condemns today’s attack against a convoy of the United Nations Multidimensional lntegrated Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), in the Gao region, killing three Bangladeshi peacekeepers and seriously injuring five others.
The Secretary-General conveys his condolences to the Government of Bangladesh and to the bereaved families. He wishes swift recovery to the injured.
24 septembre 2017 – Le Représentant spécial adjoint du Secrétaire général au Mali, Koen Davidse, a condamné fermement dimanche une attaque à la mine ou engin explosif contre des Casques bleus qui escortaient un convoi sur l'axe Anefis - Gao, dans la région de Gao.
Un premier bilan indique que l'explosion, à 7 heures dimanche matin, a entraîné la mort de trois Casques bleus de la Mission multidimensionnelle intégrée des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation du Mali (MINUSMA), 5 autres ont été sérieusement blessés, a indiqué la MINUSMA dans un communiqué de presse.
AG/11952
Assemblée générale Plénière
Soixante-douzième session, 19e à 22e séances plénières, Matin, après-midi & soir,
Le Ministre des affaires étrangères de la République populaire démocratique de Corée affirme que son programme nucléaire est purement dissuasif
Moyen-Orient, Soudan du Sud, Yémen, Myanmar et essor du terrorisme: face à la multiplication des conflits et des défis sur la scène internationale, de nombreux États Membres ont appelé aujourd’hui à une réforme urgente de l’Organisation des Nations Unies.
GA/11952
General Assembly Plenary
Seventy-second Session, 19th to 22nd Meetings (AM, PM & Night)
Small Island States Concerned about Access to Financial Markets, Illegal Fishing
Security, human rights and international law took centre stage at the General Assembly today, with States diverging over how best to preserve their stability in the face of existential threats, as the 193-member body entered the fifth day of its annual high-level debate.
On 10th September, Mark Lowcock, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator and the Head of OCHA , have been on the N'Gagam (Diffa, Niger) displaced persons site. The N'Gagam site is housing 15,000 people fleeing violence in the region.
23 septembre 2017 – A la tribune de l'Assemblée générale des Nations Unies, le Ministre des affaires étrangères du Tchad, Hissein Brahim Taha, a regretté samedi que les pays en voie de développement continuent de faire les frais de la crise économique et s'est inquiété de la dégradation sécuritaire dans la région du Sahel.
