West and Central Africa: Weekly Regional Humanitarian Snapshot (16 - 22 February 2016)

BENIN
LASSA FEVER CASES REACH 71

Seventy-one cases (6 confirmed, 10 probable and 55 suspected) of Lassa fever were reported as of 16 February in seven departments. Seven of the reported cases, including two deaths were among health workers. Since the beginning of the outbreak on 21 January, 318 contacts have been identified and 292 are being monitored.

CAMEROON
SUICIDE BLAST KILLS 19

A double suicide bombing on a market in Mémé village in the Far North region left at least 19 people dead on 19 February. The attack came a week after Cameroonian forces crossed the border into north-eastern Nigeria to begin a new offensive against Boko Haram, part of a continuing battle against the group.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
*NEW PRESIDENT ELECTED *

Former prime minister Faustin Archange Touadéra has been elected CAR’s new president following a run-off vote held on 14 February, according to provisional results announced by the electoral commission on 20 February. Touadéra won 62.7 per cent while his challenger, Anicet Georges Doléguélé, took 37.29 per cent. UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon lauded the peaceful conduct of the polls and urged politicians and other stakeholders to maintain the “constructive atmosphere”.

CHAD
THOUSANDS OF DISPLACED RECEIVE FOOD AID

WFP and its partners have in the past week assisted thousands of people recently displaced by Boko Haram violence in Chad and Cameroon with food and nutrition support, the agency said on 16 February. WFP aims this month to reach up to 35,000 displaced people who have so far not received any assistance.

EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE
SIERRA LEONE CONTACT SEARCH TO END SOON

The search for missing contacts in Sierra Leone’s Kambia district will continue until at least 24 February. If no further cases are detected, transmission linked to the January cluster of cases will be declared over on 17 March. As of 19 February, Guinea had completed 43 days of the 90-day enhanced surveillance period after Ebola was declared over in the country on 29 December. Several prefectures have stepped up surveillance and cases of fever or deaths are being reported more frequently.