West and Central Africa: Weekly Regional Humanitarian Snapshot (10 - 16 May 2016)

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

DECREASE IN MENINGITIS CASES

After the meningitis threshold was exceeded in March in the towns of Kabo and Batangafo, fewer cases are now being reported in the north-western Ouham province. WHO and health actors are curbing the outbreak by monitoring the seasonal meningitis-prone region and by strengthening social mobilization. A national campaign against the disease is planned in October as part of the preventive measure in the meningitis belt in Africa.

CHAD

NEARLY 300 SHELTERS DESTROYED IN GAOUI RETURNEE SITE

Following the rain and wind that swept over and around N'Djamena on 11 May, the Gaoui IDP site, north-east from the capital, where 5,200 Chadian returnees from CAR live, was severely affected. Three people were injured and nearly 300 shelters – almost half of the site – were entirely destroyed. Until a durable solution is found, urgent assistance is required to renew the shelters before the rainy season sets in.

CÔTE D’IVOIRE

RETURNS FROM GHANA OF OVER 700 DISPLACED PERSONS

According to the UNHCR, 738 displaced persons in Ghana have returned to Côte d’Ivoire. In Burkina Faso, while 2,004 returnees are still located in Kpuéré and Batié where tension with the local population remains high. 2,614 people remain internally displaced, hosted in seven different IDP sites. Clashes in the north-eastern town of Bouna, Côte d’Ivoire, between the Lobi and Fulani communities had triggered the displacements at the end of March. Partners in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Burkina Faso continue to assist the affected people.

DR CONGO

THREE ICRC AID WORKERS RELEASED

Three aid workers of the ICRC who were abducted on 3 May in the North Kivu Province were released on 13 May. The three staff members were part of a convoy heading to the town of Kyaghala where they were going to distribute food and essential household items to around 8,000 people affected by the conflict.

NIGERIA

UNSC DEMANDS BOKO HARAM ‘IMMEDIATELY’ END ALL VIOLENCE IN LAKE CHAD BASIN

At the eve of the Abuja Regional Security Summit held between 12 and 14 May, the United Nations Security Council on 11 May demanded that Boko Haram “immediately and unequivocally cease all violence and all abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law”. Through a Presidential Statement the Council also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all those abducted who remain in captivity, including 219 schoolgirls abducted in Chibok in April 2014.