CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
ARMED GROUPS LEAVE BAMBARI, FEAR OF ATTACKS PERSIST
Following recent clashes on the main road leading to the central town of Bambari, the UN peacekeeping mission on 21 February issued a directive for all armed groups to leave the town. Although all the gunmen had left as of 24 February, the situation remains volatile and unpredictable as fear of attacks persist.
DR CONGO
FRESH CLASHES DISPLACE OVER 23,000
On 22 and 23 February, new attacks by an armed group in the south-eastern Tanganyika province killed two people, injured four and forced nearly 5,300 to flee their villages and seek refuge in Kalemie, Moni and Kalunga areas. Some 7,000 IDPs in Bimbwi area were also forced to flee to unknown locations. Another attack in Sange, 75 km north-east of Kiambi, Manono Territory, prevented the distribution of food aid to some 1,500 IDPs. Separately, more than 11,000 people were forced to flee their homes in Kamandi Lake in Lubero territory, following clashes on 21 February between the Congolese army and another armed group. The displaced are sheltered with host families or in schools and churches, while others continue to arrive in the area due to fear of further clashes.
228 CASES OF CHOLERA IN SOUTH KIVU
Cholera has resurfaced in three health districts in the province of South Kivu, following three months without any reported cases. The areas of Uvira, Nundu and Fizi recorded 228 cases since 13 February, including one death in Fizi. Health and WASH actors are closely monitoring the outbreak and working on a response plan.
LAKE CHAD BASIN
US$672 MILLION PLEDGED FOR LAKE CHAD CRISIS
On 24 February in Oslo, the Government of Norway hosted a humanitarian conference on Nigeria and the Lake Chad Region, in partnership with the Governments of Germany, Nigeria and the UN. Fourteen donor countries pledged $672 million over three years in emergency aid for people affected by Boko Haram violence in the Lake Chad region. Some 70 per cent of the pledges ($457 million) will be allocated for 2017 alone. Around $1.5 billion is needed this year to address the most pressing needs of an estimated 8 million people across the Lake Chad Basin region.
NIGERIA
OVER 300,000 IDPs RETURN HOME
According to the National Emergency Management Agency, ongoing military operations have reopened access to some previously unreachable local government areas, allowing for the return home of campbased IDPs to Dikwa (67,000), Bama (9,000), Konduga (54,000), Lassa (5,000), Damboa (52,000), Banki (52,000) and Gamboru-Ngala (71,000). As of 20 February, only 101,387 IDPs remain in camps across the capital of Borno, Maiduguri. The city hosts nearly 1 million IDPs, the large majority of which stay in host communities.
SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE
OVER 1,300 INFECTED BY RARE DISEASE
More than 1,300 cases of necrotizing cellulitis - a rare infection that causes skin decay – have been reported since September 2016. To date, all of the country's health districts have reported cases, and the country’s 193,000 inhabitants are at risk. Cases have been increasing but no deaths directly linked to the disease have been recorded. The Ministry of Health and WHO are working to curb the outbreak through surveillance and information campaigns. The mode of infection remains unknown.
Disclaimer
- UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
- To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.