West and Central Africa: Weekly Regional Humanitarian Snapshot (16 - 22 August 2022)

THE GAMBIA

WORST FLOODS IN HALF A CENTURY

Flooding is significantly affecting the Gambia, with 43,984 people affected, including 9,324 children under five. Floods also killed 11 persons, and damaged hundreds of water points and thousands of sanitation facilities throughout the Greater Banjul area. Many cases of diarrhea and skin rashes have been reported in the Tobacco Road area, in Banjul, and there is a very high risk of waterborne diseases there. Reports of an oil spill in Brikama, in the southwest, may negatively affect an additional 3,000 people.
Humanitarian workers are deploying to support the emergency response including UN OCHA and UNDAC teams. The UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) granted US$1 million to UN WFP and UNICEF as part of the humanitarian response. The Ministry of Water and Sanitation in neighboring Senegal has issued an alert about additional floodings of the Gambia river in the coming weeks.

TOGO

NEW ATTACK BY ARMED GROUPS IN THE NORTH

On 23 August, the Togolese army announced that it has repelled a non-state armed group (NSAG) attack carried out the night before. The attack injured many in the village of Blamonga, in the far north, according to the army’s statement. This is the fifth attack since November 2021 in regions with NSAG infiltrations from the borders with neighboring Burkina Faso. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are struggling with NSAG presence and neighboring coastal countries including Benin, Ghana, Togo and Côte d'Ivoire are being increasingly affected by NSAG attacks.
Instability and violence are generating internal displacement and forcing people to move to seek refuge and safety, creating emergency needs, and exacerbating underlying vulnerabilities.

SENEGAL

AN OUTBREAK OF CRIMEAN-CONGO HEMORRHAGIC FEVER

On 12 August, the World Health Organization (WHO) was notified of an outbreak of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) in Podor District, Saint-Louis region, in the northwest. The first confirmed case is a 38-year-old woman who presented with fever, headache, fatigue, and hemorrhagic symptoms. She died on 7 August due to complications by the virus. A second case who is a contact of the first one has been detected positive on 14 August. The CCHF virus causes severe viral hemorrhagic fever outbreaks, with a case fatality rate of 10 to 40 per cent.

DR CONGO

NEW CASE OF EBOLA VIRUS IN NORTH-KIVU IN THE EAST

On 22 August, health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) declared a resurgence of Ebola disease following the confirmation of a case in North-Kivu province, in the east. A 46-yearold woman died on 15 August in Beni, a town in North-Kivu. Humanitarian organizations are working jointly with the government to stem the spread of the disease, having identified 160 contacts who are being monitored. The vaccination of contacts to curb the spread of the virus will begin soon.
The last outbreak in Beni Health Zone, North Kivu ended in December 2021. The Ebola disease causes fever, body aches, and diarrhea. DRC has recorded 14 outbreaks since 1976. The 2018-2020 outbreak in the east was DRC’s largest and the second largest ever recorded globally, with about 3,500 total cases. Moreover, considering instability in the DRC, soldiers from Burundi have been deploying in the past days there as the first part of a recently created East African regional force composed of 6 countries from the region to respond to crises.