May 12, 2017

Highlights

• WFP provides assistance to 1.1 million people in Nigeria’s Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe states in April amid funding constraints
• UN leadership advocates for increased donor support to the Nigeria humanitarian response
• Nigerian authorities secure the release of 82 girls from Boko Haram in Borno
• Government of Niger declares a hepatitis E outbreak in Diffa

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

Populations across northeastern Nigeria continue to experience acute food insecurity, high acute malnutrition levels, and increased risks of excess mortality, according to the USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET). The onset of the May-to-October rainy season—which complicates road access—could potentially further limit humanitarian access and relief operations in some areas of the region. The UN and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in northeastern Nigeria are developing contingency plans for the rainy season and expanding storage capacity in Borno State to facilitate the delivery of food and other humanitarian assistance to vulnerable populations.

In early May, international media reported that Nigerian authorities had secured the release of 82 girls abducted by Boko Haram militants in Borno’s Chibok Local Government Area (LGA) in 2014.

Between early January and late April, health officials in Niger’s conflict-affected Diffa Region recorded more than 160 suspected hepatitis E cases, including 25 related deaths. The Government of Niger declared a hepatitis E outbreak in Diffa in mid-April.

The UN World Food Program (WFP) is providing in-kind emergency food assistance—including nutrient-enriched food for vulnerable populations experiencing acute malnutrition—in Cameroon's Far North Region, where the prevalence of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) has exceeded emergency thresholds in some areas, according to the UN. USAID/FFP has provided $12 million to WFP to support nutrition interventions in Far North in FY 2017 to date.

CURRENT EVENTS

From May 1–3, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator (RC/HC) for Nigeria Edward Kallon and Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator (DHC) Peter Lundberg met with high-level U.S. Government (USG) officials and other key stakeholders in Washington, D.C. to discuss critical elements of the crisis in northeastern Nigeria, including protection, food security, and nutrition programs. During the visit, RC/HC Kallon and DHC Lundberg advocated for international donors to increase funding to support the emergency response in Nigeria.

In early May, Nigerian authorities secured the release of 82 girls from Boko Haram captivity, according to international media. The recently released girls were among 276 girls abducted from a Chibok school in April 2014; more than 100 of the girls remain missing, international media report.

NIGERIA

Populations across northeastern Nigeria continue to experience extreme levels of acute food insecurity, with people in the worst affected LGAs accessible to humanitarian organizations facing Emergency—IPC 4—levels of acute food insecurity, high acute malnutrition levels, and increased risks of excess mortality, according to FEWS NET.4 Populations in less accessible areas are likely experiencing similar or worse food security conditions and may face an increased risk of Famine in mid-to-late 2017. Additionally, food prices are expected to increase through at least September, further restricting access to food.

In northern Adamawa, an estimated 68 percent of households in Madagali LGA and 55 percent of households in Michika LGA are facing severe or moderate food insecurity, according to an April WFP emergency food security assessment. The nutrition situation in Madagali is particularly dire, as the only operational health facility in the LGA has not received a shipment of nutrition supplements since July 2016, according to WFP. With USAID/FFP support, WFP provided emergency food and nutrition assistance to approximately 6,000 acutely food-insecure people in Madagali and Michika in April, marking the UN agency’s first intervention in the LGAs.

Health actors throughout Nigeria recorded approximately 12,000 suspected cases of meningitis, including nearly 1,000 related deaths, across more than 20 states from December 2016 to May 3, 2017, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO). In response to the outbreak, WHO has distributed diagnostic and treatment supplies to clinics in affected areas and is training health care workers to identify and treat the infection. According to Government of Nigeria (GoN) officials, health actors in the most affected states—Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, and Zamfara—have observed a decrease in the number of cases since late April.

In March, relief organizations delivered food and other humanitarian assistance to approximately 2.1 million people in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe states—a more than 20 percent increase compared to the 1.7 million people supported in February. However, FEWS NET reports that the humanitarian response remains insufficient to reach the estimated 8.5 million people requiring emergency assistance.

In April, WFP reached approximately 1.1 million people in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe with emergency food and nutrition assistance, including food distributions, cash transfers, and deliveries of nutrition supplements, marking the fifth consecutive month that the UN agency supported more than 1 million people. However, funding constraints have prompted the UN agency to reduce ration sizes to select target populations and limited the organization’s capacity to pre-position food ahead of the rainy season. To date in FY 2017, USAID/FFP has provided nearly $60 million to WFP to support emergency food assistance operations in northeastern Nigeria.

From January to March, USAID/FFP NGO implementing partners reached more than 368,000 beneficiaries with emergency cash-based and in-kind food assistance in Borno and Yobe. During the same period, USAID/FFP NGO partners also screened more than 31,000 children for acute malnutrition, of whom nearly 550 children experiencing SAM received treatment at stabilization centers or through outpatient therapeutic programs. Additionally, USAID/FFP NGO partners provided caregivers of more than 1,100 children experiencing moderate acute malnutrition with nutrition counseling through nutrition sensitization sessions, including on infant and young child feeding practices. 

In partnership with USAID/FFP, an NGO is working to improve food security conditions in Borno’s Jere, Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (MMC), and Monguno LGAs. The NGO reached approximately 6,000 households in Jere and MMC with cash-based assistance, covering nearly 60 percent of recommended household food basket requirements, and distributed emergency food commodities to 4,000 households sheltering in six Monguno internally displaced person (IDP) camps from February to March.

With support from USAID/OFDA, an NGO continues to improve access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation services for displaced and vulnerable populations in Borno. Since February, the organization has constructed nearly 170 showers and more than 40 emergency latrines to support 4,500 people sheltering in Damboa LGA’s Abori IDP site. The organization has also rehabilitated seven water access points in Chibok, performed preliminary surveys to establish wells in six locations in Damboa, and distributed more than 2,100 hygiene kits—including feminine hygiene supplies—in Maiduguri.

Another USAID/OFDA partner is providing critical health, protection, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) assistance in Borno’s Dikwa and Ngala LGAs. From January to March, the NGO conducted more than 3,400 health consultations and trained 40 community health workers to lead health education sessions, conduct disease surveillance, and provide case management services for victims of gender-based violence. During the same period, the relief organization also reached nearly 2,900 IDPs with hygiene promotion messages and supported key WASH activities in Dikwa and Ngala, such as rehabilitating boreholes and desludging latrines. In addition, the partner maintains a six-month supply of cholera treatment supplies and is assisting local health facilities to develop cholera preparedness plans in preparation for potential increased incidence of cholera during the rainy season.

CAMEROON

Insecurity continues to restrict humanitarian access to areas of Far North, according to the UN. In early May, the UN reported that ongoing insecurity along the road connecting Far North’s Kousseri and Mora towns had prompted UN agencies to suspend movements and operations in the affected areas. Security conditions also remain a concern in Far North’s Kolofata Commune, Mayo Sava Department, where the UN urged humanitarian actors to reduce movements following an increase in cross-border attacks in April, the UN reports. Protection, food, health, and nutrition assistance were among the primary humanitarian needs of the more than 34,000 IDPs sheltering in Kolofata as of early May, according to the UN.

In addition to insecurity, food security and nutrition conditions in Far North remain critical, with prevalence of SAM in Logone-et-Chari Department exceeding emergency levels, according to the UN. To date in FY 2017, USAID/FFP has provided $12 million to WFP to provide in-kind emergency food assistance—including nutrient-enriched foods—to IDPs, Nigerian refugees, and other conflict-affected populations in Far North. In addition, USAID/OFDA is supporting three NGOs to respond to humanitarian needs in Far North, including through agriculture and food assistance.

CHAD

Security constraints continue to inhibit trade in Chad’s Lac Region, where populations are facing Crisis—IPC 3—levels of food insecurity, according to FEWS NET. In response, WFP is providing emergency food and nutrition assistance to approximately 130,000 IDPs and an estimated 6,500 Nigerian refugees sheltering in the region.

Since early January, WASH actors have increased access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation facilities for more than 25,200 conflict-affected people in Lac, according to the UN. Health actors in the region treated more than 5,300 children experiencing SAM from January to March. Additionally, IDPs sheltering in five IDP sites in the region recently gained access to health care and nutrition services, the UN reports. USAID/OFDA is supporting two NGO partners to provide health care services and nutrition assistance to vulnerable populations in Lac.

NIGER

In mid-April, the Government of Niger formally declared a hepatitis E outbreak in Diffa. As of May 3, local health officials had recorded more than 280 suspected hepatitis E cases, including 27 related deaths, in five of Diffa’s six districts since health actors first observed cases of the virus—which is generally transmitted through contaminated drinking water—in early January.

In response, relief organizations are disinfecting water networks, conducting water quality analyses at water access points, and washing and replacing water containers in affected areas, and WASH actors report that basic WASH commodities—including soap, disinfection supplies, and water bottles—are available to address preliminary needs. Since FY 2016, USAID/OFDA has provided nearly $3.4 million to relief organizations to deliver emergency WASH assistance to conflict-affected communities in Niger.

From January to March, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in conjunction with the Red Cross Society of Niger, reached more than 78,000 people with emergency food assistance in conflict-affected areas of Niger. Given the ongoing crisis, ICRC plans to increase emergency food support to IDPs, refugees, and returnees in Niger, including expanding cash-for-work programs, in the coming months. State/PRM has provided $3.6 million to ICRC to assist conflict-affected populations throughout Niger to date in FY 2017.