Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7 — a service provided by UN OCHA

CAR + 4 more

West and Central Africa: Weekly Regional Humanitarian Snapshot (2 – 15 April 2019)

Attachments

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

GUNMEN KILL NURSE IN BATANGAFO TOWN

Armed men on 4 April attacked and killed a nurse working at a clinic in the northern Batangafo town. Médecins Sans Frontières, which operates at the Batangafo hospital where the nurse worked, condemned his killing and called on armed groups to respect the safety and security of medical operations, workers and facilities. Insecurity and attacks are prevalent across the country and dozens of aid workers have been attacked or killed and humanitarian operations at times grounded.

CHAD

FOUR MILLION TO FACE FOOD INSECURITY

About 4 million people are expected to face high levels of food insecurity during the lean season, from June to August. These include 459,000 refugees and 81,000 formerly displaced people. Acute malnutrition is also likely to be high, particularly in northern Barkou province, and in Kanem, in the west of the country, where global acute malnutrition is 17.8 percent and 11.6 percent respectively. Sustained assistance will be needed for people facing these emergencies.

MALI

VIOLENCE UPROOTS 87,000 SINCE JANUARY

A surge in violence has uprooted 87,000 people from their homes in central and northern Mali since January, according to figures by the Rapid Response Mechanism, a system that helps aid groups coordinate timely relief response during crises. In the same period in 2018, violence had displaced some 16,000 people. Rising insecurity due to the spread of armed movements, such as militias or self-defence groups, radical groups, and an increase in criminality and military operations have also restricted humanitarian access, particularly in areas around the border with Burkina Faso and Niger.

NIGER

OVER 18,000 DISPLACED AS ATTACKS INCREASE

An escalation of armed attacks has displaced more than 18,000 people in the south-eastern Diffa region since March. Several thousands have sought refuge in Diffa town, many of them fled without their belongings and urgently need shelter, food and household items.
With the surge in violence, UNHCR plans to relocate some 10,000 refugees on a voluntary basis from locations close to Nigeria to the Sayam Forage refugee camp (already hosting 15,000 people), 45 kilometres from the border.

NIGERIA

UN URGES AID AFTER 10,000 CIVILIANS RELOCATED

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria on 10 April urged the Government to assist and protect up to 10,000 women, men and children who were forced to relocate to Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, from a town 40 kilometres away. Two days earlier, the army ordered, without warning, the immediate departure of the civilians from Jakana town in the middle of the night, transporting them by bus or truck to Bakassi camp for internally displaced people. According to the military the civilians were relocated for security reasons ahead of planned operations in the area.

Disclaimer

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.