February 9, 2018

Highlights

HRP aims to reach 6.1 million people northeastern Nigeria’s Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe states in 2018

FEWS NET projects severe food insecurity, risk of Famine will persist in northeastern Nigeria through mid-2018

Relief actors deliver food assistance for 2 million people in northeastern Nigeria in December

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

On February 8, the UN, in coordination with the Government of Nigeria (GoN), launched the 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), requesting nearly $1.1 billion to address the humanitarian needs of 6.1 million people across northeastern Nigeria. In addition to the continued delivery of life-saving assistance and protection of vulnerable populations, the 2018 HRP prioritizes resilience-building initiatives and strengthening links to longer-term recovery to help conflict-affected populations rebuild their lives.

A substantial proportion of northeastern Nigeria’s population continues to face Crisis—IPC 3—or Emergency—IPC 4—levels of acute food insecurity, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET).4 Additionally, those living in inaccessible areas face heightened risk of Famine—IPC 5. FEWS NET reports that without continued humanitarian assistance, areas of Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe will continue to experience Emergency levels of acute food insecurity through May.

Recent FEWS NET analyses project that vulnerable households in Cameroon will likely face Stressed—IPC 2—levels of food insecurity in April and May, while some populations in Niger’s Diffa will likely face Crisis levels of acute food insecurity through May.

Recent armed group attacks underscore continued security risks facing civilians in the Lake Chad Basin region. In northeastern Nigeria, a suspected Boko Haram attack on January 31 resulted in at least five deaths and injured four people at an internally displaced person (IDP) camp, according to international media. In Niger, two suspected Boko Haram attacks in Diffa in January resulted in several deaths, and renewed concerns about unstable security conditions in areas that had experienced relative safety in recent months.

REGIONAL

In January, U.S. Government (USG) partner the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released its 2018 Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) appeals for Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria, requesting more than $271 million to respond to the humanitarian needs of children. In total, the 2018 HACs aim to provide education, health, nutrition, protection, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) support for more than 4.9 million children—including treatment for more than 823,000 children facing severe acute malnutrition (SAM)—across the four countries, including areas in the Lake Chad Basin.

Between January and November 2017, UNICEF and its partners admitted approximately 534,000 children ages five years and younger for SAM treatment in Cameroon, Chad, and Niger; the figure includes 66,700 children located in the Lake Chad Basin, surpassing UNICEF’s 2017 HAC target of 64,600 for SAM treatment in the region. In Nigeria, UNICEF supported the treatment of nearly 208,700 children facing SAM during 2017. The UN agency also supported preventative nutrition services across the Lake Chad Basin, providing micronutrient powder and counseling caregivers on infant and young child feeding throughout the year.

NIGERIA

On February 8, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Edward Kallon announced the launch of the 2018 HRP for Nigeria, which requests nearly $1.1 billion to address humanitarian needs across Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe. Although the number of people requiring humanitarian assistance decreased from 8.5 million people in 2017, approximately 7.7 million people remain in need of assistance following years of conflict in the region, including nearly 1.6 million IDPs and 943,000 children facing acute malnutrition. In 2018, the UN and its partners aim to reach up to 6.1 million people in northeastern Nigeria with multi-sector support, including emergency food assistance, health, nutrition, protection, shelter, and WASH, as well as early recovery activities to enhance local capacities and restore access to basic services and livelihoods.

Armed group attacks remain a persistent threat to civilians in northeastern Nigeria. On January 31, two person-borne improvised explosive devices detonated at Dalori IDP camp, located southeast of Borno State’s capital city of Maiduguri, international media report. The attack resulted in at least five civilian deaths and dozens of injuries. Media recorded at least eight armed group attacks affecting civilians in Adamawa and Borno between mid-January and February 2, according to the Council on Foreign Relations Security Tracker.

Between October 2017 and mid-January 2018, at least 380 households and more than 500 individuals arrived at Borno’s Konduga town from Jakana town and other nearby communities in Konduga Local Government Area (LGA), according to a recent non-governmental organization (NGO) rapid needs assessment. Although the cause of displacement varied, military personnel brought more than 400 of the IDPs—who were reportedly hiding in remote areas due to the presence of armed groups—to Konduga IDP camp between December and January after finding the IDPs during military operations.

Recent IDP arrivals to Konduga identified food and shelter assistance as priority needs and reported a lack of humanitarian assistance other than initial relief commodities provided by the Borno State Emergency Management Agency. In addition, distribution of food and relief assistance had been disparate between IDPs in camps and within host communities. The assessment recommended that relief actors scale up emergency shelter, food, nutrition, relief commodity, and WASH assistance to ensure sufficient access for all vulnerable populations in Konduga.

In September and October 2017, the UN World Food Program (WFP) coordinated with the GoN and food security partners to conduct an Emergency Food Security Assessment of 19,600 households across 62 LGAs in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe. The assessment found that 34 percent of households were food insecure, including 5 percent of households facing severe food insecurity. IDPs residing in camps experienced the highest level of food insecurity—55 percent—whereas host communities and permanent residents had the lowest level of food insecurity, approximately 30 percent. Shocks—such as conflict, displacement, loss of employment, restricted market access, and crop failure—and limited access to agricultural land contributed to food insecurity in the surveyed areas, according to the assessment.

Recent FEWS NET reports indicate that much of the population in northeastern Nigeria continues to face Crisis or Emergency levels of acute food insecurity, with current and planned humanitarian assistance likely preventing worse food security outcomes in several areas over the coming months. Conflict, population displacement, disruption of trade and markets, and limited humanitarian access continue to undermine food security in the region, and FEWS NET projects similar food security outcomes through May. In areas that remain inaccessible to humanitarian actors, populations likely face an elevated risk of Famine.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other humanitarian actors are providing food security and livelihoods assistance to approximately 110,000 households in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe, primarily through the provision of seeds and fertilizer to strengthen agricultural production, according to FEWS NET.

In December, USAID/FFP partner WFP dispatched approximately 15,500 metric tons (MT) of food commodities and disbursed an estimated $3.1 million in cash-based transfers for food to approximately 1.2 million people in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe. In addition, USAID/FFP NGO partners reached approximately 730,000 vulnerable individuals in Borno and Yobe with market-based or in-kind food assistance during the month. USAID/FFP partners also conducted nutrition activities, including acute malnutrition screenings, infant and young child feeding counseling, and supplementary nutritious food distributions. Overall, food security partners provided cash-based or in-kind food assistance to more than 2 million people in northeastern Nigeria in December, according to the Food Security Sector Working Group—the coordinating body for food security activities, comprising UN agencies, NGOs, and other stakeholders.

Between April and December 2017, a USAID/OFDA partner provided health care—including pediatric and reproductive services—and nutrition support for more than 50,000 people at approximately 10 sites in Maiduguri and Borno’s Monguno town. The partner also facilitated five training sessions on SAM treatment for more than 50 GoN Ministry of Health staff to support nutrition stabilization centers throughout northeastern Nigeria. In addition, the partner provided critical health care services in response to the cholera outbreak in Borno that began in August 2017, erecting four oral rehydration stations in Maiduguri Metropolitan Council and Monguno LGAs. The partner assisted more than 1,000 patients between August and December 21, 2017, when the GoN Ministry of Health declared the end of the outbreak. The partner reported no cholera-related fatalities among the patients treated at the facilities.

CAMEROON

In late January, the UN released the 2018 HRP for Cameroon, requesting $189 million to respond to the urgent humanitarian needs of approximately 833,000 people in Far North Region. Approximately 2.1 million people—including 236,000 IDPs and 89,000 Nigerian refugees—require emergency assistance in Far North, accounting for 64 percent of humanitarian needs countrywide, according to the UN. During 2018, the UN and humanitarian actors plan to prioritize protection of civilians in Far North, including through the implementation of protection strategies by the Humanitarian Country Team and the Protection Sector.

Approximately 241,000 IDPs were sheltering in Far North as of December 2017, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The figure represents a slight decrease from the nearly 242,000 IDPs recorded in November 2017. Logone-et-Chari Department continues to host the largest IDP population, with more than 125,700 IDPs sheltering in the department. More than 90 percent of IDPs reported armed conflict as the cause of displacement.

Approximately 3.9 million people in Cameroon—16 percent of households—faced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2017, according to a recently released Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis. The analysis utilized data collected by WFP in May 2017 in collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Cameroon. Food insecurity was most prevalent in Far North, with nearly 34 percent of the region’s population facing moderate or severe food insecurity—16 percent higher than the next most-affected region. In addition, instability stemming from conflict in the Lake Chad Basin disrupted cross-border trade and agricultural activities in Far North, exacerbating existing food insecurity in the region. More than 45 percent of surveyed households in Far North identified food as their primary need, followed by health, access to water, and agricultural inputs.

Populations in Far North continue to face elevated cereal prices due to below-average 2017 harvests and disrupted market activities, according to FEWS NET. Inadequate access to water is also negatively affecting livelihood activities, such as small-scale agriculture and livestock rearing. Relief actors, including USG partners, are reaching some vulnerable populations with humanitarian assistance and plan to implement additional agricultural livelihoods support in the coming months. FEWS NET reports, however, that most poor households in Cameroon depend on markets to meet their food needs and will face at least Stressed levels of food insecurity in April and May. With support from USAID/OFDA, NGO partners are strengthening food security and agricultural livelihoods in Far North, providing agricultural inputs with complementary training to increase and diversity food production, implement conservation agriculture practices, and improve cultivation and post-harvest techniques. In addition, USAID/OFDA partners are establishing traditional wells and water points to support small-scale agriculture in the region.

CHAD

In the absence of humanitarian assistance, FEWS NET anticipates that populations in Chad’s Lac Region may face Crisis levels of acute food insecurity until May. Agricultural production in Lac was 8 percent below the five-year average, resulting in diminished household food stocks and placing additional stress on the food security situation in the region. Moreover, conflict continues to disrupt livelihood activities, markets, and trade in Lac, FEWS NET reports.

In December 2017, a USAID/OFDA partner conducted an environmental hygiene campaign for nearly 1,000 people across 10 villages in Lac. The campaign included classes on latrine use and waste management, as well as a course for nearly 40 butchers on hygienic food practices. Additionally, the NGO trained 30 people to lead hygiene and environment committees to support ongoing hygiene promotion efforts. The partner also hosted sessions on resilience in three villages—focusing on identifying potential natural hazard risks—and trained two action committees on disaster

NIGER

The UN recently released the 2018 HRP for Niger, requesting $338 million to respond to humanitarian needs in the country. Niger’s Diffa Region accounts for nearly 50 percent of the HRP request—approximately $163 million—which will address the needs of 419,000 people requiring humanitarian assistance in the region. The UN reports that health needs increased in Diffa during 2017, with the number of people requiring health assistance growing from 231,000 people in 2017 to 419,000 people in 2018. In addition, approximately 408,000 people in Diffa require urgent food assistance.

The UN reports that at least 20 security incidents occurred in Diffa in January, resulting in 13 civilian deaths and seven civilian kidnappings. Armed group attacks in areas of Diffa that otherwise experienced relative stability in recent months have raised concerns about renewed violence. On January 17, suspected Boko Haram elements attacked a Government of Niger military post in Diffa’s village of Toumour, located approximately 6 miles from the Niger–Nigeria border, according to the UN. The attack resulted in the death of one civilian and at least four military personnel, international media report.

On January 29, a suspected Boko Haram attack occurred in Diffa’s Chetimari District—considered the safest area in the region by humanitarian actors—and highlighted potential deterioration of security conditions in Diffa. The attack resulted in the deaths of two Government of Niger military personnel, according to international media. While some people fled the village immediately following the attack, the UN reports that the individuals returned the following day. Recent attacks have had limited impacts on humanitarian partner activities, and the UN recommended a re-assessment of the security situation.

Insecurity in Diffa continues to disrupt agricultural livelihoods and pastoral activities, according to FEWS NET. As a result of below-normal access to food and income, FEWS NET expects vulnerable populations to face Crisis levels of acute food insecurity in southern Diffa from February–May; however, anticipated humanitarian assistance could improve food security to Stressed levels in some areas of the region.