November 09, 2017

Highlights

Updated Cadre Harmonisé food security analysis indicates continued food insecurity in northeastern Nigeria

Persistent insecurity disrupts livelihood and market activities, minimizes cross-border trade, and undermines savings mechanisms in northeastern Nigeria

Populations in Chad and Niger will face food insecurity through May 2018

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

The Government of Nigeria (GoN) Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD), in partnership with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UN World Food Program (WFP), and other relief agencies, recently released an updated Cadre Harmonisé report—a multi-sector food security and nutrition analysis—for 16 Nigerian states and the Federal Capital Territory. Preliminary results indicated that food insecurity remains concerning for populations in northeastern Nigeria’s Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe states, with conflict negatively affecting food access, availability, and production.

Insecurity continues to threaten civilian safety and livelihoods in the Lake Chad Basin region. From October 30–31, four attacks in northeastern Nigeria’s Borno State and Cameroon’s Far North Region resulted in at least 25 civilian deaths and numerous injuries, according to international media.

Preliminary results from a Standardized Monitoring and Assessment of Relief and Transitions (SMART) survey indicate global acute malnutrition (GAM) levels of more than 18 percent in Chad’s Lac Region. The GAM levels represent an increase of approximately 6 percent compared to the same period in 2016 and exceed the UN World Health Organization (WHO) emergency threshold of 15 percent.

The number of new suspected cholera cases in Borno continues to decrease, and Borno State Ministry of Health (SMoH) officials have not recorded a cholera-associated death since October 11. Relief organizations, including USAID/OFDA partners, continue to conduct prevention and treatment activities throughout Borno.

NIGERIA

On October 30, an individual detonated a person-borne improvised explosive device (PBIED) in a mosque in Borno’s capital city of Maiduguri, resulting in at least five deaths, international media report. Suspected Boko Haram militants attacked civilians and an accompanying military escort traveling along Banki–Bama road in Borno’s Bama local government area (LGA) the same day, resulting in at least four civilian deaths and numerous injuries, according to GoN authorities.

On November 3, the MoARD presented an updated Cadre Harmonisé analysis of the food security and nutrition situation in 16 Nigerian states, including Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe, and the Federal Capital Territory. Initial results indicate that conflict will continue to negatively affect food access, availability, and production in the three states in 2018.

From January–August 2017, Mercy Corps, in collaboration with five other non-governmental organizations (NGOs), released the Livelihoods and Market Recovery Assessment (LMRA), which identified pathways for more effective support of early recovery efforts in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe. The LMRA results from interviewing more than 2,900 individuals indicate that conflict has prompted the dissolution of savings groups and the closure of many banks, financial institutions, and markets for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other vulnerable populations. In addition, insecurity has minimized trade across national borders with many borders remaining closed. Despite these constraints, the report found that input suppliers and transporters have continued trade, indicating a resilient agricultural supply network for farmers.

In September, food security actors provided emergency food assistance to 2.2 million people through in-kind food distributions and cash-based transfers in Adawama, Borno, and Yobe, according to the Food Security Sector Working Group—the coordinating body for humanitarian food security activities in Nigeria, comprising UN agencies, NGOs, and other stakeholders.

From September 16–30, USAID partner the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and its partners treated nearly 12,900 children experiencing severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe, bringing the UN agency’s total number of SAM patients admitted for treatment to nearly 132,000 children in 2017. In addition, UNICEF provided nearly 8,600 children with micronutrient powders and more than 109,500 caretakers with counseling on infant and young child feeding practices in the three states.

As of November 5, SMoH officials had not reported a cholera-related death in Borno since October 11. The number of new suspected cholera cases significantly decreased from October 30–November 5, with fewer than 50 cases reported compared to nearly 200 cases recorded per week from October 16–22 and October 23–29. Despite the reduced caseload, the overall case fatality rate of 1.1 percent continues to exceed the WHO emergency threshold of 1 percent. Since the outbreak began in mid-August, SMoH authorities reported more than 5,300 suspected and confirmed cases, including 61 related deaths, as of November 5. Health and WASH actors continue to provide emergency relief services in affected areas through three cholera treatment centers and four oral rehydration centers.

In addition to health activities associated with the cholera response, a USAID/OFDA NGO partner provided more than 2,800 health consultations to conflict-affected individuals at outpatient facilities in Borno’s Dikwa and Ngala LGAs, as well as in Bama’s Banki town, from October 15–28. The NGO also mobilized community health workers and volunteers to reach more than 3,000 IDPs and host community members with health messaging during the same period. To date in 2017, the NGO has provided more than 68,000 consultations to individuals in the three LGAs through outpatient care and community outreach services.

With support from USAID, WHO-managed mobile health outreach teams are providing health services to populations in hard-to-reach areas of Borno. Approximately 60 health staff collectively provide an average of 37,000 consultations per month through five-person mobile teams, according to a WHO representative. Services provided include immunizations, issuance of medicine for chronic health issues, and referrals for specialized care, including stabilization centers for acute malnutrition treatment.

Members of the USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) recently visited Maiduguri to evaluate humanitarian conditions at IDP sites and observe USAID-funded emergency food and nutrition interventions, as well as health, logistics, shelter, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) programs. USAID/FFP representatives noted a need for partners to ensure a smooth transition between the use of in-kind and cash-based food assistance where such changes are appropriate. USAID/OFDA staff affirmed the importance of ongoing emergency health and WASH assistance for displaced individuals, particularly those sheltering in IDP camps with limited access to safe drinking water. The DART also observed emergency shelter and shelter rehabilitation activities, and met with sector working group coordinators and government officials to discuss shelter needs among the displaced population.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) identified more than 1.57 million IDPs in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe in September, a nearly 3 percent decline compared to the 1.62 million IDPs in August. The decrease follows the trend observed from May–August, with people returning to areas of origin significantly contributing to the reduction, according to IOM. The majority of the decrease from August to September occurred in Borno.

IOM also reported that returnees to Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe continued to increase in September, in line with similar increases from July–August. IOM estimated that approximately 39,700 people returned to areas of origin in September, bringing the total returnee population to 1.3 million people since September 2015. Adamawa comprised more than 51 percent of total returnees as of August, while Borno and Yobe accounted for 42 percent and 7 percent, respectively.

In response to increased returnees and ongoing insecurity in 2017, Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) and Shelter working group members provided shelter assistance to nearly 382,000 people and completed biometric registrations of nearly 640,000 people in 190 locations in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe between January and September. The CCCM members also assisted with needs assessments and provided camp governance and management support to 16 of Adamawa’s 17 IDP sites and approximately 110 of Borno’s nearly 190 sites during the same period.

CAMEROON

In Far North, an unconfirmed number of Boko Haram insurgents killed at least 11 civilians in Gouderi village on October 30. In addition, a youth detonated a PBIED in Far North’s Zamga village on October 31, killing at least five children and injuring two others, international media report.

In late October, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that approximately 5,000 Cameroonians had fled to southeastern Nigeria to seek refuge following renewed violence in Anglophone areas of western Cameroon during October. In response, UNHCR and the GoN National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons are distributing relief commodities, including blankets, hygiene kits, mattresses, and mosquito nets, in Nigeria’s Cross River State. UNHCR also distributed approximately 40 metric tons of food assistance to vulnerable populations in affected areas.

A USAID/OFDA NGO partner is providing emergency health assistance through inpatient therapeutic feeding centers in three Far North hospitals, as well as referral services at two hospitals in the region. Three partner-managed inpatient therapeutic feeding centers in the hospitals treat SAM cases with medical complications. Since June, more than 1,400 children have received emergency health care services at the feeding centers. In addition, the NGO supports pediatric services to build health staff capacity and improve quality of care at the three hospitals. From June–September, the hospitals admitted more than 1,400 children for treatment, primarily for acute respiratory infections, diarrhea, and malaria.

Between June and September, the NGO partner trained health workers and mothers of hospitalized children on using mid-upper arm circumference tapes to screen children for acute malnutrition. During a September training campaign, the NGO sensitized nearly 23,700 caregivers, including approximately 14,000 mothers.

Chad

In Chad’s Lac Region, where conflict continues to disrupt income-generating activities and market functioning, vulnerable households will face Stressed—IPC 2—levels of food insecurity through January 2018, according to the USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET).4 Additionally, FEWS NET predicts that susceptible households in Lac could experience Crisis—IPC 3—levels of acute food insecurity between February and May 2018, despite ongoing humanitarian assistance.

GAM levels in Lac worsened for vulnerable populations in 2017 compared to 2016 levels, according to preliminary SMART results published in September. The survey, conducted by the Government of the Republic of Chad and relief partners between July and August, indicated GAM levels of more than 18 percent, including SAM levels of more than 3 percent and moderate acute malnutrition levels of nearly 15 percent. The 2017 GAM levels represent a 6 percentage point increase compared to 2016 GAM levels of 12 percent and exceed the WHO emergency threshold of 15 percent.
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NIGER

Insecurity continues to disrupt livelihood activities and limit humanitarian access for populations in parts of Niger’s conflict-affected Diffa Region, according to FEWS NET. Many poor host community and displaced households will continue to face Crisis or Stressed levels of food insecurity until at least May 2018 and will likely remain dependent on relief assistance to meet basic needs.

As of October 24, health actors had reported more than 2,000 suspected and confirmed cases of hepatitis E, including 38 deaths, since the outbreak began in late April. More than 1,400 cases, or approximately 71 percent of the total, occurred in Diffa. However, health officials have not recorded a hepatitis E-associated death since late August.

A USAID/OFDA NGO partner continues to provide humanitarian coordination and information management (HCIM) support for populations in Diffa. In collaboration with UNHCR, the NGO completed the third round of Diffa IDP site infrastructure mapping, yielding specific information on relief activities and existing infrastructure for targeted areas of concern between May and October. The partner collected data for Chetimari, Gueskerou, and Toumour communes, which included demographic and sector specific indicators, as well as the location of relief actors. The NGO established a data matrix to compile monthly information on relief interventions in Diffa, along with an interactive website dedicated to identifying needs and improving the humanitarian response in Diffa.

With USAID/OFDA funding, an NGO partner continues to provide protection assistance to vulnerable populations in Diffa. Between May and September, the organization assisted with nearly 30 child protection cases and identified and documented approximately 50 incidents of gender-based violence, providing psychosocial support and references for health care and legal services for the survivors. The organization also promoted protection outreach activities to prevent abuse and exploitation of children in Diffa, including mass sensitization efforts that reached nearly 3,500 people from May–September.