February 22, 2018

Highlights

At least 20 deaths, 70 injuries reported following February 16 attack in northeastern Nigeria

An estimated 1.63 million people remained displaced in northeastern Nigeria as of February 2

Chad HRP aims to reach more than 330,000 people in Lac Region in 2018

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

On February 16, three person-borne improvised explosive devices (PBIEDs) detonated in a market in Borno State’s Konduga local government area (LGA), resulting in at least 20 deaths and 70 injuries, international media report.

Relief actors have reported a recent influx of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to northeastern Nigeria’s Pulka town, where approximately 11,800 IDPs were sheltering in host communities and IDP sites as of late January, straining local capacity to provide basic services, according to the REACH Initiative. Recent IDP arrivals traveled to Pulka from nearby locations in Borno’s Bama and Gwoza LGAs and reported on humanitarian conditions in villages of origin, where remaining populations face protection concerns and require food and livelihood assistance.

An estimated 1.63 million people remained displaced in Nigeria’s Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe states as of early February, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The figure represents an increase of approximately 72,300 people compared to December 2017. Armed conflict remains the primary cause of displacement, while food assistance is the primary need in the majority of IDP sites, IOM reports.

The 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for Chad, launched on February 9, requests $544 million to deliver humanitarian assistance to approximately 1.9 million people across the country, including more than 330,000 people in Chad’s Lac Region.

NIGERIA

On February 16, three PBIEDs detonated in a market in Konduga, killing at least 20 people and injuring 70 others, according to international media. From January to November 2017, civilian casualties from improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Nigeria increased by nearly 60 percent compared to the same period in 2016, and civilian casualties from PBIEDs increased by nearly 75 percent, according to the non-governmental organization (NGO) Action on Armed Violence. The organization reports that at least 40 percent of all IED attacks recorded from January to November 2017 occurred near Borno’s capital city of Maiduguri.

From January 30–February 2, the REACH Initiative conducted an assessment of new IDP arrivals sheltering in host communities and IDP sites in Gwoza LGA’s Pulka town. Pulka has received an influx of IDPs in recent weeks, largely from nearby villages in Bama and Gwoza LGAs. As of late January, approximately 11,800 IDPs were residing in Pulka, doubling the town’s pre-conflict population of approximately 11,500 people and straining available services. The assessment indicated that IDPs in Pulka waited more than 24 hours to access safe drinking water. Additionally, the organization reported a need for livelihoods support, as sources of income are unavailable to most populations in the town or IDP sites.

The REACH Initiative also interviewed recent arrivals regarding humanitarian conditions in villages of origin in Bama and Gwoza, many of which remain inaccessible to relief actors. IDPs identified food and access to safe drinking water as primary needs among remaining households, as well as protection concerns. IDPs reported that many remaining households were unable to flee due to movement restrictions and fear of violence by armed groups. Other households reportedly planned to leave after the dry season harvest for areas with improved security and access to services.

IOM identified approximately 1.63 million displaced individuals in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe as of early February, an increase of approximately 72,300 people compared to December 2017. The increase is due to ongoing conflict and military operations throughout northeastern Nigeria, as well as increased access and new IDP arrivals in some areas of Borno, according to IOM. Borno continues to host the largest number of IDPs, with approximately 84 percent of the displaced population, followed by Adamawa with 10 percent and Yobe with 6 percent. Armed conflict remains the primary cause of displacement, while food assistance is the primary need in the majority of IDP sites, IOM reports. Across the region, approximately 40 percent of IDPs reside in camps or camp-like settings, while 60 percent of IDPs reside in host communities.

Improved security in some areas and favorable seasonal rainfall has increased the supply of staple foods in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe, according to a recently released market assessment conducted by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) and the UN World Food Program (WFP). However, the assessment—which analyzed data collected in August 2017—found that despite regional improvement, markets remain fragile in many hard-to-reach areas, such as Borno’s Bama, Dikwa, Gwoza, Konduga, and Ngala LGAs. In these LGAs, persistent insecurity and poor road infrastructure continue to constrain market recovery. Based on assessment findings, WFP recommended that relief actors progressively expand cash-based food assistance to support market recovery where markets are functioning.

An NGO recently released the results from a gender assessment conducted in June 2017, which investigated trends of violence against women and girls in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe. The assessment found that a range of factors led to the forced or voluntary recruitment of women and children by armed groups. In addition to tactics such as abductions and coercion, the assessment indicated that some women and children joined armed groups as a coping mechanism due to pervasive poverty, lack of livelihoods opportunities, and population displacement related to ongoing conflict. The assessment also reports the use of women and children in armed group operations. For example, nearly 50 percent of assessed security incidents involving PBIEDs were carried out by women, a rate much higher than the gender distribution observed in similar studies in other settings, according to the assessment.

Between January 21 and February 3, an NGO partner reached nearly 8,000 people with emergency health care services through USAID/OFDA-funded clinics and outreach programs in Borno’s Banki, Dikwa, and Ngala LGAs. The partner also delivered reproductive health care services to more than 500 women during the same period. In addition, the NGO provided nutrition, psychosocial, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) support for vulnerable populations in the LGAs. Through acute malnutrition screenings in Dikwa and Ngala, the partner identified more than 150 severe acute malnutrition cases and nearly 1,600 moderate acute malnutrition cases. WASH activities included IDP camp cleaning campaigns, construction of waste disposal pits, and rehabilitation of WASH facilities. The NGO also continued to operate safe spaces for women and girls—which provide skills acquisitions activities, such as knitting and soap production—in Ngala.

With USAID/OFDA support, an NGO partner disbursed nearly 1,700 livelihoods grants in three Borno LGAs in December. The NGO also worked with local WASH committees to form WASH clubs in 25 schools in Borno. The clubs facilitate hygiene and sanitation training on topics such as handwashing, latrine maintenance, and household drinking water treatment.

CAMEROON

In early February, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Cameroon and other UN representatives from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), as well as the Government of Cameroon (GoC) Director of Civil Protection of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization, conducted an exploratory assessment in northwestern and southwestern Cameroon following reports of deteriorating humanitarian conditions due to ongoing conflict and population displacement. The GoC and UN representatives met with local authorities and NGO staff operating in the area to discuss the importance of improving humanitarian conditions and ensuring the safety and dignity of populations. The UN confirmed approximately 16,800 people have fled Cameroon to seek asylum in Nigeria, while several thousand Cameroonian IDPs fled areas of origin due to conflict.

To support emergency food needs of displaced households and host communities, a USAID/OFDA partner trained 1,500 people in Cameroon’s Far North Region on vegetable-growing techniques, including the use of fertilizers; the advantages of integrating crop and livestock production; and damages caused by excess use of chemical fertilizers.

In January, USAID/FFP partner WFP provided emergency food assistance to more than 47,000 Nigerian refugees in Far North. Additionally, the UN agency completed a vulnerability needs assessment, finding that food assistance remains the priority need among IDPs in the region. Based on initial findings, WFP distributed food assistance on February 15 to 1,700 IDPs in Far North’s Zamai displacement site.

CHAD

The 2018 HRP for Chad requests approximately $544 million to deliver humanitarian assistance to approximately 1.9 million people across the country, including more than 330,000 people in Lac. Overall, the HRP identified 487,000 people in need of assistance in Lac, an increase of more than 40 percent compared to the 345,000 people identified in 2017. The HRP emphasizes protection-related assistance—such as prevention of and response to gender-based violence (GBV)—in Lac, particularly for displaced populations.

A USAID/OFDA partner provided agricultural inputs and training to more than 4,300 people across 16 IDP sites and conflict-affected villages in Lac from October to December 2017. Additionally, landowners—primarily administrative and traditional authorities—made more than 42,700 acres of land available to conflict-affected populations for vegetable cultivation following advocacy efforts by the USAID/OFDA partner.

Between June 2017 and January, a USAID/OFDA partner established or rehabilitated women’s centers in nine IDP sites in Lac. During the same period, more than 500 women and nearly 190 girls utilized the women’s centers, which provide training and recreational activities. The partner also conducted GBV prevention and response training for nearly 2,600 IDPs in the region, reached 45 community and religious leaders with information on GBV awareness and response activities, and led a three-day seminar with 17 health service providers on clinical care for sexual assault survivors. The organization is also providing technical guidance and supplies to three medical clinics in Lac.

NIGER

To offset the fodder deficit in Niger’s Diffa Region, a USAID/OFDA partner distributed livestock feed to 800 households in the communes of Diffa, Maïné-Soroa, and N’Gourti in January. Each household received 110-pound bags of wheat and cotton cake, a cotton oil by-product often used as a protein source for livestock.

The USAID/OFDA partner also facilitated numerous WASH projects in Diffa in January, including rehabilitation of seven boreholes and provision of water purification tablets and sachets to nearly 1,500 households in Chétimari and Gueskérou communes. In addition, with USAID/OFDA support, the NGO conducted hygiene awareness training for nearly 2,300 people during the month.