The Government of the Philippines declared a major outbreak of measles last week in Metro Manila and Central Luzon, which has now expanded to other areas, according to humanitarian affairs officials. More than 4,300 suspected cases of measles have been reported since January, with at least 70 deaths.
Myanmar
The World Health Organization (WHO) has scaled up efforts to support five western African countries as they respond to outbreaks of Lassa fever. The largest outbreak thus far has affected 16 states in Nigeria, with 213 confirmed cases to date.
In Bangladesh, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Oxfam have installed the largest human waste treatment facility ever built in a refugee settlement, in Cox’s Bazar, which is home to nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees.
Following a sea tragedy on Tuesday off Djibouti’s Red Sea coast, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that 16 survivors have been recovered, as well as the remains of 43 victims. IOM staff have been helping the Djibouti authorities patrolling the shorelines in search of other survivors.
The World Health Organization reports that full operations in response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s North Kivu Province, which were disrupted by civil unrest in late December, have resumed across all locations. It warns that further interruptions could have serious consequences.
The High Commissioner for Human Rights calls on Bahrain to immediately and unconditionally release human rights defender Nabeel Rajab and ensure that all Bahrainis are able to exercise their rights to freedom of opinion and expression without fear of arbitrary detention. She urges Bahrain to stop criminalizing dissenting voices.
In Myanmar’s central Rakhine State, some 2,500 people were forced to flee fighting between the Arakan Army and the Myanmar military that began last month. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs led a team to the area to look into what the uprooted people and host communities need.
The conflict in eastern Ukraine continues to take a toll on civilians, with more than 5 million people affected and 3.5 million people in need of aid. The 2018 response plan is only 38 per cent funded and disbursement of $162 million urgently needed for 2019 is now crucial as winter temperatures drop.
A peacekeeper from Malawi was found alive in the Beni area of North Kivu Province on Friday, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo reports. He went missing on 14 November after the launch of the mission’s joint operation with Congolese forces to neutralize rebel fighters.
The World Health Organization’s World Malaria Report reveals that in 2017, there were about 219 million cases, compared with 217 million in 2016. About 70 per cent of all cases occurred in 10 African countries and India. To boost prevention and treatment, WHO and partners launched a new country-led response.