An estimated 30,000 refugees have returned to the north-eastern Nigerian town of Rann from Cameroon since Wednesday and are in dire need of aid, according to humanitarian colleagues. International and national humanitarian organizations have not returned to Rann since 17 January due to ongoing insecurity.
Nigeria
The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti, Mamadou Diallo, and Prime Minister Jean-Henry Céant have launched the 2019 Humanitarian Response Plan for Haiti. It seeks $126 million to provide critical humanitarian assistance and protection services for 1.3 million Haitians.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released a new report today which presents mounting evidence that the biodiversity underpinning global food systems is disappearing, putting the future of food, livelihoods, health and environment under severe threat, according to information from 91 reporting countries.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says that heavy rains and cyclones have caused an outbreak of desert locusts in Sudan and Eritrea that is rapidly spreading to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, potentially causing a major threat to agricultural production and food security.
The United Nations refugee agency, International Migration Agency (IOM) and their partners today launched the 2019 response plan for the Rohingya humanitarian crisis. It seeks to raise $920 million to meet the needs of over 900,000 refugees from Myanmar and over 330,000 vulnerable Bangladeshis in host communities.
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.
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 United Nations is concerned about reported violence and use of force by security forces during recent demonstrations in Douala, and condemns incidents of violence at Cameroon’s embassies in Paris and Berlin. It is also concerned about the reported arrest of Maurice Kamto, leader of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement.
The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) is continuing its operations in Bambari in Ouaka prefecture. It has established new check posts and resumed patrolling in Muslim neighbourhoods, in addition to conducting robust patrols in the other areas of town.