Key Considerations
This brief focuses on cross-border movement in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) and its implications for development of risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) strategies aimed at preventing transmission of COVID-19 in the ESA region. Given the extensive risk of cross...-border transmission of the virus and the imminent reopening of borders, such strategies are essential to containment efforts
more
Venezuela’s government announced on 24 March that COVID-19 infections had reached 91... “The government says wear masks, wash your hands often, and stay inside,” Gomez said. “But we don’t have water, we often don’t have electricity, and there are no masks.”...
[President] Maduro den...ies there are shortages in Venezuela, insisting in a national broadcast on 16 March that hospitals have all the mandatory equipment.
There is no news about when health workers will receive biosecurity equipment, which Maduro said was being shipped by China along with thousands of test kits.
He also claimed the country’s collapsed pharmaceutical industry would be able to produce both a treatment and a cure for coronavirus – neither of which exist.
He recommended to the nation a homemade “cure” promoted by one Venezuelan, one “given to us by our ancestors: pepper, lemon grass, honey and ginger”.
Although the World Health Organisation advises that only people suffering respiratory problems should wear masks, Maduro decreed: “No one can walk the streets without a mask.”
more
This rapid compilation of data analyses provides a ‘stock-take’ of social science and behavioural data related to the on-going outbreak of Ebola in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri provinces. Based on data gathered and analysed by organisations working in the Ebola response and in the region mor...e broadly, it explores convergences and divergences between datasets and, when possible, differences by geographic area, demographic group, time period and other relevant variables. Data sources are listed at the end of the document.
more
This brief draws out some recommendations for Ebola response actors in North Kivu. It includes lessons learned primarily from (i) historical outbreaks in Congo; (ii) outbreaks in Uganda in 2000-01 and 2012; (iii) the 2014-2016 West African epidemic; (iv) the outbreak in Equateur Province in DRC (May...- July 2018), and (v) the ongoing outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri Provinces in DRC (August 2018 - ongoing). The full report can be accessed here: https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/123456789/14160.
more
The report offers 20 top recommendations for getting ahead of future outbreaks in Yemen and similarly complex humanitarian settings.
In 2015, Yemen was declared a Level 3 emergency by the UN, kicking into gear the highest level of humanitarian support. A massive cholera outbreak followed, leading t...o 1 million suspected cases in 2 waves from September 2016-July 2018.
“We largely know ‘what to do’ to control cholera, but context-specific practices on ‘how to do it’ in order to surmount challenges to coordination, logistics, insecurity, access and politics remain needed,” the report states.
While the response improved between the 2 waves, there were gaps. For one, Yemen’s history of cholera should have triggered a heavy focus on pre-planning for an epidemic, such as stockpiling supplies and doubling down on community-based surveillance, the report fou
more
States, the United Nations and civil society organisations continue to raise concerns about the humanitarian impact caused by the use of explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA). This issue is currently being examined from political, legal, socio-economic and humanitarian perspectives. The GICHD... has undertaken research to provide a technical perspective on the destructive effects of selected explosive weapons to inform the international debate.
The research project attempts to reduce an observed knowledge gap regarding EWIPA. It seeks to provide clarity concerning the immediate physical effects and terminology used when discussing explosive weapons. The project is guided by a group of experts dealing with weapons-related research and practitioners who address the implications of explosive weapons in humanitarian, policy, advocacy and legal fields.
more
This research project is comprised of a Final Report, 5 Annexed Explosive Weapons Studies, a Terminology paper and a Simulator software tool. Motivated by its strategic goal to improve human security and equipped with subject expertise in explosive hazards, in January 2015, the GICHD established the... research project to characterise explosive weapons (CEW). The aim of this research into explosive weapons characteristics and their immediate, destructive effects on humans and structures is to contribute to the ongoing discussions on explosive weapons in populated areas, intended to reduce harm to civilians. This research does not enter into the moral or legal implications of using explosive weapon systems in populated areas, but rather examines their characteristics, effects and use from a technical perspective.
more
Zimbabwe has, over the years, grappled with the repercussions of the climate crisis, which have led to erratic rainfall patterns characterized by either severe floods or prolonged periods of drought. The nation has experienced a concerning trend of numerous regions reporting rainfall levels below th...e usual during what should be "normal" years. The upcoming El Niño event forecasted for 2023-2024, which is associated with drier-than-average rainfall, is poised to exacerbate this predicament. It is expected to intensify aridity, significantly impacting food and animal production across many areas, including those typically classified as "dry regions."
more
It is widely understood that the food insecurity crisis in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa is one of the world’s fastest growing and most neglected crises. It lacks sufficient global focus, resources and urgency. As in so many crises, women and girls are disproportionately affected and shoulder t...he consequences of protracted neglect, with unconscionable impacts on their safety, life chances and agency.
Gaining a holistic view of the gendered drivers, risks and impacts of food insecurity in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa is difficult. This is due to a lack of data and prioritization, and the large geographical and socioeconomic terrain covered by both regions. However, what we do know about this crisis is more than enough to urgently address the needs of women and girls.
An OCHA discussion paper on this topic (which will be published imminently, and from which this policy brief is drawn) found that there is:
A strong risk of profound regression in gender equality gains made to date in the countries of concern, including on education, sexual and reproductive health, and the economic independence of women and girls (with knock-on effects on broader humanitarian and development outcomes).
An increasing challenge to reverse what must be recognized as a protracted and growing gender-based violence (GBV) emergency in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa.
The food insecurity crisis in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa is protracted, multidimensional and highly gendered, with spiralling impacts on gender equality and food security outcomes. It is driven by interwoven and overlapping factors, including climate change, political instability, conflict, socioeconomic conditions, migration and displacement and, more recently, COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine. Interlinked with these factors are gendered structural drivers of food insecurity, including deeply entrenched gender inequalities and harmful social norms. Gendered risks and impacts of food insecurity include alarming limitations on access to education, sexual and reproductive health rights, women’s agency and participation, and dramatic increases in different existing forms of GBV and the emergence of new ones. Recognition of such gendered dimensions of food insecurity and of the need for a multisectoral approach in the response is key to addressing the crisis, along-side sustained commitment and adequate allocation of resources. This policy brief draws out key findings from the OCHA discussion paper on this topic, which includes a desk review of studies, assessments and reports, and interviews with local women’s organizations on the front lines of the food insecurity crisis in communities across both regions.
Below are the most pressing gendered drivers, risks and impacts of food insecurity (not in order of priority), as well as key gaps in the current humanitarian response to food insecurity, and recommendations to take forward.
more
L'objectif de ce projet pilote est de mitiger l’ampleur et l’impact de flambées de choléra à grande échelle en République démocratique du Congo (RDC). Avec 13 000 cas suspects et 236 décès notifiés depuis le début de l’année 2022, le choléra demeure un problème de santé publique ...en RDC. La mise en œuvre d’un plan d'action anticipatoire, qui consiste en des interventions ciblées dans les domaines de l'eau, de l'assainissement, de l’hygiène et de la santé, sera accompagnée d'un programme d'apprentissage complet visant à comprendre l'efficacité, adaptabilité et la dimension éthique du projet pilote.
more
ate: 31 October 2022
From 24 February 2022, when the Russian Federation’s armed attack against Ukraine started, to 30 October 2022, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded 16,295 civilian casualties in the country: 6,430 killed and 9,865 injured. This included:
-... a total of 6,430 killed (2,511 men, 1,716 women, 167 girls, and 201 boys, as well as 34 children and 1,801 adults whose sex is yet unknown)
- a total of 9,865 injured (2,107 men, 1,515 women, 205 girls, and 292 boys, as well as 242 children and 5,504 adults whose sex is yet unknown)
- In Donetsk and Luhansk regions: 8,996 casualties (3,833 killed and 5,163 injured)
more
Highlights (1 week ago)
- Civilians have been killed and injured in ongoing fighting while attacks on infrastructure have left people without heat or water.
- Declaration of “Martial law” in Donetska, Khersonska, Luhanska and Zaporizka oblasts creates concern over access and movements for ci...vilians living in these areas.
- The humanitarian community continues to scale up winterization assistance as the cold season approaches.
- Humanitarian partners have delivered additional aid in retaken areas of Donetska, Kharkivska and Khersonska oblasts and in Dnipropetrovska oblast.
- 13.47 million people reached with humanitarian assistance and protection since February 2022.
more
Highlights (1 week ago)
- Civilians have been killed and injured in ongoing fighting while attacks on infrastructure have left people without heat or water.
- Declaration of “Martial law” in Donetska, Khersonska, Luhanska and Zaporizka oblasts creates concern over access and movements for ci...vilians living in these areas.
- The humanitarian community continues to scale up winterization assistance as the cold season approaches.
- Humanitarian partners have delivered additional aid in retaken areas of Donetska, Kharkivska and Khersonska oblasts and in Dnipropetrovska oblast.
- 13.47 million people reached with humanitarian assistance and protection since February 2022.
more
Available in English, Russian and Ukrainian from the website
https://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/ocha-ukraine-situation-report-22-october-2021-enruuk