Rohingya Refugee Crisis – Update 100601

More than one million Rohingya face dramatic overcrowding in Bangladesh refugees camps, or are internally displaced

Prompted by the scope and speed of Rohingya refugee crisis, UNHCR declared a “Level 3 Emergency” – the highest level – in mid-September.

Excerpts from reports published by

• Save the Children
• UNOCHA
• UNHCR

More than half a million Rohingya fleeing horrific violence and bloodshed in Myanmar have arrived in Bangladesh over the past six weeks.

According to latest estimates some 515,000 refugees have fled from Myanmar since 25 August, including people continuing to arrive this week. The emergency assistance is focused on refugee protection, shelter, water and sanitation and bolstering the capacity of the local host communities across south-east Bangladesh. Relieving dramatic overcrowding in the two existing camps – Kutupalong and Nyapara – which are now twice their population prior to the latest crisis – is also a priority, not least as refugee numbers are still growing.

Among the refugees are large numbers of children, many of them unaccompanied or separated from their families. More than half the new arrivals are women, including mothers with small children or infants. There are also many older people and people with disabilities. Illness, injuries and trauma as a result of extreme violence, torture and sexual abuse exacerbate the hardships. Many have lost family, relatives and friends. The new arrivals have joined an estimated 300,000 refugees who were already in Bangladesh before the crisis.

Internally Displaced People

Additionally, there are 121,000 internally displaced people in Rakhine State and  98,000 others in Kachin and Shan States.

• An estimated 281,000 newly arrived Rohingya are in need of urgent nutrition support to prevent or treat malnutrition, according to new data from the Inter-Sector Coordination Group, including 145,000 children under the age of five and more than 50,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women.
• At least 14,000 newly arrived Rohingya children under five are already believed to be suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

 

31.1 million people displaced within their own country in 2016 – IDMC

Conflict, violence and disasters forced one person to flee every second 

Conflict, violence and disasters caused 31.1 million new internal displacements in 2016, according to a new report released  by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

“In 2016, one person every second was forced to flee their home inside their own country. Internally displaced people now outnumber refugees by two to one. It is urgent to put internal displacement back on the global agenda,” said Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the NRC.

Of the 6.9 million new internal displacements caused by conflict in 2016, 2.6 million took place in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the Global Report on Internal Displacement.

Disasters displaced 24 million new victims in 2016, linked to sudden-onset weather hazards such as floods, storms, wildfires and severe winter conditions.

Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID) 2017

One in Every 113 Humans Displaced [and Rapidly Counting]

Forced displacement hits record high: UNHCR

Global forced displacement escalate sharply in 2015 due to ongoing conflict and persecution, “reaching the highest level ever recorded and representing immense human suffering, according to a report released today by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.”

UNHCR’s annual Global Trends report, which tracks forced displacement worldwide based on data from governments, partners including the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, and the organization’s own reporting, said 65.3 million people were displaced as of the end of 2015, compared to 59.5 million just 12 months earlier. This is the first time that the threshold of 60 million has been crossed.

Of the 65.3 million total, about comprises 3.2 million are in industrialized countries awaiting decisions (as of end 2015) on asylum (the largest total UNHCR has recorded), 21.3 million refugees worldwide (1.8 million more than in 2014 and the highest refugee total since the early 1990s), and 40.8 million were IDPs, people who forced to flee their homes but remained within the confines of their own countries (an increase of 2.6 million from 2014 and the highest number on record).

Based on Earth’s 7.349 billion population, these numbers show that 1 in every 113 people globally is currently either an asylum-seeker, internally displaced or a refugee. The numbers are comparable to the 2015 populations of UK (64.7 million), France (64.4 million) and Italy (59.8 million).

Forced displacement has been on the rise since at least the mid-1990s in most regions, but over the past five years the rate of climb has increased. The reasons are threefold: Situations that cause large refugee outflows are lasting longer (for example, conflicts in Somalia or Afghanistan are now into their third and fourth decades, respectively), dramatic new or reignited situations are occurring frequently (today’s largest being Syria, but also in the space of the past five years South Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Ukraine, Central African Republic, etc.), and the rate at which solutions are being found for refugees and internally displaced people has been on a falling trend since the end of the Cold War. As recently as 10 years ago, at the end of 2005, UNHCR recorded an average of six people displaced every minute. Today that number is 24 per minute – almost double the typical frequency at which adults breathe.

“More people are being displaced by war and persecution and that’s worrying in itself, but the factors that endanger refugees are multiplying too,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. “At sea, a frightening number of refugees and migrants are dying each year; on land, people fleeing war are finding their way blocked by closed borders. Politics is gravitating against asylum in some countries. The willingness of nations to work together not just for refugees but for the collective human interest is what’s being tested today, and it’s this spirit of unity that badly needs to prevail.”

Three countries produce half the world’s refugees…

Among countries covered by the Global Trends report several stand out: Syria at 4.9 million, Afghanistan at 2.7 million and Somalia at 1.1 million together accounted for more than half the refugees under UNHCR’s mandate worldwide. Colombia at 6.9 million, Syria at 6.6 million, and Iraq at 4.4 million meanwhile had the largest numbers of internally displaced people. Yemen was the biggest producer of new internal displacement in 2015 – 2.5 million people, or 9 per cent of its population.

Half the world’s refugees are children

Children constituted 51 per cent of the world’s refugees in 2015 according to the data UNHCR was able to gather (complete demographic data was not available to the report authors). Worryingly, many were separated from their parents or travelling alone. In all there were 98,400 asylum requests from children who were unaccompanied or separated from their families. This is the highest total UNHCR has seen – and a tragic reflection of how global forced displacement is disproportionately affecting young lives.

Additional Information

UNHCR’s Global Trends Report is being released on World Refugee Day, 20 June, in conjunction with our #WithRefugees petition campaign. A full multimedia package is available in connection with the Global Trends report, including infographics, photos, video materials and other products.

 

Global Disasters – June 11, 2016

6.5 Million people (39 percent of Malawi’s projected population) likely to be food insecure in 2016/17

At least 6.5 million people, or 39 percent of the country’s projected population of 16.8 million, will not be able to meet their annual food requirements during the 2016/17 consumption period, according to The Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, through the  Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC).

This represents an increase of 129 percent compared with the corresponding figure of 2.8 million people for the 2015/16 consumption period. In order to ensure that the affected people survive up to the next harvest period without disrupting their socioeconomic livelihoods, the total humanitarian food assistance that is required is estimated at the equivalent of 493,000 metric tonnes of maize, with an estimated cash value of MK148 billion. However, the estimated humanitarian food assistance declines to the equivalent of 375,000 metric tonnes of maize if we adjust for the fact that some of the affected people may sell their assets in order to acquire food.

“The food shortage is largely a result of the El Nino climatic episode experienced across the country during the 2015/16 agricultural reason,” the government said.

The MVAC figures stated above relate to the total food requirement for the vulnerable population only. This is lower than the maize consumption deficit of 790,000 metric tonnes affecting 8.4 million people, as reported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development based on the Second Round Crop Estimates released in April 2016. The main difference between the two sets of figures arises from the fact that part of the maize consumption deficit relates to the consumption needs of those who can afford to procure it on the market, if available, without the need for humanitarian support. The MVAC figures exclude such consumption needs which are, nevertheless, a significant part of the Government’s overall intervention plans.

Iraq

More than 3.3 million Iraqis, or about 10 per cent of the population, have been displaced due to acts of violence perpetrated by the Saudi-backed Wahhabi terrorists (ISIL) since the start of 2014.

At least 500,000 people fled Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, when terrorists stormed the city in June 2014. Many have been displaced multiple times, and most face extreme hardship.

South Sudan

More than 2.4 million people have been displaced since fighting broke out in Juba in December 2013. This includes 720,394 people who have crossed into neighboring countries. Six Protection of Civilian (PoC) sites are currently sheltering 169,983 internally displaced people (IDPs): 98,653 in Bentiu; 40,448 in Malakal; 27,959 in Juba; 2,004 in Bor; 700 in Melut; and, 219 in Wau, said the UN Mission in South Sudan.

Somalia

Extreme rain events in the upper part of the Ethiopian highlands have caused river Shabelle to overflow. The flood waters have destroyed crops and that fields remain inaccessible.

“The flood has destroyed almost everything. The majority of the community here operates a small business in a local market. They could no longer work as the place is submerged with water. We do hope in a month’s time it will dry up and we can start rebuilding our lives,” said a local elder.

[District of] Beletweyne hosts 31,000 displaced people, the majority of whom have fled conflict in the neighboring districts of Jalalqsi and Bulle Burte. The residents who live in a low-lying areas have moved to higher ground in El Jaale, five kilometres from Beletweyne.

“This flooding is the worst in years. It covered most of the town and surroundings. As the people move to higher grounds, they are in need of everything. The ICRC is providing food and other basic items, clean water and health care to the most affected communities. This will enable them to hold on as they start to rebuild their homes,” said the region’s field coordinator for the ICRC in Somalia.

 

10+ Million Iraqis Need Humanitarian Assistance

Third of Iraqi population urgently require some form of humanitarian assistance: UNAMI

The Government of Iraq and the United Nations have called for international help to respond to the growing humanitarian crisis in Iraq.

Ten million Iraqis, nearly one third of the population, urgently require some form of humanitarian assistance, including 3.3 million people who have fled their homes since January 2014. Thousands of Iraqis are in areas under siege by combatant forces, unable to escape or seek safety. In addition, 250,000 Syrian refugees have sought safety in Iraq, the majority in the Kurdistan Region, where more than one million displaced people are also residing; 500,000 people have returned to their home areas, where they are trying to rebuild their lives.

“We face a major humanitarian emergency. We need the international community’s support to prevent further deterioration,” the Minister of Migration and Displacement and Chairman of the Higher Committee for the Relief and Sheltering of IDPs, said.

UNAMI Casualty Figures for the Month of January 2016

A total of 849 Iraqis were killed and another 1,450 were wounded in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in Iraq in January 2016*, according to casualty figures released today by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).

The number of civilians killed in January was 490 (including 24 federal police, Sahwa civil defence, Personal Security Details, facilities protection police, fire department), and the number of civilians injured was 1,157 (including 47 federal police, Sahwa civil defence, Personal Security Details, facilities protection police, fire department).

A total of 359 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (including Peshmerga, SWAT and militias fighting alongside the Iraqi Army but excluding Anbar Operations) were killed and 293 were injured.

The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq (SRSG), Mr. Ján Kubiš, deplored the continuing high casualty toll, particularly a sharp increase in the number of injuries among civilians in January as compared to the previous month.

“One casualty is one too many. The suffering of the Iraqi people must end,” the SRSG said. “Iraqis, civilians in particular, continue to pay the price in this conflict. The Iraqi people should have the opportunity to live in peace and security.”

The figures showed that Baghdad Governorate was the worst affected, with 1,084 civilian casualties (299 killed, 785 injured), Diyala 61 killed and 79 injured, Ninewa 55 killed and 24 injured, while Kirkuk had 12 killed and 3 injured, and Salahadin 2 killed and 14 injured.

According to information obtained by UNAMI from the Health Directorate in Anbar, in January 2016 the Governorate suffered a total of 304 civilian casualties (56 killed and 248 injured). Anbar casualty figures cover the period from 1-30 January, inclusive.

*CAVEATS: In general, UNAMI has been hindered in effectively verifying casualties in conflict areas. Figures for casualties from Anbar Governorate are provided by the Health Directorate. Casualty figures obtained from the Anbar Health Directorate might not fully reflect the real number of casualties in those areas due to the increased volatility of the situation on the ground and the disruption of services. In some cases, UNAMI could only partially verify certain incidents. UNAMI has also received, without being able to verify, reports of large numbers of casualties along with unknown numbers of persons who have died from secondary effects of violence after having fled their homes due to exposure to the elements, lack of water, food, medicines and health care. For these reasons, the figures reported have to be considered as the absolute minimum.

According to Iraq Body Count a total of 1,195 civilians were killed in Iraq in January. https://www.iraqbodycount.org/

About 50 percent of the victims, including dozens of women and children, were executed by the Wahhabi terrorists, according to the released data.

Number of Forcibly Displaced People Will Exceed 60 Million

Significant worldwide rise in forced displacement in first half 2015 —UNHCR

One in every 122 humans is today someone who has been forced to flee their homes.

More refugees, asylum-seekers, and people forced to flee inside their own countries than ever before, according to UNHCR’s Mid-Year Trends 2015 report.

With almost a million people having crossed the Mediterranean as refugees and migrants so far this year, and conflicts in Syria and elsewhere continuing to generate staggering levels of human suffering, 2015 is likely to exceed all previous records for global forced displacement, UNHCR warned in a new report today.

Covering the period from January to end June, the report looks at worldwide displacement resulting from conflict and persecution, and “shows markers firmly in the red in each of the three major categories of displacement —refugees, asylum-seekers, and people forced to flee inside their own countries.

The global refugee total, which a year ago was 19.5 million, had as of mid-2015 passed the 20 million threshold (20.2 million) for the first time since 1992.

Asylum applications climbed 78% (993,600 applicants) over the same period in 2014, while the numbers of internally displaced people reached an estimated 34 million, a jump of 2 million.

Taking into account that the report covers only internally displaced people protected by UNHCR (the global total including people both in and outside UNHCR’s care is only available in mid-2016), 2015 is on track to see worldwide forced displacement exceeding 60 million for the first time—1 in every 122 humans is today someone who has been forced to flee their home.

Meanwhile, the number of refugees increased by 839,000 in the first six months of 2015 – or an average of about 4,600 people every day.

“Forced displacement is now profoundly affecting our times,” UN refugee chief Antonio Guterres said in a statement. “Never has there been a greater need for tolerance, compassion and solidarity with people who have lost everything.”

Europe’s influx of refugees arriving by boat via the Mediterranean is only partly reflected in the report, mainly as arrivals there have escalated in the second half of 2015,  and outside the period covered by the report.

Nonetheless, in the first six months of 2015 Germany was the world’s biggest recipient of new asylum claims – 159,000, close to the entire total for all of 2014. The second largest recipient was the Russian Federation with 100,000 claims, mainly people fleeing the conflict in Ukraine.

If you become a refugee today your chances of ever returning home are lower than at any time in more than 3 decades, said the report.

Related Links

• World at War: One in Every 122 Humans is a Refugee  June 18, 2015
• The Global Trends report is available at http://unhcr.org/556725e69.html
• UNHCR’s Mid-Year Trends 2015 report:  http://unhcr.org/myt15/#_ga=1.140908210.1672226646.1450436139

Terrorists Killing Off Farms in Nigeria

Impact of terrorism on agriculture and food security

More than 17,000 farmers, fearing Boko Haram terrorists, have fled from northeastern Nigeria to the south since 2012, according to Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency, Irin reported. 

The terrorists attack villages, slaughtering farmers, their families and farm animals, and leaving farms abandoned and disused.

“Ongoing attacks have destroyed land and killed thousands of young men since 2009, and, in some cases, wiped out or displaced entire generations of farmers and herders. The future of many rural communities in northeastern Nigeria is, at best, uncertain, at worst, unsustainable.”

“In the rural north, the youth are the pillars of agriculture, tending to farms and cattle,” said a farmer from Askira. “Now, six years of Boko Haram violence has left farms idle and animals dead or stolen.”

Villager have lost everything, including their sons, to Boko Haram terrorists.

Many farmers have restricted their movements to “safe areas” and work limited hours in the fields to minimize the risk. But they fear the impact this would have on food supplies. Further terrorist attacks could mean food shortages this year.

Bulama Modu, a rice farmer from Gwoza who has since taken refuge at a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Malkohi, told IRIN: “Boko Haram has prevented farmers from tilling their fields. They have been attacking us and many farmers were killed, mostly youth. We had to run without tilling our rice.”

The terrorists first  imposed levies and taxes on the farmers in exchange for not burning their crops, ranging from about one to three million naira ($6,000–$18,000), depending on the size of the village.

“But later, they started slaughtering people and this situation forced us all to flee,” a farmer said.

More than 17,000 farmers, fearing for their lives, have fled from northeastern Nigeria to the south since 2012, according to Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency.

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) says food production throughout the region will be below average this year, and that areas of western Yobe State, northern Adamawa State and most of Borno State, along with areas in and around Maiduguri, where many IDPs have taken refuge, are expected to remain “in crisis” until at least March 2016.

Food prices have been affected severely. Since Boko Haram began attacking farmers the prices of beans and onions have risen by up to 70 percent., said the report.

“Most of our traders are now afraid to go to the food markets up north,” Daudu told IRIN. “Transporters see it as [a] high risk going to such places as Maiduguri to carry farm produce.”

After a popular Baga fish market in Borno State was attacked one morning by Boko Haram, gunmen, many food stores locked their door and let the food inside to perish,” said a victim. “It is not only the farmers that are running away, [but] the food sellers and transporters too.”

Landmine risk

Many farmers have tried to return to their land but are unable to replant their fields due to landmines. They are forced to do other work  until their land has been cleared.

Mine explosions in farm fields have killed, maimed or injured many farmers, as they return to their land.

 

Yemen Faces Collapse!

Saudi state terrorism leaves 21.2 million Yemenis—82% of population—in need of humanitarian assistance 

Millions of Yemenis require assistance to ensure their basic survival, reported UN OHCHR.

Between mid-March, when fighting escalated, and  the second week of October, health facilities had reported 32,307 casualties (including 5,604 deaths), or an average of 153 injuries or deaths each and every day.

• 21.2 million, or 82% of the population are in need of humanitarian assistance.
• 14.4 million are food insecure (including 7.6 million severely food insecure).
• 3 million people now require treatment or preventive services for malnutrition.
• 2 million are currently acutely malnourished, including 1.3 million children – 320,000 of whom are suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

“More than seven months of conflict have severely exacerbated Yemen’s prior large-scale humanitarian emergency. Partners currently estimate that 21.2 million people require assistance – an increase of one-third since the crisis began in mid-March 2015. Major increases in need have occurred since the June 2015 Humanitarian Needs Overview in key sectors, including food security, nutrition and shelter. Displacement and human rights violations have also risen considerably.”

• 19.3 million lack adequate access to clean water or sanitation
• 14.1 million people lack sufficient access to healthcare
• 1.8 million children have been out of school since mid-March.
• Solid waste removal has come to a halt in several areas.
• Three in four Yemenis are unable to meet their basic wash needs.

Public services are rapidly failing “due to direct impact of conflict and insufficient resources to pay salaries or maintain services,” said the report.

“As of mid-October, 69 health facilities had been reported partially or substantially damaged, 27 ambulances hijacked, eight health workers killed and 20 injured.”

“Since 26 March, health facilities have reported more than 32,200 casualties – many of them civilians. In the same period, has verified 8,875 reports of human rights violations – an average of 43 violations every day. Verified incidents of child death or injury from March to September are almost five times higher than 2014 totals.”

Displacement

About 2.3 million are currently displaced within Yemen and 121,000 others have fled the country.

“Displacement has contributed to rises in needs across sectors – particularly shelter and NFIs, for which about 2.8 million IDPs and host community members currently require support.”

Drought Deaths Mounting in Southern Madagascar

Severe drought killing scores of people in southern Madagascar

Drought is killing up to ten people per day in one southern Madagascar municipality alone. 

“The death varies from two to ten per day due to drought in our area,” Bernard Tolia, mayor of Anjapaly, told China’s Xinhua news.

“A dozen mayors from south including me alerted the government on Monday to look more closely the situation in our area,” he said.

“It has been almost a year that there was no rain. People have to travel 15 kilometers, often by feet, to find drinking water; livestock is suffering and die while cultivation is impossible due to drought.”

Adverse weather conditions are also affecting crop production elsewhere in southern Africa including southern Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Malawi and South Africa, according to various relief agencies.

The negative impact of extreme weather events is threatening food security for an estimated 27.5 million people across the region, especially in Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile, Botswana is experiencing “the worst drought conditions in 30 years with agricultural land badly hit by the lack of irrigation,” AFP reported the government as saying.

South Africa’s 2015 maize production decreased by a third compared with 2014 harvest, due to poor rains, GIEWS reported.

In Malawi, “2,833,212 people will not be able to meet their annual food requirement. In view of this I would like to appeal to all the development partners, other countries, and non-governmental organizations both in Malawi and elsewhere to complement government sources in assisting the food-insecure households,” said the president.

An estimated 1.5 million Zimbabweans (16% of rural households) will be unable to meet their food needs during the 2015/2016 hunger season, some 462,000 in the second quarter of the consumption year and 1,490,024 during the peak hunger season (from January-March, 2016). “This represents a rise of 160% compared to those facing food insecurity during the 2014/2015 hunger season,” according to UNOCHA, and UNRC.

Hunger Emergencies

The World Food Program (WFP) says it’s currently facing six emergencies simultaneously in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, South Sudan, Nepal and Ebola affected regions in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Iraq

The humanitarian situation in Iraq is deteriorating amid rising violence, with more than 3.2 million people fleeing their homes since January 2014, UNOCHA reports.

Humanitarian Disaster Stats
No. of people in need 8.6m
No. of internally displaced people 3.2m
No. of people who live outside camps 2.9m
No. of affected people in host communities 3.2m
No. of Syrian refugees 0.25m

Scale of Human Catastrophe in Yemen ‘Almost Incomprehensible’

Saudi airstrikes kill 5,000, displace 1.5 million, force 100,000 to flee Yemen since March: UNHCR

Latest Saudi air strikes killed at least 40 civilians and injured more than 150 others in Sanaa Friday, reported Yemen News Agency.

At least 38 more civilians were killed by the airstrikes in the northern province of Saada, which left dozens of others wounded, officials were reported as saying.

Meanwhile, the health crisis in Yemen is rapidly deepening with more health facilities running out of basic supplies and more hospitals and blood-transfusion centers ceasing to function, says UNHCR. The ongoing bombardment has severely affected agricultural and fishery sectors.

World community’s “virtual silence”

UN officials have criticized the world community for the “virtual silence” on the human catastrophe  caused by the Yemeni conflict from , warning that unless violence on the ground is stopped via political compromise more people will suffer.

Two senior UN officials, the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, and the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect, have expressed strong concerns over “the ever increasing impact on civilians of the ongoing conflict in Yemen, and the virtual silence of the international community about the threat to populations.”

Casualty figures to September 14, 2015

• Killed: 4,855 (at least 132 more people have been killed since September 14)
• About 50 percent of the casualties are civilians
• Wounded: 24,971  (at least 202 more people have been wounded since September 14)
• No. of refugees who have fled Yemen: 100,000
• No. of IDPs: 1.4 million [1.5 million]
• Affected population: 21.1 million
• People targeted: 11.7 million
• Since the escalation of conflict in late March, an average of 30 people have been killed, 185 wounded and 9,000 others internally displaced or fled the country each day.

 

Global Emergencies: Afghanistan, Iraq, Dominican Republic

Millions of Afghans are food insecure: Report

At least 1.5 million people in Afghanistan are severely food insecure, while 7.3 million others are moderately food insecure, said ACAPS. Food security among IDPs is worsening, with about 200,000 people in need of immediate assistance.

Afghanistan has been in protracted conflict for almost thirty five years, which has seriously hampered poverty reduction and development, strained the fabric of society and depleted its coping mechanisms. Additionally, over the past five years, armed non-state actors have challenged the territorial control of the Government and expanded the geographical scope of the conflict beyond the southern and eastern regions of the country.

… conflict and natural disasters have left many Afghans living without proper shelter. These include families who lost their homes during spring floods in the north, refugee families from North Waziristan who have fled their home to Khost and the neighbouring province of Paktika, and families displaced internally in the last year due to conflict. [OCHA]

Iraq: IDP Emergency

Some 827,964 people were internally displaced in August, making up 25 percent of the total IDP population. “The proportion of IDPs living in critical shelter arrangements increased by 2% in the second half of August. Reports of forcible evictions are increasing, and many governorates are enforcing restrictions on IDP movement. Half of all health personnel have left Anbar, Ninewa, Salah al Din and Diyala governorates.”

About 8.6 million Iraqis are in need of humanitarian assistance.

Dominican Republic: Severe Drought, Crop Losses  

At least 1.6 million people have reportedly been affected by the lingering drought that has plagued the country since last year. “The breakdown in the production of hydroelectrical power has caused energy blackouts nationwide, and water rationing is being implemented. Crop losses amount to tens of millions of dollars.”

2.1 Million Displaced in Nigeria: IOM

‘Intensification of attacks by insurgents’ raises Nigeria IDP total from 1.3 to 2.1 million since June

More than 2.1 million Nigerians or 300,000 households are now internally displaced in northern Nigeria, based on Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) of International Organization for Migration (IOM), said a report.

“The increase in the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the 1.3 million recorded in the June DTM report can be attributed to the intensification of attacks carried-out by the insurgents, as well as to improved access to previously inaccessible areas of Borno State, where the IDP population is now well over 1.6 million.”

 

3.1 Million Iraqis Displaced by Violence

 9 Percent of remaining Iraqi population now displaced

More than 3.1 million Iraqis have been internally displaced by the ongoing bloody conflict, said UN spokesperson on Tuesday.

At least 300,000 people have been displaced from and within Anbar province including more than 250,000 individuals from Ramadi, the capital of governorate, since military operations began in April, said the UN Assistance (!) Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).

The DTM has identified 3,112,914 persons displaced by conflict in Iraq. The majority, 67 per cent, are sheltered in private settings that include rented housing, host families and hotels. A smaller but significant number, 20 per cent, are identified as living in critical shelter arrangements, which include unfinished buildings, religious buildings, informal settlements and schools. Eight per cent of those currently displaced in Iraq are living in camp settings.

A total of 1,466 Iraqis were killed and another 1,687 were injured in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in June 2015, according to casualty figures released by UNAMI earlier this month.

In the first half 2015, at least 6,784 Iraqis were killed and 11,789 others wounded in acts of terrorism and violence.

Fighting to liberate the Anbar province continues between the Iraqi security forces, and the so-called Islamic State (ISIL) terrorists, better known as daesh , the thugs, assassins and murder mechanics left behind from the genocidal regime of Saddam-Hussein, who have seized most of the governorate.

*CAVEATS: In general, UNAMI has been hindered in effectively verifying casualties in conflict areas.  Figures for casualties from Anbar Governorate are provided by the Health Directorate and are noted below. In some cases, UNAMI could only partially verify certain incidents.  UNAMI has also received, without being able to verify, reports of large numbers of casualties along with unknown numbers of persons who have died from secondary effects of violence after having fled their homes due to exposure to the elements, lack of water, food, medicines and health care.  For these reasons, the figures reported have to be considered as the absolute minimum.

World at War: One in Every 122 Humans is a Refugee

One in every 122 humans is a refugee, internally displaced, or seeking asylum  —UNHCR

Record numbers of  people are forced to flee their homes and seek refuge and safety elsewhere amid wars, conflict and persecution, said a new report from the UN refugee agency.

UNHCR’s annual Global Trends Report: World at War, released on Thursday (June 18), said that worldwide displacement in 2014 was at the highest level ever recorded.

An astounding 59.5 million people, a population the size of Canada and Australia combined, were forcibly displaced at the end of 2014, compared to 51.2 million a year earlier and 37.5 million ten years ago.

“We are witnessing a paradigm change, an unchecked slide into an era in which the scale of global forced displacement as well as the response required is now clearly dwarfing anything seen before,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

“It is terrifying that on the one hand there is more and more impunity for those starting conflicts, and on the other there is seeming utter inability of the international community to work together to stop wars and build and preserve peace.”

The numbers of refugees and internally displaced people are rising in every region of the world. Since 2010, “at least 15 conflicts have erupted or reignited: eight in Africa (Côte d’Ivoire, Central African Republic, Libya, Mali, northeastern Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and this year in Burundi); three in the Middle East (Syria, Iraq, and Yemen); one in Europe (Ukraine) and three in Asia (Kyrgyzstan, and in several areas of Myanmar and Pakistan).”

“Few of these crises have been resolved and most still generate new displacement,” the report said, adding that in 2014 only 126,800 refugees were able to return to their home countries—the lowest number in 31 years.

Children comprise half of all refugees

More than half the world’s refugees and IDP are children, according to the UN report.

In 2014, about 13.9 million people became newly displaced—four times the number of the previous year, according to the Global Trends report. “Worldwide there were 19.5 million refugees (up from 16.7 million in 2013), 38.2 million were displaced inside their own countries (up from 33.3 million in 2013), and 1.8 million people were awaiting the outcome of claims for asylum (against 1.2 million in 2013).”

Worldwide Refugees and IDP

Asia

The number of refugees and internally displaced people in Asia grew by 31 per cent in 2014 to 9 million. “Continuing displacement was also seen in and from Myanmar in 2014, including of Rohingya from Rakhine state and in the Kachin and Northern Shan regions. Iran and Pakistan remained two of the world’s top four refugee hosting countries.”

Europe

Forced displacement numbers in Europe rose to 6.7 million last year, compared to 4.4 million at the end of 2013, with the largest proportion of this being Syrians in Turkey, Ukrainians in the Russian Federation, and a record 219,000 Mediterranean crossings…

Middle East and North Africa

Syria’s ongoing war, with a total of 11.5  million displaced people [7.6 million IDP and  3.88 million refugees at the end of 2014,] was the world’s largest producer and host of forced displacement last year. The regional total grew further with new displacement of least 2.6 million people in Iraq and 309,000 newly displaced in Libya. Afghanistan had 2.59 million refugees.

Sub-Saharan Africa

“Africa’s numerous conflicts, including in Central African Republic, South Sudan, Somalia (1.1 million), Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo and elsewhere, together produced immense forced displacement totals in 2014, on a scale only marginally lower than in the Middle East.”

Sub-Saharan Africa had 3.7 million refugees and 11.4 million IDP, 4.5 million of whom were newly displaced in 2014. The 17 per cent overall increase excludes Nigeria.

Americas

A rise in forced displacement also occurred in the Americas, said the report. Colombia had one of the world’s largest IDP at 6 million, with 137,000 Colombians being newly displaced in 2014. “With more people fleeing gang violence or other forms of persecution in Central America, the United States saw 36,800 more asylum claims than in 2013, representing growth of 44 percent.”

The Global Trends report is available at http://unhcr.org/556725e69.html.

Saudi-led Coalition Using Same Cluster Munition in Yemen as ISIS Fired in Syria

Saudi Arabia first used cluster bombs on Houthis in 2009: HRW

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has released new evidence contending the Saudi-led coalition has been dropping  internationally-banned cluster bombs on Yemenis population.

Four civilians, including a young boy, were wounded on April 29 in Baqim, a village near the Saudi border, when unexploded submunitions detonated after local residents picked them up. HRW identified the weapon as a type of ground-fired cluster munition containing “ZP-39” submunitions, which has a distinctive red ribbon.

• The cluster munition dropped by Saudi-led coalition aircraft  near al-Amar was the CBU-105 Sensor Fuzed Weapon.
• In addition, photographs and information from local residents indicate that Saudi-led coalition aircraft dropped a third type of cluster munition, bombs containing BLU-97 submunitions, in at least two attacks in Saada governorate on May 23.

“Human Rights Watch … has documented that Islamic State forces (also known as ISIS) fired the same weapon, whose submunition was marked ‘ZP-39,’ in northern Syria in September 2014,” said the report.

The HRW report is posted online, here.

Yemen: Deteriorating Humanitarian Crisis Situation Report No. 9 (as of 29 May 2015)

Highlights of UN OCHA Report

• The humanitarian situation in the SW governorates of Aden, Lahj, Taizz, and Al Dhale’e continues to deteriorate at an alarming rate, as violence increases and basic services grind to a halt.
• The northern governorates of Sa’ada, Hajjah and Amran face increasing levels of displacement due to airstrikes. Insecurity has limited access and the provision of assistance.
• The death toll reached 1,976; 27 May was the deadliest day so far with reports of at least 80 people killed and 300 injured. The conflict is now entering its third month.

• People in need: 15.9m
• Internally displaced: 545,719
• Registered deaths resulting from conflict: 1,976
• Registered injuries resulting from conflict: 8,034
• People who have become food insecure since escalation of conflict: 1.4m [UN OCHA]

Terrorists Fed by Saudi Royals’ Hatred for Shia Muslims

Meantime, the Saudi division of the Islamic State terrorists group has called on all jihadist to cleanse the Arabian Peninsula of Shia Muslims in an audio recording, said a US-based ISIS monitoring group, SITE.

A representative of Najd Province, a division of the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/IS/DAESH) has called on Sunni Saudi youths to join the group, fend off the “Shia threat” and “purify the land” of the “disbelievers and apostates,” said the report.

The terrorist group has reportedly claimed responsibility for the May-22 suicide bombing of a Shi’ite mosque in the town of al-Qadeeh, Qatif province, which killed at least 21 people and wounded more than 50 other worshipers.

The local ISIS terrorists have also claimed responsibility for bombing another Shi’ite mosque in the Saudi port city of Dammam on Friday, May 29, 2015.

A suicide bomber, reportedly disguised as a woman, blew himself up in the parking lot of the mosque during Friday prayers, killing at least four people.

Fighting Continues in Ukraine…

Ukraine crises: 1,213,011 registered IDPs; 6,108 killed; 15,450 wounded  —MoSP

As of early April, at least 1,213,011 people in Ukraine have registered as IDPs across the country. Some 6,108 have been killed and 15,450 others wounded, according to the Ministry of Social Policy (MoSP).

Total number of Ukrainians who have sought asylum, residence permits or other forms of legal stay in neighboring countries currently stand at 777,355 including 636,544 in Russia and 80,994 in Belarus, reported UNHCR.

Meantime, rapidly increasing food prices has led to lower food consumption, severely affecting the lives of millions in the eastern oblasts of the country, said the report.

Access to social services, especially pension and salaries, remains suspended in the conflict-affected zone.

[The above figures do not include victims from renewed fighting in January and February, said the UN.]

Other highlights of the UN report

• At least 1,522 social facilities in need of restoration.
• An estimated472 schools have been damaged including at least 10 that have been fully destroyed in non-government controlled areas of Donetsk Oblast. A further eight schools have been closed.
• About 2,000 kilometers of water pipelines have been damaged/destroyed, according to Donbas Water Company. [Donbas region in eastern Ukraine comprises of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.]

Global Disasters/ Significant Events – March 23, 2015

Iraqi Kurdistan nears breaking point

More than 1 million people internally displaced by the terrorist group ISIL, recently calling itself Islamic State (IS), in Addition to 225,000 refugees from Syria are taking a devastating economic and social toll on Iraqi Kurdistan, says IRIN.

“The population of the semi-autonomous region has grown by 28 percent in the space of 12 months, piling pressure on education and health services. With further military offensives planned against IS, there are fears that yet more people will seek safety in the region.”

“The scale of the influx has created significant competition for jobs, pushing down wages and household incomes across the board, while demand for water, electricity and waste management is outstripping supply.”

Displaced women and girls trapped in Afghanistan’s cities

Seven out of 10 displaced Afghan female say they have never attended a school. They also face “significant constraints” to health and employment opportunities, according to a new report by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

• “We are imprisoned in our tents and we don’t have permission to go out. What is this sort of life worth?” says a 24 year-old woman from the Helmand province, internally displaced in Kabul and one of the respondents in the report.

• “We are being sold in exchange for money like animals. Our rights are ignored; we are often sold to widowers, blind men, disabled or old men and we have no choice to refuse marrying them”, says a 23 year-old woman from the Muhammad Aghai district in the Logar province, now living in a camp for internally displaced in Kabul.

• Displaced women and girls across Afghanistan cities are suffering unacceptable levels of hunger and high levels of psychological trauma, without any mental health assistance support to turn to, says the report.

Iraqi Kurdistan nears breaking point

More than 1 million people internally displaced by the terrorist group ISIL, recently calling itself Islamic State (IS), in Addition to 225,000 refugees from Syria are taking a devastating economic and social toll on Iraqi Kurdistan, says IRIN.

“The population of the semi-autonomous region has grown by 28 percent in the space of 12 months, piling pressure on education and health services. With further military offensives planned against IS, there are fears that yet more people will seek safety in the region.”

“The scale of the influx has created significant competition for jobs, pushing down wages and household incomes across the board, while demand for water, electricity and waste management is outstripping supply.”

Critical Food Insecurity in Central African Republic (CAR)

Farmers in the CAR urgently need seeds and tools for the planting season in April to prevent further deterioration of their livelihoods in the conflict-stricken country, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today.

Some 1.5 million people are currently food insecure across the country and this figure is likely to rise in the absence of immediate support. Additionally, the significant food shortages across the country could worsen, population movements could result in increased tension, the return of displaced persons and refugees to their villages could be delayed.

Refugee Crisis in Cameroon

The number of internally displaced people in the north has nearly doubled since 10 February, to 117,000,  bringing the total number of displaced in Cameroon to an estimated 412,700, including 66,000 who are fleeing Boko Haram violence in Nigeria and the remainder from the Central African Republic.

More than 120,000 displaced amid fighting in southern Philippines

More than 120,000 people have fled their homes since late January after fighting broke out between government forces and armed groups in the southern Philippines island of Mindanao, reported UNHCR.

The number of displaced is expected to rise as the fighting spreads to local communities hosting the displaced, said the UN refugee agency.

An estimated 13 municipalities in Maguindanao and North Cotabato have been affected in eight weeks of clashes between the state security forces and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, said the report.

Some of the IDPs are sheltering in schools and public buildings, with unknown numbers staying with friends or relatives, according to UNHCR.

Death Toll in E. Ukraine Exceeds 6,000

About 2 Million Ukrainians Displaced

The estimated number of people killed in eastern Ukraine since April 2014 has now passed the 6,000 mark, in spite of successive ceasefires, the UN Human Rights Office announced Monday.

“More than six thousand lives have now been lost in less than a year due to the fighting in eastern Ukraine,” said UNHCR.

Between mid-April 2014 and 28 February 2015, some 5,809 people were killed and 14,740 others wounded in eastern Ukraine. Of these, 1,012 were killed and 3,793 wounded between 1 December 2014 and 15 February 2015. Given that full reports on casualties, especially near Donetsk airport and in the Debaltseve area, are still pending, the UN Human Rights Office estimates that the total number of people killed in eastern Ukraine by 2 March has almost certainly exceeded 6,000.

Internal Displacement

There are now more than one million registered internally displaced people in Ukraine, according to UNHCR and OCHA.

The State Emergency Service, responsible for accommodation of IDPs reported that the number of people displaced from the east had reached 731,422 people as of 15 February (711,209 from Donetsk and Luhansk regions and 20,213 from Crimea), This figure includes 133,178 children and 328,770 persons with disabilities.

External Displacement

According to data provided by the Russian Federation’s Federal Migration Service (FMS), as of 23 December, 245,510 Ukrainians have applied for international protection.

Of these, 236,765 people were granted Temporary Asylum (TA) status, while 237 people received full refugee status. A further 244,326 people have applied for other forms of legal stay. [UNHCR – December 31, 2014]

Total number of Ukrainians refugees and asylum seekers in neighboring countries—Belarus, Hungary, Poland, Romania Republic of Moldova, and the Russian Federation—now exceeds 800,000, according to various reports.

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Latest Global Emergencies – February 2015

7 Million Afghans in need of humanitarian aid

Afghanistan: Some 3,700 civilians were killed and 6,850 others wounded in 2014, a 22% increase in casualties on 2013; there were 21% more women and 40% more children casualties (UNAMA/UNHCHR, 18/02/2015).

About 7 million are in need of humanitarian aid in 2015. Badghis, Helmand, Kunar, Nangarhar, and Wardak most need assistance (UNICEF, 21/01/2015, OCHA, 25/11/2014).

• At least 805,400 IDPs were reported as of January 2015 (UNHCR, 31/12/2014).
• 3.4 million people are severely food insecure, while 5.4 million need access to health services and 1.7 million need protection (IPC, 01/11/2014).
• 517,600 children under five suffer from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), and eight provinces show Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rates above 15%, breaching the emergency threshold. (UNICEF, 21/01/2015, OCHA, 31/07/2014).

Meantime, multiple avalanches in Afghanistan have buried more than a dozen villages killing hundreds of people and leaving many missing. The number is expected to rise, officials said.

Bolivia: Drought and Deluge

Drought has destroyed at least 120,000 hectares of soy crops and affecetd an addition 240,000 hectares in the municipalities of Cuatro Cañadas and Pailón in the eastern department of Santa Cruz, said the Association of Oilseed and Wheat Producers (ANAP), said a report.

Meantime, extreme rain events, severe hailstorms and widespread flooding  have affected 54 municipalities in six other Bolivian departments, 30 of which have declared states of emergency, killing dozens of people, affecting up to 100,000 people and destroying more than 8,000 hectares of crops.

Myanmar: Some 90,000 people have been displaced due to continuing violence between government troops and multiple armed groups in Kokang, Shan state. —ACAS

Kenya: The number of reported cholera cases has risen in the past week to 644, from 186. The outbreak was declared in Homa Bay, Migori, and Nairobi counties on 13 February. at least 17 people have died, most in Migori, and there are fears that the outbreak will spread due to the lack of safe drinking water. —ACAS

Nigeria: At least 564 cholera cases have been reported in Nigeria since January, with a fatality of rate of 8.3%. A resurgence of cases has occurred in Kano and Kaduna states. —ACAS

Mozambique and Malawi: Cholera Outbreak – Feb 2015

A cholera outbreak in Mozambique (started on 25 Dec 2014) has been exacerbated by extensive flooding since January 2015. As of 22 Feb, a total of 3,478 cholera cases had been recorded, with a death toll of 37. New cases continue to be reported in the provinces of Nampula, Niassa and Tete. (OCHA, 23 Feb 2015)

Malawi: On 13 Feb, the first confirmed case of cholera was registered in the country, whci borders Mozambique. To date 34 cases, including two deaths, have been confirmed in Nsanje district (all outside displacement sites), while another five cases were confirmed in Mwanza district. (OCHA, 25 Feb 2015)

Dominican Republic:
Heavy rainfall starting in mid-February 2015 caused flooding and landslides in the Dominican Republic. As of 21 Feb, more than 4,000 houses had been affected and 20,000 people were seeking shelter with family and friends. A red alert was in effect for three provinces. (Govt, 21 Feb 2015/Reliefweb/)

Southeast Europe
Torrential rains have caused major flooding in the southern and south-eastern parts of Albania since the beginning of February 2015. Some 42,000 people have been affected, numerous houses have been damaged, more than 3,500 heads of livestock killed, and 17,000 acres of farm land flooded. The Albanian Government is preparing to declare a state of emergency for the worst affected areas. (IFRC, 6 Feb 2015)

Macedonia: Torrential rains and snow melt have caused severe flooding the eastern region of the country. More than 170,000 people have been affected. (ECHO, 6 Feb 2015)

Bulgaria and Greece have also been affected by flooding.

Peru: Torrential rains and hail have triggered flooding and landslides, affecting several parts of Peru including Arequipa, Loreto, Cusco, Amazonas, and San Martin. Since the beginning of February 2015, various districts of the forest areas were under a state of emergency as a result of weeks of rains. In the departments of Loreto and San Martín, more than 30,000 people have been affected and 2,000 are homeless. An orange alert is active for the Amazon River and a red alert is active for other major rivers at the Peruvian jungle. Authorities are coordinating to provide aid to people affected by the ongoing rains, hail, flooding, and landslides. (OCHA, 9 Feb 2015)

Chile: Thousands of hectares of land stretching from northern to southern Chile have been affected by drought for eight years.

In many parts of Chile, January was one of the driest since records began, exacerbating the ongoing drought that started in 2007, said a Chilean meteorologist.

The drought is also hampering copper production, a water-intensive operation, in the world’s largest producer of the metal, said a report.

 

Ghost Town: Diffa in Niger ‘Virtually Empty’

Violence spreading from NE Nigeria into Chad, Cameroon and Niger

Violence is spreading from north-east Nigeria into neighboring Chad, Cameroon and Niger, exacerbating the refugee exodus across the region, said said the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) on Friday.

“In Niger, fighting broke out last week between the Niger armed forces and Nigerian insurgents in the town of Bosso, which is located near Lake Chad in the southern region of Diffa. This has been followed by a series of attacks in Diffa town against civilians, including by suicide bombers. With fear and panic spreading fast, large parts of the population of Diffa are moving further west, towards the city of Zinder,” said UNHCR.

Boko Haram attacks against Diffa and Bosso, both located about 1,300km south of the capital, Niamey, prompted the Niger government to declare a state of emergency in the southeast.

Diffa is a city and Urban Commune in SE Niger, near that border with Nigeria, with a population of about 50,000 in 2011.

“W fear that the scale of displacement is high: Prior to the attacks Diffa had a population of 50,000 – today the town is virtually empty,” a spokesperson for UNHCR told reporters.

He warned that there are serious shortages of food and clean water, across the region.

“This situation is being further exacerbated, as shops remain closed and humanitarian actors have had to significantly reduce their activities in the Diffa region because of the general insecurity. At present there are no humanitarian actors left in Bosso,” he said.

In May 2013, the Nigerian government declared a state of emergency in the states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, and more than 157,000 people fled the country including at least 100,000 people who crossed the border into Niger.

[An additional 1 million people are internally displaced inside Nigeria, according to the country’s National Emergency Management Agency.]

“We are extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation, as several thousand people are at present without any assistance. We are working with authorities to securely deploy aid workers as soon as possible and at the same time we are preparing for rapid evaluation and response assessments,” the UNHCR spokesman said.

“In Cameroon, the situation is as worrying,” he added, citing reports of killings, abductions and violence in the country’s Far North region near the border with Nigeria. There are more than 40,000 Nigerian refugees in Cameroon.

In Chad, some 3,000 Nigerian refugees were registered as of the end of last year. A further 15,000 have fled into Chad since to escape attacks in and around the north-east Nigerian town of Bagakawa.

Global Disasters: Wars, Floods and Cyclones

War on Syria: 10.8 million people displaced

About half of the entire Syrian population have been displaced, according to UNOCHA.

• About 12.2m people are in need of humanitarian assistance.
• Some 7.6 million people are internally displaced by the ongoing violence.
  
• More than 3.2 million people have fled the country.

Ukraine Conflict

More than 4,700 people have been killed and over 10,300 wounded in Ukraine since the unrest began, according to U.N. figures.

At least 5.2 million people are living in conflict zones including 1.4 million who are in very vulnerable conditions due to the bitter cold winter, lack of essential services and money problems, said the U.N.

More than 610,000 people have been uprooted in Ukraine and about 600,000 have been forced to leave the country as refugees, says UNOCHA.

Southern Africa: Floods and Cyclones Update

Malawi

At least 638,000 people have been affected by ongoing floods, which has left 121,000 others displaced, 50 people killed and 153 still missing.

Mozambique

“In Zambézia Province alone a total of 117,685 people (23,893 households) have been affected by floods, which has destroyed 4,963 houses, 378 classrooms, 6 health centers and 51 bridges. The death toll due to flooding, lightning and collapsed houses has increased to 64. Around 50,481 people (11,662 households) are being hosted in 49 accommodation centres,” said UNOCHA.

Madagascar

Continued rains in Madagascar are exacerbating the impact of Tropical Storm CHEDZA, with more flooding  reported north of the country.

The number of people affected has increased to 117,181 (provisional), with 35 people dead, said the National Bureau for Risk and Disaster Management (BNGRC).

 

Who made the wonderland so surreal?

Eat your heart out, Alice – Part II

Surreal ( deceptive, extortionate, psychopathic, genocidal)

The number of richest people in the world has more than doubled since the financial crisis, up from 793 in March 2009 to 1,645 in March 2014. Their  aggregate net worth is $6.4 trillion, up from $5.4 trillion just a year ago, according to Forbes.

AND, here are some more of the consequences:

• Sudan:
  • 6.6 million people (20% of the population) need humanitarian assistance (17/11/2014).
  • 2 million children under 5 are acutely malnourished (OCHA, Aug 2014).
  • 3.5 million people were projected to be in Crisis and Emergency phases of food insecurity by November 2014 (GIEWS, Jun. 2014).
• South Sudan:
  • 50,000 estimated killed in violence in South Sudan since December 2013 (ICG).
  • 1.4 million IDPs between Dec. 2013 and Sept. 2014 (OCHA).
  • 3.8 million people are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance (OCHA, 30/10/24).
  • More than 1 million people in Crisis and Emergency phases of food insecurity October – December 2014 (FEWSNET, Nov. 2014).
  • From January to March 2015, 2.5 million people are projected to be in  Crisis and Emergency Phase including about half the population of Greater Upper Nile (IPC, Sept. 2014).

• Chad:
  • 5.5 million people, or 55% of the population, in Chad are affected by humanitarian crisis including 2.2 million children (UNICEF, Nov. 2014).
  • 2.6 million Chadians are estimated to be food insecure or severely food insecure (OCHA, 15/10/2014).

CONTINUED…

Related Links

• Eat your heart out, Alice! December 17, 2014

Eat your heart out, Alice!

This beats your Wonderland hands down!

What a Wonderful World (!)

The number of richest people in the world has more than doubled since the financial crisis, up from 793 in March 2009 to 1,645 in March 2014. Their  aggregate net worth is $6.4 trillion, up from $5.4 trillion just a year ago, according to Forbes.

AND, here are some of the consequences:

• Syria:
  • 12.2 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance including 7.6 million who have been internally displaced by violence, and 3.2 million others who have fled the country, says UNOCHA.
• Iraq:
  • About 1,000,000 IDPs living in tents and other flimsy “shelters” are in need of heating.
• Philippines:
  • About 4 million people in 9 regions were affected by Typhoon HAGUPIT, which destroyed at least 38,000 homes. About 157,000 people live in evacuation centers.
• Central African Republic (CAR):
  • More than 2.7 million people, or 58.7 percent of the CAR population are in need of immediate assistance (UNHCR,05/12/2014).
  • As of September 2014, more than 1.7 million people were in Crisis and Emergency phases of food insecurity.
  • Multiple cases of cholera and measles have been reported among more than 750,000 IDPs.
• Democratic Republic of Congo:
  • About 4.1 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance (FAO, 11/12/2014 ).
• Guinea:
  • As of December 13, 2014 some 2,394 Ebola cases and 1,518 death have been  reported in Guinea (WHO).
  •  Ebola outbreak has affected 11 million people, or almost the entire population of Guinea (IFRC, 25/10/2014).
  • 4.3 million children live in the affected areas (UNICEF, 03/12/2014)..
• Liberia:
  •  Some 3.73 million Liberian are in need of assistance (OCHA, 16/09/2014)
  • As of December 9, some 7,797 Ebola cases and 3,290 deaths have been reported in Liberia (WHO).
• Sierra Leone:
  • The entire population of Sierra Leone (6.2 million) are in need of assistance as a consequence of Ebola outbreak (OCHA, 16/09/2014).
  • As of December 13, 2014 some 8,270 Ebola cases and 2,033 deaths have been reported in Sierra Leone (WHO).
• West Africa:
  • Total accumulative number of Ebola cases across West Africa (Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone) has reached 18,464 including 6,841 deaths (WHO, 15/12/2014). The numbers of reported cases and deaths are largely underestimated.

CONTINUED…

‘Hundreds of thousands have fled’ their homes in NE Nigeria

Five+ million  people are food insecure across 11 states in N. Nigeria: OCHA

More than 400,000 people in northeastern Nigeria have been forced to flee their homes amid escalating violence by militant  group Boko Haram, creating a major crisis, aid agencies say.

“There’s a major crisis going on in the northeast, and it’s not being recognized for the crisis it is,” said the country director for the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Nigeria. “Since late August, the insurgency movement has been aggressively and progressively taking Adamawa State over and establishing their presence, and what this means is that hundreds of thousands have fled.”

The mass displacement has left “countless” people without access to food, water, shelter, medical care and other basic necessities, said the Relief web.

“You’re talking about huge movements of populations and these people flee with nothing,” said the IRC director in Nigeria. “These are surprise attacks, so people literally come with only their shirts on their backs. They don’t know anybody, they don’t have anything and many aren’t getting anything.”

Worsening Crisis

More than 1.5 million people have been internally displaced since May 2013, when the Nigerian government first declared a state of emergency in the northeastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, government sources said. Up to 180,000 have taken refuge in neighboring Chad, Niger and Cameroon, the European Union aid body ECHO said.

Food Insecurity

More than five million people are food insecure across 11 states in northern Nigeria this year, said OCHA.

“The crisis that is playing out in northeast Nigeria is always hitting the most vulnerable hardest,” said the UN regional humanitarian coordinator for the Sahel. “We’ve already seen an impact on children, with a big jump in numbers of moderate acute malnutrition in the last six months and there are early indications of big drops in agricultural production in the three states of emergency. And at the rate things are going at the moment, the situation could well get worse.”

4,000+ Killed in Ukraine Conflict: UN

GLOBAL CONFLICTS FOR NATURAL RESOURCES &
‘STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE’
STATE TERRORISM
WAR CRIMES
MASS MURDER
MASS DISPLACEMENT
CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
HUMANITARIAN CATASTROPHE
SCENARIOS 911, 909, 717, 606, 444, 411,
222, 220, 219, 201, 200, 071, 069, 04, 02
.

5.2 million affected, 4,000 killed, 9,000 wounded, 1 million displaced

The death toll in Ukrainian conflict has doubled since mid-August, from over 2,000 to at least 4,035¹ as of October 29, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

UN Situation Report No.18 as of 31 October 2014

Ukraine Disaster Summary

• At least 4,035 people have been killed (including 298 from flight MH-17) and 9,336 wounded in eastern Ukraine (source: OHCHR/WHO).
• More than 99,000 IDPs have registered under the recently adopted Government Decree 509.
• About 5.2 million people live people living in conflict-affected areas.
• Some 442,219 people have been internally displaced (source: SES).
• At least 488,466 people have fled to neighboring countries. “Of these, 400,996 have sought refuge in Russia. Most have left with few belongings and are in need of shelter, food and non-food assistance, placing pressure on neighboring regions,” said OCHA.

Overview of Population Displacement

¹[This is a very conservative estimate of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine and World Health Organization based on available official data. These totals include: Ukrainian armed forces casualties as reported by the Ukrainian authorities; 298 people from flight MH-17; and casualties reported by civil medical establishments and local administrations of Donetsk and Luhansk regions: civilians and some members of armed groups (without distinguishing them). OHCHR and WHO believe that actual fatality numbers are considerably higher.]

Related Links

• 1 Million Ukrainians Displaced by Conflict September 2, 2014
• Death Toll in Ukraine Conflict Reaches 2,086 – UN Posted on August 13, 2014
• Russia Declares State of Emergency as Refugees Flood Rostov Region Posted on July 2, 2014
• Russia ‘Forced’ to Hold Military Drills in Response to Ukraine Op: Moscow Posted on April 24, 2014
• Ukraine Launches ‘Anti-Terrorist’ Operation Against Separatists Posted on April 15, 2014
• The Next Phase of Collapse: Wars for Resources Posted on March 5, 2014
• “Sea of Police” in Ukraine, Looting in Argentina, Hunger Strike… Posted on December 11, 2013