CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
TWO ARMED ATTACKS AGAINST AID ORGANIZATIONS IN THE SOUTH
On 7 April, armed men ambushed and shot at two aid organizations on the Alindao-Mingala axis, in the Basse-Kotto Prefecture, in the south. On 9 April, armed men attacked aid workers on the Alindao-Bambari axis, in the same prefecture, injuring seven. The Central African Republic continues to be a difficult environment for humanitarians. In the first three months of the year, 38 incidents against aid personnel or property were recorded.
SEVERE STORM AFFECTS OVER 1,000 PEOPLE
On 7 April, a severe storm hit Tiringoulou, in the Vakaga Prefecture, in the north, damaging 205 houses, three schools, and a hospital, and affecting 1,025 people, including several injured. Aid to repair affected houses, schools, and the hospital is urgently needed before the upcoming rainy season, from April to October. Aid organizations are mobilizing to assess the needs and provide critical assistance.
CAMEROON
CHOLERA KILLS 105, AFFECTS SIX OUT OF TEN REGIONS
As of 3 April, the Ministry of public health reported 4,634 cases of cholera and 105 deaths, with an increase of over 1,000 new cases in a week. Cholera is affecting six out of 10 regions: the South-West, Littoral, Centre, South, Far North, and North. The South-West is the most affected with 3,558 cases and 71 deaths, as violence disrupts access to basic services such as water and sanitation, especially in remote areas. Violence also hampers the provision of humanitarian aid to affected people in the South-West. As the number of cholera cases continues to rise across the six affected regions, aid organizations are mobilizing to provide critical assistance, but the need for increased human and financial resources remains significant.
NIGERIA
ATTACK AGAINST A HEALTH FACILITY IN DAMBOA, INJURING AT LEAST ONE CIVILIAN
On 6 April, non-state armed group (NSAG) operatives raided Damboa town, some 85 km west of Maiduguri, the state capital, targeting critical facilities and humanitarian assets. They set fire to a health facility and cold storage unit for preserving vaccines, including health equipment and supplies. The attack caused the injury of at least one civilian and might exacerbate the humanitarian situation of over 200,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returnees spread across displacement camps and host communities in Damboa local government area, by disrupting health, water, sanitation, and hygiene services. In recent weeks, these services had already experienced significant gaps. Aid organizations are mobilizing to provide critical assistance to respond to needs arising from the attack.
US $351 MILLION IS URGENTLY NEEDED TO PROVIDE FOOD AID TO 4.1 MILLION PEOPLE
According to the Cadre Harmonisé, about 4.1 million people across Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY) states, in the north-east, risk facing acute food shortages during the upcoming lean season, from June to August. The Cadre Harmonisé is a standardized methodology for assessing acute food and nutrition insecurity in the Sahel and West Africa. The report indicates that about 587,000 people are in the emergency phase (phase 3) of the IPC Acute Food Insecurity classification. To avert catastrophic food shortages and a nutrition crisis, UNOCHA, WFP, FAO, UNICEF, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and lead government agencies appealed for an urgent US $351 million on 8 April to rapidly scale up food and nutrition assistance ahead of the lean season, when the risk of flooding and disease outbreaks increases.
Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs