ACT Alliance demonstrates its value as the leading faith-based alliance in humanitarian response by working with faith and humanitarian actors at the global, regional, national, and community levels. ACT harnesses the combined strength of its members in delivering humanitarian response at scale and with considerable reach through joint programming approaches.
We commit to an effective ecumenical response that saves lives and maintains dignity, irrespective of race, gender, belief, nationality, ethnicity, or political persuasion. Humanitarian needs define our priorities and the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence guide our actions. We remain committed to strengthening the resilience of affected communities and to being accountable to people and communities affected by a crisis. The ACT Alliance Secretariat is certified against the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability and is committed to the Sphere Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response.
Emergency Steering Committee successfully established, activated more than 30 times since inception with over US$67 million mobilised since 2022 for ACT’s Humanitarian Appeals.
ACT Emergency Appeal coverage (the total amount of funds generated versus budget) has 02 risen from 28% to 46% from 2018 to 2023.
Systematic approach to appeal management – inception meetings, coordination roundtable
discussions, enhanced monitoring, results frameworks and closing meetings all introduced 03 with a focus on Quality & Accountability.
Extensive consultation with members and forums on locally led response within ACT Alliance 04 has led to a Pledge of Commitments which is being launched at the General Assembly 2024.
Through its national, regional and sub-regional forums ACT Alliance provides humanitarian and emergency preparedness support to local communities helping them during a crisis and to become more resilient.
READ MORE
The Rapid Response Fund is an innovative funding mechanism designed to put local communities at the centre of decision-making and is recognised as one of few such funding mechanisms across the sector.
The RRF provides valuable opportunities to demonstrate the niche of faith actors in humanitarian response as we work closely with local ACT members and their community networks. On average, the RRF funds 20 emergencies annually and responses are implemented within six months.
The primary mechanism for large scale or global emergencies, including protracted crises: ACT Alliance raises an appeal to its membership with both requesting and funding members co-owning the process. Appeals are open for funding during their entire project period and accessible to both national and international ACT Alliance members.
Consortia represent a new funding mechanism for ACT Alliance. As part of Emergency Preparedness planning, consortiums are established before a disaster strikes and consortium members share a vision and strategic focus. Members self-organise and develop their own financial management models and programme strategies supported by the EPRP process and tools.
Emergency preparedness and response planning is integral to the strengthening of ACT Alliance’s capacity to respond effectively in emergencies through joint programming.
ACT national and regional forums develop emergency preparedness and response plans (EPRPs), working collaboratively to understand potential disaster risks and plan how to respond to emergencies quickly and effectively. Forum EPRPs are accessible by members through an online platform, which can be viewed by other members who may be interested to support them. ACT Forums use specific ACT guidelines and tools to support the process of developing an EPRP which is reviewed regularly.
As part of the holistic and integrated approach to humanitarian response, development and advocacy, ACT’s emergency preparedness and humanitarian response is supported by stronger humanitarian coordination and advocacy with stakeholders and duty bearers.
In the current strategic period our advocacy focuses on three banner commitments to the Grand Bargain at the World Humanitarian Summit where ACT has made significant investments and where member engagement is quite strong: the localisation agenda and the primary role of national/local members and local faith actors; demonstrating the important role of faith actors in humanitarian response; and strengthening of cash-based programming across the humanitarian sector.
In November 2020, following presidential elections in Ivory Coast, the Northern and southern parts of Liberia received thousands of Ivorians refugees fleeing clashes between opposition and pro-government supporters in Ivory Coast.To date approximately 20,651 Ivorian refugees have fled to Liberia according to reports from UNHCR and Liberia Refugees Repatriation and Resettlement Commission.The refugees have found themselves in a desperate situation with many unmet vital humanitarian needs such as:
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake hit the districts of Majene, Mamuju, and Polewali Mandar in West Sulawesi, Indonesia on 15 January. This was preceded by a 5.9 magnitude earthquake in the same area a day earlier with several aftershocks. The earthquake left more than 30,353 persons in the affected districts living in temporary shelters. The earthquake has also resulted in the disruption of electricity, communication, water supply, transportation access (by air, sea, land), and there is also security issue like road blockage due to landslides and looting of relief aids in some locations.The COVID-19 pandemic has also put the disaster in a complicated situation. The Indonesian government has started to deploy rescue teams and assistances to the affected areas. Based on the results of a quick assessment from BNPB, the governor of West Sulawesi Province has declared the state of emergency in the province.ACT Indonesia Forum through Pelkesi and Yakkum Emergency Unit (YEU) will be supporting about 5,000 households with food, shelter materials, medical services, and drinking water, with funds from ACT Alliance's Rapid Response Fund.Indonesia West Sulawesi Earthquake RRF 032021
The São Paulo State is home 45 million people ranging from very vulnerable communities towell structure urban and rural areas. From the beginning of the pandemic, it is the epicentre ofthe COVID-19 in Brazil, with around 1.5 million cases and 47,768 deaths until this day. ByDecember 2020, the summer storms season started, bringing great damage to the poorest areasof São Paulo. From 2016 to 2020, more than 75 people died from floods, 35 only in 2020.In the São Paulo Municipality, the most affected districts are in the East, the Northwest andthe South. The Jacuí and Jardim Santa Helena neighbourhoods are in an area that follows theriver course of the Rio Tietê. The Grajaú district has many poor communities living in theshore of the city’s larger reservoir in informal settlements.Outside of the metropolitan area, in the coastal area known as Baixada Santista, there areurgent situations in the municipality of Cubatão, by the Pilões River. In this year, an areagreatly damaged by the floods is the Vale do Ribeira the poorest region in the state, home oflarge quilombola1 and indigenous communities, and many conservation units (protectionareas).02 RRF 2021 Sao Paulo Floods FV
In early November 2020, the Ethiopia region (Tigray) was affected by incidents of armed conflicts due to the military and political confrontation between federal and regional forces in Tigray region. Eastern Sudan has received many refugees through various border points. Sudan has received over 52,200 new Ethiopian refugees as of December 20th.Act Alliance in joint collaboration with Caritas Internationalis, with respectively the Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) and CAFOD acting as lead agencies, is launching the Humanitarian Response to Ethiopian Refugees in East Sudan, aiming to reach a total of 30 000 individuals (12,900 females and 17,100 males) with a total budget of € 1,579,578, targeting WASH, Energy and Environment, Integrated GBV and psychosocial support sectors.ACT-Caritas Appeal-SDN201
A long-standing political disagreement between Ethiopia Federal government and the northern regional state of Tigray’s regional government led to an outbreak of hostilities on 4th November 2020. This was characterized by military action resulting in general insecurity in the region, internal and external displacements, and a disruption of livelihoods.In Tigray region at least 855,000 persons are currently in need of humanitarian assistance of which include non-displaced persons, Internally Displaced persons, returnees, and over 96,000 Eritrean refugees.Three ACT Ethiopia members, Ethiopia Orthodox Church Development Inter-Church Aid Commission (EOC-DICAC), Ethiopia Evangelical Mekane Yesus Church (EECMY-DASSC) and Lutheran World Federation (LWF) are planning to respond to this crisis.Ethiopia_Tigray Conflict response
It is estimated that 1.3 million Syrian refugees live in Jordan today. Approximately 85 per cent of them lives in the host communities, while more than 139,000 lives in two main camps, Za’atari and Azraq. According to UNICEF, 86% of Syrian refugees outside camps in Jordan live below the poverty line. While poverty and unemployment rates were already high prior to the onset of COVID-19, Syrian refugees and vulnerable Jordanians face even greater challenges in earning a livelihood, covering basic needs such as food, protection and accessing key services as healthcare.Jordan ACT forum members DSPR, ELCJHL, LWF and MECC will respond to the humanitarian crisis with an appeal to raise USD 1,849,233, to build the resilience of the affected communities and continue addressing the most pressing basic needs of the health, food security, NFI’s, protection and livelihood sectors.JOR211 Appeal_Multi-sectorial Response
Response and recovery due to impacts of the Hurricanes ETA & IOTA in Honduras and Nicaragua Honduras and Nicaragua have been hit by 2 consecutive Hurricanes in a 15 days period starting in November 1st and ending by the 18TH of November. The hurricanes were named Eta and Iota. Nicaragua,was the entry point for both hurricanes. On November 3, Hurricane Eta hits between Bilwi and Haulover in the northern Caribbean, as a category 4 hurricane. On November 16th Iota made landfall, affecting areas that remained flooded due to the first event. In Honduras Hurricanes ETA & IOTA affected the north-western and Atlantic coast between the first and third week of November 2020 .750,000 families in the most vulnerable areas have been affected. The Valley of Sula was highly affected and remained isolated. This is the economic core of the country. In a region already hit by protracted crisis such a migration and the recent economic and health impact of Covid 19; this Appeal aims at the response and recovery in both countries and will focus on the following sectors: Shelter, Non-food items, Food Security, WASH, protection and Psychosocial wellness, Cash transfer. The requesting Members are: CASM ,OCDIH, ASONOG (Honduras), ILFE, CIEETS, CEPAD, Federación Luterana Mundial (Nicaragua).The Appeal Target is :$ 1,172,360 Appeal Honduras and Nicaragua Hurricanes Eta and Iota CAM201
The protracted humanitarian crisis in Iraq remains one of the largest and most volatile in the world. The COVID-19 outbreak hit a country already facing a humanitarian crisis, further deepening vulnerabilities and disrupting on-going efforts to deliver aid to the most vulnerable people in acute need of humanitarian assistance.More than 1.77 million people have acute humanitarian and development needs according to the Iraq Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO, 2020). IDPs in and out of camps, returnees, and Refugees experienced partial or full collapse of living standards and disrupted access to basic goods and services, exhausting their capacities to cope and frequently resorting to negative coping strategies.ACT Iraq Forum members LWF and CA will respond to the prolonged crisis with an appeal to raise USD4,977,126 over two years.IRQ211_ Iraq Appeal
As a result of the intense rainfall caused by the last 2 hurricanes (ETA and IOTA) that hit the Colombian Caribbean and the La Niña phenomenon from the Pacific Ocean: The rural area of the Antioqueño municipality of Dabeiba, in 4 of its villages: Dabeiba Vieja, Botón, Mohán and El Cajón,suffered a landslide of large proportions leaving more than 200 families without their homes, their belongings, their crops and their farmyard animals. On the morning of Sunday, November 15, DAPARD (Administrative Department of the System for the Prevention, Attention and Recovery of Disasters) reported that of the 16 people who were missing, eight were found alive "and they are in the five shelters that the municipality has set up for the affected people."Thus, the current tally of casualties of the torrential rains according to the Unified Command Post (PMU), is of 3 deceased and eight missing persons. Likewise, there are 497 affected people from 201 families, 20 injured, 67 homes destroyed and 104 damaged, 3 educational centers affected, as well as 5.5 kilometers of road affected.RRF14 2020 COL Dabeiba LandSlide
The armed conflict has put Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh in a state of crisis. According to the preliminary assessment of needs 100,000 spontaneously arrived people need food, shelter, clothing, including for cold season, footwear, blankets, pillows, bedding, sanitation and hygiene items, stationery for schoolchildren, technical means for on-line classes, cash for payment for utilities, medicament, and other essentials. Spontaneous arrivals are staying with hosts, guest houses, hotels, resorts, in public buildings such as schools, kindergartens, community halls. The onset of cold winter weather makes the provision of suitable shelter and NFIs, such as blankets and warm clothes crucial. Pre-existing economic and food security vulnerabilities in Armenia limit coping capacity in areas currently receiving high numbers of spontaneous arrivals. ART, a national member of ACT Alliance will assist the most vulnerable 2,000 individuals for 3 months to meet their essential needs: food, hygiene and sanitary items, bedding, household appliances, payment for utilities.ART is currently developing ACT Appeal to scale up the response.RRF_132020_Armenia_Armed conflicts in Nagorno Karabagh
Barely recovering from Typhoon Goni that made landfall on 1st November, 2020 and displaced more than 500,000 people, Bicol region and CALABARZON in the eastern part of Luzon braced for another typhoon Vamco (Ulysses) on 11 November which brought violent winds, massive flooding in the eight regions within Luzon, and torrential rain-triggered landslides. Typhoon Vamco was the deadliest cyclone to hit the country this year with 67 confirmed casualties and several people missing. Tens of thousands of homes in low-lying areas in the NCR were submerged in roof-level floods. In Northern Luzon, Cagayan and Isabela provinces experienced the worst flooding in decades as the Cagayan River overflowed, partly due to the release of water from Magat Dam, and inundated low-lying municipalities. It exacerbated the already dire situation of those severely affected families by Typhoon Goni and affected another 1,110,910 persons, of which, 306,340 persons temporarily residing in evacuation centers.On top of all these, the COVID-19 pandemic still poses serious public health risks and caused the Philippine economy to contract by 7.3% further worsening the impoverished situation of the most vulnerable and poorest Filipino families.ACT Philippines Forum will respond to the disaster with an appeal to raise USD1,154,820.APPEAL Philippines Typhoon Goni and Vamco PHL202
As per assessment report conducted by the One UN Provincial Program Team Sindh, 2.2 million people have been directly or indirectly affected by the monsoon rains with 77,337 houses fully damaged and 137,007 partially damaged. An estimate 1.9 million acres of crops have been affected and 45,961 of livestock were lost. Mirpurkhas is among one of the worst affected districts in the province where huge loss to standing crops, property, livestock and infrastructure has been reported. People have taken refuge on the elevated places due to their damaged or flooded houses. They have reportedly lost food stock, savings and other precious household assets. The areas remained under the impact of drought, locust, COVID-19 which has already weaken their economic and livelihood situation while the recent floods will add up to their miseries.Community World Service Asia will respond through ACT Alliance's Rapid Response Fund.RRF 092020 Pakistan Sindh Floods
In the evening of Saturday the 7 November 2020, the region of Gedaref state in Sudan, reported receiving thousands of civilians who were fleeing from conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. The Tigray regional special force attacked the northern command base. ACT member NCA (Norwegian Church Aid-Sudan) is extremely concerned about the worsening crisis in Gedaref/Kassala as the number of refugees continues to grow. As of 16 November, over 27,600 refugees had crossed the border since 7 November with reports indicating that there are over 2000 refugees crossing the border every day. Most of the refugees are mainly women and children and they are arriving in bad physical and health condition.There is a shortage of housing, food, water, medicine and other equipment as well insecurity and lack of protection against Gender-Based Violence. The refugee camps in Kassala and Shagarab can help but are not equipped to cope with larger arrivals.Sudan_ Tigray Conflict (Alert)
By Monday, November 2nd, the National Disaster Authorities for both Nicaragua and Honduras, reports that, given the characteristics of its movement and speed of its winds, ETA has become a Category 4 Hurricane before touching land, by November 4 it has been degraded to Tropical Storm but keep influencing both countries. The public advisory issued by the National Hurricane Center, in November 2, ETA presented an eyewall of an extremely dangerous hurricane, moving around onshore along the coast of northeastern Nicaragua and Honduras. It is expected to bring life-threating STORM SURGES, CATASTROPHIC WINDS, FLASH FLOODING, AND LANDSLIDES. Even after degrading to Tropical StormAlert Nicaragua and Honduras _Hurricane Eta
On the morning of Sunday the 27 September 2020, Azerbaijan army attacked the region of Nagorno Karabagh using heavy artillery, tanks, aircraft and missiles. Towns and villages were bombed, including the capital city of Sepanakert. This conflict put country in the state of crisis. 47 civilian is death and 135 wounded, while 90.000 people has to seek refuge. The military operations may expand beyond the conflict zone, resulting in serious atrocities and a humanitarian crisis in the region, exacerbated by the situation related to the coronavirus outbreak. This situation is undermining regional security and peace, significantly raising the risks of a full-fledged war. 90.000 affected people are currently hosted in hotels, camps, vacant buildings and families with many unmet vital humanitarian needs such as access to: food, shelter, clothing, including for cold season, footwear, blankets, pillows, bedding, sanitation and hygiene items, stationery for schoolchildren, technical means for on-line classes, and payment for utilities.ART, a national member of ACT Armenia forum intends to support displaced persons, predominantly women and children with shelter, food and non-food items.Alert_Armenia_Armed conflicts in Nagorno Karabagh
Super typhoon Goni made landfall in Bato, Catanduanes on the early morning of 1 November, 2020. The category 5 typhoon considered as the world's strongest typhoon this year, had maximum sustained winds of 225 km/hr and gustiness of up to 280 km/hr and moving at 25 kph affecting 372,716 families or 1.4 million people in five regions across Central and Southern Luzon. Last week a weaker typhoon, typhoon Quinta affected the same areas while another one, typhoon Atsani, has entered the Philippines right behind Goni on a slightly different path. Philippines is still experiencing high number of COVID-19 cases which makes the situation complicated.ACT Philippines Forum has convened and plans to raise an appeal to support their response. The members have been coordinating with other humanitarian actors especially through faith-based networks, NASSA/Caritas Philippines and the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches - PhilRADS,ALERT Philippines Typhoon Goni
During the night of Wednesday the 30 September 2020, the city of San Pedro Sula in Honduras was the meeting point for approximately 2000 people who organized themselves via social media to leave Honduras in an effort to reach the United States. This is the first Caravan (the name these massive migration efforts are given by media) since the Covid19 outbreak and since Guatemala has become part of an agreement as a third-safer country signed with USA in 2019. In consequence transit in Guatemala and Mexico is riskier due to reinforced security measures and an increased rejection towards migrants in these countries. CASM expects that in the following days, returnees will massively arrive to San Pedro Sula. This alert is to provide assistance for a dignified and secured return.Alert Honduras Migrant Caravan
In the afternoon of Tuesday the 5 October 2017, the province of Cabo Delgado in Mozambique, recorded the first armed attack carried out by fundamentalist terrorists, leading to the outbreak of armed conflict that persists to this day.Over the past three years, monitoring groups say more than 1,500 people have been killed and at least 10,000 households have been displaced. Reliable casualty reports have not yet come through, but they are expected to be significant and it remains unknown how many civilians have died (The Guardian, ReliefWeb Aug 2020).Insurgents have also captured a strategic port in the restive province of Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique. Government forces in Mozambique are fighting to regain control of a remote area in the north causing alarm that fighting in Mozambique could destabilize the region.CEDES a national member of ACT Mozambique forum intends to support displaced households with food and non-food items.Mozambique_Conflict
On August 4, 2020 a catastrophic explosion at Beirut Port caused widespread damage for hundreds of buildings including grain silos storing around 85 percent of the country’s grain, and numerous residential places have been damaged or destroyed, including many healthcare facilities and several major hospitals in Greater Beirut area, due to the blast. Official governmental reports estimate that more than 135 people were killed and over 5,000 are injured, and more than 300,000 people left homeless in the Greater Beirut area. Beirut's governor estimated the damages costs ranging from $3-5 billion, and calls for international aid to Lebanon.ACT Lebanon forum is in discussion on submitting a funding proposal to the ACT Secretariat to provide assistance in Shelter rehabilitation/ NFI, food assistance, hygiene items, and cash for work to ensure that the affected persons’ basic needs are met with regards to their needs.Lebanon Alert- Explosion
The desert locust is considered the most destructive migratory pest in the world as it is highly mobile and feeds on large quantities of any kind of green vegetation, including crops, pasture, and fodder.In February 2020, the government of Somalia declared the locust upsurge a national disaster. Currently, various UN and government agencies are conducting post-event assessment /spraying.The region is now seeing the spread of swarms of desert locusts that may eat crops in many countries before the main harvest from July to September. FAO currently projects that an additional 1.5 to 2.5 million people could become severely food insecure as a result solely of locust outbreaks.ACT Horn and East Africa Regional forum are planning to submit a Regional appeal on cash transfer, seed and livestock feed emergency stocks. Requesting members in the regional appeal will include Christian Aid in Ethiopia, LWF, NCA in South Sudan, DCA, CoU in Uganda and CWS, ADS in Kenya, among others.All interventions will be conducted within WHO guidelines on prevention of COVID-19.Horn and East Africa_ Desert Locust Infestation.
The desert locust is considered the most destructive migratory pest in the world as it is highly mobile and feeds on large quantities of any kind of green vegetation, including crops, pasture, and fodder.In February 2020, the government of Somalia declared the locust upsurge a national disaster. Currently, various UN and government agencies are conducting post-event assessment /spraying.The region is now seeing the spread of swarms of desert locusts that may eat crops in many countries before the main harvest from July to September. FAO currently projects that an additional 1.5 to 2.5 million people could become severely food insecure as a result solely of locust outbreaks.ACT Horn and East Africa Regional forum are planning to submit a Regional appeal on cash transfer, seed and livestock feed emergency stocks. Requesting members in the regional appeal will include Christian Aid in Ethiopia, LWF, NCA in South Sudan, DCA, CoU in Uganda and CWS, ADS in Kenya, among others.All interventions will be conducted within WHO guidelines on prevention of COVID-19.Horn and East Africa_ Desert Locust Infestation.
ALERTEl SalvadorSan Salvador, May 31st. 2020
| SITUATION |
| On May 31st. 2020 the Tropical Depression 2-E has been reclassified as Tropical Storm AMANDA, and is located just off the coast of the Pacific, between El Salvador and Guatemala. The Tropical Storm Amanda, has brought so far between 371-400 millimeters of rain in 48 hours, equivalent to the 10% of the yearly rainfall which may increase; as it is expected that rain to continue for 72 hours . Relief Organizations, like the Red Cross, Life Saving Commands, Green Cross, among others, have been active since the Executive branch issued a yellow alert on Tuesday, May 26, 2020.This Sunday morning, the 31st of May, the Government of El Salvador announced red alert at national level.According to preliminary official data, the following damage has been reported:15 deceased people, 7 missing persons 154 emergency shelters enabled, and 7,222 evacuees and 18,622 families directly affected. Approximately 900 homes have been damaged and the water service is cut in the department of San Salvador. Many communities have no electricity due to fallen trees over electric wires and structures. Needs assessment may reflect the real damaged in the next hours Some reports by users of social media are attached and a link to representative images is provided here (LINK)According to community sources where members of the ACT Forum have a presence:People and authorities have requested churches, community centers and cultural houses to be used as shelters. All over the country shelters are set to receive people affected by this event. Most of these emergency shelters have been improvised and can exponentially increase the cases of COVID19 as there are no appropriate protocols and some of them even combined evacuated and quarantined population. Seasonal crops (bananas, plantains, corn, beans and vegetables) in general are heavily damaged and in some cases totally lost; further depriving families of food and income sources to face the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.You can directly access the latest information available from official sources through the following link: https://proteccioncivil.gob.sv/ |
| NEEDS |
| Food, WASH, Shelter, psychosocial support, health services, and cash transfers for immediate emergency response and support livelihood’s recovery. Needs assessments would also be a challenge in the first days of the emergency, because municipal and departmental committees are not fully activated or coordinated with the central level. This is a result of the President´s decision to dismantle the national committee of civil protection and to delay the appointing of departmental governors; nonetheless, the communities are organizing to collect the necessary information and support, through their local organizations. So, at this stage working at local level is essential to set a link with the immediate needs. It is hoped to pay attention to the subsequent recovery stages in the most affected territories, providing necessary resources and rehabilitation mechanisms. |
| STAKEHOLDERS |
| The main stakeholders that lead monitoring, evaluation and rapid response in the country are the following institutions: The Civil Protection System through, Municipal and Community Committees, the Humanitarian Country Team, and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs [UN-OCHA]. The National Civic Protection System, which includes the national and military police, along with humanitarian and relief agencies are mobilizing, food, clothing, wash, hygiene and sanitation. While Churches are liaising with shelters, communities, and requesting humanitarian assistance, mainly for food, WASH, hygiene and sanitation. |
| The members of the ACT Alliance in El Salvador are currently active, monitoring the development of the Tropical Storm and are in contact with authorities, partners and other NGOs in preparation to respond. Staff are preparing to submit a funding proposal to provide a rapid humanitarian response.Additional information on the ACT Forum member agencies is available on the:https://actalliance.org/about/forums/Any planned response will be led by the ACT El Salvador Forum integrated by the Lutheran World Federation, Christian Aid, Sinodo Luterano, and ALFALIT. In addition to life-saving assistance, the ACT Alliance will strive to integrate DRR, preparedness, climate change mitigation and advocacy into its response. After the issuance of the alert, the Forum and the ACT Secretariat will issue concept notes and status reports based on the needs assessments.Please notice that due to the COVID19 current situation we will set activities aligned with the duty of care towards our beneficiaries, volunteers and staff. |
Since the beginning of the long rains (March-May), the Horn and East Africa region has been faced with extreme rainfall and widespread flooding, directly affecting 1.26 million people (ERCC) May 2020.The floods find the affected countries in the region at a time of already unprecedented threat to food security, aggravated by the worst Desert Locust upsurge in over a generation, which will affect at least 12.5 million people with food crisis at emergency levels.Increased border restrictions brought about as a measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19, already exacerbates the vulnerability of the people into need further.ACT members in Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan and Uganda have recently launched appeals in response to the flood emergency while Uganda Joint Council of Churches will submit an RRF.Horn and East Africa Floods Alert
Cyclone Amphan made landfall near Sagar Island in West Bengal, India, close to the Bangladeshi border around 5 p.m. local time with sustained winds of 160 kilometers per hour (100 mph), according to the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Storm surge up to 5 meters (17 feet) is likely to occur along the coastline as Amphan continues to push inland across eastern India and Bangladesh. Heavy rain is also likely to lead to flash flooding across the region through Thursday morning. Once the storm pushes inland it will weaken significantly and is expected to dissipate by Friday.Disaster Alert estimated that about 6,483 people will be severely affected and about 10 million moderately affected. About 43 million people are exposed to the cyclone. Reports estimate that 3 million people have been evacuated before landfall in India and Bangladesh. Some people have been reluctant to move to the emergency shelters for fear of infection from COVID-19. By landfall, 12 people have died in India with expectations that there could be more as communications and electricity had been cutoff. Migrant workers, particularly those trying to go back to Odisha, have been affected as transportation systems have stopped. In Bangladesh, one man has died when a tree fell on him while another one went missing after his boat capsized.In India, CASA and LWSIT are planning to respond while CCDB in Bangladesh are already providing services to the affected communities. ALERT Bangladesh India Cyclone Amphan
Head of Humanitarian Affairs
Global
niall.orourke@actalliance.org
Geneva, Switzerland
Humanitarian Programme Coordinator
ACT Alliance
Caroline.Njogu@actalliance.org
Nairobi, Kenya
Humanitarian Operations Manager
Global
Cyra.Bullecer@actalliance.org
Bangkok, Thailand
Acting Regional Representative
MENA
Amman, Jordan
Senior Humanitarian Finance Officer
Global
marjorie.schmidt@actalliance.org
Geneva, Switzerland
