Responding to drought in Central America

Climate change and the “El Niño” phenomenon of unusually warm ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific, saw Central America plagued by drought this year. The lack of water damaged the staple corn and bean crops across the region, reducing harvests by up to 90 per cent in some areas and pushing hundreds of thousands of families into food insecurity.
 
Central America is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change. According to the 2014 Global Climate Risk Index, the countries of Central America are among the 10 most-affected countries, with Honduras holding the top spot globally. There, the government declared a state of emergency because of scarcity of food in the dry corridor in the southern region of the country, which affected around 400,000 people.
 
100,000 families affected by drought
 
In El Salvador, around 30 per cent of the annual corn harvest was lost in 2014 and 90 per cent of the annual bean crop. According to the World Food Programme, an estimated 100,000 families were affected, with 25,000 people facing critical conditions of food insecurity. In Nicaragua, nearly 75 per cent of the corn crop was lost in the northern areas of Estelí, Madríz and Nueva Segovia, affecting around 100,000 families. The result was that grain prices significantly increased across the region, restricting access to food for those affected families.
 
Guatemala also declared a state of emergency in 16 of its 22 provinces, as major losses were reported of the region’s staple foods, maize and beans, and emaciated cattle died from lack of food and water. More than 200,000 families who depended on subsistence farming were considered at high risk, and the eastern side of the country was the most affected, with crop losses of 85 per cent, leading to a 200 per cent rise in the price of corn.
 
ACT response
 
The ACT appeal for the region focused on food security, distribution of food kits, the provision of water, and early recovery and livelihood restoration. Thousands of families affected by the crisis were given access to food in the critical period of food shortage, and approximately 1,000 families received improved access to safe water for household use. Two thousand families were provided with the necessary inputs to improve their agricultural production for household consumption. Salvador Perez, a technician in Nicaragua working with communities in the badly-affected area of San Francisco Libre, said: “The Rio Grande has dried up; imagine that, it’s dried up.
There are a few remaining puddles of water, and for people nearby they can take their cattle to water there, but there’s no food, we’re shipping in rice husks for the cows to eat. At the end of this year, the last reserves that farmers have from the late harvest last year will be finished. Scarcity of food has pushed up the food prices so people can’t afford to buy much food. We’re going to need a lot of humanitarian aid to keep people alive.”
 
The drought is expected to continue and expand into other regions during 2015.

Child migrants in Honduras

Some 61,500 illegal child and adolescent migrants, many coming from Honduras and El Salvador, were caught on the southern border of the United States by US migration authorities between October 2013 and July 2014. More than 13,000 of them were subsequently deported to Honduras, where the authorities, unable to cope with the huge number of returnees, declared an emergency.
 
ACT Alliance members on the ground stepped in to support deported migrants and their families during the crisis, trying to track down families, providing full support to children whose families were untraceable, and working to address the mental scars of the children’s perilous and often exploitative journey. The reasons people migrate are rooted in endemic poverty and violence in the region.
 
Thousands die on the journey
 
Erika Murillo, in charge of the ACT Alliance Rapid Response Fund in the San Pedro Sula areas of Honduras, said: “The route to the US is extremely hazardous. People put themselves in the hands of ‘coyotes’, traffickers who take
people northwards. Many are captured by authorities, or worse, by criminal gangs, and the migrants routinely suffer very badly. Thousands die. But the risk of the journey still appears less dangerous to people here than the risk of staying, the risks of everyday life here. The violence, particularly violence against women, is the most severe in the world, but it is probably extreme poverty that drives most people.
 
“ACT members work in the worst of these areas on social programmes to provide support to young people and families, and work with the government on emergency issues, including this crisis of migrants,” he continued. “The real issue, however, isn’t that migrants are being deported, it’s that they feel the need to leave the country and to risk their lives on the journey.”
 
At the Honduras reception centre for repatriated migrants, ACT provided equipment and furnishings for the refuge’s staff and volunteers to support children. Alliance members then helped track down families and paid for the bus fares of those who could not afford it. The children also received psychological support and a ‘mother’ was assigned to each while the refuge searched for their families.

Towards enabling civil society space

Members of the regional ACT South America Forum and Central America and Caribbean Forum undertook a joint advocacy initiative in July 2014 to grow civil society space and south-to-south cooperation, with a dialogue event in El Salvador. In attendance were Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchú, El Salvador’s Vice Chancellor and Vice Minister of the Environment, as well as ACT members and civil society organisations from the region.
 
The event aimed to influence the government to include civil society consultation in the development of its climate change and development policies and strategies, and resulted in the El Salvador government inviting ACT to play a watchdog role in the implementation of these policies and strategies.

Attacks on innocent civilians in Israel oPt conflict must stop says ACT Alliance

Press Release – International humanitarian and development organisation ACT Alliance has condemned the attacks on civilians and called on the international community to act immediately to stop the escalating violence between Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory.

The Alliance is calling for an urgent ceasefire, followed by intensive diplomatic intervention involving all parties including the international community, to deal with the actual causes of the conflict.

The call comes as the world witnesses the worst violence between Israel and Palestine in recent years. ACT Alliance is preparing to provide medication and support to ensure the provision of primary healthcare at outpatient clinics and a hospital in Gaza.

ACT Alliance General Secretary John Nduna called on the parties to the conflict and the UN to facilitate humanitarian access to those affected, including treatment for the injured and other humanitarian needs.

“Once again, it is innocent men, women and children who are suffering and paying the ultimate price for the failure of the politicians,” said Nduna. “We condemn without reservation any attacks on civilians irrespective of their faith, ethnicity, or nationality, and condemn the use of civilians as human shields.  This escalation of violent conflict is a reminder to us all that grief and pain are never far away for Israelis and Palestinians.”

“If the leadership of Palestine and Israel do not urgently pursue a genuine and viable solution to the conflict,” he continued, “then they will be condemning more innocent civilians to despair and hopelessness.”

ACT has been responding to the humanitarian needs of people in Gaza and the West Bank since 2000, providing assistance in the areas of education, health, protection of civilians, access to water and other basic services.

Christian Aid responds to Nigeria conflict that has displaced 50,000

Partners of ACT member Christian Aid are providing emergency support to some 50,000 people who have fled a conflict in the north central state of Benue in Nigeria.

The violence is the latest outbreak of a long-running land dispute between local farmers and groups of nomadic Fulani cattle herders.

Clashes between Fulani and Jukun communities in neighbouring Taraba state have added to the number of displaced people (IDPs).

Neither the state government, nor the federal agency directly responsible for emergency management in the state, have established a camp for the IDPs.

As a result, the displaced are taking refuge wherever they can, with some moving into schools that are empty because of an on-going teachers’ strike.

Christian Aid partners, Jireh Doo Foundation (JDF) and Anglican Diocesan Development Services (ADDS) Makurdi are distributing food and non-food items such as water containers and purifiers, mosquito nets, sanitary towels and cooking utensils.

In addition, psychosocial counselling is being provided, and general health education on water and sanitation hygiene to help prevent the spread of disease.

JDF and ADDS Makurdi are working with other civil society organisations and media to put pressure on the government to respond adequately to the crisis.

Charles Usie, country manager for Christian Aid Nigeria said: “Farming is the primary occupation in Benue state and the main source of income for most households.

“As well as people losing their lives, violent attacks during this conflict have destroyed farmlands leaving people homeless and jobless. This is another example of the growing insecurity in the country but we must put pressure on the authorities – they cannot ignore the crisis in Benue”.

Ebola leaves football fans in the dark

Football lovers in Gbalamuya village in Kambia county, Sierra Leone, a region bordering Guinea, are at a loss this football season as they are forced to forgo their favourite matches on the big screen.

They are gripped by fear of the vicious Ebola virus. Their concern stems from the fact the disease is primarily spread through exchange of body fluids, including sweat. Gatherings of people increase the risk of new infections, as sweating is unavoidable in the warm and humid climate.

The community centre was only recently equipped with TV monitors in time for the football World Cup.

ACT member, the Council of Churches in Sierra Leone, managed to use the venue but for a more pragmatic reason: to hold a public awareness meeting about the risks of Ebola and the precautions needed to prevent its spread. The next day, the government prohibited all public gatherings and closed schools in the district.

The loss of the football coverage is a minor inconvenience in an emergency that has cost 370 people their lives, according to latest World Health Organisation figures on the haemorrhagic fever released this week. Since the outbreak was identified in January, it has killed 270 people Guinea, 66 in Sierra Leone and 34 in Liberia.

ACT Alliance is responding to the crisis in both Liberia and Sierra Leone by raising awareness of the disease and methods of avoiding contraction.

When health ministry officials in Monrovia, Liberia, announced on June 13 four confirmed cases in Monrovia, the news created fear in the city. Stigma associated with the disease, coupled with the cultural care practices for nursing the sick and burying the dead, have become the main challenge in controlling the spread of the virus. Infected people are afraid to report contraction and will even flee their area of infection to seek medical attention in the city or a neighbouring country.

Two hospitals belonging to the Lutheran church in Lofa, Liberia – easily accessed from Guinea – are attractive to sufferers of the disease as they offer free treatment.  The hospitals have not treated Ebola cases but have treated cases of Lassa fever, an acute viral illness that occurs in west Africa and which manifests in the same manner as Ebola.

HIV anti-retroviral drugs are used to treat Lassa fever. ACT members in Liberia wish to increase the response to create more awareness and to include emergency isolation units for the Lutheran hospitals for the next six months.

Keep up the climate momentum

Photo: ACT/Sean Hawkey

 

United Nations climate change talks in Bonn (Germany) have been suspended on a positive note, with countries closer to agreeing a new global climate deal next year that would put a reign on runaway climate change.

It follows recent signals from the US and Mexico of carbon emission cuts, as well as the decision to put the new Green Climate Fund into operation.

However, delegates have left the final session in Bonn, Germany, with a series of tight deadlines they must meet in order to prevent the process collapsing. ACT Alliance says the small successes of this conference mustn’t be lost to the bigger work ahead.

“It’s not a really bad result. We’ve seen some good progress on the different elements of the deal: a consensus that next year’s agreement should have adaptation at heart and the parties are all talking about the need to cut emissions,” ACT climate change advisory group co-chair Mattias Söderberg said. “However, we can’t let up, the hard work must continue.

“Most parties have tried to find agreement and common ground and to raise their ambition to reach agreement. There is an increasing urgency to find a global way to tackle climate change, and we must start to look for solutions rather than focusing on the problems.”

UN negotiators need to come up with the structure of the new agreement before the meeting resumes in October. By March, countries need to present the contributions each will make to a future agreement.

The contributions, known as intended nationally-determined contributions, were a major topic of debate at the talks. “Emissions reductions will of course be part of the contributions, but it is also important to address means of implementation. With no support, many developing countries will not be able to deliver concrete results. It is unfortunate that the meeting in Bonn didn’t agree on what to include as contributions. The pressure on the next meeting to deliver is now increasing, as parties need clarity before preparing their contributions in the beginning of 2015” Söderberg said.

Söderberg said he was happy there were constructive discussions about finance, and loss and damage, which are important elements of the future agreement. “Our members see the compound effect of harsher and more frequent weather disasters and the long-term effect of changes to weather patterns. Developing countries need funds for the irreversible effects of climate change on their lives. Loss and damage must be included in the 2015 agreement.”

In summing up, co-chair of the meeting, known as the Advanced Durban Platform, Kishan Kumarsingh, congratulated countries for making significant progress on the draft text of the new climate deal, and for starting to identify elements of the contributions that countries will need to make to the agreement.

“Many new ideas have been brought to the negotiating table. You have made significant progress on all elements of the 2015 text, fleshed out and clarified proposals, and have a better understanding of proposals. There is growing convergence on many issues. You have identified politically-significant choices that still need to be made.”

But countries still need to agree on the elements of the text, he said. Although countries have a better appreciation of how the parties view broader outcome of the deal to take effect from 2020, many parties have called for acceleration of implementation and the importance of building trust and confidence in the years before 2020, he said.

Commemorating 10 years in Darfur

2014 marked the 10th anniversary of ACT’s programme of work in Darfur in partnership with Caritas.

The UN has described Sudan’s western Darfur region as one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with 300,000 people having been killed and 2.3 million violently displaced. Current estimates say 1.2 million Darfuris live in camps and 3.2 million rely on humanitarian aid. Those displaced are living predominantly in camps in both Darfur and nearby Chad, where access for humanitarian workers is limited, severely reducing the ability to deliver aid.

Since the beginning of the crisis, the ACT-Caritas programme has raised more than US$120m for health, nutrition, water and sanitation, livelihoods, and emergency preparedness and response.

In Hamedia camp near Zalingei in central Darfur, the ACT-Caritas emergency response unit offers essential household goods, such as plastic mats, blankets, jerry cans, soap, cooking sets and mosquito nets.

When people arrive at the camp they are first registered with the World Food Programme, in order to receive monthly food rations. When a new plot of land becomes available within the camp, people are moved from the reception area and are able to use the permanent services of the camp, many of which are run by ACT Caritas, including schools, health clinics and nutrition centres, and services for improving economic wellbeing.

In 2014 some 420,000 people benefited from the programme.

The HIA delegation in Belarus

Strengthening the dialogue between civil and religious relations, and strengthening the sector is a priority objective of the development project in Belarus by the HIA recently launched. The spirit of these objectives will be a few days to visit as well, which Aniko Levai, the Lehel Relief Organization Goodwill Ambassador Laszlo and the organization’s CEO will attend.

During the program, the HIA delegation of several high-ranking church leaders, including Archbishop Demetrios of vitebski, William Castle Rock Ambassador to Hungary and the EU delegation of local leaders accept. In the framework of discussions on the HIA delegation in talks with the further development of co-operation opportunities, launch new programs.

During the visit, the Hungarian Interchurch Aid local partner organization, the Belarus Interchurch Aid Organisation (IMCSS) leaders presented reintegration program launched in recent venues – including a number of herbal cultivation and beekeeping holdings – aimed at ex-prisoners for the rehabilitation of the promotion. The organization’s staff report for the first months of experience and results. Funded by EuropeAid and the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, approximately HUF 112 million in the first program, which executes Hungarian civil organizations in Belarus.

The HIA Belarus reintegration program
in 2015 until the fall term project implementation in Belarus Interchurch Aid Organisation (Interchurch Mission “Christian Social Service ‘- IMCSS) works together with the Hungarian Interchurch Aid. The ex-convicts a second chance to two years of support for reintegration projects in Belarus Gomel, Grodno and Vitebsk regions of a single economic history. The goals include reaching 1,500 people with information, 150 were detained personalized advice on the labor market participation of the three locations, 30 people working in this field training for social workers and the application of each holding two people.

The project is funded by the European Union.

Hope for landslide survivors in Afghanistan

Friday, May 30, 2014

Mehrabudin and his surviving children in temporary shelter after the landslide

“It was Friday, and I was out looking for daily work. I waited until around noon where labourers gather to find daily work,” recalls Mehrabudin, a resident of a village  in Argo District, Badakhshan, Afghanistan.

“On that day, no-one selected me for work so I returned to my village,” Mehrabudin continues. “This region is very hilly. As I passed a hill near my village, I saw a lot of people standing by where the landslide covered our village and homes. At first, I thought I was dreaming or my eyes were not working. Then, I realised it was not a dream.

The landslide on May 2 had killed over 500 people, by official estimates. Unofficial figures put the number dead at five times more.

“I could see from the upper part of the hill that there was a landslide and part of the village had also slid away. I could see in the valley a lot of mud where my home and children would have been. As I came closer, I could see people from our neighboring village removing dead bodies.

“Everywhere people were crying. I also started to search the mud for my children. One of my neighbours said that my children were safe and he directed me toward the neighbouring village. I rushed to find them. I found my eldest daughter with two of her sisters and three brothers.”

Mehrabudin’s wife and three other children were not so lucky. His eldest daughter informed him that their mother died trying to rescue their five year old sister. Two of their brothers, aged 20 and 9, were trapped with their sheep in the pasture.

Mehrabudin, 45, is in despair at the loss of his wife and three children. He and his surviving children mourn the loss of family, as well as the loss of their home, livestock, and orchard. “We feel helpless and do not know what to do.”

ACT Alliance members have been quick to respond to Mehrabudin’s situation. Church World Service-Pakistan/Afghanistan provided Mehrabudin’s family mattresses and pillows through a distribution supported by two other ACT members, DanChurchAid and the United Methodist Committee on Relief. The family’s other basic needs were met through the relief efforts of the Afghan government and other humanitarian agencies.

“It gives me hope that people from different parts of my country and people from all over the world extend their hand of support. It helps to change my views, and I feel that there are people who think about us, who care about us, and give us our life back. I am really thankful to your organisation and all the people who have helped us,” Mehrabudin said.

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