Somalia is in the grip of an intense drought, induced by four consecutive seasons of poor rainfall. In the worst affected areas, poor rainfall and lack of water has wiped out crops and killed livestock, while communities are being forced to sell their assets, and borrow food and money to survive. Since mid-2015, drought conditions have been expanding with impact worsening over time. The drought situation is compounded by protracted conflict, which is causing displacements, seasonal climatic shocks as a result of most extreme El Niño phenomenon in 50 years, and disease outbreaks.

Although famine has been prevented due to the scale up of humanitarian assistance, most people are still in crisis and the risk of famine is still very high. Recent assessments from UNOCHA and FSNAU predict a continuation of the drought in 2018 and 2019 with an increase in regions sliding to the next higher ICP phase.The latest food security and nutrition analysis from the FAO-managed Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) and the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET) issued on 2 February 2018 reveals that the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance has increased from 5 million in September 2016 to 6.2 million between February 2018 and June 2018. That is more than half the population. ACT Somalia Forum (ASF) members  through Finn Church Aid, Norwegian Church Aid, Lutheran World Federation, Diakonia Sweden and Diakonia Katastrophenhilfe, have been implementing drought emergency response appeal at the onset of the famine declaration( March 2017- February 2018).

The ACT Somalia forum is seeking a revision and extension of the drought response appeal(SOM171) for the period beginning (March 2018- June 2018) due to the prolonged nature of the drought, various assessments by UNOCHA have indicated massive humanitarian needs, secondly due to the over-subscription by one of the requesting members DKH who received more funds than what they had budgeted for hence need for revision and lastly due to late funding that came in at the very end of the implementation period.

Appeals_ Drought Response in Somalia_ SOM 171 Revision.1

Violent clashes between the Government of Sudan and armed groups have caused large scale internal displacement since 2003. Approximately 1.1 million of the IDPs are still found in South and Central Darfur where the Darfur Program is intervening. During 2017, the level of armed confrontations in Darfur has continued to decrease but the situation remains highly volatile; increased criminality, the spread of firearms, inter-tribal fighting, the absence of law enforcement and unleashed militia are still major challenges. While a lack of basic services, infrastructure in addition to insecurity continue to prevent the return of IDPs to their areas of origin, the absence of socio- economic opportunities to rebuild their lives means that even after years of displacement, two thirds of displaced people struggle to fully sustain their food needs by themselves. In addition, the South Sudanese refugees and newly displaced people’s needs for shelter, food and other basic services highlights further the need for continued humanitarian interventions.

Since 2004, ACT Alliance and Caritas Internationalis network agencies have come together, with respectively the Norwegian Church Aid( NCA) and CAFOD acting as lead agencies, to provide a response to this major protracted and forgotten crisis. The Darfur Program reaffirms its commitment to support the people and communities of Darfur and South Sudanese refugees and in line with the Sudan Multi-Year Humanitarian Plan, acknowledges the need for a change in approach and the move towards recovery and longer-term planning. Hence, the program, adopts for the first time a three year appeal aiming at enhancing resilience of people an communities through a long- term commitment, key to a sustainable, meaningful and measurable impact.

The Darfur Programme, with and through its local partners, is planning to reach around 450,000 persons in urgent need of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene( WASH), Primary Healthcare and Nutrition, Emergency Shelter, Livelihoods and Education in South and Central Darfur.

Appeals_ Darfur Programme in Sudan- 2018

Mayon Volcano continues to intensify its hazardous activities. As of 6:00 PM, 5 February, a total of 22,399 families (86,052 persons) were affected in 61 barangays in the municipalities of Bagacay, Camalig, Guinobatan, Ligao City, Daraga, Tabaco City, Malilipot, Santo Domingo (Libog), and Legazpi City in the province of Albay. Of which, 17,137 families (64,895 individuals) are currently in 58 designated evacuation centers (ECs). While, 2,954 families (12,169 persons) are outside ECs. Moreover, a total of PHP 165,541,749.36 worth of damages to agriculture has been incurred affecting more than 10,000 farmers in the province. This consists of agricultural crops of rice, corn, and abaca.

The National Council of Churches in the Philippines, NCCP through Andurog Mayon, and in cooperation with the Bicol Regional Ecumenical Council (BREC), aims to improve the living conditions of disaster affected population in the province of Albay. More specifically, the proposed response will provide immediate relief assistance to 3,446 families of 12,490 persons directly affected by the Mayon volcano eruption in four (4) target municipalities.

RRF_01_2018_Mayon_Philippines

It has been seven years and the conflict in Syria continues. More than half of the population has been forcibly displaced from their homes, and many people have been displaced multiple times. The number of daily displacement remains high, with approximately 6200 newly displaced persons each day (HNO 2018). According to report by the UNHCR, it is estimated that 13.5 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. Of these, 6.3 million are internally displaced, 12.8 million require health assistance, 5.8 million people are in acute need due to multiple displacements, exposure to hostilities, and limited access to basic goods and services, and 4.3 million in need of shelter intervention (UNHCR, 2017 report).  In addition, there are approximately 3 million people in need trapped in besieged and hard-to-reach areas, where they are exposed to serious protection threats (OCHA 2017). Children and youth comprise more than half of the displaced, as well as half of those in need of critical humanitarian assistance.

While no large influxes of Syrian refugees across borders have currently been witnessed, an additional 570,000 Syrian refugees across the region have been registered in 2017 increasing the number of registered refugees from 4.8 million to 5.3 million (3RP- Regional Overview 2018-2019). The critical response for the refugee situation continues to fall primarily on the neighbouring countries in the region (mainly Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey) who continue to host a large number of registered refugees per capita. The already vulnerable and fragile context of the host community population is further exacerbated as one in three people in Lebanon is a refugee.  In Jordan, the ration is slightly higher (one in 12 people is a refugee) but the socio-economic pressure on the country is similar.  While some international efforts for a political settlement resulted in talks between various conflicted parties and the establishment of de-escalation zones, the direct impact on Syrians’ safety, protection and lives is still not clear.

Though the overall level of violence decreased in some areas of Syria (primarily those linked to de-escalation zones in southern Syria, northern Homs), violence escalated and or remained high elsewhere such as in Eastern Ghouta, Damascus, Raqqa and Deir-Ez-Zour where fighting continues to inflict high civilian casualties. Cross- border operations in Syria have been ongoing since 2014, following the adoption of UN Security Resolution 2165. The UN conducts on average 4 cross border convoys a week. This has allowed access to UN agencies and implementing partners to provide necessary humanitarian assistance to affected persons.

SYR 181 – Humanitarian Response for People Affected by the Syria Conflict – updated

SYR181 Annex – Joint Logical Framework

SYR181-Annex-Budget-per-Requesting-Member-updated

The current crisis in Iraq began in June 2014, when militants of the Islamic State (ISIS) seized control of over one third of Iraq’s territory within a few weeks. Iraqi Security Forces, the Kurdish Peshmerga and various armed groups engaged in the fight against ISIS, and finally recaptured Ramadi in February 2016, Hīt in April 2016, Fallujah in June 2016, Mosul in July 2017, Tal Afar in August 2017 and Hawija in October 2017. The Government of Iraq announced the defeat of ISIS and regained full territorial control on 9 December.

With the major military operations coming to end, many people are now able to return to their homes, and previously experienced large-scale displacements are likely to be over by 2018. However, smaller scale movements are still expected resulting from the tension between the government of Iraq and the Kurdish Regional Government, triggered by the referendum on Kurdish independence on 25 September 2017.

Background On 23 October 2017, the Permanent Contingency Commission (COPECO) declared an alert in five of the country’s departments: Cortés, Yoro, Atlántida, Islas de La Bahía and Colón; the alert was declared in response to the arrival of the first cold front of the season, which brought heavy rains and prompted COPECO to raise the alert level for the departments of Islas de la Bahía, Cortés, Atlántida and Colón at 5:00 pm on 24 October. That same day, the government declared a state of emergency due to the presence of the weather system in the departments of Cortés, Atlántida, Yoro, Colón, Islas de la Bahía and Gracias a Dios. The weather system brought heavy rainfall, which caused rivers and gorges to flood. As of 29 October 2017, a red alert was in effect for the departments Gracias a Dios, Yoro, Islas de la Bahía, Cortés, Atlántida and Colón, while a yellow alert was in place for departments Olancho, Santa Bárbara and Francisco Morazán and a green alert for the departments of Copán, Comayagua, La Paz, Valle, Choluteca, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Intibucá and El Paraíso.

According to official data provided by COPECO, the flooding has had the following impact on Honduras:

• 10,564 affected households

• 50,770 affected persons

• 4876 evacuated households (24,691 persons)

• 25 persons rescued

• 1799 households in temporary shelters (9351 persons)

• 5012 damaged houses

• 13 totally destroyed houses.

Additionally, Tropical Depression Selma formed in the Pacific at the same time as a tropical disturbance in the Atlantic according to COPECO’s National Centre of Atmospheric, Oceanographic and Seismic Studies, producing moderate to strong rains, especially in the country’s south central and western parts.

According to data collected by COPECO in the affected communities, the floods has critically damaged main livelihoods and food stocks. The floods have affected the crops, forcing many of the affected families to change their diets and implement survival strategies; for example, affected farmers have begun selling their agricultural products at a very low cost, which will affect their income generation. Water distribution systems are affected and water is not safe for drinking. Lastly, due to deterioration of residual water and excreta management systems, the affected population is at risk to water and vector-borne diseases and other dangers to their health. There is urgent need of food, water and sanitation support and livelihood restoration.

The ACT Honduras Forum through its local member Mennonite Social Action Commission (CASM) by it´ Spanish acronym, is responding to this crisis by providing Food security, WASH and livelihood recovery to 1463 households. The target for this appeal is $109,875.04 USD to provide humanitarian relief.

The humanitarian crisis in the six states of the North-Eastern Nigeria has intensified after eight years of violent conflict. In 2016, this was compounded as the Nigeria Government Forces took back territory previously held by the Boko Haram insurgency. The conflict caused widespread forced displacement, acute food and nutrition insecurity and serious human rights violations. Since 2009, 14.8 million people in North-Eastern states of Nigeria have been affected by conflict. Violence caused by insurgency activities of Boko Haram and counter military operations have left widespread devastation to families, infrastructure and livelihoods within the region.

The latest needs assessment carried out in April 2017 by Christian Aid in coordination with the Humanitarian Clusters across Borno, including in Konduga Local Government Areas(LGA), focused on identifying key need gaps for vulnerable populations in the sectors of food security, WASH, NFIs and protection. There are approximately 4.2 million people in host communities and 1.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs); 54% of the affected population are female and 59% are children. With disrupted agricultural production, poor functioning markets and high food prices, most of the population are dependent on humanitarian assistance with an estimated 3.3 million people food insecure (IPC phase 3-5) with numbers expected to significantly deteriorate during the lean season. There is thus need for life saving support and activities to alleviate suffering through integrated and coordinated humanitarian response focussing on the most vulnerable people.

Christian Aid (CA) has been working in the North-East and Borno state for over 2 years. Ongoing humanitarian operations in Nigeria are being implemented directly by CA or via local partners. This proposed intervention to ACT Alliance will be directly implemented by CA and also through local partners with teams in Maiduguri and Konduga and through partners in Dikwa and Munguno LGAs.

In the evening of 12 November 2017, the Governorate of Halabja region, North-East of Iraq experienced an earthquake in the magnitude of approximately 7.2-7.5, according to European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC). The epicentre of this earthquake is located 32kms from the city of Halabja. According to the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS), approximately 1,840,000 people live within 100km of the epicentre of this earthquake in both Iraq and Iran. Local experts seismologists in the area see potential occurrence of such shocks in the future as the area has entered into a new level of intensity, and therefore it is likely that future earthquakes will be of a same or higher magnitude.

There have been nine reported fatalities and over 550 people injured in Iraq as a result of the earthquake, according to the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG). The Darbandikhan areas has been most severely impacted, with most earthquake related injuries reported in Darbandikhan, Halabja, and Garmyan districts. Many houses in the areas of Darbandikhan, Maidan, Qurato and Bamo have been damaged and/or destroyed. According to the KRG, damage to the infrastructure is most severe in Darbandikhan, where landslides have blocked the Darbandikhan tunnel, while work to clear and open the road is ongoing. The water and electricity network of Darbandikhan is also damaged and requires significant repair. The water treatment plant in Halabja is partially damaged and produces clean water at only 50% capacity.

According to the KRG, the situation is stabilizing; NGOs in the area are coordinating with each other on further actions and locations. ACT Alliance response is needed since a gap in adequate interventions will lead to affected people leaving the area as a consequence of bad living condition. This is a frequent effect of post-earthquake situation, when the response is either missing or inadequate. Right now, the proposed action comes at a point in time when the affected population is still willing to stay in the area, and rebuild their livelihoods with some humanitarian support.

On 23 October 2017, the Permanent Contingency Commission (COPECO) declared an alert in five of the country’s departments: Cortés, Yoro, Atlántida, Islas de La Bahía and Colón; the alert was declared in response to the arrival of the first cold front of the season, which brought heavy rains and prompted COPECO to raise the alert level for the departments of Islas de la Bahía, Cortés, Atlántida and Colón at 5:00 pm on 24 October. That same day, the government declared a state of emergency due to the presence of the weather system in the departments of Cortés, Atlántida, Yoro, Colón, Islas de la Bahía and Gracias a Dios. The weather system brought heavy rainfall, which caused rivers and gorges to flood. As of 29 October 2017, a red alert was in effect for the departments Gracias a Dios, Yoro, Islas de la Bahía, Cortés, Atlántida and Colón, while a yellow alert was in place for departments Olancho, Santa Bárbara and Francisco Morazán and a green alert for the departments of Copán, Comayagua, La Paz, Valle, Choluteca, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Intibucá and El Paraíso.

According to official data provided by COPECO, the flooding has had the following impact on Honduras:

• 10,564 affected households

• 50,770 affected persons

• 4876 evacuated households (24,691 persons)

• 25 persons rescued

• 1799 households in temporary shelters (9351 persons)

• 5012 damaged houses

• 13 totally destroyed houses.

Additionally, Tropical Depression Selma formed in the Pacific at the same time as a tropical disturbance in the Atlantic according to COPECO’s National Centre of Atmospheric, Oceanographic and Seismic Studies, producing moderate to strong rains, especially in the country’s south central and western parts.

After a month of the emergency there are still unmet needs among the affected population.  ACT Honduras Forum through its local member Mennonite Social Action Commission (CASM) by it´ Spanish acronym, are responding to this crisis by providing  Food security. 700 households will be benefited by this intervention.  The ACT Secretariat have approved the use of 35,257.00 USD  towards the budget from its Rapid Response, to provide humanitarian relief.