With the Syria crisis continuing into its eighth year, more than half of the population of Syria has been forcibly displaced from their homes, and many people have been displaced multiple times. The number of daily displacements remains high, with approximately 920,000 as Internally Displaced Person (IDPs) in the first 4 months of 2018 (at a rate of almost 7,600 newly displaced persons each day, according to the UN-HNO 2018).  UNHCR, estimates that 13.1 million people need humanitarian assistance, and almost 6.6 million, have been internally displaced (UNHCR¹). There are 12.8 million who require health assistance, with almost 3 million living in UN-declared hard-to-reach or besieged areas exposed to serious protection threats. Estimates show that 2.9 million people inside Syria are living with a disability (Humanitarian International Plan²), while almost 5.6 million people are in acute need due to multiple displacements, exposure to hostilities, and limited access to basic goods and services, and 4.2 million in need of shelter intervention (HNO 2018, OCHA 2017).  Children and youth comprise more than half of the displaced, as well as half of those in need of critical humanitarian assistance.

Appeals_Syria_Humanitarian Crisis-SYR191

SYR191_Appeals_budget total Final

Since 1976, the date of the first cases of viral haemorrhagic fever, the DRC has been facing several episodes of Ebola virus epidemic. The Ministry of Public Health declared the 10th Ebola outbreak in August 2018. Its first confirmation was found in Mabalako health zone, Mangina locality, northwest of Beni. Within a few days, the disease spread to Beni and Butembo cities. So far, suspected cases have been reported in Musienene (N-Kivu), Mandima (Ituri) and Komanda (Ituri) health zones.  At the pace by which Ebola is spreading, it is estimated that there is a great risk of Ebola spreading to other provinces of North Kivu, Ituri province and even beyond the Rwanda and Uganda borders.

Appeals_DRC_Ebola and Cholera Outbreak in North Kivu Province-COD182

Two low pressure systems, one in the Atlantic and the other in the Pacific, caused intense rainfall
conditions, flash floods in several communities in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and
Nicaragua from 5 to 18 October , In El Salvador Civil Protection reported 15 people injured, six dead,
one missing and 768 people in shelters. In addition, 1541 flooded houses and eight houses
destroyed, an affected school and three other collapsed walls; eight roads and 13 damaged streets,
120 contaminated wells. On October 6 a green alert was declared in El Salvador for the entire
country. On October 7, a Yellow Alert was declared for 29 coastal municipalities, which on October
8 increased to 34 municipalities to include three municipalities in Morazán department and two in
La Union department.

In Honduras, the rains have caused flooding and landslides across the country. Most damage has
been reported in Francisco Morazán, Valle, and Choluteca departments, where a red alert was
issued by the government. 12,076 people have been affected by the floods. 963 homes were
damaged, including 169 flooded, and 9 completely destroyed. Among them, 7,234 people have been
evacuated, and 6,789 moved to 78 temporary shelters. According to the National Emergency
Operations Center (COEN) of COPECO, heavy rainfall left about 25,558 people affected and 9 dead.
The number of people in shelter reached to 9,097, 11,552 people evacuated, and some 170 schools
are damaged, eight bridges were affected as well as 63 roads, ten bridges destroyed, seven water
systems damaged; 1,133 houses damaged and another 10 houses destroyed between the
municipalities of Francisco Morazán, Choluteca and Valle. About 89 shelters were enabled most of
them in educational centers in the department of Choluteca.

Appeals_Central_America_response_to_Floods_CAM181

On 18th March 2018 the Manaro volcano on the island of Ambae erupted and for the second time in six months triggered a state of emergency and mass evacuations of the population. The heavy outpourings of ash and gas has resulted in hazards of acid rain, flash floods, loss of food and water sources, and damage to infrastructure and human health. Large portions of the island were significantly impacted, all education institutions and key government services were closed and staff and students evacuated to other islands.

On Thursday 26th July Vanutu’s Council of Ministers held an extraordinary meeting to extend the state of emergency and to revise the previous voluntary evacuation to a compulsory evacuation. Those self-evacuating to the island of Santo did not receive any official government support and humanitarian agencies were initially discouraged from responding on Santo, in favour of the official government response on Maewo. Unfortunately the majority of the displaced communities (~8,700ppl) evacuated to Santo. Most people are still living in temporary shelters in and around host communities. It is estimated that the informal and government supported relocations have impacted approximately 13% of Vanuatu’s population.

Concept Note: Ambae Volcano Evacuation Relief and Resettlement Support

There is an emerging humanitarian crisis in the Southern Kasaï region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Congolese have sought safety after being expelled from Angola in a violent clampdown on refugees and migrants.

The mass population movement follows the Angolan Government’s decision to expel Congolese migrants, many of whom were working in the informal mining sector in the Northeastern part of the country. Most of those forced to return to DRC were in Angola as economic migrants, often working in the diamond mines while others are refugees forcibly displaced for a second time, having previously fled the conflict in DRC.

The oil-rich Angola attracts many Congolese as it is relatively more stable and offers better employment prospects unlike DR Congo which has more abundant mineral wealth but is largely rocked by unrest and violence from different rebel groups and militias.

According to UNICEF, more than 300,000 Congolese citizens have returned since 1 October 2018, raising concerns of another crisis for a country already dealing with multiple conflicts and an Ebola outbreak.

Those who are returning are coming back to a desperate situation in Kasai, where a militia conflict in 2016 and 2017 forced 1.5 million people to flee their homes leaving ethnic tensions simmering. This poses a threat of resurgence of violence as the region is still extremely fragile following the previous conflicts. According to Oxfam, the Kasai region is one of the poorest in DRC and is already struggling with malnutrition, cholera and a threat of resurgence in conflict.

With the influx of people stretching the already limited resources, there is a danger that inter-communal tensions may resurface. The mass influx of people in the middle of the rainy season poses major health risks, in a region already suffering from a cholera epidemic and where clean water and decent sanitation are scarce, making matters worse for returning children and families. The price of basic food stuffs has risen sharply in some areas, which could lead to inadequate food supply. The arrival of returnees in recent weeks has occurred mostly in the Province of Kasai, although some children and families have returned to neighboring provinces, including Kasai Central and Kwango.

By 16^th October 2018, more than 73 % of those who have returned were hosted in Kamonia Territory in Kasai Province, their main entry point being Kamako border post in Kamonia Health Zone. The rest are in Kasai Central Provinces mainly Luambo ZS in Luiza Territory. Upon arrival, majority are hosted in churches, schools and unfinished houses.

Food, emergency shelter and NFIs, WASH, emergency health care and transport are identified as urgent. The young people who are frustrated after losing their sources of income coupled with the abuses they suffered during expulsion has intensified ethnic tensions in the host communities. There are reports of conflicts between returnees and host communities over resources.

ACT DRC Forum members namely Christian Aid (CA), Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Church of Christ in Congo (ECC), and Bureau Oecumeniqued’Appui au Developpement (BOAD) have revised and published COD 181 and are now appealing for USD 3,628,974 to respond to the expulsion of Congolese from Angola , a situation which has aggravated the already dire crisis in Kasai.

ACT DRC Forum members propose to work in the areas of shelter, Food Security, WASH, Health/Nutrition, Protection, Education and unconditional cash, in order to save lives and alleviate suffering of conflict affected populations in Kasai Provinces in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

DRC_Kasai Conflict COD 181(Revised Appeal)

Cyclone Gaja made landfall over Tamil Nadu coast on 16^th November 2018 at 1:45 AM, wreaking havoc as it passed the coastal districts of Tamil Nadu.  Cyclone Gaja made its landfall with wind speed of 120 – 140 kph, leaving behind a huge trail of destruction in the districts of Nagapattinam, Cuddalore, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Pudukottai, Dindigul, Trichy, Karur, Sivagangai, Ramnad, and Karaikal in the Union territory of Pondicherry. According to the Government record, 45 people were killed and around 250,000 people were displaced from their homes on the coasts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in the wee hours of Friday. The state government has appointed some government officials in various districts to expedite the rescue process in the affected areas.  Schools have been closed in those districts and university exams were postponed.

According to government sources, 170,454 coconut and banana trees were uprooted, and about 39,938 electric poles were toppled including a large number of  transformers.  Power supply was suspended for more than two days.  Many houses collapsed, making people homeless.  Supply of drinking water was also disrupted.  The Government has sanctioned an assistance of Rs.30,000 for cattle and Rs.3,000 for goats to the beneficiaries who have lost cattle and goats in the cyclone. Relief workers are trying hard to reach the remote and inaccessible areas of Nagapattinam, Thiruvarur, Thanjavur,Pudukottai and in some parts of Kodaikanal.  The regions in the delta has remained without power supply since Friday (16.11.2018).  More than 1,17,000 houses including thatched huts, tiled roof houses have been partially or fully damaged.

RRF No.20 2018 Cyclone Gaja Emergency Response in Tamil Nadu India

On Monday morning, 01 October 2018, the villages of Dsegh in Lori and Arapi, Voskehask, Harij in Shirak mountainous regions in Armenia were affected by sudden heavy rains and hailstorms that swept away 130ha of crops in Dsegh and 185,8 ha – Arapi villages, 28,2 – Voskehask, 64,29 – Harij. The dwellers lost 70 to 80% of their crop. Local authorities have declared these regions in state of emergency due to the damages caused by the natural disaster and asked national and international organizations to support the affected population.

The Ministry of Territorial Administration and Development asked the Armenia Round Table Foundation (ART) for humanitarian assistance to help the affected communities. According to the official information from the ministry, the damages affected 300 communities in 9 regions out of 10. More than 7000 hectares of wheat, barley and grain, fruit, vegetables/orchards, and vineyards were damaged. According to government official information, the total damage to agriculture is estimated to be 8,7 billion AMD which equals to 18,125,000 USD. The hailstones and storm were so heavy that they broke the roofs and windows, and flooded houses.

RRFs Armenia Hailstorms-RRF19_2018

On 28 September 2018 at 17:02 WIB (Indonesian Western Time), an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 hit Central Sulawesi, 27 kilometers northeast of Donggala with a shallow epicenter (10 km). It was immediately followed by a tsunami warning by BMKG (Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency). This earthquake triggered a tsunami that hit the coast at 17:22 WIB. 2 provinces were directly affected by the earthquake and tsunami: Central Sulawesi Province (4 districts/city; Donggala, Palu City, Sigi and Parigi Moutong) and West Sulawesi Province (North Mamuju District).

According to the most updated information about the impacts of this disaster from the  ASEAN Coordinating Centre for  Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre), as of 26th October, there were already 2,081 casualties, with 1,309 missing or feared to be buried, and 4,438 major injuries. As many as 206,494 displaced persons are sheltered in 122 evacuation site, with 68,451 houses significantly damaged. According to ASEAN Specialized Meteorological Centre (ASMC), the sub-seasonal forecast indicates that Central Sulawesi may still experience rains and wetter conditions in the coming period.

Appeals: Emergency Assistance to People Affected by the Earthquake and Tsunami in Central Sulawesi – Indonesia – IDN182

On 1^st August 2018, an outbreak of Ebola was confirmed in Mabalako Health Zone in Mangina village situated in Beni Territory, North Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The official declaration of Ebola epidemic by DRC National Ministry of Health initiated a response from WHO and other organizations from the health sector to attempt to stop the further spread of the disease and treat the affected. Unfortunately, these attempts have not been totally successful as Ebola continues to spread to several locations within the Beni territory region and Ituri Province. According to the WHO report on 30 October 2018, 244 persons have contracted Ebola and 144 deaths have occurred.

Members of the Health Cluster in Beni and Goma have formed committees that meet daily to update and reflect on ways to respond to the Ebola outbreak. As a result, vaccination systems have been reinforced and sensitization activities intensified in affected regions. Poor hygiene, poor vaccination uptake and false traditional beliefs on the cause of Ebola are contributing to spread. There are fears that the epidemic might spread towards Goma because of trade movements between Beni and Goma.

There remains an urgent need to intensify efforts to prevent and treat Ebola. One common effective way preventing its further spread is by placing hand washing points at strategic places to give opportunities for people to wash hands frequently and thus avoid spread of the virus. In addition, by increasing sensitization on how the disease is spread, it is believed that fewer people will get the infection.

Bureau Œcuménique d’Appui au Development (BOAD), a local DRC ACT Forum member and currently DRC ACT Forum convener, will respond to the Ebola epidemic, given BOAD’s experience in implementing humanitarian programs over the past several years.   While BOAD will play a leading role in the Implementation of Ebola response project in DRC, the Church of Christ in Congo (ECC) and Evangelical Lutheran Church in Congo (EELCO), both national/local ACT members, will contribute to the response by giving their respective expertise as they have also implemented similar projects in the past.

Activities will include awareness raising campaigns on Ebola transmission, training community/religious leaders and health agents on appropriate hygiene and sanitation practices and highlighting traditional practices that may be affecting the spread the virus.

In addition, posters with messages on Ebola symptoms and setting up hand washing kits at churches, markets and schools will be done. Media messages (broadcasting) on how to prevent the spread of Ebola will also be released. Psycho social support and counselling to affected persons and provision of non-food items will be done through a cash transfer program. To avoid exposing staff to the virus, staff working on the project will be trained on Ebola prevention.

ACT DRC national /local Forum members have jointly applied for a Rapid Response Fund in response to Ebola emergency namely BOAD, Eglise Evangelique Lutherienne au Congo (EELC) and Church of Christ in Congo (CCC).

Other ACT DRC members namely Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Norwegian Church Aid, Christian AID (CA), BOAD, Salvation Army, Eglise Evangelique Lutherienne du Congo (EELC) and Church of Christ in Congo (CCC) will jointly apply for an appeal in response to Ebola epidemic.

DRC: Ebola Emergency – RRF No. 18/2018