Crisis watch

Bangladesh floods

Following heavy rains and subsequent flooding in north and north-eastern regions of Bangladesh, CARE is co-chairing the joint agency Needs Assessment Working Group and is sharing updates with potential donors for an emergency response. CARE has teams in the following affected areas: Nilphamari, Kurigram, Jamalpur, Gaibandha, Bogra, Sirajganj, Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Netrokona, Lalmonirhat, Sylhet and Sunamganj, and we are closely monitoring the situation. Around 270,000 people are estimated to have been affected so far.

Ebola outbreak in the DRC

Ebola has now reached Goma, one of the DRC’s most populous cities and the largest in North Kivu province where Ebola broke out last August. CARE is raising awareness on the key prevention measure against Ebola among the communities in Goma we are working with, as well as among CARE staff and our partners.

Additionally, CARE continues its response to Ebola in DRC, which started in August 2018. CARE’s work includes community engagement via a community-based surveillance approach, construction of water infrastructure in schools, communities, market and health facilities, training of health staff and provision of protection equipment, and distribution of necessary kits for personal hygiene, especially for women and girls who are most susceptible to infection with the virus due to their traditional role in caring for other family members.

Zimbabwe: Cyclone Idai response

51,000 people remain displaced from their homes, while significant numbers have returned to their place of origin without adequate support, particularly for shelter. Food security is a major concern as prices for basic commodities and fuel continue to escalate. 

To date CARE has reached 25,945 people in six affected districts with food, livelihoods, WASH, shelter and non-food items support. CARE's team is also responsible - working closely with internally displaced people and NGO partners - for camp coordination and management at the Chimanimani camp for internally displaced people.

Mozambique

Four months after cyclones Idai and Kenneth swept through northern Mozambique, the food security situation is increasingly worsening. At least 433,000 families have had their farming land destroyed, robbing them of their main source of food and an income.

CARE is calling for further emergency food assistance along with longer term livelihoods assistance to avert yet another crisis. We are also warning of the need to focus on women and girls, as David Smith, CARE International’s Cyclone Response Lead, explains:

Women and girls of Mozambique must not be left behind at this crucial juncture, as the response moves into recovery phase. In focus groups with women who were impacted by both cyclones, we have found multiple protection concerns, such as their safety in new resettlement sites, fear of exploitation, increased social tensions, and violence that could stem from the change of gender roles due to the loss or injury of male family members.

• Read more in our press release As UN chief visits Beira, aid agencies call for urgent action to curtail looming food crisis in Mozambique

Rohingya refugee crisis

CARE is directly reaching nearly 150,000 people through health services (including 4 health centres, 34 nutrition centres, and training of 500 staff), WASH (water, sanitation, hygiene - including deep-tube wells, latrines, hand-washing facilities, and women-only bathing cubicles), shelter, protection and gender-based violence support (including 12 safe spaces for women and girls), and site management.

More than 900,000 refugees are now living in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh. Ram Das, assistant country director for CARE’s humanitarian response in Bangladesh, said:

The Rohingya refugee crisis should not end up as one of those forgotten ones in the world today. The refugees in the camps continue to live in extreme fragile and vulnerable conditions, needing continued assistance. We ought to ensure that they have access to their basic needs and live a life of dignity.

• Read about a day in the life of three inspiring women working with CARE in the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar: Working with refugees in Bangladesh: One day at a time
• Read about how CARE is helping refugees maintain their shelters during the monsoon season in this CARE Insights blog: Shelter in Cox’s Bazar: A refugee-led approach to safe shelter