Crisis watch

Ebola outbreak in the DRC

The risk remains very high both in the DRC and regionally. The deteriorating security situation in North Kivu threatens to worsen the crisis. As the risk of transmission is very high, neighbouring provinces and countries are enhancing surveillance and preparedness activities.

CARE DRC has reached 93,820 people in the last quarter (Oct to Dec 2018) through WASH (water, sanitation, hygiene), prevention and social mobilisation activities. CARE Uganda is supporting Kikuube District Local Government, WHO, UNICEF in strengthening surveillance for Ebola in line with the Uganda Ministry of Health Preparedness Plan.

Lake Chad Region

Humanitarian needs remain at crisis level across the region, with acute food insecurity in Chad and Niger, intensification of violence and increasing food insecurity and economic crisis in northern Nigeria, and continued displacement of people due to violence in Cameroon. Overall in the Lake Chad Basin region, CARE has reached 1.2 million individuals which is nearly 12% of the 10.7 million affected people in the region, and we are continuing with our emergency responses.

Indonesia tsunamis

Following the tsunami that hit the coast of Sunda Strait on 22 Dec 2018,  437 people are reported dead, more than 14,000 injured, and more than 31,000 displaced. CARE has distributed hygiene kits to affected people and is conducting a Rapid Gender Analysis to identify different needs for women, girls, men and boys.

CARE’s assessment on the ground is that local governments, PMI (Red Cross) and local NGOs have been providing adequate assistance, hence CARE is halting its response in the Sunda Straits area for now. We will continue to monitor the situation and stand by to respond should another tsunami occur.

We are continuing our response on the island of Sulawesi, where many people remain without adequate shelter and access to clean water.

• Read more in our press release Three months after Indonesia's Sulawesi earthquake, needs remain huge

Indonesia: Sunda Straits tsunami

CARE has distributed 200 hygiene kits containing sarongs, toothbrushes, soap, detergent, sanitary pads and a bucket for people living in affected villages and displacement camps following the most recent tsunami in the Sunda Straits, Indonesia. (Photo shows hygiene kits being unloaded at Pasauran village; photo © Harris Ritonga/CARE.)

Farrell Shidqi Halilintar, age 21, describes what it was like being caught up in the tsunami:

I am still very traumatised, I keep remembering being chased by water and people bleeding and injured around me. It was a very scary situation.

This was my first experience with a tsunami and I was so scared, there was nowhere to go. I kept worrying about my friends as well. So many scenarios went through my mind: where were they? Were they safe? I was so scared that they had been killed, and then how would I tell their families.

• Read more in our press release CARE distributes 200 hygiene kits amidst fear of further tsunamis and aftershocks in Sunda Straits

Third disaster to hit Indonesia in six months

On 23 December, following an eruption on Mt Krakatoa, a tsunami smashed into the coastlines along the Sundra Strait in Indonesia.

Pandeglang, Serang and South Lampung are the hardest hit districts, facing catastrophic damage and loss of life.

At least 220 people have already lost their lives, with 840 injured and many more homeless, as hundreds of houses have been wiped out. Those numbers are expected to rise as details emerge, but we can be certain that a large-scale humanitarian response will be required.

CARE is already on the ground in Indonesia, where we have worked for over 50 years, and are closely monitoring the situation.

“CARE has an office and an existing water and sanitation project in schools in Serang Regency – the worst hit area,” said Helen Vanwel, CARE Indonesia Country Director. “We are prepared and able to assist with the delivery of hygiene kits if needed.”