Crisis watch

Sierra Leone – floods

Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, experienced exceptionally heavy rains on 2 August, with subsequent flooding in the eastern and central parts of the city. CARE will be providing WASH assistance for 10,000 people in two of the most affected communities, and reaching 200 of the most vulnerable households with cash assistance to meet their basic needs.

CARE emergency responses

From July 2018 to June 2019, CARE reached 6.4 million people (7% of the affected population) in 10 large-scale crises in Mozambique, Yemen, South Sudan, Syria, Iraq, D.R. Congo, Ethiopia, Somalia, the Lake Chad Basin and the Venezuela crisis. Including those responses, during the year we responded to 43 humanitarian crises across 40 countries, reaching approximately 7.8 million people.

Deteriorating situations include:

• South Sudan: risk of famine persists
• Yemen: continues to face risk of famine
• Nigeria: continued Boko Haram conflict in the northeast is increasing displacement and food assistance needs
• Ebola outbreak: risk of cases increasing remains very high at national, regional and global levels. Ebola in the DRC was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by WHO in July
• Burkina Faso: increased insecurity combined with low preparedness of humanitarian actors and government
• Sudan: volatile government transition has led to high protection concerns
• Palestine (Gaza strip): escalating humanitarian needs in a tense and very volatile situation.

Emerging crises:

• Horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya): drought, conflict, and macroeconomic shock driving a food crisis
• Haiti: food insecurity and resurgence of civil unrest
• Zambia: drought affecting the southern province.

DRC – Ebola crisis

The third Ebola case in Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been confirmed. Both Ebola patients who were previously identified in Goma have now died. As of today – which marks one year since this Ebola outbreak was declared in the DRC – around 2,700 Ebola cases have been identified. North Kivu, the province which has been most affected by the epidemic, is home to more than 8 million people who are potentially exposed to the risk of infection. David Bisimwa, CARE’s humanitarian coordinator in the DRC, says: 

Two deaths and a third case of Ebola in Goma is a striking reminder of the urgency we face in stopping the spread of the epidemic. It is crucial that the international community dedicate the necessary resources to ensure the virus is contained and eliminated, before it takes more lives in Goma, is transmitted to other vulnerable communities, or spreads to neighbouring countries. We are nearly a year into this response – if donors don’t make this a priority, the risks are terrifying.

CARE has been responding since August 2018, including through community awareness-raising, construction of water infrastructure in schools, communities, market and health facilities, training of health staff and provision of protection equipment, and distribution of hygiene kits, particularly for women and girls who are at heightened risk of infection due to their traditional family role as carers.

Nepal floods

CARE has been distributing food and emergency shelter materials to people affected by flooding in Nepal. Mina Devi Pashwan (pictured above) told us:

We had spent almost 1,200,000 rupees to build a house made up of bricks. But the flood destroyed it entirely. The flood also swept away all the rice and lentils that we had stocked in our home. It took our clothes too.

We have received some rice, noodles, biscuits, and water as food support. We have received mosquito nets as well. We are really relieved to have received these materials as it ensures that my family and I are clean and healthy. We plan to use these tarps and mats to live in until we can build a house again. 

Jaleshwori Devi Ram (pictured above) told us:

The flood was really cruel. I had stored around 400 kilograms of paddy and 100 kilograms of rice that I earned by working in someone else’s field. I had three goats too which supported my livelihood but they died in front of my eyes. I feel shattered to have lost my house, my savings, and my source of income all at once.

The kits we received today are a slight relief to our pain. My family will be safe for the time being under these tarpaulins. It is great to receive these kits. There are materials to maintain hygiene and there is a set of clothes I can change into. We have been wearing the same clothes that were soaked in the flood.

Iraq

Five years ago, in 2014, hundreds of thousands of people fled the Sinjar region after horrific attacks and persecution. Today, 6.7 million people across Iraq are still in need of humanitarian assistance. About 1.8 million people alone are displaced in Northern Iraq, more than 200,000 from Sinjar. Displaced people are living in camps as well as with host communities, and both depend on aid provided by humanitarian agencies. Wendy Barron, Country Director for CARE International in Iraq, says:

Humanitarian funding has been decreasing for years, but we are reaching a tipping point by donors pulling money out of camps. We cannot afford to put people’s lives at risk by cutting off basic services like the provision of drinking water, hygiene services and medical support. We carry responsibility for those people who have lived in camps for far too long already. 

We are especially concerned about Yazidi families, many of them are still heavily traumatised and simply do not dare to return home to what they feel is burned soil. As long as the security situation in Sinjar is how it is and as long as basic services like markets, schools and hospitals are not up and running, it is our responsibility to continue to protect them, to provide basic services and to ensure returns are only undertaken voluntarily, in dignity and safety.

Despite major funding challenges, CARE and our local partners continue to provide humanitarian assistance in camps as well as in host communities across multiple governorates. Toilets, showers and washing facilities are kept clean, septic tanks are serviced and garbage collections organised. CARE also rehabilitates public health centres, trains medical staff and hygiene promoters, and provides medical supplies and nutritional supplements to pregnant and lactating women and their babies. As of June 2019, CARE’s support has reached more than 340,000 people.