Partners' updates. Week of 27 September - 3 October

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Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs View this email in your browser Partners' updates Week of 27 September - 3 October This update compiles news and information on El Niño from

1 Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs View this in your browser Partners' updates Week of 27 September - 3 October This update compiles news and information on El Niño from Non-Governmental Organisations, UN, the Red Cross Movement and other partner organisations. It is not a comprehensive overview of impact and response. OCHA's monthly El Niño overview is available here. Highlights The southern part of Madagascar is expected to experience high levels of acute food insecurity until February 2017 as a result of last year s drought, according to the latest outlook on the impact of drought in southern Africa from Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET). Acute food insecurity will continue in most areas of Lesotho until February 2017 as humanitarian assistance is expected to begin in October. The need for food aid has increased in Malawi and Mozambique while humanitarian aid has slightly improved food security in the southern region of Zimbabwe which is the worst affected by drought. WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin is visiting drought-affected people in southern Madagascar from 3 to 5 October. The Government of Zimbabwe and humanitarian partners in the country agreed to work together to strengthen the existing monitoring of humanitarian assistance and accountability mechanisms, during a meeting in Bulawayo in late September. Upcoming activities of the UN Secretary General s Special Envoys on El Niño and Climate Change 6-7 October: Ambassador Macharia Kamau to attend Busan Global Partnership Forum

14 October: Amb. Kamau to take part in World Food Day commemoration in Rome 31 October: Amb. Kamau to attend the Global South-South Development Expo in Dubai Late October: Amb.

2 14 October: Amb. Kamau to take part in World Food Day commemoration in Rome 31 October: Amb. Kamau to attend the Global South-South Development Expo in Dubai Late October: Amb. Kamau to visit southern Africa countries (tbc) Global Canada One Young World 2016 Summit: Mary Robinson, UN Special Envoy on El Niño and Climate, warned that the current trajectory for global warming could be disastrous. She said the world was running out of time in addressing the growing damage caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with (left to right) Mary Robinson, UN Special Envoy on El Niño and Climate; Emma Watson, the Global Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women and Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary- General, on the sidelines of the One Young World Summit in Ottawa. Africa East Africa Djibouti Ethiopia WFP: Food assistance had been provided to 10,000 people from Ethiopia and the Somaliland region of Somalia who were displaced by drought to Djibouti. This was in addition to nearly 14,000 people in local communities through 600,000 Euro (US$669,000) of contribution from the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO). ECHO: The European Commission has so far allocated million Euro ($190.4 million) in humanitarian aid to respond to the El Niño-induced drought and floods as well as to support the refugees and internally displaced, according to an ECHO fact sheet.

3 Southern Africa Angola Lesotho Southern African Development Community (SADC): Of the $2.9 billion of SADC Appeal, only 26% percent is funded in September, according to the latest SADC situation report. Office of the UN Resident Coordinator: Humanitarian response continues in three most affected provinces of Cunene, Huila and Namibe. From 13 August to 13 September, a total of 1,172 plant nurseries and over 40 family gardens had been installed in the three provinces, with the first production expected in late September or early October. A cumulative total of 9,907 children (27% of program coverage) with severe acute malnutrition received treatment while WASH activities had reached over 40,000 people with appropriately designed toilets and 70,770 people with emergency hygiene kits. A local supplier had been identified for procurement of water pumps and spare parts, which is expected to expedite water pump rehabilitation. Yellow fever vaccination campaign has reached over 1.5 million people in Cunene and Huila. FEWS Net: Poor households will be the most affected by acute food insecurity, which is expected to occur between September 2016 and January Many poor households will rely on self-employment activities and casual labour as they earn lower income than average and their purchasing power is limited. Social safety net program s coverage and frequency is reportedly not adequate in filling food and livelihood protection gaps. Humanitarian assistance is required to protect the livelihoods of the poor households. Madagascar FEWS Net: High levels of acute food insecurity are expected in the South through the end of the lean season in February 2017 due to the effects of last year s drought. Failed maize harvests are reported in the districts of Bekily, Beloha, Tsihombe, Amboasary, Ambovombe and parts of Ampannihy and Betioky while harvests in other southern areas were well below average. Households are intensifying non-agricultural activities to cope with food and income shortage, such as charcoal, water and firewood sales, and are migrating for work.

Source: FEWS NET Malawi OCHA: Food security, livelihoods support through cash assistance and malnutrition screening reached 100% of their targeted beneficiaries according to the latest infographic on

4 Source: FEWS NET Malawi OCHA: Food security, livelihoods support through cash assistance and malnutrition screening reached 100% of their targeted beneficiaries according to the latest infographic on humanitarian operations in the Grand Sud, Madagascar, in August. WFP: The number of severely food insecure people in seven most affected districts in Madagascar has decreased from 665,000 to 575,000 as a result of different types of humanitarian assistance, according to the WFP country brief. However, the 2016 Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission identified an additional case load of 25,000 food insecure people in four communes in Fort Dauphin district. WFP urgently seeks $20 million to continue food distribution to 350,000 people until March 2017, and $4.6 million to support 300,000 children with school feeding program for the 2016/2017 term. ACT Alliance: The ACT launched a drought emergency appeal requesting $373,371 to support 2,000 vulnerable households in Chikwawa and Nsanje districts with food assistance, WASH interventions, improved agricultural practices and community-managed Disaster Risk Reduction. FEWS Net: Humanitarian assistance case load rose steeply from 240,000 in July to 1.73 million in September with the total number of districts receiving assistance increased to six. The assistance funding levels continue to be below 50% however the government and partners had announced that beneficiaries in six districts would begin receiving a full ration in September. Rising inflation and a 20% depreciation of Malawi Kwacha are expected to affect Malawi s ability to import food and other agricultural inputs for ongoing humanitarian assistance.

Source: FEWS NET WFP: WFP is importing 55,000 metric tons of maize to assist up to 4.7 million people in drought-affected areas in Malawi in the coming months.

5 Source: FEWS NET WFP: WFP is importing 55,000 metric tons of maize to assist up to 4.7 million people in drought-affected areas in Malawi in the coming months. The maize import from Mexico and Zambia was made possible through a $22 million contribution from the Government of Malawi and international donors including the UK, the US and Australia. An additional pledge of $8.6 million will bring the Government s total contribution to WFP to over $30 million, making it one of the largest donors to its emergency response in Malawi. Mozambique FEWS Net: Approximately 1.8 million people will need emergency humanitarian assistance from October to December 2016 due to below average crop production. USAID/Food for Peace is supporting emergency food assistance from November through March in the drought affected provinces which will be carried out by WFP and World Vision. COSACA, a Consortium of NGOs comprising Concern Worldwide, Oxfam, Save the Children and CARE, has received funding from DFID, SIDA and ECHO to provide food aid through vouchers in six affected provinces until March/April La Niña-like impacts are expected from October 2016 to March 2017, with forecasts indicate that the majority of the country has a high likelihood of receiving normal to above-normal rainfall, which will be favourable for the 2016/17 agricultural season.

Source: FEWS NET Somalia Swaziland Zambia ECHO: In 2016, the European Union (Member States and Commission) has provided 44% of all humanitarian support to Somalia worth over $403 million, including

WFP: In August, WFP assisted 99,000 drought affected people (99% of the targeted 100,000 people) with emergency food distribution.

6 Source: FEWS NET Somalia Swaziland Zambia ECHO: In 2016, the European Union (Member States and Commission) has provided 44% of all humanitarian support to Somalia worth over $403 million, including to the most vulnerable directly affected by severe drought in Puntland and Somaliland. WFP: In August, WFP assisted 99,000 drought affected people (99% of the targeted 100,000 people) with emergency food distribution. The food aid complements the Government of Swaziland s assistance to 151,719 droughtaffected people. A total of 350,000 people need food assistance in Swaziland. WFP: WFP, in partnership with Oxfam America and FAO, is helping farmers in Zambia to mitigate the impacts of drought linked to El Niño through an integrated approach to climate risk management, the Rural Resilience Initiative (R4). The R4 combines improved resource management (risk reduction), insurance (risk transfer), livelihood diversification and microcredit (prudent risk taking) and savings (risk reserves). Boyd Mungalu from Pemba district in southern Zambia had seen his cowpeas grown in abundance during the prolonged drought last year, thanks to the R4 initiative that introduced him to conservation agriculture. Photo: WFP/Evin Joyce

Zimbabwe FEWS Net: Increased humanitarian assistance in most drought-affected southern region (Matebeleland Provinces, Masvingo, parts of Manicaland and Midlands Provinces) and marginal areas in the

7 Zimbabwe FEWS Net: Increased humanitarian assistance in most drought-affected southern region (Matebeleland Provinces, Masvingo, parts of Manicaland and Midlands Provinces) and marginal areas in the extreme north has decreased the level of acute food security outcomes from Crisis (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification/IPC Phase 3) to Stressed (IPC Phase 2). These outcomes are expected to last until December The water situation for humans and livestock is critical in the south, and this situation is expected to continue through November. In the absence of food assistance, some areas in the north will transition into Crisis (IPC Phase 3) from October 2016 to March Most parts of the country are experiencing below-average livelihood options and household incomes following poor agricultural season and prevailing liquidity challenges. Source: FEWS NET UN Resident Coordinator for Zimbabwe: The Government at all levels and humanitarian partners have agreed to strengthen the existing monitoring and accountability mechanism for humanitarian response in the country. A media release from the UN RC office reiterates that the UN humanitarian assistance is guided by the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality. Almost 55% of the $352 million requested for the Humanitarian Response Plan is funded, with more funding support sought for food and agriculture and non-food sectors that include water, sanitation and hygiene; health and nutrition; and protection. WFP: Through its Lean Season Assistance Program, WFP has assisted close to 60% of the 344,874 people affected by El Niño-induced drought in 12 districts in August. The agency needs $70 million to scale up food assistance to reach 2.3 million people until March Also in August, WFP s El Niño response received additional funding from Australia, ECHO and USAID, bringing the total contribution received to date to $63 million. Asia and the Pacific

8 The Pacific ECHO: The EU has contributed over 3.2 million Euro ($3.6 million) to respond to drought in Papua New Guinea, and 1 million Euro ($1.1 million) to emergency response to Tropical Cyclone Winston in Fiji. From 2015 to 2016, ECHO allocated 2.5 million Euro ($2.8 million) from the Disaster Preparedness Programme for community-based disaster preparedness actions and coordination support. Central and Latin America and Caribbean Nothing to report Media Updates Botswana Cambodia Al Jazeera: Unequal access to water resources for poor female farmers in Botswana undermines their ability to adapt to climate change and weakens food security in this southern African region, William G Moseley and Rachel Fehr wrote Cambodia Daily: More than 50% of middle- and upper-income families had fallen into debt and lower income brackets as a result of El Niño weather phenomenon, according to a study jointly conducted by FAO, WFP and UNICEF. A survey of 2,400 households across the country shows a debt increase by an average of $1,200 by the end of El Niño, as low-income families bought new seeds to replace failed crops and fallen livestock. Inter Press Service: Irrigation water scheme rehabilitation helped build resilience of farmers in Kampong Speu in Cambodia during prolonged drought caused by El Niño. The 770-meter canal rehabilitation by the Cambodian Government, FAO Cambodia with ECHO support linked a stream located 20 miles from Aoral mountain to 400 ha of paddy fields, resulting in an improved crop production this year.

l Niño weekly update 27 Sept - 03 Oct 2016 Phal Vannak, a farmer from Amlaing commune in Cambodia, benefited from the rehabilitation of a water irrigation scheme.

Farmers in Sanyati, a rural hamlet in the south of Harare, are struggling to build their resilience due to lack of government support, according to IRIN news analysis.

9 l Niño weekly update 27 Sept - 03 Oct 2016 Phal Vannak, a farmer from Amlaing commune in Cambodia, benefited from the rehabilitation of a water irrigation scheme. Photo: IPS/ Amy Fallon Zimbabwe IRIN News: The weather has become more unpredictable in Zimbabwe as a result of climate change, which affected crop production. Farmers in Sanyati, a rural hamlet in the south of Harare, are struggling to build their resilience due to lack of government support, according to IRIN news analysis. Livestock prices are falling in Zimbabwe as a result of the drought. Photo: IRIN/Obi Anyadike To include your news in the update, contact Ivy Susanti (susantii@un.org). To leave or join the mailing list, use the links below.

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Partners' updates. Week of 4-10 October

Partners' updates. Week of 4-10 October Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs View this email in your browser Partners' updates Week of 4-10 October This update compiles news and information on El Niño from Non-Governmental Organisations,