Eritrea The situation in Eritrea
is precarious as a result of the continuing effect of an ongoing drought
that is threatening food security at the country level. The country is
also still suffering the effects of the war with Ethiopia and much work
needs to be done to reintegrate fighters and rehabilitate much of the land
and infrastructure in war affected areas. This has left a great deal of
people acutely vulnerable and suffering from chronic food insecurity. It
is concerning to note that humanitarian activities remains acutely under
funded.
Somalia The overall humanitarian
situation in Somali continues to be very bleak despite a relatively good
Gu rainfall. The greatest impediment to the humanitarian situation remains
the ongoing conflict, particularly in the south of the country, with the
region of Gedo being particularly badly affected. The insecurity is making
vital access to effected populations extremely difficult and population
needs are deemed to critical.
Sudan The overall humanitarian situation in Sudan is extremely poor as a result of an upsurge in violence which has continued to cause population displacement and has constrained the ability of the humanitarian community to address the increased needs of vulnerable populations. It is alarming to note that access is proving most difficult in areas where the needs appear to be the greatest and people should be considered to be at greatly elevated risk.
West African Region The ongoing peace process in Sierra Leone has led to the opening up of most of the country and helped to improve the humanitarian situation. Many people have resettled or returned from both neighbouring countries and IDP camps and the immediate future is encouraging. However, an upsurge in violence in Liberia is resulting in a stream of refugees entering Sierra Leone and Guinea and there is considerable concern that this will put pressure on already strained resources and serve to destabilise the region.
Burundi The humanitarian situation remains extremely precarious and, despite the ongoing peace negotiations, the reporting period has seen an upsurge in violence and armed clashes between the government and rebel groups. The clashes continue to result in displacement and have seriously affected humanitarian access to affected populations, with areas in the south and east of the country being worst affected. Despite the ongoing violence, the voluntary assisted repatriation process from Tanzania is going ahead.
Uganda After a period of relative calm, the reporting period has seen an upsurge of violence in the northern Kigum and Gulu districts. This has resulted in fresh waves of displacement and has halted the tentative plans for return of IDPs to their places of origin. The situation continues to be calm in the west of the country and plans for large scale return are going ahead. The situation in Katakwi also appears to be calmer and there has been a reduction in the number of IDPs living in camps.
Angola The humanitarian situation in Angola is critical despite the apparent success of the peace process, which has greatly improved the security situation and allowed humanitarian agencies to access previously inaccessible areas. As agencies assess the situation in the new areas the full scale of crisis is becoming apparent and rates of both malnutrition and mortality are being found to be many times greater than accepted emergency thresholds. Despite the peace, needs are likely to remain high for many months to come.
Afghanistan The overall situation within Afghanistan remains extremely precarious with continuing drought conditions and an apparent increase in insecurity, despite the creation of a fully functioning Afghan government. Acute food insecurity continues to be a problem in many areas of the country and humanitarian needs will remain high for some time. In general, the nutrition situation is not critical, reflecting the robustness of current coping mechanisms and the magnitude of assistance that has been supplied. However, it is likely that there will be a seasonal increase in malnutrition over the summer months in line with the diarrhoeal season.
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