This Weekly Bulletin focuses on selected acute public health emergencies occurring in the WHO African Region. The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is currently monitoring 55 events in the region. This week’s edition covers key new and ongoing events, including:

• Meningococcal disease in Liberia
  
• Humanitarian crisis in Democratic Republic of the Congo
  
• Typhoid fever in Zimbabwe
  
• Cholera in Zimbabwe
  
• Cholera in Zambia
  
• Suspected Rift Valley fever in South Sudan

For each of these events, a brief description followed by public health measures implemented and an interpretation of the situation is provided.

A table is provided at the end of the bulletin with information on all new and ongoing public health events currently being monitored in the region, as well as events that have recently been closed. Since the beginning of the year, eight events have been closed including outbreaks of foodborne illness in Benin, influenza A H1N1 in Ghana, malaria in Kenya, CrimeanCongo haemorrhagic fever in Mauritania, meningitis and hepatitis E in Niger, dengue fever in Senegal, and anthrax in Zambia.

Major challenges include:

• The humanitarian situation in Democratic Republic of the Congo has continued to deteriorate, and the current level of assistance from national and international partners is insufficient to mount an adequate response. The recent upsurge in cholera cases in Kinshasa, with potential spread to other areas, is an additional concern, and response to this outbreak by national and international partners, including WHO, is ongoing.
  
• The outbreak of meningococcal disease in Liberia near the borders of Guinea and Sierra Leone is of concern due to the evidence of spread within Liberia and potential for cross-border spread. Continued scale up of response activities in Liberia and preparedness in the other two countries, combined with regular information sharing, is needed to prevent new cases and control the outbreak.

Overview

• This Weekly Bulletin focuses on selected acute public health emergencies occurring in the WHO African Region. The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is currently monitoring 55 events in the region. This week’s edition covers key new and ongoing events, including:

  • Humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia

  • Lassa fever in Benin

  • Lassa fever in Nigeria

  • Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever in Uganda

  • Rift Valley fever in South Sudan

• For each of these events, a brief description followed by public health measures implemented and an interpretation of the situation is provided.

• A table is provided at the end of the bulletin with information on all new and ongoing public health events currently being monitored in the region, as well as events that have recently been closed. Since the beginning of the year, nine events have been closed including outbreaks of foodborne illness in Benin, influenza A H1N1 in Ghana, malaria in Kenya, CrimeanCongo haemorrhagic fever in Mauritania, meningitis and hepatitis E in Niger, dengue fever in Senegal, cholera in Uganda, and anthrax in Zambia.

Major challenges include:

• The complex and protracted humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia does not yet show signs of improvement, and current levels of health and other assistance are inadequate to meet the needs of affected populations.
  National and international humanitarian actors should urgently scale up response efforts in order to avert a worsening of the crisis in 2018.

• The Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria is of significant concern given its national scale and risk of regional spread. Response activities already underway in Nigeria will need to be enhanced to ensure rapid detection and response to new cases. Greater coordination between Nigeria and Benin could also benefit the responses to the concurrent Lassa fever outbreaks in these two countries.

Preface

The world has seen significant progress in the fight against hunger, undernutrition and extreme poverty, although a lot still remains to be done. At the same time, the emergence and rapid spread of the fall armyworm (FAW; Spodoptera frugiperda) in Africa seriously threatens the food and income security of millions of smallholder farmers. Given what we know about the pest’s behavior in the Americas and from the early experiences in Africa, shared commitments to reduce poverty and hunger – as expressed by the Sustainable Development Goals, the African Union’s Malabo Declaration and G7 – may be difficult to achieve without concerted and intensive actions at all levels. Within a short span of its introduction in Africa, FAW has been confirmed in over 30 African countries and it is likely to become endemic in many. Its major preference for maize, a staple food for over 300 million African smallholder farm families, poses a threat to food security, nutrition and livelihoods.

Given the enormity of the challenge, an effective response requires coordinated action from the broadest possible community – African governments, international and national research institutions, donors, the private sector and civil society. An important foundation for this action must be an understanding of FAW behavior and the management practices that can help smallholder farmers effectively control the pest without damaging human and animal health and the environment. To this end, we convened experts from Africa and around the world in Entebbe, Uganda (Sept 16-17, 2017) to review and identify management options for control of FAW in Africa within an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) framework.

This publication, titled Fall Armyworm in Africa: A Guide to Integrated Pest Management, is the result of contributions of dozens of institutions and individuals, to whom we express our deep appreciation. This learning community consisted of experts and practitioners from international and national research and development institutions with extensive experience in pest biology; pest scouting, monitoring and surveillance; biological control; host plant resistance; pesticide risk management; agronomic and landscape management; and IPM strategies. To address the rapid spread of FAW in Africa, we have worked intensively to quickly review and highlight scientifically proven management practices that could be relevant for African farmers, especially smallholders. We intend to revise and release subsequent editions of this FAW IPM Guide, updating the scientific knowledge, management practices, protocols and research findings, as more evidence with regard to efficacy of various FAW management options in Africa emerges.

Our approach to the development of this publication is guided by the Rome Principles developed by leaders at the 2009 World Summit on Food Security to guide urgent action to eradicate hunger. In particular, we seek to work in partnership to:

• Ensure that scientific evidence and knowledge guides recommendations on FAW management practices and policies.

• Foster strategic coordination to align the knowledge, experience and resources of diverse partners, avoid duplication of effort and identify implementation gaps.

• Support country-level engagement and ownership of approaches to ensure assistance is tailored to the needs of individual countries and built on consultation with all key stakeholders.

• Commit to building capacity, focusing on integrated actions addressing policies, institutions and people, with a special emphasis on smallholders and women farmers.

Scope of this FAW IPM Guide

This FAW IPM Guide is designed for use by professionals in plant protection organizations, extension agencies, research institutions, and Governments, whose primary focus is smallholder farmers and the seed systems that support them. The FAW IPM Guide is meant to provide an important foundation for the emergence of harmonized FAW pest management protocols that will continue to be informed by research. The guide is also expected to serve as the basis for a series of cascading technical knowledge dissemination materials and social and behavioral change communications that will specifically target the needs of the smallholder farmers in Africa.

The demand for this FAW IPM Guide is high. Therefore, this first edition is meant to provide practitioners with the IPM foundation to successfully manage FAW in Africa. This includes chapters on FAW Pest Biology and Integrated Pest Management, Host Plant Resistance, Biocontrol, and Agroecological Landscape Management. Importantly, the guide provides protocols for Monitoring and Scouting for FAW in maize fields to assess the level of damage due to the pest and to suggest when interventions are warranted. Because the primary technical intervention, at least in the immediate term, is likely to be treatment with synthetic pesticides, a chapter is included on Pesticide Hazard and Risk Assessment and Compatibility with IPM.

We recognize that some important topics are still in development and may be provided by other avenues in the short term. For example, we do not make specific pesticide recommendations, per se. The use of a particular pesticide is regulated at the country level and therefore varies by jurisdiction. Country recommendations and label directions must be followed when using pesticides. We do, however, provide generic information on what types of chemical pesticides should be avoided, what could be environmentally safer, and how best to assess pesticide hazards and risks. Further, we have not included information on pesticide application since, in many jurisdictions, pesticide applicator training may be a government-regulated activity. Still, our goal for the second edition of the FAW IPM Guide will be to provide a basic outline of that information. In the interim, we have provided guidance from CropLife International, which may prove useful.

Readers of the FAW IPM Guide are encouraged to identify and combine appropriate options from each of the chapters, applying or adapting them as necessary in their local context, in order to develop effective, locally appropriate IPM strategies against FAW. While some chapters in the FAW IPM Guide (e.g., Chapter 2 on FAW Monitoring and Scouting) contain immediately actionable guidance, others (e.g., Chapter 4 on Host Plant Resistance; Chapter 5 on Biological Control and Biorational Pesticides) are aimed primarily for the research community, providing relevant tools and protocols to identify and develop appropriate technologies.

This FAW IPM Guide is intended as a living document, to be updated regularly. While the information compiled in the first edition provides an initial basis for practical decision-making and strategic planning, future editions will reflect the rapidly evolving African experience with FAW, and provide opportunities to expand and refine local IPM approaches in light of new knowledge and tools.

Overview

• This Weekly Bulletin focuses on selected acute public health emergencies occurring in the WHO African Region. The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is currently monitoring 54 events in the region. This week’s edition covers key new and ongoing events, including:

• Declaration of the end of cholera outbreak in South Sudan

• Humanitarian crisis in Central African Republic

• Cholera in Democratic Republic of the Congo

• Hepatitis E in Namibia

• Cholera in Angola

• Listeriosis in South Africa

• For each of these events, a brief description followed by public health measures implemented and an interpretation of the situation is provided.

• A table is provided at the end of the bulletin with information on all new and ongoing public health events currently being monitored in the region, as well as events that have recently been closed. Since the beginning of the year, ten events have been controlled and closed including outbreaks of foodborne illness in Benin, influenza A H1N1 in Ghana, malaria in Kenya, Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever in Mauritania, meningitis and hepatitis E in Niger, dengue fever in Senegal, cholera in South Sudan, cholera in Uganda, and anthrax in Zambia.

  Major challenges include:

• The humanitarian crisis in Central African Republic has deteriorated in recent weeks, with increased episodes of violence since late December 2017. Although WHO and other partners are engaged in the response, the security situation has resulted in the temporary withdrawal of some actors who were previously providing services to affected populations.
  National and international actors need to scale up actions to stabilize the situation urgently to allow needed humanitarian aid to continue to be provided.

• The listeriosis outbreak in South Africa is of concern because of its national scale and lack of identification of the source of the outbreak.
  Case investigation activities and testing of food and environmental samples need to be accelerated to facilitate the identification of the source of contamination and implementation of response measures to bring the outbreak to an end.
  He

Overview

This Weekly Bulletin focuses on selected acute public health emergencies occurring in the WHO African Region. The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is currently monitoring 51 events in the region. This week’s edition covers key ongoing events, including:

• Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
  
• Lassa fever in Nigeria
  
• Cholera in Tanzania
  
• Cholera in Malawi
  
• Cholera in Zambia
  
• Humanitarian crisis in Nigeria
  
• Humanitarian crisis in South Sudan

For each of these events, a brief description followed by public health measures implemented and an interpretation of the situation is provided.

A table is provided at the end of the bulletin with information on all new and ongoing public health events currently being monitored in the region, as well as events that have recently been closed.

Major challenges include:

• The circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is concerning and it is indicative of low population immunity against poliovirus. Potentially, the magnitude is much larger and more cases could be reported. This event calls for concerted efforts by the national authorities and global partners to halt and avert potential spread of the virus within the country and to neighbouring countries.

• The current flare-up of the Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria has been unprecedented. Seventeen states have been affected, including those that were traditionally non-endemic. Effective response to this outbreak requires large-scale operations.

Overview

This Weekly Bulletin focuses on selected acute public health emergencies occurring in the WHO African Region. The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is currently monitoring 52 events in the region. This week’s edition covers key new and ongoing events, including:

• Cholera in Uganda
• Cholera in Zimbabwe
• Lassa fever in Nigeria
• Lassa fever in Benin
• Listeriosis in South Africa
• Humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Humanitarian crisis in Niger

For each of these events, a brief description followed by public health measures implemented and an interpretation of the situation is provided.

A table is provided at the end of the bulletin with information on all new and ongoing public health events currently being monitored in the region, as well as events that have recently been closed.

Major challenges include:

• A fast evolving cholera outbreak has occurred in a refugee settlement in Hoima District, located in western part of Uganda. The most affected people are newly arrived refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This outbreak requires swift interventions to interrupt the rapid transmission and reduce fatality.

• The Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria continues, with more cases being reported. Given the scale of the outbreak, the ongoing response operations need to be scaled up quickly.

This activity report summarizes activities of Result Area 5, also known as the Africa Disaster Risk Financing (ADRF) Initiative—referred to as the “ADRF Initiative,” the “Initiative” or “R5”—from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017. The report gives an overview of the achievements to date and identifies upcoming priorities and challenges.

The ADRF Initiative aims to support African countries in developing national risk financing tools and strategies that have the potential to significantly reduce disaster losses, speed recovery, and build resilience to natural hazards. So far, the ADRF Initiative has yielded results in supporting governments by strengthening their capacity to design and implement risk financing policies, instruments, and strategies at regional, national and local levels.

The application is vital for early detection of Fall Armyworm and guiding best response

14 March 2018, Rome - FAO has launched a mobile application to enable farmers, agricultural workers and other partners at the frontline of the fight against Fall Armyworm in Africa to identify, report the level of infestation, and map the spread of this destructive insect, as well as to describe its natural enemies and the measures that are most effective in managing it.

The Fall Armyworm Monitoring and Early Warning System (FAMEWS) mobile app provides valuable insights on how the insect changes over time and space to improve knowledge of its behaviour in Africa - in a new context - and guide best response.

Fall Armyworm has already infected millions of hectares of maize in Africa - a staple crop across the continent - threatening the food security of more than 300 million people, mainly small-holder farmers who are already struggling to make ends meet and have enough food for their families. By early 2018, only 10 (mostly in the north of the continent) out of the 54 African states and territories have not reported infestations by the fast-spreading, crop-munching pest

“The app will help us build our collective knowledge of Fall Armyworm in Africa, and connect all the dots – from how and where it spreads to what makes it weaker and less damaging,” said Keith Cressman, FAO Senior Agricultural Officer who led the development of the app together with the UN agency’s partners.

“The app is useful on two fronts: for farmers and agricultural workers in the direct management of their crops to prevent further infestations and reduce damage; and for all actors involved in managing Fall Armyworm in Africa, by providing vital analysis on risks, spread and management,” said Cressman.

Helping farmers take appropriate action

Once farmers and workers check their crops for infestations and upload the required data, the app calculates infestation levels so that farmers can take immediate actions to manage the situation.

The data is validated by national Fall Armyworm focal points and transferred to a global web-based platform. It is then analyzed to give a real-time situation overview with maps of Fall Armyworm infestations and the measures that were most effective in reducing its impact.

Initially implemented in Madagascar and Zambia, the app is now being rolled out across all countries in Sub-Saharan Africa affected by the invasive pest through the FAO-supported Farmer Field Schools (FFSs) as well as other community-based forums leading the fight against Fall Armyworm.

Updates to the app in the coming months will provide additional functionality such as an offline advisory system that provides immediate guidance to the user, based on the collected data, and a diagnostic tool that uses the camera of the mobile phone to determine Fall Armyworm damage levels to maize.

The app is an integral part of FAO’s sustainable management programme for Fall Armyworm in Africa. It supports all stages of Fall Armyworm management from early warning and monitoring to response and risk assessment.

Contact
Adel Sarkozi
FAO Media Relations (Rome)
(+39) 06 570 52537
adelka.sarkozi@fao.org

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/96 of 20 June 1996 concerning humanitarian aid1 , and in particular Article 2, Article 4 and Article 15(2) and (3) thereof,

Having regard to Council Decision 2013/755/EU of 25 November 2013 on the association of the overseas countries and territories with the European Union ('Overseas Association Decision')2 , and in particular Article 79 thereof,

Having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union3 , and in particular Article 84(2) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Commission Decision C(2017) 88634 provides for the financing of humanitarian aid operational priorities from the 2018 general budget of the European Union for a total amount of EUR 842 200 000 from budget articles 23 02 01 and 23 02 02.

(2) The Commission is committed to providing a humanitarian response in those areas where humanitarian needs are greatest. Accordingly, when required by changing circumstances in the field which might affect existing humanitarian needs or generate new needs, the humanitarian response may be subject to reorientation or scaling-up in the course of implementation of actions. Union financial assistance may also have to be awarded to new actions to satisfy exacerbated or increased humanitarian needs.

(3) The global humanitarian context has been characterised by an increase in humanitarian needs in locations such as Burkina Faso and Mauritania, the two countries are facing a new food and nutrition crisis in 2018, linked to an early agro-pastoral lean season and affecting particularly the Southern regions, Haiti experiencing a severe food crisis,
Libya where further increase of violence over the past months caused new forced displacement, Ukraine where fighting continues around the hotspots along the contact line, Yemen where the increasing scale of the needs, their wide geographical spread, the progressive collapse of basic services and institutions and the extreme access restrictions are exerting an enormous pressure on the already over-stretched and underfunded humanitarian community, Bangladesh where there is a need to scale up the urgent preparedness actions, Somalia where humanitarian needs remain significant due to the continued severe drought and armed conflict. Furthermore, following the two strong earthquakes which struck Mexico on 7 and 19 September 2017 needs in livelihood rehabilitation and community infrastructures, notably schools, remain outstanding.

(4) Pursuant to the contribution agreement concluded with the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom Government, as amended in accordance with Decision C(2017) 82925 , the latter provides a total contribution of approximately EUR 228 771 620 to the European Union over the years 2014 to 2019 in support of humanitarian aid actions in the Sahel, from which an amount of EUR 36 000 000 is to be used in 2018.

(5) With the establishment of a Facility for Refugees in Turkey6 , the assistance aiming, inter alia, at addressing the humanitarian needs of refugees present in Turkey should be coordinated with the Member States which contributed EUR 634 038 000 to the Union's budget as external assigned revenue in 2017. Insofar as the financing coordinated through the Facility for Refugees in Turkey concerns humanitarian assistance, it is to be implemented in line with Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/96 and according to the principles laid down in the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid7 .

(6) According to the latest figures, over the last 6 years more than 3.5 million Syrians have been registered by the authorities in Turkey and granted Temporary Protection (TP). In addition, there are over 350 000 people registered under international, subsidiary protection or asylum seekers status. This makes Turkey the country hosting the highest number of refugees in the world. An initial allocation of EUR 23 000 000 from budget article 23 02 01 is therefore to be assigned to address the related humanitarian needs.

(7) Budgetary allocations within the specific objectives should be revised in light of the evolving circumstances and the related humanitarian needs, without prejudice to the flexibility for non-substantial changes to be adopted by the authorising officer by delegation.

(8) Non-substantial changes under this Decision are to be calculated by reference to the maximum contribution, excluding the contributions received from other donors pursuant to Article 21(2)(b) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.

(9) To date, the Commission's authorising officer by delegation adopted non-substantial changes consisting of the reallocation of resources between specific objectives and made increases to this Decision for an amount equivalent to EUR 161 600 000.

(10) This Decision complies with the conditions laid down in Article 94 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/20128 .

(11) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Humanitarian A

The **FAWRisk-Map** incorporates diverse socio-economic and agro-ecological data so that responders can visualise where the underlying risk of household **food insecurity**due to Fall Armyworm is highest. The tool consists of a number of layers allowing users to disaggregate risk into its constituent parts. By highlighting potential "hotspots", the tool is intended to assist decision-makers in prioritising and preparing for early action in targeted areas.

The tool developed by FAO is part of innovative projects awarded funding by the Government of **Belgium**.

WaPOR: database dissemination portal and APIs

The FAO portal to monitor Water Productivity through Open access of Remotely sensed derived data (WaPOR) monitors and reports on agriculture water productivity over Africa and the Near East.

It provides open access to the water productivity database and its thousands of underlying map layers, it allows for direct data queries, time series analyses, area statistics and data download of key variables associated to water and land productivity assessments.

The portal’s services are directly accessible through dedicated FAO WaPOR APIs, which will eventually be also available through the FAO API store

Water productivity assessments and other computation–intensive calculations are powered by Google Earth Engine.

A new version of the FAO portal to monitor Water Productivity through Open access of Remotely sensed derived data (WaPOR) is available as of June 2018.

Version 1 comes roughly one year after the launch of the Beta version of the portal, a period that allowed for a thorough revision of both the database and the portal. A methodology review workshop in January 2018 provided the opportunity to collectively prioritize improvements towards this and following versions of WaPOR. Taking into account the findings of the validation assessments carried out by different research institutions (IHE-DELFT, University of Twente) and feedback received from users, the team has defined the priorities for WaPOR 1.0, which resulted in the following improvements:

On the portal:

•Location search through coordinates or name of places;

•Personal area (MyWaPOR) for saving user preferences and accessing enhanced functionalities (work currently on-going);

•Improved interface usability and visual consistency;

•Low band width – friendly technology;

•Easier access to information and guidance documents.

On the data:

•Actual evapotranspiration now takes interception explicitly into account resulting in higher values in tropical areas compared to beta version;

•Evaporation, Transpiration and Interception are now calculated and made available separately;

•Improved algorithm for open water evaporation;

•Soil moisture calculations improved with regard to temperature (now using wet bulb temperature) and solar radiation (now using instantaneous transmissivity instead of daily average). This changes specifically lead to improved evapotranspiration values in arid areas.

•Reference evapotranspiration now takes into account wind speed at 2 m height.

The Beta version will not be updated and will be discontinued.

Ce rapport d’activité fait la synthèse des activités du Résultat 5, connu également sous le nom de l’initiative de financement des risques de catastrophes en Afrique, appelée « ADRF » (Africa Disaster Risk Financing) ou « l’Initiative ADRF », entre le 1er juillet 2016 et le 30 juin 2017. Ce rapport donne un aperçu des activités accomplies jusqu’à cette date, tout en relevant les priorités et les enjeux à venir.

L’Initiative ADRF a été officiellement lancée le 17 novembre 2015 lors de la conférence Comprendre les risques et la finance (URF).1 Elle vise à fournir aux pays africains des mécanismes novateurs de financement des risques, susceptibles de réduire considérablement les pertes subies en cas de catastrophe, d’accélérer le relèvement et de renforcer la résilience face aux aléas naturels. L’Initiative ADRF a déjà produit des résultats concrets en aidant des États dans leurs efforts de renforcement des capacités nécessaires pour concevoir et adopter des stratégies de financement multirisques aux niveaux régional, national et local.

Contents

605 Progress towards malaria elimination: report of the second global forum of malaria-eliminating countries – June 2018

Sommaire

605 Progrès vers l’élimination du paludisme: rapport du deuxième forum mondial des pays éliminant le paludisme – juin 2018

Spotlight on Progress

Although African countries face challenges in effectively responding to all forms of modern slavery, many countries in the region are taking steps to strengthen their responses. Improvements in the legislative framework have occurred across the region with some notable examples. Côte d’Ivoire,Morocco, and Tunisia enacted comprehensive trafficking legislation in 2016 – a new development since the 2016 Global Slavery Index. As a result, in 2017, nearly 70 percent of African countries had criminalised human trafficking, an increase from the nearly 60 percent reported in the previous Global Slavery Index in 2016.

Kenya has demonstrated increasing efforts to eliminate modern slavery. In 2016, the government assigned labour attachés to Kenyan missions in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Saudi Arabia to protect vulnerable citizens employed in those countries. This is in response to the exploitation of large numbers of Kenyans migrating to the Middle East every year. These individuals are generally lured by promises of work, in the hope of sending remittances back to their families in Kenya. Instead they are exploited and abused by their employers. Overall, Kenya improved its government responses rating since the 2016 Global Slavery Index (from a CC rating to a CCC rating).

When compared with countries that have stronger economies, Sierra Leone also stands out as taking relatively robust action. Most notably, Sierra Leone’s coordination body, the Inter-Agency Human Trafficking Task Force, resumed activities in 2015 and approved the 2015-2020 National Action Plan. There is also evidence that an informal National Referral Mechanism has been implemented in Sierra Leone and is being used by the government and NGOs to refer victims of modern slavery.Elsewhere in the region, some governments are to be commended for collaborative efforts to end modern slavery. The Nigerian government is collaborating with the UK’s National Crime Agency, Border Force, and the Crown Prosecution Service to build its capacity to respond to human trafficking, including joint operations at Gatwick and Heathrow airports on profiling and identifying victims of trafficking and suspected traffickers. The governments of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana have taken steps to work with business and civil society to end the worst forms of child labour in the production of cocoa under the Harkin-Engel Protocol and the associated International Cocoa Initiative.Although the effectiveness of the protocol in reducing the number of children in hazardous child labour has been questioned, it is an important example of cross-sectoral collaboration – a critical factor in eliminating modern slavery from the economy.

This publication highlights a set of 24 UNFPA good practices on South-South cooperation (SSC) in the areas of sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, gender equality, youth empowerment, and population data for development. It includes SSC case studies on family planning, maternal and child health, midwifery, obstetric fistula, HIV and AIDS, SRH in humanitarian setting, population data and population ageing. It demonstrates the successes and commitment of UNFPA and its partners in promoting South-South partnerships for the achievement of the SDGs. It is also intended to serve as a knowledge base for potential SSC partners that are looking for suitable SSC solutions.

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/96 of 20 June 1996 concerning humanitarian aid1 , and in particular Article 2, Article 4 and Article 15(2) and (3) thereof,

Having regard to Council Decision 2013/755/EU of 25 November 2013 on the association of the overseas countries and territories with the European Union ('Overseas Association Decision')2 , and in particular Article 79 thereof,

Having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU)
No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/20123 , and in particular Article 110 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Commission Decision C(2017) 88634 provides for the financing of humanitarian aid operational priorities from the 2018 general budget of the European Union for a total amount of EUR 842 200 000 from budget articles 23 02 01 and 23 02 02. In light of the evolution of the humanitarian needs during the year, this amount was raised to EUR 1 037 600 000 by Decision C(2018) 35745 of 07 June 2018 and subsequently to EUR 1 212 600 000 by Decision C(2018) 65326 of 9 October 2018 amending decision C(2017) 8863.

(2) The Commission is committed to providing a humanitarian response in those areas where humanitarian needs are greatest. Accordingly, when required by changing circumstances in the field which might affect existing humanitarian needs or generate new needs, the humanitarian response may be subject to reorientation or scaling-up in the course of implementation of actions. Union financial assistance may also have to be awarded to new actions to satisfy exacerbated or increased humanitarian needs.

(3) The global humanitarian context has been characterised by an increase in humanitarian needs in locations such as Central African Republic facing an internal conflict, Chad where the food security situation has drastically deteriorated, Cameroon facing an increasing influx of refugees, Niger facing a cholera outbreak, the Sahel (Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Nigeria) with increased needs of vulnerable populations affected by accute food or nutrition insecurity or conflict, Burundi with a regional refugee crisis, Madagascar and Haiti with a deteriorating food and nutrition security situation, Columbia facing a resurgence of violence, Palestine where the deterioration of the humanitarian situation has a high impact on the health and food security sectors, Yemen where the crisis is deteriorating, in Ukraine where the situation remains critical. In Myanmar where the Rohingya are in very serious food insecuriy situation and the humanitarian needs in most of the sectors remain uncovered. In addition the country is facing a conflict-related internal displacement crisis because of the escalation of the confilct in Kachin and Chan. In the Philippines where the humanitarian needs are mainly caused by displacement and lack of services, and destroyed or looted assets in areas of return.

(4) Non-substantial changes under this Decision are to be calculated by reference to the maximum contribution, excluding the contributions received from other donors pursuant to Article 21(2)(a)(ii) and Article 21(2)(e) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2018/1046.

(5) It is therefore appropriate to amend Decision C(2017) 8863, as amended, to reflect the increase by EUR 176 174 635.17 already made on the basis of the fexibility clause in order to adapt the humanitarian response to the evolving humanitarian aid operational priorities and to distribute this additional funding to the specific objectives fixed in this Decision.

(6) This Decision complies with the conditions laid down in Article 110 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2018/1046.

(7) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Humanitarian Aid Committee established by Article 17(1) of Council Regulation (EC)
No 1257/96,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Sole Article

Decision C(2017) 8863 is amended as follows:

(1) Article 1 is amended as follows:

(a) Paragraphs (1) and (2) are replaced by the following: '1. A maximum contribution from the Union budget to the financing of humanitarian aid operational priorities is set at EUR 1 388 774 635.17, of which EUR 1 338 774 635.17 shall be financed from budget article 23 02 01 and EUR 50 000 000 shall be financed from budget article 23 02 02, of the 2018 general budget of the European Union, is approved.

The amount from budget article 23 02 01 referred to above includes a contribution amounting to EUR 36 174 635.17, received by the Union from the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom Government, to be used in support humanitarian aid operations in the Sahel.

1. The humanitarian actions shall be implemented in order to:

(a) Provide humanitarian and food assistance, relief and protection to vulnerable people affected by man-made crises, possibly aggravated by natural disasters, including new crises and existing crises where the scale and complexity of the humanitarian crisis is such that it seems likely to continue.
A total of EUR 1 185 300 000 from budget article 23 02 01 is allocated to this specific objective.

(b) Provide humanitarian and food assistance, relief and protection to vulnerable people affected by natural disasters that have entailed major loss of life, physical and psychological or social suffering or material damage.
A total of EUR 111 474 635.17 from budget article 23 02 01 is allocated to this specific objective.

(c) Provide humanitarian assistance for response and disaster preparedness to populations affected by disasters where a small scale response is adequate and to populations affected by epidemic outbreaks.
A total of EUR 21 000 000 from budget article 23 02 01 is allocated to this specific objective.

(d) Support strategies and complement existing strategies that enable local communities and institutions to better prepare for, mitigate and respond adequately to natural disasters by enhancing their capacities to cope and respond, thereby increasing resilience and reducing vulnerability.
A total of EUR 50 000 000 from budget article 23 02 02 is allocated to this specific objective.

(e) Improve the delivery of aid through complementary and thematic activities aiming at increasing the effectiveness, efficiency, quality, timeliness and visibility of humanitarian actions and transport.
A total of EUR 21 000 000 from budget article 23 02 01 is allocated to this specific objective.
This specific objective shall be met through achieving the following subspecific objectives:

(i) Strengthen the global humanitarian preparedness and response capacity of humanitarian partners by increasing the effectiveness and reinforcing the capacity of international humanitarian organisations and non-governmental organisations to assess, analyse, prepare and respond to humanitarian crises.
A total of EUR 3 500 000 from budget article 23 02 01 is allocated to this subspecific objective.

(ii) Improve the conditions for delivering humanitarian aid by supporting transport services to ensure that aid is accessible to beneficiaries, including by means of medical evacuation of humanitarian staff where the unavailability of such transport services could adversely affect the timely and effective provision of assistance to beneficiaries. A total of EUR 14 800 000 from budget article 23 02 01 is allocated to this sub-specific objective.

(iii) Increase awareness, understanding of and support for humanitarian issues, especially in the Union and in third countries where the Union is funding major humanitarian operations through public awareness and information campaigns. Communication actions in 2018 will also contribute, where appropriate, to the corporate communication of the Commission, in particular regarding the EU's role in the world (A stronger global actor) as well as to the corporate communication cluster "An EU that protects".

A total of EUR 2 000 000 from budget article 23 02 01 is allocated to this subspecific objective.

(iv) Provide high quality European education and professional qualifications on humanitarian action that impact on humanitarian aid policy and practice.

A total of EUR 700 000 from budget article 23 02 01 is allocated to this subspecific objective.
Annex 1 to this Decision reflects the above-mentioned allocations by specific objectives.
Annex 2 to this Decision gives an indication of the contemplated allocation by countries/regions.'

(2) Annex 1 is replaced by Annex 1 to this Decision.

(3) Annex 2 is replaced by Annex 2 to this Decision.

Done at Brussels, 13.12.2018

Submitted by Hugo Wesley
co-authors: Lorenzo Piccio

Sub-Saharan Africa knows more than its fair share of disasters induced by natural hazards. The past few months alone have seen drought in the Horn of Africa, floods in Mali and Rwanda, and landslides in Ethiopia and Uganda. Between 2005 and 2015, the region experienced an average of 157 disasters per year, claiming the lives of roughly 10,000 people annually.

Disasters can have a debilitating impact on countries’ growth and development prospects. Losses from disasters are only expected to rise as the impacts of climate change intensify across the region. Given these challenges, governments have often been reliant on external aid and budget reallocation to pay for disaster recovery. However, this financing strategy comes at a cost. Uncertainty and delays in aid flows tend to complicate planning for relief and recovery efforts, and budget reallocations can divert funding from vital development programs.

Launched in 2015, the Africa Disaster Risk Financing (ADRF) Initiative works with 19 African countries to develop and implement tailored financial protection policies and instruments which can help them respond quickly and resiliently to disasters. The ADRF Initiative is the first program in Africa to focus on the broad disaster risk finance (DRF) agenda. It is financed by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), as part of the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) – EU Program, Building Disaster Resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa.

At the most basic level, DRF aims to strengthen countries’ ability to manage economic and fiscal stresses when disasters strike. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to disaster risk financing—countries have a wide array of financial protection policies and instruments to consider, including sovereign risk finance, social protection programs, as well as agriculture and risk insurance programs. Since its inception, the ADRF Initiative has focused on three areas to pioneer DRF in Africa:

Gathering and developing disaster risk information

The ADRF Initiative is developing multi-hazard disaster risk information for nine countries in Africa: Cape Verde, Ethiopia, Kenya, Niger, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Senegal, and Uganda. This information is used to inform dialogue on DRF with national governments, thus shaping the broader disaster risk management agendas in these countries. For instance, data collected in the development of a risk profile for Mozambique has informed the dialogue on school safety, detailing the financial impact of disasters on schools, and laying the case for the need to invest in making schools more resilient to disaster.

Developing DRF strategies to achieve national financial protection priorities

The ADRF Initiative is supporting national governments of 19 African countries to develop financial protection policies, instruments and strategies, which are tailored to the local context. It is engaged with Ministries of Finance to conceive and design country-driven contingent financing options and strategies in several countries, including Cape Verde, Malawi, Mozambique, Madagascar, Lesotho and Benin.

With ADRF assistance, the World Bank approved a catastrophe credit for Kenya in June 2018, providing a $200 million contingent line of credit to the country. While preparing to develop this credit, the government of Kenya approved a National Disaster Risk Financing Strategy—the first to be implemented in Africa. Kenya also improved its policy framework for managing natural hazard risks in urban, land, and water management.

The ADRF Initiative is also supporting countries establish shock responsive safety nets that rapidly deliver emergency assistance to vulnerable households in the event of a disaster (as in Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, Niger, Sierra Leone), as well as agriculture insurance programs, which unlock critical assess to credit for low-income farmers (as done in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda).

Sharing knowledge and lessons learned

The ADRF Initiative has already organized nearly 60 knowledge exchanges and trainings, designed to gather and disseminate lessons learned and build the capacity of governments. In May 2018, an event was organized on the margins of the Understanding Risk Forum in Mexico City. Attracting more than 60 participants, including 40 Sub-Saharan African government delegates, the event was the largest assembly of African DRF practitioners to date, demonstrating the impact of the initiative in building DRF capacity among governments in Sub-Saharan Africa.

While the ADRF Initiative has made huge leaps in pioneering DRF across the region, it does take time for policy and institutional changes to take effect and build the strong relationships with governments, which are needed to get DRF off the ground. Yet, against the backdrop of intensifying climate and disaster risk, this has also been clear from experience on the ground— enthusiasm for DRF and its potential to help countries respond more quickly and resiliently to disasters isn’t in short supply. This is cause for optimism that a resilient future for the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa is on the horizon.

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU)
No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/20121 , and in particular Article 110 thereof,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/96 of 20 June 1996 concerning humanitarian aid2 ('the Humanitarian Aid Regulation' or 'HAR'), and in particular Article 1,

Article 2, Article 4 and Article 15(2) and (3) thereof,

Having regard to Council Decision 2013/755/EU of 25 November 2013 on the association of the overseas countries and territories with the European Union ('the Overseas Association Decision')3 , and in particular Article 79 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) In order to ensure the implementation of the humanitarian aid actions of the Union for 2019, it is necessary to adopt an annual financing decision for 2019. Article 110 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 (‘the Financial Regulation’) establishes detailed rules on financing decisions.

(2) The human and economic losses caused by natural disasters are devastating. These natural disasters, be they sudden or slow onset, that entail major loss of life, physical and psychological or social suffering or material damage, are constantly increasing, and with them so is the number of victims. Man-made humanitarian crises, resulting from wars or outbreaks of fighting (also called complex or protracted crises) account for a large proportion of, and are, the main source of humanitarian needs in the world.
There is also a need for international support for preparedness activities. Disaster preparedness aims at reducing the impact of disasters and crises on populations, allowing early warning and early action to better assist those affected.

(3) The humanitarian aid funded under this Decision should also cover essential activities and support services to humanitarian organisations as referred to in Articles 2(c) and 4 HAR, including notably the protection of humanitarian goods and personnel.

(4) The Union became party to the Food Assistance Convention on 28 November 2012; the Convention entered into force on 1 January 2013. In accordance with Article 5 of the Convention, an amount of EUR 350 000 000, to be spent as food and nutrition assistance funded under this Decision, is to be counted towards the minimum annual commitment for the year 2019 of the Union under the Food Assistance Convention.

(5) Although as a general rule grants funded by this Decision should be co-financed, by way of derogation, the Authorising Officer in accordance with Article 190(3) of the Financial Regulation, may agree to their full financing.

(6) The envisaged assistance is to comply with the conditions and procedures set out by the restrictive measures adopted pursuant to Article 215 TFEU. The needs-based and impartial nature of humanitarian aid implies that the Union may be called to finance humanitarian assistance in crises and countries covered by Union restrictive measures.
In such situations, and in keeping with the relevant principles of international law and with the principles of impartiality, neutrality and non-discrimination referred to in Article 214(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the Union should allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded access to humanitarian relief by civilians in need. The relevant Union restrictive measures should therefore be interpreted and implemented in such a manner as not to preclude the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the intended beneficiaries.

(7) The Commission may acknowledge and accept contributions from other donors in accordance with Article 21(2)(b) of the Financial Regulation, subject to the signing of the relevant agreement. Where such contributions are not denominated in euro, a reasonable estimate of conversion should be made.

(8) It is advisable to maintain a part of the Union budget for humanitarian aid unallocated in order to cover unforeseen operations, as part of an operational reserve.

(9) In cases where Union funding is granted to non-governmental organisations in accordance with Article 7 HAR, in order to guarantee that the beneficiaries of that funding are able to meet their commitments in the long term, the Authorising Officer responsible should verify if the non-governmental organisations concerned satisfy the requisite eligibility and selection criteria, notably as regards their legal, operational and financial capacity. The verification to be made should also seek to confirm whether the non-governmental organisations concerned are able to provide humanitarian aid in accordance with the humanitarian principles set out in the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid4 .

(10) In cases where the Union finances humanitarian aid operations of Member States' specialised agencies in accordance with Article 9 HAR, in order to guarantee that the beneficiaries of Union grants are capable of fulfilling their commitments in the long run, the Authorising Officer responsible should verify the legal, operational and, where the entities or bodies concerned are governed by private law, financial capacity of any Member States' specialised agencies desiring to receive financial support under this Decision. The verification to be made should notably seek to confirm whether the Member States' specialised agencies concerned are able to provide humanitarian assistance or equivalent international relief outside the Union in accordance with the humanitarian principles set out in the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid.

(11) Pursuant to Article 195(a) Financial Regulation, it is appropriate to authorise the award of grants without a call for proposals to the non-governmental organisations satisfying the eligibility and suitability criteria referred to in Article 7 HAR for the purpose of humanitarian aid.

(12) In order to ensure an effective delivery in the field of Union-funded humanitarian aid in all relevant crisis contexts while taking into account the specific mandates of international organisations, such as the United Nations and the international component of the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement (International Committee of the Red Cross and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies), it is necessary to use indirect management for the implementation of Union-funded humanitarian aid operations.

(13) The Commission is to ensure a level of protection of the financial interests of the Union with regards to entities and persons entrusted with the implementation of Union funds by indirect management as provided for in Article 154(3) of the Financial Regulation. To this end, such entities and persons are to be subject to an assessment of their systems and procedures in accordance with Article 154(4) of the Financial Regulationand, if necessary, to appropriate supervisory measures in accordance with Article 154(5) of the Financial Regulation before a contribution agreement can be signed.

(14) It is necessary to allow for the payment of interest due for late payment on the basis of Article 116(5) Financial Regulation.

(15) It is appropriate to reserve appropriations for a trust fund in accordance with Article 234 Financial Regulation in order to strengthen the international role of the Union in external actions and development and to increase its visibility and efficiency.

(16) In order to allow for flexibility in the implementation of the financing decision, it is appropriate to define the term 'substantial change' within the meaning of Article 110(5) of the Financial Regulation.

(17) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Humanitarian Aid Committee established by Article 17(1) HAR.

“The Compendium”, is a collection of short reports on selected outbreaks that occurred in the WHO African Region between 2016 and 2018 and which were successfully controlled.

This edition of the Compendium covers 19 outbreaks, which occurred in 15 countries, presented in chronological order. These include yellow fever in Uganda, cholera in South Sudan, Rift Valley fever in Niger, meningitis in Nigeria, listeriosis in South Africa, malaria in Cabo Verde, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in Namibia, cholera in Malawi, Ebola virus disease in Democratic Republic of the Congo (Likati, May 2017), meningococcal septicemia in Liberia, cholera in Nigeria (north-east), pneumonic plague in Madagascar, Marburg fever in Uganda, dengue fever in Senegal, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in Mauritania, influenza A H1N1 in Ghana, Lassa fever in Nigeria, Ebola virus disease in Democratic Republic of the Congo (Equateur; May 2018), and Rift Valley fever in Kenya.

The reports are presented in a way that makes them accessible to a wide audience – epidemiologists, policy makers, strategists and anyone working in the area of health emergency responses.

Introduction

Sub-Saharan Africa experiences over 100 acute public health emergencies each year. Most of the events are outbreaks of infectious diseases. However, the region continuously faces ongoing humanitarian crises and frequent natural disasters. All 47 member states are at risk.
WHO is committed to saving lives and reducing suffering during times of crisis – whether caused by conflict, disease outbreak or a disaster. The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is mandated to undertake WHO’s functions and responsibilities during health emergencies. The vision of this programme is to protect health and save lives during outbreaks and emergencies. Our mission is to help countries and to coordinate international actions, to prevent, prepare for, detect, rapidly respond to, and recover from outbreaks and other emergencies.

The priorities of this programme include:

Supporting the assessment of country health emergency preparedness and development of national plans to address critical capacity gaps Developing strategies and capacities to prevent and control high-threat infectious hazards Monitoring of new and ongoing public health events to assess, communicate and recommend actions for public health risks Ensuring readiness to diminish public health risks in countries with high vulnerability Providing life-saving health services to affected populations in countries with ongoing emergencies.

Specific programme areas that fall under this global programme include:

Country Health Emergency Preparedness and the International Health Regulations (CPI)
Emergency Operations (EMO)
Health Emergency Information and Risk Assessments (HIM)
Infectious Hazards Management (IHM)
Management and Administration (MGA).

In March 2017, the WHO Health Emergencies Programme in the Regional Office for Africa started the Weekly Bulletin on Outbreaks and Other Emergencies, which is a summary of new and ongoing events, put together using reports from country offices. This is sent out to about 2 500 recipients each week and has been extremely well received.

The Compendium of Short Reports on Selected Outbreaks in the African Region, “The Compendium”, complements the Weekly Bulletin and aims to document outbreaks that have ocurred in the WHO African Region, responded to and successfully controlled by the respective Member States, WHO Health Emergencies Programme and other stakeholders. The Compendium illustrates how short reports can contribute to sharing information and approaches to different public health events, emergencies and outbreaks.

Each report has a similar structure, with a summary of the event, which highlights key features, the evolution of the event with a brief epidemiological description, public health actions, any gaps in action and a discussion of the situation.

The reports are presented in a way that makes them accessible to a wide audience – epidemiologists, policy makers, strategists and anyone working in the area of emergency responses.

This activity report summarizes activities of Result Area 5, also known as the Africa Disaster Risk Financing (ADRF) Initiative from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018. The report provides an overview of the achievements to date and identifies upcoming priorities and challenges.

The ADRF Initiative was officially launched on November 17, 2015 in Addis Ababa during the Understanding Risk and Finance (URF) conference.1 It supports African countries in developing national risk financing tools and strategies that have the potential to significantly reduce disaster losses, speed recovery, and build resilience to natural hazards. So far, the ADRF Initiative has achieved positive results in supporting governments by strengthening their capacity to design and implement risk financing policies, instruments, and strategies at regional, national and local levels.