CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
WHO WARNS OF POLIO SPREAD RISK
Two vaccine-derived poliovirus cases have been reported in the south-central Bambari health district. WHO warned on 24 May that there is a high risk of transmission of the virus as both cases were among internally displaced people living in a locality with a population of around 8,000. The two cases had no history of polio vaccination. Vaccination coverage in the affected district is 50 per cent. Insecurity is among the major access obstacles.
DR CONGO
CHOLERA VACCINATION TARGETS OVER 8,000,000
World Health Organization and health authorities on 27 May launched a fourday cholera vaccination of more than 800,000 people in North Kivu province.
Over 10,000 cases and 240 deaths have been reported across the country since January 2019. The country is also battling a measles epidemic that has claimed more than 1,400 lives and infected over 80,000 this year. Separately, one case of vaccine-derived polio was reported in early May the central Kasai province.
NIGER
VIOLENCE DRIVES 20,000 NIGERIANS TO NIGER
Around 20,000 people have fled into Niger from north-western Nigerian since April due to farmer-herder clashes, vigilante attacks and kidnappings in Sokoto and Zamfara states, UNHCR reported. Majority of the displaced are women and children. The UN refugee agency said it was working to provide basic assistance and register the displaced. Niger’s southern Diffa region already hosts around 250,000 displaced people, including Nigerian refugees and Nigeriens displaced from their villages by armed violence.
NIGERIA
ARMY RELOCATES OVER 3,700 TO CAMPS
The army has relocated more than 3,700 people from a village in Damboa locality in the north-eastern Borno state to two camps, citing security reasons. The relocation, which started on 21 May, did not involve humanitarian partners or consider conditions and capacity of the camps where the people were taken to. While the military relocations stopped on 23 May, people continued to arrive on their own to the two camps located some 50 kilometres away. As of 28 May, aid groups have registered 9,693 people. Due to limited space and shelters in the camps, only about 1,427 of the new arrivals have either received shelters. The rest are sleeping in the open, exposed to harsh weather and various risks.
LASSA FEVER EMERGENCY DECLARED OVER
Health authorities on 31 May declared the end of emergency phase of the Lassa fever outbreak that infected 578 people and killed 129 in 21 states since the start of 2019. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said cases had significantly declined in the past seven weeks to levels not considered national emergency. The NCDC expects that sporadic cases may continue to be reported in endemic areas. WHO on its part called for vigilance.