Update Situation Nigeria/Niger Border

1. Update Situation Nigeria/Niger Border Dr Gislaine Ada Ngaska Bureau Régional du HCR pour l’Afrique de l’Ouest et Centrale - Dakar

2. Content • Introduction • Refugees’ figures (age and gender) • Institutional Response • UNHCR’s Responses and Partnerships • Sectoral situations in refugees’ hosting departments, responses, approaches and needs • Priority recommendations to strengthen the health response

3. Introduction • Causes of the refugees’ influx: violence in Nigeria’s North-Western Zamfara, Sokoto and Katsina States, due to increase in structural tensions between farmers and pastoralists; likely to give rise to further displacement in the coming months • Entry points in Niger and locations • Entry points: Bassira, Tankama, Chawagui and Dan Kano villages • Locations: (i) scatteredin some 40 hosting villages and relocation villages along the border, in GuidamRoumji, GuidanSori and Tibiridepartments; (ii) prone to floods and epidemics (Cholera, measles, meningitis, poliomyelitis etc.) and endemic for Malaria • Statistics:35,000 individuals based on the preregistration process (per households) • Registration initiated early September 2019 and 5,342 individuals already registered • No intention to return quickly to Nigeria (majority), as the resolution process of the conflicts could take time • 2,512specific needs identified on 39% of the population (2107 individuals )

4. Distribution of refugees per age and gender

5. Institutional response (Government and partners) • Close collaboration Government - UN System • Functional participative mechanisms established by humanitarian stakeholders, to assist affected populations • Functional humanitarian coordination mechanism established by national authorities at regional and community levels • Rapid Joint assessment in May 2019 (Government and UN agencies); urgent needs identified (health, nutrition, food, WASH, shelter, NFIs and protection, including education; Exploratory Mission Alima/Befen, September2019 • Elaboration and implementation of a three months Multipartners’ Response Plan (emergency response plan), targeting 20,000 refugees and costing 6 100 720 US$; Implementation under UNHCR’s coordination

6. UNHCR’s response and partnerships • Financial resource mobilization: request for a Supplementary Budget to enable the country operation to respond to the needs of the 35,000 Nigerian refugees, as UNHCR had no operational presence in this area • Office establishment: Opening of a Field Office headed by a P3 Staff. The staffing includes a Public Health Associate G6. • Partnerships development/strenghtening: • Most humanitarian actors initiated responses with their own budget • UNHCR’s budgets allocated to some of them, to implement the joint Response Plan and ongoing development of related projects agreements • Numerous UNHCR’s operational partners include UN agencies (traditional partners of the MoH) and international NGOs (Animas Sutura and Maries Stopes International)

7. Sectoral situations in refugees hosting departments, responses, approaches and needs Health • Weak health systems and health services coverage low vaccination coverage (15% for measles and 29% for Polio); 31% of HH do not seek for healthcare; recurrent outbreaks • Local response capacity in hosting villages based on APBE’s workforce (UNHCR’s IP); No or little response capacity in relocation villages • Health assistance provided in existing health facilities, currently being rehabilitated/equipped; facilitation by districts health authorities and UNHCR’s Ips • Coordination through the sectoral working group Health/Nutrition, co led by UNHCR and Regional Direction of Public Health in Maradi

8. Sectoral situations in refugees hosting departments, responses, approaches and needs - 2 Food Security • Fragile for refugees and host communities; exacerbated by the welding period and the rainy season • Socioeconomic burden on households hosting refugees (water, shelter and food) • General food distribution ensured by the WFP and the Government • Gradual degradation of the health status of refugees, including malnutrition • Coordination through the FS Cluster and the National Mechanism for Prevention and Management of Food Crisis, in collaboration with the Ministry of Humanitarian Action and Catastrophe Management

9. Sectoral situations in refugees hosting departments, responses, approaches and needs - 3 Nutrition • Malnutrition screening (early September 2019) in Tiadi and Dan Kano Health Areas (MoH – UNICEF): MAM: 7.5% and 7.4% and for SAM: 3.6% and 2.8% (refugees and hots populations) • Responses include: • Procurement of nutritional commodities for case management in health posts and centers • Case management in mobile clinics and health posts • Referrals of severe cases in CRENI in Maradi and GuidanRoumdji • Coordination of its food and nutritional assistance activities by the WFP, in collaboration with the Regional Permanent Secretary of the National Mechanism for Prevention and Management of Food Crisis

10. Sectoral situations in refugees hosting departments, responses, approaches and needs - 4 WASH • General comment: scarcity of water facilities (hydraulic installations). Yet, current responses compliant with related national policies and involve beneficiaries; greater effectiveness in hosting villages vs relocation villages • Interventions recordedonly in hosting villages • 05 drillings constructed and equipped with manual pumps in 04 villages (World Vision) • Support for the construction of 500 latrines in 04 villages (World Vision) • Wells disinfected in 14 villages (UNICEF, in collaboration with the relevant state institution) • 320,000 Aquatabs distributed to reduce the risk of disease outbreak (UNICEF and ACF) • Planned interventions include In hostingvillages • Provision of plastic slabs and plastic sheeting (UNHCR) World Vision • Support for the construction of additional latrines (UNICEF) • Rehabilitation of drillings; potable water supply and distribution of jerry cans and soaps (??) In relocation villages: Potable water supply

11. Sectoral situations in refugees hosting departments, responses, approaches and needs - 5 SGBV • National authorities’ leadership: National Strategy on the Prevention and Response to GBV and related Action Plan available • GBV working group and a referral system are being established in Maradi; stakeholder mapping not yet developed • Stakeholders looking for funding to provide responses • Save the Children (GBV and Child Protection) • FICR (distribution of dignity kits) • DRC (capacity building) • UNFPA (capacity building of lawyers and support with a psychologist as Individual Consultant) • No information on whether GBV community, psychosocial and juridical structures are functional

12. Sectoral situations in refugees hosting departments, responses, approaches and needs - 6 CBI Planned gradual move towards CBI and linkage to social safety nets (UNHCR and WFP); currently looking for appropriate service provider for CBI distribution (vouchers) Yet, cumbersomeness and logistical constraints linked to vouchers implementation and monitoring to be considered

13. Sectoral situations in refugees hosting departments, responses, approaches and needs - 7 Coordination mechanisms • Strategic: UNHCR, responsible for resource mobilization and information sharing with the Government and donors • Technical: UNHCR in collaboration with the government Partner and the sectoral groups • Operational: relevant stakeholders on the field, under UNHCR and local authorities’ leadership

14. UNHCR’s priority recommendations to strengthen the health response • Urgent need: avail recent health, nutrition, WASH and food security data to better understand the situation; joint detailed assessment mission Regional Bureaux WCA (and HQs)? • Priority recommendations to strengthen the health response • Measles & polio vaccination campaign, simultaneously with routine EPI (MoH, UNICEF and WHO) • Implement mobile clinics approach on a short term basis (not cost effective); greater focus on preventive health activities (access to skilled birth attendance, vaccination, screening and treatment, including for of malnutrition, malaria diarrhoea) • Referral care: ensure harmonized management and referral mechanisms(emergency obstetric care and rape) • Establish a nutrition and HIS and collect information through nutrition screening, disease surveillance and mortality data • Ensure contingency planning especially cholera/measles preparedness and response • Ensure health systems strengthening and capacity to cope with the influx and • Advocate for continuity of care for those affected by HIV/TB, as well as access to national services

15. Thank you!