The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is extremely concerned about escalating food and nutrition insecurity in West and Central African countries. Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria are all anticipated to face Crisis (IPC3) level of food insecurity or worse during the lean season – the time between harvests – from June till August, according to the latest analysis of Cadre Harmonisé (CH) report, published by the IRC&more than a dozen international organizations working in the region. 

The magnitude of severe food insecurity and related malnutrition continues to intensify in the region. In the Central Sahel alone (Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger), 7.5 million people are affected, up from 5.4m last year. More than 2,500 people are due to face catastrophic, famine-like conditions if no urgent action is taken.

Modou Diaw, the IRC’s Regional Vice President for West Africa:

“We are extremely concerned about the rising levels of hunger and unacceptably high malnutrition levels in children under five: in parts of Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria, acute malnutrition rates are expected to reach ​​critical levels of over 15% during the imminent lean season – this is more than one in six children.  

In West and Central Africa, food insecurity has progressively worsened in the last five years. Climatic shocks exacerbate food insecurity, malnutrition and insecurity, and push youth, men, and women, to migrate both within and out of the region. 

The IRC has started to address the food crisis in the last decade starting with Mali, Niger and Chad, and subsequently expanding this work to more countries across the region. With the humanitarian response plan chronically underfunded for the Sahelian countries, at around 10% for 2024, the need far surpasses what the IRC and peer organisations have been able to address.” 

The IRC supports communities across the region to ensure their most basic survival needs are met and have the combination of assets and income to prosper through cash relief and livelihoods. In response to the deteriorating food insecurity findings of the Cadre Harmonisé in March 2022, the IRC region developed the Emergency Lifesaving Food Assistance Initiative to support over 186,000 people from more than 31,000 households to mitigate the shock of the severe food insecurity. 

Since 1991, the IRC has partnered locally in West Africa to empower people in crisis to survive and rebuild their lives. The IRC’s regional office for West Africa is based in Dakar, Senegal, and supports eight country programs in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Sierra Leone as well as a project-specific office in Monrovia, Liberia.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Rescue Committee (IRC) .

Mauritius recently made a significant step forward in its ongoing struggle against noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Indeed, the presentation of the Mauritius Acceleration Plan to Stop Obesity 2024-2030 on April 25 by the Stakeholders’ Roundtable on Actions to Accelerate the Prevention and Management of Obesity represents a clear signal of the country’s intention to curb the scourge of the NCDs which account for 80% of the disease burden and 85% of mortalities.  

The document, which aims to achieve a 5% reduction in the prevalence of obesity across all age groups by 2030, was elaborated during a three-day symposium in Balaclava, Mauritius. Organized by the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) in collaboration with the WHO Mauritius Country Office, the multisectoral event brought together a cross-section of around 100 stakeholders from government, the private sector, civil society and academia to come up with a series of concrete actions to combat the obesity epidemic which affects 36.2% of the Mauritian population.

Participants in the rountable were unanimous on the need to tackle obesity which,  as a key risk factor for a host of NCDs, such as Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and certain types of cancer, among others, represents a significant public health burden. Zainab Tourabally of the Department of Health Sciences at the University of Mauritius’ Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, said that the roadmap “comes at the right time as combatting obesity hinges on a whole-of-society approach.” She added that more data on the barriers and enablers underpinning current and desired outcomes needs to be collected to better understand the requisite cultural shift.

The Mauritius Acceleration Plan to Stop Obesity 2024-2030 will now have to be presented to Cabinet for approval. If the plan is endorsed, it will be implemented using the “100-day sprint” method, a five-phase process devised by the World Health Organization to facilitate its operationalization. Using an evidence-based approach, the obesity roadmap prescribes a broad range of policy tools – political, fiscal and legal – aimed at tackling what is known as the obesogenic environment which encourages unhealthy lifestyles.

Obesity is also taking an increasingly heavy financial toll on the country’s finances. In 2019, the direct and indirect costs attributed to obesity and overweight were estimated to amount to around Rs18.1 billion, or 2.78% of GDP.  According to forecasts by the Global Obesity Observatory, the economic costs associated to obesity and overweight could rise to 4.6% and 8.89% of GDP by 2030 and 2060, respectively.

Recommendations contained in the Mauritius Acceleration Plan to Stop Obesity 2024-2030 include: the regulation of marketing of unhealthy  food, policies to incentivise local food production linked to public food procurement, an increase in the taxation of sugar sweetened beverages and its extension to other unhealthy foods, the reinforcement of physical activity in all educational settings, the integration and scaling up of obesity prevention and management health services at primary health care level, and a behavioural change communication campaign at community level.

Meetali Badhain of the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry welcomed the involvement of private sector actors in the roundtable. She hopes that the MCCI will continue to play an active role in the process. “We are a key stakeholder and would like to contribute to combatting obesity. But it can’t be limited to taxes and bans; a new culture needs to be created involving different lifestyles. This long-term plan should be embedded in the actions of all stakeholders.”

The stakeholders’ roundtable was facilitated by a team of WHO experts in the fields of fiscality, data, public health law, nutrition and food safety. The implementation of the roadmap will benefit from the close support of the WHO’s Division of UHC/Healthier Populations and Division of Data, Analytics and Delivery for Impact.

Indeed, following the country’s impressive advances in terms of tobacco control — in 2023, Mauritius became only the third country in the world to adopt all of the WHO’s MPOWER measures to reduce tobacco use at best practice level – it was chosen to be part of the WHO’s Healthier Populations Billion: Delivering Impact programme, becoming one of only six countries in the world, and the only one in the WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO). WHO believes that Mauritius can build on this experience to achieve similar success in combatting obesity.

In her opening address, the WHO Representative, Dr Anne Ancia, cited Mauritius’ experience in tobacco control as a potential foundation for further public health gains: “We know that Mauritius has the political will, as well as the know-how, to accelerate the fight against NCD risk factors in a multisectoral and holistic manner. And this roundtable on obesity is further proof of Mauritius’ commitment to tackle the NCD problem. Today we are talking of another opportunity to replicate this expertise and to invest the necessary willpower to tackle other NCD risk factors, such as unhealthy diets.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO) – Mauritius.

In Semera-Logoa City on May 1st and 2nd, 2024, the Ministry of Health, the Afar Regional Health Bureau, the Ethiopian Public Health Institute, and the World Health Organization (WHO), collaborated to interpret the final report of the Health Resources and Services Availability Monitoring System (HeRAMS) for Afar, Ethiopia. This collaborative effort, attended by 55 participants from various government offices and partner organizations, focused on validating and analyzing HeRAMS data to enhance informed decision-making in healthcare.

Mr. Yosef Zeru, the representative of the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), underscored the ministry’s unwavering support for HeRAMS implementation in both Tigray and Afar regions, with plans for expansion. He acknowledged WHO’s technical support and commended the leadership of the Afar region in driving HeRAMS implementation.

The workshop prioritized several key objectives, including meticulous data validation and comprehensive analysis to gain insights into the region’s healthcare landscape. Transparency was paramount, with outlier data points diligently examined and explained to ensure clarity and trust among stakeholders.

Mr. Mohammed Abdulkedir, representing the Afar Regional Health Bureau, expressed gratitude for the collaborative support received and urged sectors and partners to utilize HeRAMS findings in upcoming District Plan Preparation to address highlighted gaps effectively.

Dr. Belay Tesfahunegn, WHO Mekel Hub coordinator, reaffirmed WHO’s commitment to supporting health partners through coordination, advocacy, and resource mobilization based on HeRAMS findings.

The workshop underscored the importance of continuing the HeRAMS initiative for ongoing monitoring and data collection within the region, with expected contributions to enhancing healthcare decision-making and bolstering the resilience of Afar’s health system. Lastly, sincere thanks were extended to the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the European Union (EU), the Foreign, Commonwealth&Development Office (FCDO), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for their invaluable support and partnership in advancing healthcare in Afar, Ethiopia.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO) – Ethiopia.

This year’s long rainy season, which typically lasts from March to May every year, has hit Kenya hard, with unexpected heavy rainfall and widespread flooding since mid-April. Over 286 000 people have been affected, 47 000 households displaced and 238 deaths have been reported in 37 of the country’s 47 counties.   

According to Dr Pius Mutuku, medical epidemiologist in the Ministry of Health, 14 health facilities have closed and a major water treatment plant has been affected by flooding, leading to a shortage of potable water for 3000 people. Forty-four cholera cases have been reported in Tana River County, one of the most flood-affected areas.  

The Government of Kenya has mounted a multisectoral emergency response, led by the Kenya Disaster Emergency Operations Centre in the country’s capital, Nairobi. The centre gathers information from the 33 affected counties for analysis and decision making. At the national Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, around 36 staff are monitoring and leading the health situation and response, supported by World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners such as Kenya Red Cross Society, AMREF, FHI360 and Foundation for Professional Development. The Ministry of Health has set up an incident management system team for surveillance, case management, laboratory, logistics and risk communication and community engagement to monitor and manage disease outbreaks. 

“The whole-of-government approach, led by President William Ruto, is to ensure that we work across all sectors to minimize the pain for so many,” says Dr Hilary Limo, the manager of the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre. 

The ministry has set up medical camps, with the support of Red Cross, for continuity of health services to over 4000 people who have been affected by health facility closure. Over 720 first responders, trained by WHO, are being deployed or on standby for deployment to flood-affected areas to provide health services to displaced people at the country’s 192 camps. More than 120 of Kenya’s public health professionals and experts, also trained by WHO are deployed at the national level.

“WHO will continue to support the health emergency response and remain vigilant for disease outbreaks that can easily spread if not quickly contained. We must be agile and ready to respond, led by government and along with the partners, to bring relief to hundreds and thousands of affected people,” says Dr Abdourahmane Diallo, WHO representative in Kenya. 

WHO has also procured around 87 cholera, 58 interagency and 20 pneumonia kits that are being distributed to key counties and can treat around 10 000 people.

“Going forward we will need to look at the impact of the floods, continuity of care and provide resilience capacity building to communities. We need more rapid response teams and will work closely with partners to mobilize resources for this purpose,” says Limo. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization – Kenya.