Torrential rains have unleashed catastrophic floods in West and Central Africa, affecting over four million people in 14 countries – the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today warns. The worrying spike in humanitarian needs comes amid a regional hunger crisis already affecting 55 million people – four times more people than five years ago.

National governments are on the frontlines of this crisis, with WFP’s support providing critical food and nutrition assistance to nearly one million people across the region. 

“Fourteen countries are seeing rising floodwaters, thousands of homes crumbling, large swathes of farmland destroyed, as hunger looms large. A regional crisis of this nature needs a regional response to urgently save lives and safeguard the livelihoods of flood-hit groups. WFP is working with national governments in the region to ensure affected people can get back on their feet,” said Margot Van der Velden, WFP’s Regional Director for Western Africa.

In Nigeria’s Maiduguri, WFP rapidly set up food kitchens in four camps after flooding overran 50 percent of the town. WFP kitchens provide nutritious cooked rice and beans to flood-affected families forced to flee their homes. In Chad, Liberia, Mali, and Niger, WFP is providing emergency food and cash assistance to people in hard-hit areas. This crucial assistance enables affected families to meet their basic food and nutrition needs while they try to rebuild their lives.

In parallel to emergency assistance to flood-hit families, WFP is calling for investments in early warning systems, anticipatory actions, disaster risk financing and social protection systems that have the potential to help mitigate flood and other climate risks, can help build adaptive capacity, and boost the resilience of communities exposed to recurrent shocks of this type.

“Anticipatory actions are a critical key to unlocking more efficient, effective and forward-looking humanitarian assistance. It can save lives, uphold the dignity of people, and provide meaningful financial investment opportunities,” Van der Velden said.

With farming and livestock activities disrupted, the floods are likely to worsen the region’s already dire food security situation, exacerbating the vulnerability of flood-hit communities. Strengthening anticipatory actions and expanding disaster risk financing can help mitigate the impact of climate shocks of at-risk communities and build the resilience of those affected so that when the next floods hit, people are better prepared to cope. 

In Niger for example, WFP’s anticipatory actions target 200,000 of the most at-risk people with early-warning messages and other essential information through community radios and text messages. In Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger, WFP is working closely with governments to ensure that future emergency responses build on existing social safety nets, align with or expand existing social protection programmes, and use existing national registries to target affected populations.

WFP is also collaborating with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to implement the African Integrated Climate Risk Management Programme (AICRM) project in seven Sahelian countries. This project helps build the resilience of farmers and communities by improving and expanding microinsurance opportunities for farmers to help compensate for the impact climate-related shocks when they strike.

WFP urgently requires US$ 16 million to continue providing emergency food and nutrition assistance to flood-affected families across the region, alongside support to capacity building efforts for national governments.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Food Programme (WFP).

As the wider African region experiences an upsurge in mpox cases, South Africa’s multi-pronged efforts to bring the outbreak under control are bearing fruit. On 14 August 2024, World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern and subsequently issued a set of temporary recommendations to scale up the emergency response.

South Africa had previously reported five unlinked mpox cases in 2022. Having confirmed zero cases in 2023, the country has experienced a resurgence of the infectious disease in recent months, reporting 25 laboratory-confirmed cases and three deaths between 8 May and 6 September 2024. These cases have been reported in Gauteng, Western Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, with local transmission suggested for 24 cases and one imported case. 

However, there has been a significant change in the epidemiological data in recent weeks, with just one new case and no deaths reported since 2 August 2024, compared to 12 cases and three deaths in June, so far, the peak of the current outbreak. 

“With the support of partners including WHO, we have made significant progress in our efforts to contain mpox in the country,” says Foster Mohale, spokesperson for South Africa’s National Department of Health. “But we must not become complacent because viruses mutate from time to time. The recent detection of a new mpox case in Western Cape should be a strong reminder that we must all remain extremely vigilant.”

To coordinate its response to the outbreak, the National Department of Health formed an mpox Incident Management Team comprised of experts from national and provincial levels and partners including WHO. In June, with WHO support, health authorities conducted two remote webinars on clinical management of mpox cases, training over 500 health workers and public health professionals. 
The department has also activated provincial response teams to implement priority interventions in hotspots, deployed rapid response teams to support community surveillance and case management, and intensified targeted public awareness campaigns. 

In addition to providing technical support and guidelines on mpox treatment to help ensure standardized patient care, WHO has donated 35 treatment courses of tecovirimat, an antiviral that is used to treat severe mpox cases in conjunction with symptomatic and supportive care. The Organization is supporting efforts to stockpile an additional 30 treatment courses of the medication for rapid deployment should further cases arise. 

South Africa is one of 14 countries in the African region that will be financially supported by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and WHO from September 2024 until February 2025 to draw up and roll out plans, including vaccination strategies, to continue its fight against mpox. The Mpox Continental Preparedness and Response Plan for Africa will see an estimated US$ 45.5 of a US$ 600-million total budget allocated to South Africa, most of which will be spent on the logistics of rolling out vaccines.  

“WHO remains committed to supporting health authorities in containing the mpox outbreak through coordinated efforts in treatment, surveillance, and public awareness,” says Dr Fabian Ndenzako, acting WHO Representative in South Africa. “I am pleased to see mpox control efforts targeting health workers, community members and key risk populations to prevent further transmission and manage this public health issue effectively.”

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

As part of its mandate to promote free, transparent, and credible elections in the West African region, the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commission (ECONEC) is deploying a hybrid post-election follow-up and needs assessment mission to Cotonou, Benin, from September 15 to 21, 2024.

The Mission is comprised of the President of Senegal’s Autonomous National Electoral Commission (CENA), a representative of Côte d’Ivoire’s Independent Electoral Commission (CEI), the Head of ECOWAS’ Electoral Assistance Division (EAD), who is also ECONEC Permanent Secretary, and three experts from ECONEC Permanent Secretariat, IDEA and EISA.

The mission aims to assess the state of implementation of the recommendations of the last ECOWAS electoral observation mission during the April 2021 Presidential Election and the technical and material needs of stakeholders in the run-up to the 2026 presidential election.

To this end, the mission will hold meetings with the Autonomous National Electoral Commission (CENA), the administration, political parties and civil society organizations to understand their views and commitment to implementing the recommended reforms.

The ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC) is the umbrella organization for electoral management bodies (EMBs) in West Africa. It was created in February 2008 to promote free, fair, and credible elections. The network was inspired by the ECOWAS Declaration of Political Principles, which was adopted by the ECOWAS Conference of Heads of State and Government in 1991.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).