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A severe food crisis is advancing across East Africa, Nigeria and Yemen. Xavier Duvauchelle, Handicap International’s desk officer for the East Africa region, explains the scale of the disaster and how our teams on the ground are responding.

As the food crisis worsens across East Africa, individual stories from our program in South Sudan remind us that caring for vulnerable people during emergencies is a moral obligation.

In West Africa, millions of children don’t complete their primary education and some have never been to school. Handicap International estimates that one third of these children have a disability. Our inclusive education program runs in nine countries¹ in the region and will ensure that 170,000 children have the opportunity to learn, play, make friends and feel valued in society.

Cyclone Enawo hit Madagascar in March 2017, affecting more than 400,000 people. The storm severely damaged houses and infrastructure in the north-east of the country. Handicap International is now rebuilding 22 damaged schools in the regions of Analanjirofo and Diana to enable 8,500 students to return to their lessons.

Besides killing and causing horrific injuries, explosive weapons spread terror, make people fear for their lives, devastate vital infrastructure and prolong the effect of war even after the end of a conflict. On the International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, Handicap International highlights the incredible work of deminers all over the world.

A major food crisis triggered by drought and conflict is affecting more than 20 million people in East Africa. Concerned by both factors, Handicap International is working in Ethiopia to ensure the most vulnerable people have access to humanitarian aid and provide malnourished children with physical therapy.

Handicap International condemns the heavy price paid by civilians in Mosul, Iraq. More than 150 civilians were killed in an international coalition airstrike on Mosul’s Al-Jadida district on 17th March 2017.

Twenty million people in Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia, and northeastern Nigeria have been grappling with a serious food crisis since 2016. Several East African countries have been hit by drought in recent months, including Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Uganda, South Sudan and, to a lesser extent, Tanzania. In some countries, conflicts have caused severe food shortages. Handicap International is preparing to deal with one of the worst humanitarian crises since the Second World War.
 

A new exhibition, "BOMBED", gives a voice to Syrian refugees injured by explosive weapons. People like Sondos, 8, who was injured when her school in Syria was bombed.

Cyclone Enawo, which hit Madagascar on 6, 7 and 8 March 2017, has affected some 300,000 people, including 175,000 in Antalaha district, in the northeast of the country. More than 85,000 people are still displaced from their homes. According to the authorities, the cyclone and subsequent flooding have caused extensive damage. Handicap International’s teams are preparing to assist the population.

Meet seven-year-old Salam, a Syrian girl who was tragically injured by an unexploded weapon. After Doctors in Jordan amputated her left leg and part of her right foot, Humanity & Inclusion's team fitted her with a prosthesis and now provides her with regular physical therapy care.

Cyclone Enawo has passed through Madagascar and will end its course in the Anosy region (south-east). The authorities have reported severe damage caused not only by the cyclone itself but by the subsequent flooding it has caused. The national office of risk and disaster management is reporting 10,000 displaced persons and 52,000 people affected. Handicap International's teams have started to assess the population's needs.

Aleema Shivji, Executive Director of Handicap International UK, describes the shocking legacy of explosive weapons contamination facing civilians in Iraq.

Cyclone Enawo reached Madagascar on the evening of Tuesday 7th March, sweeping through the country. The scale of the damage caused is still unknown. It is feared that in the north-east regions, hit overnight, there may be significant destruction. Nearly 600,000 people have faced violent winds (over 120 km/h), which have battered their homes and their crops. Handicap international’s teams, already present in certain areas, will head to the most severely affected parts of the country as soon as conditions allow.  

Cyclone Enawo, which made landfall on the north-eastern coast of Madagascar on Tuesday 7th March 2017, could affect 2 million people, according to the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System. Handicap International’s teams already present in the country have been mobilized and are preparing to launch an emergency response based on the needs.