Monthly Archives: October 2019

Save the Children speaks out following the announced withdrawal of United States troops from Syria

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In a remarkable announcement late Sunday night, the White House said that United States forces in northern Syria would move aside in advance of a planned Turkish military offensive.

The move marks a major shift in US foreign policy and effectively gives Turkey the green light to attack US-backed Kurdish forces. The group, long considered as among Washington’s most reliable partners in Syria, has played a key strategic role in the campaign against ISIS in the region.

Bill Chambers, President and CEO of Save the Children Canada said: ‘We are deeply concerned for hundreds of thousands of people present in North East Syria.

“Currently, there are 1.65 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in northeast Syria, including more than 650,000 displaced by war. All essential services including food, water, shelter, health, education, and protection need to be consistently provided, or we could see another humanitarian disaster unfold before our eyes.”

“This number includes more than 9,000 children from more than 40 different nationalities including Canadian children, in three camps who rely completely and exclusively on humanitarian aid. Any interruption to camp services which are already overstretched would put their lives at risk.”

[CNN/Save the Children]

Hurricane relief in the Bahamas

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The Bahamian Government reports that 53 people are known to have been killed in the devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian, with 608 individuals still listed as missing – although this number may not include all undocumented migrants. More than 1,500 people remain in shelters in Nassau and at least 3,000 are living with host families.

The Salvation Army’s divisional headquarters (DHQ) in Nassau is currently supporting four main components: overall logistics and coordination throughout the islands, coordination with the USA mainland, support to shelters throughout Nassau and relief support for the Abaco Islands. As part of the overall relief effort, and to avoid duplication of assistance, Salvation Army team members are attending numerous government-run coordination meetings taking place in Nassau for various aspects of the relief effort, including logistics, washing, food, shelter and psycho-social assistance.

Food, cleaning supplies, baby supplies, hygiene items, water and clothes are being distributed through Freeport Corps and essential goods have been supplied to other distribution points and through community networks. In addition, emergency personnel have begun regular distributions to communities to the east of Freeport, where door-to-door visits are part of a programme to offer practical and emotional support. Supplies are also being provided to neighborhood distribution points, and to partner organizations with a more regular presence in the east of the island (such as the UK charity Team Rubicon).

Inhabitants of the Abaco Islands, most of whom were evacuated after Dorian struck, are slowly returning – although some are going back only for short periods to salvage belongings. Bulk relief supplies are now being transported, utilizing World Food Programme-chartered vessels and storage in Marsh Harbour, in preparation for when larger numbers of people return to the islands.

[Relief Web]

Migrant and refugee death toll in Mediterranean tops 1000 for 6th year

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More than 1,000 migrants and refugees have died in the Mediterranean Sea this year, the sixth year in a row that this “bleak milestone” has been reached, the United Nations said.

The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR called for European Union (EU) member states to reactivate search and rescue operations and acknowledge the crucial role of aid groups’ vessels in saving lives at sea. “The tragedy of the Mediterranean cannot be allowed to continue,” Charlie Yaxley, spokesman of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said in a statement.

The EU struck a deal with Ankara in 2016 to cut off refugee and migrant flows to Greece from Turkey. Departures, now also diverted largely via Libya and other parts of North Africa, have fallen sharply from a peak of more than 1 million in 2015 to some 78,000 so far this year, UNHCR figures show.

“Of course the number of people attempting to cross the Mediterranean are much lower. So, that points to the fact that the journeys themselves are much more dangerous,” UNHCR spokeswoman Liz Throssell told Reuters Television. “It is also worth highlighting that 70 percent of the deaths actually occur on the central Mediterranean, namely people attempting to get from Libya across to Italy or Malta.”

[Voice of America]

UN World Food Programme launches global movement to fight food waste

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While there is enough food in the world to feed everyone, one third of the 4 billion metric tons of food we produce each year is lost or wasted, costing the global economy nearly US$1 trillion annually. At the same time, war and unrest are forcing more people to flee their homes than at any time since the Second World War, making it difficult for millions of people to grow their own food or buy it at an affordable price.

A recent report by the World Resources Institute confirmed that halving the rate of food loss and waste is an important strategy that would contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change, and sustainably feeding the planet by 2050.

World Food Programme’s goal is a world with Zero Hunger. Part of achieving that goal is preventing food loss. WFP does this by helping smallholder farmers through the provision of new technologies for storage and transportation that prevent crops from spoiling prematurely and by connecting them with markets.

“#StopTheWaste is a campaign that appeals to everyone along the chain from farm to fork,” said Corinne Woods, Chief Marketing Officer for the World Food Programme. “Food waste is a global issue but everyone can play their part in building a sustainable solution. Whether you are a farmer in Nigeria, losing your crops after harvest or a restaurant diner in New York, wasting the leftovers from your meal, you really can help to #StoptheWaste.” Read more

Rich countries cut spending on humanitarian crises as demand rises

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Wealthy countries including the United States, Germany and Britain spent less on aid for humanitarian crises last year, even as the United Nations said it was dealing with unprecedented need, research released on Monday showed.

The United States, the world’s biggest donor of humanitarian aid, cut its spending by 6% or $423 million in 2018, while Germany and Britain both spent 11% less than in 2017, according to the yearly Global Humanitarian Assistance report.

That was despite a record request through appeals coordinated by the United Nations, which deemed more than 200 million people to be in need of humanitarian aid. A large number of crises endure for many years, requiring greater level of resources and over a longer period of time, the report said.

Development Initiatives is an independent international development organization that produced the report, which looks at the resources directed to people in crisis.

[Thomson Reuters Foundation]