| Aid agencies scramble to help survivors of Cyclone Idai as heavy rains continue. Aid agencies are warning that although it has been over a week since Cyclone Idai swept through Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, the disaster is worsening. Continued heavy rains have caused rivers to burst their banks, flooding large areas. People are reportedly still stranded on rooftops and “entire villages have been wiped out”, particularly in Mozambique’s Buzi valley, according to the World Food Programme. UNHCR is sending emergency response teams and aid supplies to all three countries. In Zimbabwe, Chipinge District, which is host to Tongogara refugee camp , has been severely affected by the cyclone. Some 2,000 refugee homes are thought to be damaged or destroyed and many of the 13,000 refugees living at the camp suffered injuries. UNHCR is moving emergency shelter and relief supplies from its global stockpiles to assist refugees and the local population who have been displaced by the cyclone. Refugee camps in Mozambique and Malawi were not directly affected by the cyclone. | |
| Twelve die after arriving to Syria’s Al-Hol camp. Aid agencies report that another 2,000 people arrived to Al-Hol camp in northeast Syria on Wednesday night and that 12 of them died during the journey from the besieged IS enclave of Baghouz or shortly after arriving at the camp. In a statement on Thursday, Wendy Taeuber of the International Rescue Committee said the new arrivals, the vast majority of them women and children, were “in the worst condition we have seen since the crisis first began”. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the camp had “ significantly exceeded its capacity” and that the influx of people since December was putting a huge strain on water and sanitation facilities as well as health services. | | |
| At least 30 missing after boat sinks off Libyan coast. At least 30 refugees and migrants are now believed to be missing following a shipwreck off the coast of Libya near the city of Sabratha on Tuesday, according to Reuters. A spokesperson with the Libyan navy said on Thursday that the coast guard had rescued 17 people from the capsized boat which, according to survivors, was carrying around 45 people. Previously, officials put the number of dead and missing at 10. Bodies, including those of children, have reportedly been recovered from the water. | | |
| Climate change threatens water supply for refugees. Climate change is making the work of ensuring refugees have access to clean water and sanitation increasingly difficult. In regions like the Lake Chad Basin its contributing to devastating drought that has the potential to increase tensions between refugees and locals over increasingly scarce resources. In others, like Bangladesh, it has increased the chance of flooding and landslides in the area of Cox’s Bazar where 900,000 refugees are living. On World Water Day, UNHCR staff talk about how they are working to address these challenges with solutions such as boreholes and solar-powered water systems that benefit both refugees and local host communities. | | |
| UN investigating deaths linked to food aid in Uganda. The World Food Programme and the Ugandan government have launched an investigation into the deaths of four people who died after consuming a fortified porridge distributed to refugees and people suffering from malnourishment. Another 262 people in the north-east Karamoja region have had to be hospitalised since 12 March after eating the Super Cereal porridge. No refugees are understood to be affected, but the distribution of Super Cereal to refugees and host communities across the country has been suspended until inquiries have concluded. At least 47,000 women and children in Karamoja and 102,000 refugees in Uganda receive Super Cereal under the government’s maternal child health and nutrition programme. | | |
| Court calls Canada’s treatment of ‘safe country refugees’ unconstitutional. A court in Canada has ruled that Canada’s different treatment of refugees from so-called safe countries compared to refugees from other countries is unconstitutional , reports the Toronto Star. Canada’s safe country list, created by the government in 2012, initially included 23 countries but has since expanded to 42. Refugees from those countries are subject to a fast-track asylum process and a longer wait for work permits. The court challenge was initiated by five failed asylum-seekers from Hungary, all of Roma descent. Hungary is among the countries on the safe list. | | |
| Sudanese refugee Mama Elizabeth has turned her home in South Sudan’s Doro camp into a haven for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. She’s one of 48 refugee volunteers, also known as ‘guardian angels,’ who have opened up their homes to women and children in dire need of a sanctuary from violence and abuse. | | |
UNHCR aims to provide a minimum of 20 litres of water per per day to refugees living in camps. In reality, this goal is only met in 43 per cent of camps.
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