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| A young displaced girl in the snow-laden Association camp in Selkin city, northwest Syria. Credit: OCHA /Ali Haj Suleiman |
Daily Noon Briefing Highlights
Syria
The United Nations and partners are responding to the impact of winter storms. A quarter million displaced people and hundreds of displacement sites (227) have been affected across north-west Syria as severe winter weather continues to compound existing humanitarian needs. So far 1,600 tents have been damaged or destroyed by snowfall, floods and winds.
Given the urgency of the crisis, the current priority is keeping the roads open is critical. Relocation of affected households to safer locations, provision of heating materials and food items and replacing damaged tents are urgently needed. Humanitarian partners are targeting 10,000 households with a range of shelter, cash assistance and other aid.
Heavy snowfall has led to disruptions on the cross-border transshipment operations. The UN Transshipment Hub near the Bab al-Hawa crossing on the Syria-Turkey border is rescheduling shipments and ensuring the delivery of life-saving assistance to the communities across the region.
Burkina Faso
In addition to the political instability impacting the country in the past few days, Burkina Faso will continue to confront a multi-dimensional crisis in 2022. Nearly one-fifth of the population needs humanitarian aid. Six out of ten of the internally displaced people in Central Sahel are in Burkina Faso; 83 per cent of the displacement is due to attacks and threats by Non-State Armed Groups.
Insecurity is widespread with the reported number of security incidents rising from 211 in 2019 to nearly 1,000 in 2021. Humanitarian access is hampered by insecurity. Conflict has exacerbated people’s chronic vulnerability to droughts and flooding which, combined with the effects of COVID-19, have left 2.9 million people severely food insecure (IPC 3+) during the last lean season (August 2021) The outlook for 2022 shows that the situation could likely worsen.
Humanitarian funding has increased three-fold and the number of people reached with assistance has increased by 120 per cent since 2019, but funding and reach still fall short compared to the needs. In 2021, we appealed for US$607 million for the Humanitarian Response Plan, which has been funded at only 42 per cent.
Haiti
(Note: No request for international assistance has been received). n 24 January, two earthquakes of magnitude 5.4 and 5.6, respectively, struck the department of Nippes in south-western Haiti.
According to the Haitian General Directorate of Civil Protection, two people died and 52 others were injured. Preliminary assessments have started. So far about 200 homes were reported completely destroyed and more than 590 houses damaged. More than 800 families have been left homeless by these consecutive quakes just five months after the 7.2-magnitude earthquake in August 2021.
Preliminary assessments have identified psychosocial support, especially for the school-age children and youths, temporary shelter and non-food items to be affected families’ most pressing needs. OCHA Haiti continues to closely monitor the situation and remains in contact with civil protection authorities.
South Sudan
On 24 January, the Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan, Ms. Sara Beysolow Nyanti visited displaced people in Juba IDP camps, Central Equatoria State, and witnessed the conditions in which they live. Current estimates indicate that over 2.1 million people in South Sudan are identified as displaced. Most of the internally displaced people rely on humanitarian assistance to survive with insufficient access to services, increasing vulnerabilities, and being potentially exposed to other shocks. Humanitarian organizations continue to respond to try to meet their needs.