A. Situation analysis
Description of the disaster
On 12 December 2014, 10 cases of cholera were reported in the Chetmari area of Diffa region of Niger. By 14 December 2014, 91 cases and four deaths had been reported; and by 20 December 2014, this had risen to 183 cases. The Direction Régionale de Santé Publique Diffa (DRSP) reported 292 cases (including 17 deaths) (DRSP / Diffa final epidemic report). On 6 February 2015, due to the evolving insecurity situation in the Diffa region, which has included incursions by the Boko Haram group into Niger, all activities in Diffa region were suspended. The International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC), as the lead agency in the region, has continued to monitor the security situation. On 5 March 2015, following a meeting between all Movement partners operating in Diffa, it was agreed that activities could be resumed in accordance with a new “intervention strategy for Diffa region”, which will prioritize: awareness raising / sensitization, distribution of water purification tablets and oral rehydration solutions (ORS), provision of hygiene items and disinfection of latrines in health centres / schools.
On 24 December 2014, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) allocated CHF 261,637 from the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to support the Red Cross Society of Niger (NRCS) respond to the needs of the affected population. This DREF operation was intended to support 3,000 households (15,000 people) in the Diffa region, with heath and care, water, sanitation and hygiene promotion activities; over a period of three months. On 20 March 2015, an operations update was issued to extend the timeframe of the DREF operation and to enable NRCS to contribute to the complete eradication of the epidemic. In accordance with the new intervention strategy, which included a revision to the schedule as per the Emergency Plan of Action (EPoA). Even though the epidemic had brought under control (Ministry of Public Health), the probability of cases spreading remained high as a result of the continuing influx of refugees from Nigeria, movement of people within the Diffa region, and prevailing poor hygiene practices. From 23 March – 11 April, the IFRC Niger country representation’s operations manager carried out a 10-days mission to the Diffa region, with the intention of assessing the situation, prioritizing relevant activities, and establishing with movement partners a new operational strategy. The operational strategy was reviewed, and thus some activities were removed and replaced with new activities, taking into consideration the epidemiological situation, the security conditions, the accessibility to beneficiaries, and the finances available. On 24 April 2015, another operations update was issued to enable the revision of the operation strategy (as above).
Please note that this preliminary final report is issued in advance of the final report, which is expected to be issued by the end of September 2015.
This DREF has been replenished by the Belgian Red Cross / Government, Canadian Red Cross/Government, Netherlands Red Cross/Silent Emergencies Fund and Spanish Red Cross/Government AECID. The major donors and partners of the DREF include the Red Cross Societies and governments of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the USA, as well as DG ECHO, the UK Department for International Development (DFID) the Medtronic, Zurich and Coca Cola Foundations and other corporate and private donors.
The IFRC, on behalf of the Red Cross Society of Niger would like to extend many thanks to all partners for their generous contributions.