International Rescue Committee [to 10 May 2014]

Women fleeing Nigeria cite fear of abduction, reports IRC
09 May 2014 – MEDIA RELEASE–
Women fleeing Nigeria cite fear of abduction, reports IRC
80% of refugees pouring across the Niger border are women & girls
Excerpt
May 9, 2014 – Fears over the risk of abduction have contributed to a sharp increase in women and girls fleeing northeastern Nigeria into Niger, where the International Rescue Committee is responding to the crisis. This is in addition to the general fear of violence following an increase in attacks on villages on the border.
As many as a 1,000 refugees a week, 80 per cent female, are pouring over the border into the Diffa region of Niger from Nigeria’s Borno state, where 284 school girls were abducted by Boko Haram militants in April.
“With the number of armed attacks on villages along the border increasing each week, families are deciding to send their wives and daughters across the border as a preventive measure to reduce the risk of abduction and other violence,” says Matias Meier, IRC country director in Niger. “The stories the refugees tell us are terrible. At times refugees have had to literally run over corpses of people who have been shot or have drowned as they attempted to cross Lake Chad.”
“With so many female-headed families struggling to survive in Niger, there is a worry that if more humanitarian aid does not arrive soon, some mothers will be forced into prostitution out of desperation to feed their children,” says Meier. Alongside other forms of support, the IRC is providing female refugees who have experienced violence with medical treatment, counseling and legal support…

Humanitarian impact bonds: Pipe dream or possibility?
Posted by Radha Rajkotia on May 9th, 2014
Last month, DFID launched the United Kingdom’s first development impact bond (DIB) intended to reduce Rhodesian sleeping sickness in Uganda. The launch of the DIB represents a number of exciting features of how development can be approached. more »

The equity smell test: Is USAID going to the right places?
Posted by Emmanuel d’Harcourt on May 8th, 2014
USAID has contributed more than $7 billion to global health programs. But U.S. citizens, global health professionals and, most of all, people living in countries receiving aid from the U.S. government have a right to ask: Is this money spent as well as it could be, and does it go to people who need it the most? more »

#BringBackOurGirls: Responding to the clarion call
Posted by Heidi Lehmann on May 7th, 2014
The #BringBackOurGirls hashtag on Twitter has focused attention on the girls in Nigeria, their families are gaining traction and other countries are offering support. Heidi Lehmann’s question is: Will this galvanize action to address the systemic injustice girls face in accessing education? more »

South Sudan: Dilemmas in dealing with the peacekeepers
Posted by Melanie Teff on May 5th, 2014
Relationships between UN peacekeeping missions and humanitarian agencies are rarely totally harmonious, since they are present for different reasons and those reasons sometimes clash. And humanitarian agencies often fear being associated with the political and military elements of peacekeeping missions, in case this association affects the perception of their impartiality. But in some humanitarian crises they are forced to deal with each other more than in others. Here in South Sudan, the way this crisis has developed has forced humanitarians and peacekeepers into closer proximity than usual. more »

Intl Rescue Comm IRC @theIRC • 7h
(2/2) by respecting agrmnt,food can be distributed,people can move to safety, & plant- the steps required to avert famine later. #SouthSudan

Intl Rescue Comm IRC @theIRC • 7h
All parties in #SouthSudan must respect May 9 agreement: http://bit.ly/1l3su3m (1/2)

Intl Rescue Comm IRC @theIRC • 7h
#SouthSudan: IPC report forecasts that 4 million will suffer crisis or emergency level food insecurity in June-Aug: http://bit.ly/1l3su3m

Intl Rescue Comm IRC @theIRC • May 9
Polio should be eradicated, but still exists in #Somalia – 193 cases in past year #SomaliaAlert http://bit.ly/1m35G7B

Intl Rescue Comm IRC @theIRC • May 8
VIDEO: Typhoon #Haiyan #Philippines was 6 months ago today. See how the IRC & partners have been helping communities http://bit.ly/1hAmk9K