5 – 03/07/2020 Humanitarian Implementation Plan (Hip)
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Year: 2020 Version: 5 – 03/07/2020 HUMANITARIAN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN (HIP) CENTRAL AFRICA1 The full implementation of this version of the HIP is conditional upon the necessary appropriation being made available from the 2020 general budget of the European Union AMOUNT: EUR 117 200 000 The present Humanitarian Implementation Plan (HIP) was prepared on the basis of the financing decision ECHO/WWD/BUD/2020/01000 (Worldwide Decision) and the related General Guidelines for Operational Priorities on Humanitarian Aid (Operational Priorities). The purpose of the HIP and its annex is to serve as a communication tool for DG ECHO2's partners and to assist them in the preparation of their proposals. The provisions of the Worldwide Decision and the General Conditions of the Agreement with the European Commission shall take precedence over the provisions in this document. This HIP covers Cameroon, the Central African Republic (CAR), Chad and Nigeria. It may also respond to sudden or slow-onset new emergencies in Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tomé and Principe, if important unmet humanitarian needs emerge, given the exposure to risk and vulnerabilities of populations in these countries. 0. MAJOR CHANGES SINCE PREVIOUS VERSION OF THE HIP Fourth modification as of 03/07/2020 The total budget of the HIP is increased by EUR 5 million (Central African Republic: EUR 5 million). The perspectives in the Central African Republic for 2020 are very worrisome and the COVID-19 pandemic will exacerbate needs in all sectors. This additional funding will cover unmet needs. The eligible sectors in CAR are: (i) protection (ii) health and nutrition, (iii) food assistance and livelihoods, (iv) water, sanitation and hygiene, (v) shelter (vi) emergency preparedness and response and (vii) education in emergencies. Third modification as of 17/6/2020 The total budget of the HIP is increased by EUR 25.5 million (Nigeria: EUR 13.5 million, Cameroon: EUR 6 million, Chad: EUR 6 million). This additional funding will focus on food and nutritional crises, conflicts and their consequences. The additional funding will be used to tackle an already unprecedented multifaceted crisis before the effect of the unexpected COVID-19 epidemic, with emergency food assistance, nutrition, multi- sectoral rapid response assistance, protection, support to humanitarian operations. In particular, extra funding will be used to mitigate the risk linked to food insecurity during the lean season starting in June 2020. The full implementation of this version of the HIP is conditional upon the necessary appropriations being made available from the 2020 general budget of the European Union. 1 For the purpose of this Humanitarian Implementation Plan, the Central African countries concerned are Cameroon, Central African Republic, Nigeria, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Sao Tomé and Principe. 2 Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO). ECHO/-AF/BUD/2020/92000 1 Year: 2020 Version: 5 – 03/07/2020 Second modification as of 11/5/2020 The total budget of the HIP is increased by EUR 8.5 million (Nigeria: EUR 4 million, CAR: EUR 2.5 million, Chad: EUR 2 million) to respond to the covid-19 pandemic. The eligible sectors are: (i) health, (ii) water, sanitation and hygiene and (iii) logistics for CAR and; (i) health and (ii) water, sanitation and hygiene for Nigeria and Chad. First modification as of 17/2/2020 The budget breakdown per country is adapted following the evaluation of the proposals received for each country. The new budgetary breakdown per country has been revised in the Technical Annex. The total amount of the 2020 Central Africa HIP remains unchanged. 1. CONTEXT Overview of the main humanitarian challenges in the region Three major regional crises affect Central Africa: (i) the Lake Chad crisis affecting Northeast Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon with the forced displacement of over 2.7 million people, (ii) the CAR regional crisis which led to the forced displacement of 1.2 million people, mainly in CAR, but also in neighbouring Cameroon, DRC and Chad and (iii) the crisis in Cameroon, where socio-political unrest in the North West and South West regions led to a deterioration of the situation and turned into a complex humanitarian crisis in 2018, causing the forced displacement of more than half a million people within Cameroon, and tens of thousands into neighbouring Nigeria. The Lake Chad crisis, which started with the rise of Boko Haram (BH) in the North- East of Nigeria some ten years ago, has expanded across the Lake Chad Basin (LCB). Multiple issues and dynamics are affecting a region increasingly marked by insecurity, instability, lack of development and climate change. Today, the Lake Chad area is among the largest and most protracted humanitarian crises in the world. The non-state armed groups continue to represent a major threat to security and stability. During the last year, attacks against Nigerian military targets have intensified in number and calibre. The EU, including its Member States, is one of the key providers of aid in the Lake Chad region. The EU has mobilised substantial support at local, regional and local levels through several instruments such as the European Development Fund, EU Trust Fund for Africa, Humanitarian Aid and the Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace. In that context, an integrated regional EU approach is necessary to address this multi-faceted crisis in a more coherent manner. Moreover, part of the region is located in the Sahel belt, where food insecurity and malnutrition persist. More than 6,7 million people were estimated in food insecurity during the lean season 2019 in the Sahel3 . In Chad for instance, the global acute malnutrition rate is beyond the emergency threshold in 16 regions out of 23. Seasonal forecasts for mid-season 2019 suggest drier than average conditions in the central part of CAR, Cameroon, Chad and Nigeria. In 2019, the Sahel food and nutrition insecurity and the regional CAR crisis were considered as forgotten crisis by DG ECHO. The region is also significantly exposed to natural disasters and epidemics such as large- scale floods in Nigeria and outbreaks of cholera and measles in Chad, Cameroon and 3 PREGEC ECHO/-AF/BUD/2020/92000 2 Year: 2020 Version: 5 – 03/07/2020 Nigeria. Climate change further increases vulnerabilities with irregular rainfall patterns. Greater scarcity of natural resources is likely to continue to fuel tensions between herders and farmers causing violence and displacements. In CAR, the peace process offers some hope. Its successful implementation may still result in increased humanitarian needs in the short-term as stabilisation leads to more returns and improved access to previously hard-to-reach areas. The 2020 outlook for the region remains therefore worrisome with no sign of reduction in humanitarian needs in the short-term. Insecurity, violence and conflicts will likely continue to affect the region in a context of extreme poverty and structural limited access of basic services for the most vulnerable. Main vulnerability indicators per country CAR ranks 188/189 on the UNDP Human Development Index (HDI 2018), 119/119 on the Global Hunger Index, 188/189 on the Gender Inequality Index and with an overall INFORM Vulnerability Index of 8.5/10, CAR is the third most vulnerable country in the world. Its Hazard and Exposure score is 7.9/10 and its Lack of Coping Capacity score is 8.7/10. The country has an INFORM risk class of "very high" due to the ongoing conflict, its lack of coping capacity and its high vulnerability, with a Crisis Index of 3/3, resulting from a Conflict Intensity score of 3/3 and an Uprooted People score of 3/3. CAR has a total population of 4 666 3774. 2.9 million of them, i.e. about 62% of the population, are in need of humanitarian assistance. The very volatile security context has a very strong impact on the country's humanitarian outlook. Military presence linked to the conflict consists of a UN integrated mission (MINUSCA) with about 10 000 troops and the national army which has started to be deployed outside the capital. On 6 February 2019, the government and 14 armed groups signed a peace agreement. Despite this process, insecurity continues to be a major concern and armed groups have a very strong hold on the country. The population in CAR is suffering from a severe protection crisis, including incidents of armed actors targeting civilians based on religious or ethnic affiliation or for economic gains. The capacity of the central government to respond to the crisis is limited as long as the State has not gained back the control of major parts of the national territory. Consequently, insecurity and its negative impact on livelihoods continue to constrain access to food for vulnerable households, further increasing acute food and nutrition insecurity. Humanitarian needs are acute in most of the sectors: food assistance, shelters and non-food items, education, protection, health, nutrition and access to water and sanitation. Chad ranks in the bottom ten of the Global Hunger Index (118 of 119), the Fragile State Index (171 of 178), the Gender Inequality Index (186 of 189) and the UNDP Human Development Index (186 of 189). Its overall INFORM Vulnerability Index is 7.2/10, (Hazard and Exposure index 5.5/10; Lack of Coping Capacity index 8.9/10). The country has an INFORM Crisis Index of 3/3, resulting from a Conflict Intensity score of 1/3, Uprooted People 3/3 and People affected by Natural Disasters of 2/3. Food insecurity and malnutrition, population displacement and health emergencies result in more than 7.5 million people being in acute or chronic vulnerability, thus affecting half of the Chadian population.