OCHA
OCHA is a international organization that is part of the pulse of the water sector. Here we bring together everything it publishes on Smart Water Magazine: its news, its blogs and the events it takes part in.
UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs sounds alarm on flooding impact across West and Central Africa
Investments in preparedness, prevention and response measures needed to mitigate impact on people’s livelihoods and well-being
Niger: UN and partners assist vulnerable people in midst of natural disasters and cholera outbreak
When Hama Sorka, a 75-year-old fisherman from Saguia in Niamey, Niger, lost his house and livelihood this past October because of flooding in his neighbourhood, he was able to find refuge at Gamou camp in Niamey. Hama and his family received multisectoral assistance including shelter, emergency education, health care, water, sanitation and hygiene services from […]
UN issues $2 billion appeal to combat COVID-19
The United Nations launched a US$2 billion coordinated global humanitarian response plan to fight COVID-19 in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries in a bid to protect millions of people and stop the virus from circling back around the globe. COVID-19 has killed more than 16,000 people worldwide and there are nearly 400,000 reported cases. […]
Zambia: Prolonged drought increases food insecurity
A combination of prolonged, severe drought in the western and southern provinces of Zambia over the past two rainy seasons in 2017 and 2018, and floods in the north, have increased hunger, with more than 2.3 million people across the country expected to be severely food insecure through March. Four districts – Sioma, Lunga, Shang’ombo […]
Eastern Africa: Floods impact 2.5 million people
Heavy rainfall and flooding have impacted swathes of eastern Africa since July and intensified in October, affecting at least 2.5 million people and causing displacement and loss of property, crops and livestock. In South Sudan, flooding has devastated large areas of the country since July, affecting an estimated 900,000 people. Of that figure, 420,000 people need urgent […]
Somalia: US$710M to reach 4.5M people hit by drought
Aid agencies in Somalia have launched a Drought Response Plan seeking US$710 million for critical life-saving assistance to 4.5 million drought-affected Somalis in the most severely affected areas between now and the end of December. Two years after the prolonged 2016/2017 drought destroyed livelihoods and displaced almost one million Somalis. While this triggered a massive and successful […]