ACT Alliance demonstrates its value as the leading faith-based alliance in humanitarian response by working with faith and humanitarian actors at the global, regional, national, and community levels. ACT harnesses the combined strength of its members in delivering humanitarian response at scale and with considerable reach through joint programming approaches.
We commit to an effective ecumenical response that saves lives and maintains dignity, irrespective of race, gender, belief, nationality, ethnicity, or political persuasion. Humanitarian needs define our priorities and the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence guide our actions. We remain committed to strengthening the resilience of affected communities and to being accountable to people and communities affected by a crisis. The ACT Alliance Secretariat is certified against the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability and is committed to the Sphere Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response.
Through its national, regional and sub-regional forums ACT Alliance provides humanitarian and emergency preparedness support to local communities helping them during a crisis and to become more resilient.
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The Rapid Response Fund is an innovative funding mechanism designed to put local communities at the centre of decision-making and is recognised as one of few such funding mechanisms across the sector. The RRF provides valuable opportunities to demonstrate the niche of faith actors in humanitarian response as we work closely with local ACT members and their community networks. On average, the RRF funds 20 emergencies annually and responses are implemented within six months.
The primary mechanism for large scale or global emergencies, including protracted crises: ACT Alliance raises an appeal to its membership with both requesting and funding members co-owning the process. Appeals are open for funding during their entire project period and accessible to both national and international ACT Alliance members.
Consortia represent a new funding mechanism for ACT Alliance. As part of Emergency Preparedness planning, consortiums are established before a disaster strikes and consortium members share a vision and strategic focus. Members self-organise and develop their own financial management models and programme strategies supported by the EPRP process and tools.
Emergency preparedness and response planning is integral to the strengthening of ACT Alliance’s capacity to respond effectively in emergencies through joint programming.
ACT national and regional forums develop emergency preparedness and response plans (EPRPs), working collaboratively to understand potential disaster risks and plan how to respond to emergencies quickly and effectively. Forum EPRPs are accessible by members through an online platform, which can be viewed by other members who may be interested to support them. ACT Forums use specific ACT guidelines and tools to support the process of developing an EPRP which is reviewed regularly.
As part of the holistic and integrated approach to humanitarian response, development and advocacy, ACT’s emergency preparedness and humanitarian response is supported by stronger humanitarian coordination and advocacy with stakeholders and duty bearers.
In the current strategic period our advocacy focuses on three banner commitments to the Grand Bargain at the World Humanitarian Summit where ACT has made significant investments and where member engagement is quite strong: the localisation agenda and the primary role of national/local members and local faith actors; demonstrating the important role of faith actors in humanitarian response; and strengthening of cash-based programming across the humanitarian sector.
The Russian Federation launched a military offensive against Ukraine on 24 February 2022. As of the 1st of June, more than 6.98 million refugees had fled Ukraine, making this the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. A further 7.1 million people have been displaced internally within Ukraine. As of 01 June, UN reported 6,983,041 refugees have crossed from Ukraine into neighboring countries. The major numbers are: Poland (3,690,089), Hungary (698,420) Slovakia (466,264), Republic of Moldova (483,306) Romania (587,219), the Russian Federation (1,041,095) and Belarus (16,648), the majority women and children, as well as elderly people and those with disabilities. UNHCR estimates there are over 4.7 million refugees present across Europe. Over 2.9 million refugees from Ukraine have registered for Temporary Protection or similar national protection schemes in Europe. ACT members Hungarian Interchurch Aid, HEKS/EPER, Lutheran World Federation, ROMAid and the Europe forum will be responding in Ukraine, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, Poland, and Slovakia with the revised appeal budget of USD23,497,348 UKR221 Ukraine Conflict_Rev1 UKR221 Annex Results Framework The original appeal appears on this link: https://actalliance.org/appeals-rapid-response-funds/ukraine-emergency-response-for-communities-affected-by-ukraine-conflict-ukr221 The second revision appears on this link: https://actalliance.org/appeals-rapid-response-funds/ukraine-emergency-response-for-communities-affected-by-ukraine-conflict-ukr221-revision-2/ For ACT Members: If you want to be included in the Total ACT Response coordination meetings or updates about our Ukraine response, please fill out the form here
Days of heavy constant rain (9th -13th April 2022) in Kwa Zulu Province caused severe flooding. As a result, 8,000 homes were damaged, 40,000 people were left homeless and 450 persons lost their lives. Electricity and water networks were also destroyed. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Africa (ELCSA) aims to assist at least 1,300 families with electronic vouchers sent through the beneficiary's mobile phone to access emergency food and non-food items. The vouchers will be redeemed in major stores where they pay using the unique voucher number for each beneficiary. RRF 07 2022 South Africa Flood approved
The worst drought in 40 years resulting in poor harvests and rising food prices have resulted in acute food insecurity in Angola's southwestern provinces of Huila and Namibe provinces. Even though the lean season Oct-March has ended, the drought-affected areas remain vulnerable. Central and northern Angola registered accumulated rainfall above average from December to January 2022, while the southern provinces received below-average rainfall. The provinces of Namibe, Huila, and Cunene continue with below-average vegetation cover (WFP Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping). ACT Angola forum members LWF, NCA, and Council of Churches in Angola (CICA) have prepared an appeal to respond to the emergency and recovery needs of the affected. Angola_Response to Drought (ANG221)
The Tigray conflict, which started on 4 November 2020, has spread to neighboring Amhara and Afar regions. The situation continues to be highly fluid and unpredictable, with ongoing fighting in multiple locations significantly impacting humanitarian access and hampering quick response. On 24th March 2022, Ethiopia’s government declared “an indefinite humanitarian truce effective immediately”, saying it hoped to help hasten the delivery of emergency aid into the Tigray region. The following day Tigray forces accepted the humanitarian truce(according to government media). ETH 221 (first revision) is similar to ETH 221 apart from the inclusion of an additional requesting member Christian Aid. The appeal continues to strengthen the accomplishments of ETH201. ACT Ethiopia Forum members EOC-DICAC, EECC-DASSC, Christian Aid, LWF, NCA, HEKS, and DCA continue to respond to the needs of the most vulnerable. Ethiopia_Emergency Response to Northern Ethiopia Crisis in Tigray Amhara and Afar regions_
After a slow build up, the Russian Federation launched a military offensive in Ukraine on 24th February 2022 resulting in severe deterioration of the security situation. Armed violence quickly escalated in at least eight oblasts including the capital city of Kyiv, as well as in the eastern oblasts Donetska and Luhanska which were already affected by conflict.
The intense military escalation has resulted in loss of life, injuries and mass movement of the civilian population throughout the country and to neighbouring countries, as well as severe destruction and damage to infrastructure and residential housing. Martial law has been invoked allowing authorities to impose restrictions on movement; male Ukrainians 16 – 80 are prevented from leaving the country. All civil defence, civilian protection bodies and law enforcement entities are engaged in active armed conflict.
Public service provision - water, electricity, heating and emergency health and social services - is under severe pressure, and people’s access to health care is limited by insecurity. Primary services such as banking, social transfers and transport have been impacted, as have basic services, such as health, water, electricity and local administration. With the continuation of the military operation and mounting insecurity, supply chains are likely to be disrupted for a prolonged period. The ability of local authorities to sustain a minimum level of services has also been severely hampered, as employees have been displaced or can no longer access their workplace.
The expansion of the conflict is projected to deepen and expand humanitarian needs among millions of Ukrainians and exacerbate human suffering. UNOCHA estimates that over the course of the next three months, up to 6.7 million persons may be displaced inside Ukraine, it is projected 18 million people will be affected and 12 million people are expected to need humanitarian assistance.
The extensive violence immediately sparked a massive movement of people towards the borders. By 6th March 2022, more than 1.7 million refugees have fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries of Poland (1,028,000), Hungary (180,000) Slovakia (128,000), Moldova (83,000) Romania (79,000), the Russian Federation (53,000) and other European countries (184,000), according to UNHCR data. It has been reported that UNHCR is planning for up to 4 million refugees in the coming weeks. At this rate, the situation is set to become Europe’s largest refugee crisis of this century. According to UNHCR, an additional 96,000 people moved to the Russian Federation from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions between 18 and 23 February.
ACT members Hungarian Interchurch Aid, HEKS/EPER, Lutheran World Federation and the Europe forum will be responding in Ukraine, Hungary, Romania, Poland, and Slovakia with an appeal budget of USD21.532.853
UKR221 Ukraine conflict The revised appeal is published here: https://actalliance.org/appeals-rapid-response-funds/ukraine-emergency-response-for-communities-affected-by-ukraine-conflict-ukr221-revision1 The second revision is published here: https://actalliance.org/appeals-rapid-response-funds/ukraine-emergency-response-for-communities-affected-by-ukraine-conflict-ukr221-revision-2/Tropical Storm Ana hit the Southern and Central Districts of Malawi on Monday 24th January. Most parts of Southern Malawi were severely hit by heavy persistent rains and the strong influence of Tropical Storm Ana. In the aftermath of the storm, over 990,000 people urgently require life-saving and life-sustaining humanitarian assistance and protection support, as well as livelihood support to recover from their losses and rebuild their resilience, and access to basic service ( UNOCHA, 2022). The two national ACT members in Malawi, ELDS, and CARD are responding with a rapid response fund to meet the needs of the affected and displaced in the areas of WASH, food, Non Food Items, Livelihoods, and Psychosocial support. Malawi_Emergency Response to effects of Cyclone Ana
Super typhoon Rai, locally named Odette, brought torrential rains, violent winds, floods, storm surges and mudslides to Central and Southern Philippines in the afternoon of December 16, 2021. The 15th typhoon to hit the country and considered as one of the world's strongest storms last year, STY Rai left a wide path of destruction and debris in high-risk areas in at least seven regions including MIMAROPA, Western, Central and Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, SOCCKSKARGEN, and CARAGA, affecting over 9.9 million people in 531 municipalities. STY Rai left 1.57 million damaged houses, 500,000 more than of Haiyan, across 11 of the Philippines' 17 regions. Of these, 423,492 are totally destroyed and the most affected provinces are Cebu, Bohol (Region VII) and Surigao del Norte (Region XIII), accounting for 61% of destroyed homes. More than a month after Rai's onslaught, around 180,000-200,000 people remain displaced, either staying in evacuation centers or with family and relatives or other temporary housing. ACT Philippines Forum members, National Council of Churches in the Philippines and World Renew will be responding in the severely affected regions of the country with an appeal budget of USD1,607,162. PHL221 Typhoon Rai
Heavy rains hit different regions of Brazil, causing great damage. In the states of Sao Paulo (SP) and Rio de Janeiro (RJ), the most affected regions were: Metropolitan Region of the city of São Paulo and Alto Tiete region and the municipality of Petropolis - RJ. Between January 29 and 30, in SP, the amount of rain that hit the region was equivalent to the volume forecast for the entire month of January. In the city of Petropolis, RJ, on February 15, in just 3 hours, it rained a greater amount of rain than expected for the entire month of February. Such events have caused flooding, landslides, deaths, and other consequences. In the city of Petropolis - RJ, the number of deaths reached 198 of these 119 are women and 79 men. Of this total, 37 are minors. 875 people are housed in 13 shelters according to official figures so far, however, there is still little information on the total number of families that were displaced. There is a greater fragility of aid in rural areas of Petropolis. In the state of São Paulo, there are 5,770 homeless and displaced families and 37 affected municipalities. There are already 34 confirmed deaths as a result of flooding, flash floods and landslides. The highest number of deaths (18) is concentrated in the municipality of Franco da Rocha. This region still has dam infrastructure risk, which increases the severity of the scenario. Brazil is still in the rainy season with the possibility of new heavy rains and the risk of new floods and landslides. KOINONIA Presença Ecumênica e Serviço will provide assistance to the affected people through provision of food, cash assistance, and hygiene kits. RRF 04 2022 Brazil Floods FINAL_adjusted
The Global Rapid Response Fund (GRRF) is an annual funding appeal administered by the ACT Alliance secretariat. The fund prioritises ACT local and national members in line with our localisation commitments and in recognition of the distinct advantage these members have in providing timely, high quality, locally led emergency response interventions. Funds for the RRF are provided by ACT Alliance members and non-members. The revised ACT Humanitarian Policy came into effect on 01 January 2022. The policy reinforces our commitment to the localisation agenda. The tangible changes in the Global Rapid Response Fund, introduced under the revised Humanitarian Policy, reflect the primary role that local and national members play in humanitarian response within our Alliance. ACT Alliance through its national members has been at the forefront of supporting local responses, often in contexts that may not always attract the attention of the media and donors. In such contexts, the impact of disasters at community level can be profound, and it is in such instances where the relevance and effectiveness of local and national actors and faith-based organisations, as well as the reach of ACT Alliance, is clearly demonstrated. The budget for this year’s GRRF is USD3,257,835, with last year’s balance carried over of USD1,484,913. The total request for funding for GRRF22 is USD1,772,922. The increased budget reflects the increased scope of the GRRF to include medium-scale crises, and the fact that funding will be accessed by more local members as the Appeal mechanism will be limited to large scale emergencies. GRRF22 Appeal
The Tigray conflict, which started on 4 November 2020, has spread to neighboring Amhara and Afar regions. The situation continues to be highly fluid and unpredictable, with ongoing fighting in multiple locations significantly impacting humanitarian access and hampering the quick response. Before the Tigray conflict, Amhara Region hosted about 900,000 IDPs due to ethnic conflicts emanating from different parts of the country. ETH 221 is a continuation and strengthening of what has been accomplished in ETH201 in the same region with the same conflict-affected people but with a wider geographic location. ACT Ethiopia Forum members EOC-DICAC, EECC-DASSC, LWF, NCA, HEKS, and DCA have launched an appeal to respond to the needs of the most vulnerable. Ethiopia_Emergency Response to Northern Ethiopia Crisis in Tigray, Amhara, and Afar regions.
Sudan has a long-standing tradition of hosting refugees. The crisis in Sudan has gradually evolved into a complex humanitarian situation characterised by localized armed clashes, intercommunal violence, displacement, max influx of refugees: Humanitarian partners estimate that about 14.3 million people – 30 per cent of the population – will need humanitarian assistance in 2022. This is a 0.8-million-person increase compared to 2021. Armed confrontations between federal and regional Ethiopian forces (Tigray region), started in November 2020 has led tens of thousands Ethiopian refugees to flee their home seek refuge in Sudan, through the states of Kassala, Gedaref, and Blue Nile. As of end of October 2021, about 58,000 refugees from Ethiopia sought shelter, protection, and assistance in Gedaref and Kassala States. Sudan continues to experience climatic shocks and hazards. In 2021, floods have so far affected 12 out of 18 states across the country, 55,700 people, destructed and damaged around 12,000 houses and an unconfirmed number of public infrastructures and farmland. The socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and political instability disrupted livelihoods of vulnerable households and aggravated food insecurity, malnutrition and protection risks. ACT Alliance in joint collaboration with Caritas Internationalis, with respectively the Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) and CAFOD acting as lead agencies, will be responding to support the Ethiopian Refugees and host communities in East Sudan, aiming to reach a total of reaching 16,500 individuals (49% female and 51 male) with a total budget of € 1,086765, targeting WASH, Energy and Environment sectors and Protection/ GBV support services. SDN221 ACT-Caritas Appeal
On 14 August 2021, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck southwestern Haiti at 8:30 am and Tropical Depression Grace passed over Haiti on Monday 16 August, resulting in flooding and landslides. The earthquake had resulted in at least 2 207 deaths, injured more than 12 268 in the country, while 320 people remained missing as of 21 August according to the Government of Haiti. Rapid assessments indicated that the earthquake damaged or destroyed 36 health facilities, 77 006 houses damaged, and 52 953 houses destroyed. The assessments in the most heavily affected areas in Grand-Anse, Sud and Nippes departments continue with at least 600 000 in need of assistance. Haiti has long been afflicted by multiple humanitarian challenges including recurring natural disasters, grinding poverty, armed gang violence, chronic and acute food insecurity, and the Covid-19 pandemic. These challenges provided a foothold for the 2021 earthquake which is the primary emergency for now. The crippling multidimensional social and humanitarian consequences will be felt for years. About five years after the tropical storm Matthew that hit southwestern and northwestern Haiti in 2016, the number of Haitians facing severe acute food insecurity has increased from 2.6 million in 2019 to 3.1 million people in 2020 in rural areas. Of those people, 1.2 million were facing emergency levels of hunger. In June 2021, an IPC analysis carried out by the National Coordination of Food Security (CNSA) projected that 4.6 million people need humanitarian assistance. ACT Haiti Forum is responding to the disaster through requesting members: Service Chrétien d´Haïti, Christian Aid, Church World Service, Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe, Lutheran World Federation/Norwegian Church Aid, World Renew with a budget of USD 3,615,859. HTI211 Haiti Earthquake Appeal_Revised_20220725
A new tropical cyclone named BATSIRAI formed over the Indian Ocean on 27 January and started moving westward, toward Mauritius, Réunion, and Madagascar. On February 05, 2022, around 15.00 UCT, its center was located 118 kilometers from the East coast of Madagascar. Madagascar was still picking up the pieces after Tropical Storm Ana affected at least 131, 000 people across the island in late January with almost fifty-five deaths (Aljazeera, Feb 2022). At least 20 deaths are reported with 15,489 households displaced according to CRIC (Intersectoral Reflection Committee for Disasters). At the national level, the operational structure under the leadership of the National Risk and Disaster Management Office (BNGRC) has coordinated emergency response actions. The two national ACT members in Madagascar are SAF/FJKM (The church of Christ in Madagascar) and SMT FLM Malagasy Lutheran Church) are planning to respond to the crisis. Madagascar_Cyclone BATSIRAI (alert).
From January 23rd to 25th 2022, there was accumulated precipitation under influence of Tropical Storm Ana that made Mozambique experience heavy rain across the country, affecting the Northern area of the country. The storm subsequently headed westwards, significantly affecting Nampula, Zambezia, and Tete provinces respectively. The Tropical Storm Ana reached the province of Nampula, Zambezia, and Tete on the 24th, having entered from Angoche district. This storm influenced the weather, heavy to very strong rains, accompanied by thunderstorms and winds of 85 to 100 km/h and gusts up to 130 km. The short- and long-term consequences for people are particularly difficult for female-headed households (FHHs), including widows, who are both the income provider and main caregiver. The identified gaps so far include the need of food and non-food items, water sanitation, temporary shelter, clothing and all the costs to maintain the processes to reduce vulnerabilities and risk, which is incorporated within each sector. CEDES will support the affected communities with WASH activities which include providing clean water through water filters in Angoche and Meconta in Nampula Province, where CEDES is implementing some projects such as Bread for the World working with communities in components of food security and livelihood. Mozambique_Storm Ana.
Tropical storm Ana made landfall in Namwala, Itezhitezhi, Choma, and Monze districts, in the Southern province of Zambia between 25th -26th January 2022. The storm came westwards and subsequently headed Southwards to the borders of Zimbabwe (Gwembe and Livingstone districts), then Botswana (Kazungula district), Namibia (Sesheke, Samoa districts), and Angola (Shang’ombo district) significantly affecting Southern and Western provinces of Zambia. There have been damages to public infrastructure and private homes, widespread floods, displacements, as well as interruption of basic services reported. The ACT Alliance Zambia Forum members are concerned about this storm and are currently conducting a rapid assessment in affected areas. Zambia_Tropical Storm Ana.
On 24th and 25th January 2022, most parts of Southern Malawi were severely hit by heavy persistent rains and strong winds due to the influence of Tropical Storm Ana. The tropical storm, that originated in the Indian Ocean, North-East of Madagascar, made landfall in Malawi on 25th January 2022, through the Southern Region in Malawi. The storm has now affected a total of 49,214 households (270,677 people) and left 11 people dead and 107 with injuries. The scale of devastation is so unprecedented that on 26th January 2022, the President declared a state of disaster over the affected districts. Tropical storm ANA-induced disaster caused widespread floods and displaced thousands of people. The storm has damaged power, road, and communications infrastructure disrupted schools, destroyed homes, washed away crops, and contaminated water sources like boreholes, wells, and other WASH facilities. The stormy rains have largely affected many districts in the Southern Region, with Mulanje, Phalombe, Thyolo, Blantyre City, Zomba, Neno, Machinga, Mangochi, Balaka, Chikwawa and Nsanje, and Mwanza among the worst hit. Thousands of households in these districts are hosted in school and church compounds/camps and others are hosted by relatives. ACT Malawi Forum national members CARD and ELDS are planning to conduct a rapid assessment and plan to submit a rapid response fund request to support the affected. Malawi-Floods alert
In the afternoon of Thursday the 16 December 2021, the region of CARAGA and other affected regions in the Philippines, was battered by catastrophic winds sustained at 195 kilometers per hour with gusts of up to 270 km/h brought by Super Typhoon Rai (local name: Odette). Typhoon Rai, a category 5 typhoon in its initial landfall, wreaked havoc in several regions and made landfall in a number of areas in Mindanao and Visayas (southern Philippines) and parts of Luzon. According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), Typhoon Rai has killed at 31 people and displaced 488,463 persons, with numbers still increasing as reports from the local government units continue to pour in. The typhoon left the Philippine area of responsibility on Saturday afternoon, 18 December. Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal 4 was raised in several provinces which meant very destructive typhoon-force winds were experienced. Floodwaters in some areas reached chest-high and some even reaching the roofs of many houses, inundating many low-lying communities. Flashfloods and storm surges were reported in coastal areas. Houses and infrastructure, as well as agricultural lands were devastated. There were power outages and downed telecommunication lines caused by heavy rains and strong winds, making it very challenging to get information on the damages in badly affected areas, particularly small islands. The Philippines is the ninth country most-prone to the impacts of climate change, and the poor communities are the ones mostly experiencing the brunt of extreme climate-induced weather events. Evacuation centers for the typhoon affected families are being updated since some of them were used as isolation facilities to those who contracted COVID-19. Since the Omicron variant was just detected in the country, there is a possibility of an outbreak if the cases will not be detected and contained. Meanwhile, the supposed mass COVID-19 vaccination drive in most of the country was postponed due to the storm. ALERT Philippines Typhoon
According to OCHA, in 2,021, 126,675 people crossed the border between Colombia and Panama through the Darien Gap. Notwithstanding high under-reporting, local authorities and national and international NGOs located in the area have identified that many people from several countries chose the Darien Gap as a viable migration route, despite the great challenges imposed by the geography of the place and the conflict dynamics present in the territory: In the first three months of 2022, 13,425 people crossed through the Gap—at a rate of more than double when compared with the 5,622 people who crossed in the same period in 2,021.
As per the Colombian Ombudsman in his last field visit to Necoclí (Antioquia) in June 2022, the dire humanitarian situation is driven by mixed migratory flows, that sum up more than 19,000 refugees and migrants (about 25% of them are children) coming from Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela, and some African countries, who are stranded in the municipality of Necocli seeking to reach Central America and the US.
Some other trends identified by the Ombudsman and UN agencies such as UNICEF are as follows: i) migrant profile has changed as most of the migrant population stagnated come from Venezuela, extremely impoverished as many of them come from countries as far as Chile on foot, by bus and lack the resources to sustain themselves and pay the high cost of crossing the border; ii) the increase of migrant families with children, in comparison to 2,021 when the predominant demographic group migrating were young male individuals and, iii) the most concerning trend, the increase of non-accompanied children. According to UNICEF, the number of non-accompanied children has increased twofold in 2,022 with 169 children aged 0 to 17 years and 41 children aged 13 to 17 years, who are more vulnerable to human trafficking, exploitation and, use and forced recruitment by illegal groups. Up to date, 5,000 children have crossed the border since January 2,022.
The ACT forum Colombia through one of its members, the Fundación de Diaconia PAZOS, is planning on submitting an Appeal proposal to provide humanitarian relief through the adaptation of a temporary shelter that meets the habitability conditions. It is also expected to provide humanitarian assistance in food security (delivery of CVA), WASH (delivery of hygiene kits), and Protection (including SGBV and Child Protection, through psychosocial support and the strengthening of the local referral mechanism).
ACT Alert Colombia 2022In the afternoon of Saturday the 4 December 2021, the sub-districts of Pronojiwo and Candipuro in the district of Lumajang in East Java, Indonesia, was hit by volcanic eruption of Mount Semeru. As of 9th December, the government reported 43 people killed, 218 injured, and 5,205 people directly affected, with some 3,697 people who are displaced. UN OCHA recorded more than 300 government and non-government institutions that have provided relief assistance to the affected people . ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) reported 2,970 houses were damaged and thirteen public facilities . ACT Indonesia Forum members, PELKESI and YEU, will access ACT's Rapid Response Fund to respond to the disaster. ALERT Indonesia Volcanic Eruption
The worst drought in 40 years and rising food prices have resulted in high acute food insecurity in Angola. A recent IPC report shows that 1.58 million people are likely to be food insecure (out of which 416,600 people in IPC4) throughout the end of 2021 and until March 2022. The ACT Angola forum is planning to submit an Appeal to provide the much-needed emergency food and WASH-related support to affected communities. The agencies include Norwegian Church Aid, Lutheran World Federation- World Service, and Conselho de Igrejas Cristã em Angola (a national member). Angola_Drought
On the early morning of Saturday, the 14th of August 2021 at 8:30am, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit the Southern peninsula of Haiti with Petit Trou de Nippes as the epicenter of the earthquake. The vibration was felt all over the country and as far as Jamaica. Aftershocks are still happening with more than three registering more than 6.2 magnitude in the Richter scale. About 1,297 deaths were initially reported and more than 5,000 people injured according to the civil protection direction (DPC). About 7,369 houses have been destroyed and 4,852 houses damaged in the three departments of the Sud, Grand Anse and Nippes. Several public buildings such as schools, churches, hotels, and private enterprises have also collapsed. More than 14,000 families have been affected in the three departments.). Some affected areas have lost access to electricity, communication, water, transportation access (by air and land), and in some cases, food sources. The Haitian government has started to deploy rescue and assistance to the affected areas. Tropical Storm Grace is also predicted to hit the country in the morning of the 17th of August 2021 making the situation worse. The storm may have devastating impact on the people already affected by the earthquake. While last month, Haiti’s president was assassinated, causing turmoil in the country. ACT Alliance is currently monitoring the situation and is supporting local partners to carry out rapid needs assessments in affected areas. Emergency teams are preparing to be deployed. The forum plans to raise an appeal pending their needs assessment analysis. Alert Haiti Earthquake
In Liberia, from 3rd January 2020 to 16th July 2021, there have been 5,306 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 148 deaths, as reported by the World Health Organization. Liberia has administered at least 95,423 doses of COVID vaccines so far. Assuming every person needs 2 doses, that is enough to have vaccinated about 1% of the country’s population. Liberia is reporting 43 new infections on average each day, expressing a 23% peak — with the highest daily average reported on July 8th, 2021. In Liberia, there is a misconception that traditional herbs will prevent/cure one of COVID-19, especially among the rural dwellers. As a result, there is apathy to seek much-needed medical attention in hospitals when symptoms persist. Unfortunately, this situation is exacerbated as hospitals have been turning away patients due to their lack of medication. Also, there is a need to support proper diet to expedite the recovery of patients. ACT Liberia Forum is planning to respond to the needs of the most vulnerable through an appeal. Liberia_Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
On Thursday the 15 July 2021, Indonesia entered the worst-case scenario in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. An additional 56,757 confirmed positive cases were reported. The capacity of government health facilities and isolation shelters government is incapable of coping with the increasing wave of positive cases. Hospitals located on the island of Java are over capacity, and the number of health workers exposed and dying continues to grow. The ACT Indonesia forum is planning on submitting a funding proposal to ensure that the epidemic affected persons’ basic needs are met with regards to access to health services for Covid-19 patients, access to vaccinations and health promotion education for the communities, strengthening of health facilities, and support for health workers. Alert-Covid-19 Emergency in Indonesia
On the morning of Monday 01 February 2021, the government of Myanmar was thrown into a political crisis. The ensuing waves of mass protest grew increasingly violent. The political crisis resulted in a collapse of public services and widespread armed conflict, impacting the lives of people living in urban centres as well as remote rural villages. Communities where many ACT Alliance partners are working face massive impacts as a result of the combined emergencies of armed conflict and COVID-19. Market systems and food production systems are disrupted due movement restrictions imposed to prevent spread of COVID-19 and related to the conflict itself. In some parts of the country, farmers are not planting rice this monsoon season (May – October) because they fear that this substantial investment will just result in their crops being confiscated by the combatants. The banking sector has been severely disrupted and people are very cash poor. Food prices have started to skyrocket. As of 01 June 2021, the situation has further deteriorated, and the needs have increased. Priority needs include food, shelter, and access to water and latrines. The lack of WASH facilities may lead to deadly diarrheal outbreaks and entire communities are vulnerable to COVID-19 because large numbers of displaced households are now sleeping together in crowded and poorly ventilated spaces such as churches and monasteries. Furthermore, cases of malaria have been reported among the displaced population sheltering in the jungle following the early arrival of the monsoons. Access to IDPs remains restricted due to ongoing fighting, remote muddy terrain, road blockages, and increasing landmine risks. Local partners and experts warn of a looming food security crisis if internally displaced persons (IDPs) are not able to return to their homes to tend to their crops and livestock. The full onset of the monsoon season in June will pose additional logistical challenges for humanitarian access. As the needs grow, local responders are increasingly stretched and require additional financial support to reach the most vulnerable among displaced communities. Alert Myanmar Complex Crisis
Head of Humanitarian Affairs
Global
niall.orourke@actalliance.org
Geneva, Switzerland
Regional Humanitarian Officer
Africa
Caroline.Njogu@actalliance.org
Nairobi, Kenya
Humanitarian Operations Manager
Global
Cyra.Bullecer@actalliance.org
Bangkok, Thailand
Humanitarian Programme Advisor
MENA
Amman, Jordan
