WEST AFRICA: IRIN Digest - March 2015

	humanitarian news and analysis

Table of contents 1. What does the Boko Haram/IS alliance mean? 2. Selective justice fears revived in Côte d'Ivoire 3. Nigerian police neglect widows of cops slain by Boko Haram - study 4. Photo gallery: Ebola overshadows Decoration Day in Liberia 5. "Let's finish the job" : UN Ebola envoy 6. Coaxing the dragon: Why China should join the great aid debate 7. Outsourcing asylum 8. A long wait for home - how Ebola kept refugees stuck in Liberia 9. What you need to know about DRR 10. Ebola and HIV: how to change behaviour for the long term 11. One year on: why Ebola is not yet over in Guinea 12. Millions of aid dollars lost in currency swings 13. Record-breaking year for asylum claims: 8 key trends 14. Nigerians the winners in tense election 15. Take the medicine trail What does the Boko Haram/IS alliance mean? NAIROBI, 10 March 2015 (IRIN) - Nigeria's insurgent group Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad (People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad), better known as Boko Haram, has declared allegiance to Islamic State (IS), the group formerly known as ISIS. While commentators - perhaps some with the benefit of hindsight - say this had been on the cards, what does it actually mean? Read report online Selective justice fears revived in Côte d'Ivoire ABIDJAN, 11 March 2015 (IRIN) - The sentencing of Côte d'Ivoire's former first lady, Simone Gbagbo, could reignite longstanding tensions in the country, where social, ethnic and religious divides have run deep for more than a decade. Read report online Nigerian police neglect widows of cops slain by Boko Haram - study NAIROBI, 12 March 2015 (IRIN) - The Nigerian Police Force is not only failing to pay all the financial benefits owed to the families of their men killed in action against Boko Haram militants, but in some cases sexual favours and kickbacks have been demanded of the widows in return for the dues they did receive, according to new research in the northern city of Kano's police command. Read report online Photo gallery: Ebola overshadows Decoration Day in Liberia MONROVIA, 12 March 2015 (IRIN) - Thousands of recently bereaved Liberian families, in the wake of the ongoing Ebola outbreak, have no graves to visit this year on Decoration Day. Read report online "Let's finish the job" : UN Ebola envoy DAKAR, 16 March 2015 (IRIN) - At the height of the Ebola outbreak in September, the United Nations appointed public health expert Dr. David Nabarro as its Special Envoy on Ebola. He spoke to IRIN from New York about ongoing challenges and lessons learned. Read report online Coaxing the dragon: Why China should join the great aid debate LONDON, 17 March 2015 (IRIN) - Amid the countless meetings, summits and conferences being held around the world to determine the post-2015 development agenda and the future of humanitarian aid, how much attention is being paid to the growing role of China? Not enough perhaps, but the wariness cuts both ways. James Wan, fellow at the Wits University China-Africa Reporting Project in South Africa, argues it's time for China to get its hands dirty in the great aid debate. Read report online Outsourcing asylum LONDON, 17 March 2015 (IRIN) - As the EU considers outsourcing asylum screening to North Africa, our Migration Editor looks at what lessons can be learned from Australia's use of offshore processing for asylum seekers. Read report online A long wait for home - how Ebola kept refugees stuck in Liberia ABIDJAN, 18 March 2015 (IRIN) - Nearly 38,000 Ivorian refugees living in Liberia have been unable to return home since July 2014, when Cote d'Ivoire closed its borders with Liberia due to the Ebola outbreak. Read report online What you need to know about DRR NAIROBI, 18 March 2015 (IRIN) - A new global plan to prepare for future natural and climate-linked disasters agreed in Sendai, Japan today has been condemned by development NGOs as lacking in ambition and short-changing poorer countries that are most at risk. Read report online Ebola and HIV: how to change behaviour for the long term NAIROBI, 20 March 2015 (IRIN) - Ebola-hit countries are working hard to reduce their infection rates and get to zero, with mixed success. But when the day does come and the crisis is declared over, how can prevention lessons be made to stick? Are there models to emulate from the global HIV campaign? Read report online One year on: why Ebola is not yet over in Guinea CONAKRY/DAKAR, 23 March 2015 (IRIN) - The Ebola outbreak, which was first declared on 22 March 2014, continues to ravage the country, in large part because information campaigns have failed to bring about comprehensive changes in behavior and beliefs. Read report online Millions of aid dollars lost in currency swings BEIRUT/GENEVA, 26 March 2015 (IRIN) - Currency fluctuations this year could cost relief agencies hundreds of millions of dollars in lost income, threatening aid to millions of people around the world. Read report online Record-breaking year for asylum claims: 8 key trends OXFORD, 26 March 2015 (IRIN) - 2014 was a year of records for asylum claims, according to an annual round-up released today by the UN Refugee Agency, which noted that 866,000 claims were made in the world's industrialized nations, double the figure for 2013. Read report online Nigerians the winners in tense election KADUNA, 31 March 2015 (IRIN) - Nigeria's presidential election has been won by Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler who becomes the first opposition leader ever to unseat an incumbent. Will an election whose result has been accepted by the defeated president, Goodluck Jonathan, help to heal Nigeria's deep divisions? Read report online Take the medicine trail OXFORD, 2 April 2015 (IRIN) - IRIN has delved into the global supply chains used by humanitarian aid agencies. Join us on the time-consuming and perilous journey many drugs have to make before they reach those most in need and can begin to save lives. Read report online

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