This bulletin is being issued for information only and reflects the current drought situation and details available at this time within the Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI).
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is working with the RMI Government and other key international actors to identify the support required for the drought response and early recovery. Assistance being provided by IFRC is in partnership with New Zealand Red Cross, Kiribati Red Cross Society and Australian Red Cross. IFRC is currently analyzing the possibility of launching an Emergency Appeal.
Summary
Due to an extended dry period, the RMI Government declared a state of emergency for the northern areas of the RMI on 19 April 2013, which was followed by a declaration of a state of disaster on 8 May for 13 atolls/islands. The disaster assessments undertaken have identified that the communities in these northern atolls/islands are being severely affected by the drought and face potential health, environmental, social and economic hardship, due to the persistent dry weather. The most pressing humanitarian needs are access to safe water and the growing need for food due to local crop failure. Villages have had to ration water to preserve supplies, and the number of affected atolls/islands has since increased from 13 to 15. The drought is now reported to be affecting some 6,400 people across 15 atolls/islands north of Majuro.
The RMI Government initiated the National Disaster Committee (NDC) which then led to the activation of the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in the capital, Majuro. The EOC is the critical platform for coordination with key government entity representatives and cluster leads based in the centre. With the support of the UNDAC (United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination) team, the RMI has established four clusters to manage sector specific interventions in water and sanitation, health, food security and logistics. An UNDAC team was leading the support to RMI Government in developing the cluster/Humanitarian Action Plan (HAP).
The RMI Government has now released for general circulation the: “Immediate and Near-Term Drought Response Plan for the Republic of the Marshall Islands”. This plan details the work to be undertaken within each of the four clusters of Food, WASH, Health and Logistics. The plan also highlights the IFRC as one of the key partners from which the RMI Government can access support.
The RMI National Volunteer Group (NVG) is aiming to establish a National Society of Red Cross within RMI. The NVG, with the agreement of the RMI Government, requested support from the IFRC to provide assistance for the drought response. Therefore, the IFRC, New Zealand Red Cross (NZRC), Australian Red Cross (ARC) and Kiribati Red Cross Society have been working together to provide assistance to the RMI. The IFRC continues to work with partners to finalize an IFRC Plan of Action to address the humanitarian needs resulting from this drought and is currently analyzing the possibility of launching an Emergency Appeal. The RMI Government and international partners continue to respond cooperatively to the drought situation. In addition to IFRC and Red Cross societies, the following partners are involved: UNDAC, Asian Development Bank (ADB), AusAID, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), International Organization for Migration (IOM), New Zealand Aid Programme, World Health Organization (WHO), Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Regional Office for the Pacific (ROP), Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), UNICEF, U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), USAID/Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), and the Embassy of Japan.