Guinea
1.1 Guinea Humanitarian Background
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Disasters, Conflicts and Migration

Natural Disasters

Yes / No

Comments / Details

Drought

Yes The most severe drought took place in 2001. Deforestation, desertification, soil contamination and erosion, overpopulation in forest regions and poor mining practices have led to environmental damage. 

Earthquakes

Yes Tremors could occur. An earthquake in 1983 hit Conakry, Boffa and Forécariah leaving 300 victims and thousands injured and homeless.

Epidemics

Yes Ebola outbreak in 2014/2015, Malaria, severe Cholera outbreaks, Measles, HIV/AIDS, Neglected Tropical Diseases, Yellow fever, Tuberculosis and Meningitis

Extreme Temperatures

Yes In the northern parts of the country in Boke region during the dry season temperature can go above 40° Celsius.

Flooding

Yes Floods during the rainy season from July to October, especially in Guinea Forest, and along the Ivory Coast, Liberian and Sierra Leone borders. In Low Guinea, rivers are flooded and thus road traffic is often blocked. Prefectures of particular concern are: Boké, Dabola, Kankan, Mandiana. Immediate problems after floods include access to aforementioned areas of concern, as well as loss of harvests and food stocks.

Insect Infestation

Yes There might in some years be migratory locusts in the Northern East area.

Mudslides

Yes Due to the heavy rain in the rainy season and the topography of the land and soil in addition to the abusive deforestation.

Volcanic Eruptions

No There are no known active volcanoes in Guinea, only an extinct one which formed the three islands just facing Conakry.

High Waves / Surges

Yes Guinea has a 320 km of coastline; therefore the country is exposed to an eventual tsunami or floods caused by high waves in case a major earthquake happens in the Atlantic Ocean.

Wildfires

Yes Occur during the dry season. The main issue is the lack of will in the local population to fight these incidents.

High Winds

Yes The Harmattan is a cold-dry and dusty trade wind, blowing over the West African region. This north-easterly wind blows from the Sahara Desert into the Gulf of Guinea between the end of November and the middle of March.

Other Comments

Guinea was the epicentre of the Ebola outbreak in 2014 which heavily affected the country. 

Man-Made Issues

Civil Strife

Yes The presidential elections will take place in 11th October 2015 which might lead to protests and manifestations.

International Conflict

Yes Guinea is exposed to international conflicts such as in Ivory coast or south Sénégal. The civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone also affected the country.

Internally Displaced Persons

Yes N/A

Refugees Present

Yes 5,500 Refugees from Ivory Coast are present in the region of N’zérékoré

Landmines / UXO Present

No N/A

Other Comments

Food insecurity during the lean season (June – August), water contamination due to households without potable water, malnutrition in the eastern regions. 

 

For more detailed database on disasters by country, please see the Centre for Research on Epidemiology of Disasters: EMDAT information on Guinea

Calamities and Seasonal Effects

Seasonal Effects on Transport

Transport

Comments

From (month) to (month)

Primary Road Transport

The primary roads are in good condition as they are paved and there is continuous rehabilitation work on them. However, in some parts they can be affected during the rainy season especially between Kissidougou and Guékedou and between Guékedou and Macenta.

June - November

Secondary Road Transport

The secondary roads are generally dirt roads which deteriorate very quickly in the rainy season making them impracticable.

May - November

Rail Transport

The rail transport isexclusively for some mining companies. The Conakry Express of 40 Km long is used to transport passengers only twice a day.

 

Air Transport

The heavy rain and storms in the rainy season might cause some delays and the Harmattan dust storms during the dry season might reduce the visibility and cause delays.

January - December

Waterway Transport

The port of Conakry suffers from congestion especially during the rainy season.  

June - September

There are a significant number of transporters in the Conakry therefore there is no lack of trucks. The harvest season has little impact on the availability of trucks as the farmers and merchants use the cheapest trucks owned by individuals or small companies. Also, the type of trucks suitable for their transport are mainly of 20 mt or less due to the bad roads. The secondary and tertiary roads are in bad condition and it is difficult for heavy trucks (more than 20 mt) to use them during the rainy season. The Port of Conakry faces delays and congestion from 15 June up to 15 September due to the rainy season. 

Seasonal Effects on Storage and Handling (economic, social, climate…)

Activity

Comments

From <month> to <month>

Storage

In general, there is limited storage capacity in the country.

January to December

Handling

Due to the high rate of unemployment, daily workers are available around the year.

 

Due to the limited capacity in storage and the difficult transportation during the rainy season, it is highly recommended to pre-position humanitarian assistance (Food, NFI and other) closer to the beneficiaries before the rainy season.  

Capacity and Contacts for In-Country Emergency Response

Government

SENAH “Service National de l’Action Humanitaire,” (National Service for Humanitarian Action), is responsible for the management and prevention of national catastrophes, and liaises with different actors (local and national authorities, NGOs, etc.) in the case of emergency. SENAH has no financial or logistics capacity that can be effectively used. SENAH’s activities are not very visible but they may act as government part in case of serious emergency in collaboration with the UN team. They participate in cluster meetings and contribute to contingency planning elaboration. SENAH is the governmental interface to emergencies with decentralized structures at level of sub regions where focal points are based. BRICS, part of SENAH, is in N’zerekoré and interested in the issues of refugees. 

In 2014, Guinea was the epicentre of the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in West Africa with the first detected cases in March of that year in the Guinea Forest region in the south east of the country. A national health emergency was declared on 13 August 2014 and a Presidential Decree established the National Coordination Committee for Monitoring and Control of the Ebola Epidemic, under the chairmanship of Dr. Sakoba Keita and the vice chairmanship of Dr. Sekou Conde. This committee was empowered to organize all necessary measures for the epidemiological monitoring of citizens visiting Guinea, informing the public about protective measures, and training staff on the use of disease surveillance and protection. The MoH had also activated the national and district emergency management committees to coordinate the response.

For information on Guinea Government contact details, please see the following link: 4.1 Guinea Government Contact List

Humanitarian Community

The mechanism of emergency preparedness is functional in Guinea and more enhanced in the forest Guinea (Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone) border zone. Heads of United Nations agencies, NGOs representatives of and Government representatives participate at different levels in emergency preparedness. The SMT and UNCT are heads of UN agency meetings, involved in security questions and operational issues and ahead by the Resident Coordinator. COPIA coordinates emergency operations and brings together heads or deputy heads of UN agencies, NGOs and Government. Cluster leads are nominated by agencies according to their mandate. Different clusters are represented in the forest Guinea in sectorial meeting. UN agencies send out joint funding appeals for emergencies. A call for funds of the CAPE is ongoing involving UNHCR and WFP. CERF funds are also requested from time to time depending on the type of emergency. During the Ebola response, the number of UN agencies and NGOs in the country increased greatly. WFP provided to humanitarian community with logistics services in storage, transportation and the construction of Ebola Treatment Units across the country. 

For more information, please see the following links:

Humanitarian Diagram

4.2 Guinea Humanitarian Agency Contact List

 

 

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