A/HRC/29/34
host families and communities, who may also face food insecurity. Where displacement
becomes protracted, without durable solutions in place, food security and nutrition
problems may be particularly pronounced, especially where humanitarian aid has
diminished or ended. Often lacking adequate coping mechanisms, IDPs are amongst the
most vulnerable communities in terms of food security.
53.
While humanitarian aid staples often consist of rice, beans, oil and tinned
produce, as well as products to meet the nutritional needs of children, there is frequently a
shortage of higher value or perishable foodstuffs, such as meat, fish and vegetables. A
restricted diet over any significant period can result in inadequate nutrition and
malnutrition, with a lasting effect on the health of individuals and their susceptibility to
illness. In this respect, the Special Rapporteur stresses the importance of taking into account
the specific needs of children, breastfeeding mothers and groups with specific dietary
habits, such as nomadic peoples. Systematically implementing an approach to hunger and
food security that recognizes the need for availability, accessibility, acceptability and
quality, means also including IDPs.
54.
During his joint visit to the Central African Republic in February 2015, the
Special Rapporteur deplored the living conditions of nearly 500 members of the Peulh
minority group, trapped in an enclave in Yaloke.18 According to reports, the food being
distributed in Yaloke does not meet the cultural and nutritional needs of the Peulh minority
group. The Peulh, living largely on a diet of beef and milk from cattle, are not used to the
rice and beans that humanitarian agencies distribute. As of December 2014, over 40 Peulh
had died from malnutrition and other diseases, the majority of them children.
55.
In many displacement situations access to land, livestock and employment are
essential elements of durable solutions and development that must be put in place to enable
IDPs to reduce or eliminate their dependency on humanitarian aid. Furthermore, where
large numbers of IDPs are sheltered within host communities they can be a heavy burden
on the food security of such non-IDP communities, whose food resources must be spread
further.
Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
56.
IDPs frequently lose access to health care and medicines and rely heavily on
humanitarian health-care assistance. The situation is particularly acute in the least
developed countries where health-care provision is generally poor and in rural areas where
facilities are sparse. In cases of large-scale displacement, the capacity of existing healthcare services is often inadequate to respond to the psychological and physical health-care
needs of IDPs. In urban settings, the challenges are also acute and include lack of capacity
of health-care services, and challenges relating to documentation and possible
discrimination. The costs of services and medicines frequently put adequate health care out
of the reach of IDPs.
57.
Médecins Sans Frontières has highlighted the health-care challenges facing
IDPs, especially in the context of conflict, noting that “while programmes exist to provide
surgical and other care to these victims, the vast majority will not receive the care they need
because they live in regions where the health-care system has collapsed and where it is too
dangerous for independent aid agencies to operate”.19 To achieve that target “for all at all
ages”, requires resolving the health-care and well-being challenges experienced by IDPs.
18
19
14
See UNHCR, Questions and answers, “UN rapporteur looks at how to restore stability and peaceful
coexistence in CAR” (27 February 2015), available from www.unhcr.org/54f090f06.html.
Available from www.doctorswithoutborders.org/our-work/humanitarian-issues/refugees-and-idps.
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