Humanitarian agencies release updated regional contingency plan

The most recent regional contingency plan for the Great Lakes Region of Africa - the result of a June meeting of United Nations agencies, NGOs, the Red Cross family and donor governments - has been released. In addition to a regional plan, the report provides country-specific information, "most likely" and "worst case" scenarios, early warning indicators, as well as caseloads, gaps, and constraints faced in Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. Although it had been previously omitted, the Republic of Congo has also been included in recognition of recent developments and the potential for further conflict in the country, which might impact on other countries in the region. A section has also been included on contingency planning and preparedness for possible volcanic and seismic activity in the Goma region of eastern DRC. The annual Regional Contingency Planning Meeting took place from 24 to 26 June 2002 in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. An interim meeting among agency focal points is normally scheduled after six months in order to keep plans updated in the rapidly evolving situation of the Great Lakes. [For the main report, go to: http://www.reliefweb.int/library/documents/2002/ocha-glr-continplan-jun.pdf] [For the annexes to the report, go to: http://www.reliefweb.int/library/documents/2002/ocha-glr-continplan-annex-jun.pdf]