Rising tensions in Chad could hinder relief operations
May 3, 2006 (N’DJAMENA) — Amid rising tensions and reported preparations for armed attacks in Chad, the United Nations World Food Programme warned today election day that food is becoming a serious issue for some 70,000 people who have either fled the continuous armed incursions in the east of the country or are resident there.
A WFP-led food security assessment mission which has just returned from
eastern Chad, bordering the troubled Sudanese region of Darfur, said that
while the situation was not yet cause for alarm, the food stocks of some
50,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) were rapidly being depleted as
they share their limited resources with around 20,000 people hosting them.
Malnutrition rates in the areas visited by the assessment team are currently within acceptable norms (Global Acute Malnutrition of between 5.5
and 8 percent, with Severe Acute Malnutrition below two percent for
children under five).
“We need to work fast now to avoid any sudden deterioration in these
people’s nutritional status,” said Stefano Porretti, WFP Chad Country
Director. “We are aiming to launch seed protection activities in areas
which can be cultivated, so that Chadians remain self-sufficient for as
long as possible. No general food distributions are planned at the moment,
but we are keeping a close eye on how the situation evolves.”
Despite last month’s clashes around the country between government and
rebel forces and the consequent relocation of non-essential UN and NGO
staff, WFP remains operational in Chad and completed April food
distributions in 12 camps in the east of the country, home to about 210,000
refugees from Darfur. However, uncertain security threatens to make an
already highly complex logistical operation even more difficult.
“Even under normal circumstances, WFP’s operation in eastern Chad teeters
on the brink,” said Porretti, “We want to ensure that the world is aware of
how dire the situation could become for those people both displaced
Chadians and refugees from Darfur who depend on our assistance.”
April and May are critical months to maintaining supplies of food, with WFP
striving to pre-position enough food for six months in each of the 12
refugee camps in the east before the annual rains make road transport
impossible. If truck convoys through Libya and Cameroon remain free to
move, WFP is on target to get the food in place. But if insecurity forces
delays, there will be serious consequences for deliveries.
Shortages during the rainy season can only be made up by expensive
air-drops, something WFP is keen to avoid.
The closure of the border between Chad and Sudan following the rebel
assault on the capital in April could also have a serious impact on WFP
operations in West Darfur, where the agency is currently feeding a total of
500,000 people. Much of the food for the needy in West Darfur arrives from
Libya via Chad, but the border closure has rendered this route unusable..
As the annual ‘hunger season’ begins to bite, it is certain that many of
The displaced Chadians, as well as the communities hosting them, will run
out of food and require emergency assistance.
WFP is creating a contingency stock for these people, but if the security
situation deteriorates and Chadians are displaced in even greater numbers,
it will increase the already severe pressure on both the financial
resources available to meet their needs and on WFP’s ability to deliver
food to them.
WFP’s US$87 million emergency operation in eastern Chad is currently only
60 percent funded; further contributions are vital to ensure food
deliveries to the camps following the rainy season until the end of the
year. As Chad is a landlocked nation, food supplies take up to four months
to arrive in-country following a donation.
Donors to WFP’s emergency operation in eastern Chad include the United
States (US$21 million), European Commission (US$5.2 million), France
(US$3.5 million), Netherlands (US$3.4 million), Canada (US$3.2 million),
United Kingdom (US$3.2 million), Japan (US$1.3 million), Ireland
(US$830,000), Finland (US$366,000), Switzerland (US$342,000) and Spain
(US$181,000).
(ST)