Chad faces food problems following drain on supplies by Sudanese refugees

N’DJAMENA, Chad, Nov 05, 2004 (AP) — Chadians who have shared their meager food reserves with refugees from Sudan’s western Darfur region are now facing increased rates of malnutrition, the U.N. refugee agency said Friday.

Refugee children fetch water in the new Red Cross camp for Darfur refugees at Tréguine in eastern Chad in this file photo taken in October 2004.(Reuters).

A joint report by the U.N. food aid and refugee agencies showed that some 40 percent of Chadian children now suffer from chronic malnutrition compared to 17 percent under normal circumstances, said Ron Redmond, spokesman of the refugee agency.

Chad shelters 186,000 Sudanese who fled Darfur to escape violence unleashed by pro-government Arab militia seeking to put down a 20-month rebellion by non-Arab African groups.

The U.N. study “points to a serious deterioration in the nutritional health of the local population and calls for a concerted effort to help destitute Chadians living near refugee camps and along the border with Sudan,” Redmond said in Geneva.

The nutrition crisis has been aggravated by two consecutive poor rainy seasons, the decimation of cattle herds and overused grazing lands, Redmond said.

The nutrition crisis, however, has not affected the Darfur refugees sheltering in 11 camps.

The number of refugees treated at feeding centers has declined, distribution of food aid has improved, as has water quality and vaccination against diseases, Redmond said.

The U.N. report called for expanded access for the local population to the supplementary feeding program in the refugee camps, Redmond said.

More than 1.5 million people have fled their homes in Darfur and at least 70,000 have died from disease and hunger.