Highlights
WFP is facing a critical gap in resources to ensure food and nutrition assistance to 300,000 Sudanese refugees living in fourteen camps in Eastern Chad from October until the end of the year. The most urgent gaps will be addressed, however at very reduced levels, thanks to a pledge by Switzerland and flexible support from USAID enabling their contribution to be used to cover most pressing needs. Continued basic assistance to this vulnerable group remains at risk due to underfunding. WFP urgently requires USD 5 million to provide further assistance to the Sudanese refugees.
Security incidents have multiplied in Chad’s Lake region close to the border with Niger in August and September. Access for humanitarian partners is particularly challenging in the Kaiga Kinjira area of the Lake region. WFP partnered with the Regional Delegation of Social Action to ensure the provision of food assistance.
WFP Assistance
PRRO 200713: Under the PRRO, WFP provides food assistance to 350,000 long-term refugees from Sudan and the Central African Republic (C.A.R), and to 80,000 returnees from C.A.R as well as food-insecure Chadian households, particularly in the Sahelian belt of Chad. The PRRO also includes nutrition interventions for the prevention and treatment of moderate acute malnutrition, and activities to enhance the capacity of food-insecure communities and households to meet their food needs, strengthen their resilience and reduce risks associated with disasters and shocks.
Chad is a pilot country for the WFP-UNHCR self-reliance project. Vulnerability-based targeting was introduced in 2015 alongside livelihood activities as part of the strategy to empower refugees and build their capacities for self-sufficiency. In 2016, WFP lean season assistance targets 410,000 food insecure people in the Sahelian belt of Chad, where the combined effects of a poor agricultural season and the disruption of trade and pastoralism in the Lake Chad region have led to a deterioration of food security compared to the past three years. Children under two and pregnant and nursing mothers are also receiving specialised nutritional support to prevent the deterioration of their nutritional status.
Regional EMOP 200777 (Lake Chad Crisis): The spillover effects from insecurity in northern Nigeria have caused a humanitarian crisis, island communities have fled their homes, fishing, livestock and agricultural livelihoods are disrupted and trade with neighbouring countries is impacted. WFP provides food and nutrition assistance to vulnerable people affected by this crisis. This includes 6,500 refugees and over 130,000 internally displaced persons. WFP’s portfolio combines cashbased and food-based transfers tailored to market conditions as well as prevention and treatment of moderate acute malnutrition.
Jointly with FAO and UNICEF, WFP also intends to develop more durable solutions with livelihoods support for both displaced and host communities. Participative Seasonal Livelihoods Programming workshops were held to analyse the livelihoods needs of the vulnerable communities and will be complemented by community-level planning exercises (in October).
Regional EMOP 200799 (C.A.R crisis): Under this operation, WFP Chad supports returnees in the Salamat region (southern Chad) who have fled the violence in C.A.R. Due to resourcing shortfalls WFP Chad prioritized assistance to 11,000 returnees and host communities are not assisted.
DEV 200288: The limited funding available to WFP currently restricts the scope of the school meal programme to the Lake Chad region. Resources permitting, WFP plans to provide 128,000 primary school children with hot meals and take-home rations for girls in 600 schools of the Sahelian regions where food insecurity, global acute malnutrition, and chronic malnutrition prevail.
SO 200785: UNHAS provides essential passenger services and light cargo transport to 100 humanitarian organizations. UNHAS serves 19 destinations across the country, with a fleet of 4 aircrafts. This service is essential to ensure the humanitarian community can reach areas where populations need assistance, in a country with vast distances and limited transport infrastructure, and where insecurity and heavy seasonal rains limit road transportation. On average, UNHAS transports 1,650 passengers and 8.9 mt of light cargo per month.
Operational Updates
PRRO 200713: WFP continues distributions for the lean season (June-September) in the Sahel as well as targeted preventive supplementary feeding to prevent the deterioration of the nutritional status of children under two, and pregnant women and nursing mothers.
Under the lead of the nutrition cluster, partners conducted a Standardized Monitoring and Assessment of Relief and Transition (SMART) survey. The primary objective of this survey was to measure the extent and severity of under-nutrition among children aged 6-59 months throughout the country and of pregnant women and nursing mothers. Infant and Young Child Feeding/Nutrition & WASH practices and vaccination coverage were also evaluated. Preliminary results are expected in October.
Trainings for the National Food Security Assessment planned for October have been completed under the leadership of the Government and with WFP support.
EMOP 200777: WFP is providing cash-based food assistance to displaced people in settlement sites around Bol where markets are functioning well. In September, WFP continued the roll-out of SCOPE, the corporate digital platform used for the registration of people assisted. In collaboration with IOM, 34,000 internally displaced persons are already registered.
School meals: Funding permitting, WFP will introduce cash-based assistance in some pilot schools aiming to replace the take home rations (oil and cereals) and support volunteer cooks (DEV 200288). In partnership with UNICEF and with the support of the Global Partnership for Education, the emergency school feeding programme in the Lake Chad region will be scaled up to reach 22,000 children in Fouli, Kaya, Mamdi and Wayi areas. An ongoing evaluation mission will determine the number of schools to assist (EMOP 200777).