The Sahel belt, that stretches across Chad, from the Lake region in the West to the region of Ouaddai in the East, is a fragile area, often the victim of climate and economic related shocks. There are an estimated 1,829,000 people living with food insecurity in this region, that is to say 48% of the population. Furthermore, nine regions in the Sahel belt, including the Lake region, suffer from acute malnutrition and surpass the emergency level of 15%.
The Sahel Belt is home to significant levels of acute malnutrition, where the causes are multiple and seem to be attributable not only to the food insecurity felt in the region (figures increase during the ‘hunger gap’), but also to the poor medical care and lack of general knowledge with regard to good food and nutritional practices among the affected population.
In this region, ACTED has organised food fairs to address vulnerable populations’ food needs. People living with severe or moderate food insecurity have been able to benefit from food support in the form of food coupons. Between May and November 2012 the equivalent of nearly 1,140,000 Euros were distributed at certain food fairs, benefitting nearly 9,000 households. The most vulnerable beneficiaries received food aid over a period of 5 months, allowing them to cover half of their food needs for their household.
Through this intervention in the Lake region, ACTED is working in partnership with two medical organisations: French NGO ALIMA and Chadian NGO Alerte Santé. By working in partnership with these organisations, the activities to improve food security of the affected households are carried out in synergy with the activities put in place to respond to the problems of severe acute malnutrition (SAM). Today ACTED carries out malnutrition monitoring at food fairs by measuring the circumference of the mid-upper arm of children under the age of 5. This practice allows ACTED teams to rapidly identify children suffering from severe acute malnutrition living among the most vulnerable families and to quickly integrate them into a medical programme to bring them back to health.
The state of nutrition of beneficiary children is frequently evaluated, which allows for efficient detection of malnutrition and for this to be rapidly treated. Thanks to this initiative, children suffering with severe acute malnutrition with medical complications or bruises are immediately transferred to the Therapeutic Nutritional Centre of the district hospital in order to benefit from the necessary healthcare.
In 2012, nearly 4,000 children suffering from malnutrition were able to receive the necessary care thanks to this innovative partnership, financed by the European Commission Department of Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection.