Appeal history:
· Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF): CHF 254,242 was initially allocated from the Federation’s DREF to support the National Society to respond to the needs of affected population in terms of emergency latrines, water treatment, training of volunteers and sensitization campaigns on hygiene promotion.
· Emergency Appeal was launched on 26 June 2013 for CHF 1,489,072.
· Operations update 1 was published on July 31, 2013.
· Operations Update 2 was published on August 5, 2013.
· This revised Emergency Appeal reduces the operational budget from CHF 1,489,092 to CHF 880,216 and extends the timeframe by one additional month until end of January 2014.
Summary: The conflict in Darfur, Sudan resulted in displacement of population into the Sila region of Chad in March 2013. This situation has affected a significant number of people (refugees as well as returnees). According to the last registration carried out by the UNHCR, there were 20,339 refugees sheltered in the Abgadam camp in the Sila region. If the conflict resumes at the end of the rainy season, predictions are an additional 20,000 refugees could cross into Chad in 2014.
The Red Cross of Chad deployed its volunteers from the early hours of the crisis to welcome and shelter the refugees in official sites proposed by the local authorities in Abgadam. The Red Cross of Chad collaborated with UNHCR and provided vehicles to transport refugees and returnees into more secure locations. Volunteers also supported UNHCR in the distribution of food and non-food items and in the pre-registration process.
The funds released from the DREF allocation enabled the provision of tarpaulins, buckets, sleeping mats, and soaps for 1,280 families and construction of 300 emergency latrines. To support the operation, 31 volunteers were trained to provide support and three Regional Disaster Response Team members were deployed.
The DREF operation was immediately followed by a six month emergency appeal to support 3,000 families through the distribution of tarpaulins, wood and construction tools, build community latrines in the camp and distribute non-food items such as plastic mats, blankets, mosquito nets, kitchen sets and loincloths for refugees in the camp of Abgadam.
Despite early response from donors to support the affected victims, logistical challenges hampered the implementation of planned activities in the field. The operational area is located near the border with Sudan, which is isolated during the rainy season between the month of June and September. The only means to access the area was through a helicopter made available by the UNHCR but with limited transportation capacities. Non-food items procured at national and local level are currently stored in the town of Abeche, in a buffer warehouse, pending their dispatching in the field. A logistics ERU member from the British Red Cross and an RDRT member were deployed to support the National Society in the procurement, transportation and warehousing process.
The National Society has a bilateral agreement with UNHCR for service provision of distribution of food and non-food items, shelter materials, water and sanitation activities and warehousing. An RDRT watsan member was deployed by the IFRC and supported volunteers in the field through training and coaching. Based on field monitoring and evaluation reports, conditions of affected persons have improved but gaps remain in different fields such as water provision, sanitation, shelter and non-food items.
The current emergency appeal includes activities which are not possible to implement due to the current coverage. Therefore, this revised emergency appeal will refocus on the priority emergency activities based on available funds in the following areas: shelter (distribution of tarpaulins and tools) water (distribution of aqua tabs and hygiene promotion), sanitation (distribution of jerry cans), health (distribution of mosquito nets and health promotion). The revised emergency appeal aims to provide humanitarian assistance to 3,000 households located in the camp of Abgadam in the Sila region.
In order to finish activities within the operational timeframe, this Revised Emergency Appeal extends the operational timeframe by one month. The operation will therefore be completed by 31 January 2014. A final report will be made available by 30 April 2014.