Mariam, 22, a returnee to Chad from Central African Republic, arrived in Gore with a Chadian convoy in February 2014. In CAR, she managed a small business with her husband, recharging mobile telephones. Now, however, she has no more family in Chad, as her parents moved long ago to CAR.
“But here, our situation has improved. We have food every month, and the children go to school,” said Mariam.
With 22,500 CFA of food coupons, Mariam bought sugar, flour, corn, oil, sardines, Maggi cubes, tomatoes, and onions from a store in Gore.
These food coupons represent a radical change in the way humanitarian organizations like WFP operate in Chad. Through their purchases at local markets, Mariam and the many Central African returnees in Chad participate indirectly in the economic development of the country.
WFP’s food coupons are ready to use, so that beneficiaries can exchange them for food at selected local merchants. With a budget of USD 56 million, the coupons will be a priority in 2015 for WFP in Chad. The objective is to respond better to the needs of the beneficiaries, and include local partners to contribute to the local economy. And it is cost-effective: studies in Chad indicate that the “real” cost of an individual food basket in local markets is half as expensive as a basket of food delivered by WFP.
In order to prepare this large-scale intervention for 2014, WFP initiated a pilot project, which assisted 4,400 households in the Guera and Batha regions after the October harvest, in late 2013. Surveys of beneficiaries indicated that they preferred cash transfers to food distributions: it puts people in a more active role in choosing and planning their diet. Beneficiaries even become partners through a feedback system for the quality and variety of products offered, or to note when problems occur during transactions.
WFP is carefully navigating the challenges presented with this type of programme: it is complicated to navigate partnerships with traders, technical and practical skills of partners, and ensure that there is regular monitoring to avoid destabilizing the prices in Chadian markets.
However, the project has been quickly and effectively implemented. At the end of March 2014, WFP began the first large-scale distribution of food coupons to meet the growing needs for humanitarian intervention for people from Central African Republic. In December 2014, WFP finalized the seventh distribution of coupons for 67,000 people in the Southern region and 188,000 vulnerable Chadians during the lean season in the Eastern region of the country. WFP is supporting the Chadian government in leading the way for national autonomy. Thanks to the cash voucher program, WFP is assisting in developing long-term means for resilience and food autonomy at a national level.
