A. Situation analysis
Description of the disaster
Fighting between the Nigerian Armed Forces and Boko Haram militia group in northern Nigeria continued to result in the displacement of thousands of people across the border into neighbouring Chad. From 1 January 2015, intense fighting in the town of Baga prompted an estimated 7,300 people in the surrounding areas to relocate to the Lake Chad region. The Nigerian refugees were accommodated in camps in Baga Sola and N’gouboua, which were provided by the local authorities, or in host communities. Host communities were highly affected by this influx, because they had to share their scarce resources and limited infrastructure with refugees. The Chadian government decided to intervene and support Cameroonian and Nigerian Armed Forces in their fight against Boko Haram, which was expected to lead to more refugees and Chadian nationals crossing the border into Chad and neighbouring countries. On 23 January 2015, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) allocated 140,868 CHF from the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to support the Red Cross of Chad (RCC) meet the immediate needs of 2,500 people (500 households) in N’gouboua, in the areas of emergency shelter and non-food items (NFIs), health, water, sanitation and hygiene, for a period of two months.
On 13 February 2015, an incursion by suspected Boko Haram militants into N’gouboua resulted in the death of seven civilians, burning of homes and belongings, as well as population movement in the area. According to local authorities, the populations of the N’gouboua camp, and surrounding villages (Kaiga, Koulfoua and Tetewa) fled to Baga Sola to seek security. An office was set up in the town hall in Baga Sola to identify and register returnees and internally displaced populations. As of 28 February 2015, 154 Chadian returnees from Nigeria (34 households), and 2,708 Chadians (819 households) who came temporarily from N’gouboua and other surrounding villages were registered, of which most are living with host families. Other movements were noticed, mainly from in N’gouboua to Forkolom, while children and teenagers were coming from N’gouboua and Tchoukoutalia to join their families.
As a result of the evolving security situation combined with the non-availability of staff to be deployed to support the DREF operation, logistical constraints, and issues surrounding the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) implementation of planned activities was delayed. On 27 March 2015, an Operations Update was issued to extend the timeframe by two months and re-orientate the activities planned in N’gouboua to the new locations in Baga Sola where the people had settled following the incursion of the suspected Boko Haram militants.
This DREF has been partially replenished by the Netherlands Red Cross/Silent Emergencies Fund. The major donors and partners of the DREF include the Red Cross Societies and governments of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the USA, as well as DG ECHO, the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the Medtronic, Zurich and other corporate and private donors. The IFRC, on behalf of the Red Cross of Chad would like to extend many thanks to all partners for their generous contributions.