Highlights:
· According to the CCCM cluster, there are 107,625 people displaced (refugees, returnees and IDPs) of whom 37% are not registered yet in the Lake region.
· Global acute malnutrition in displacement sites in the Lake region continue to be alarming. WFP screening data shared at the end of April show that among children under five screened in 8 displacement sites in the Lake region, an estimated 6% suffered from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and nearly 18% from Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM).
· In the Lake region, UNICEF completed construction of a 25m3 water tower in the Tataverom site benefiting 8,597 people and increasing access to water coverage from 6% to 41%.
· UNICEF Chad’s Humanitarian Action for Children appeal is 20% funded. The majority of the $9.47 million received in new emergency funding in 2016 is for the Lake Chad crisis, with only $540,000 for the CAR returnee needs.
SITUATION IN NUMBERS
2,200,000 Children affected (UNICEF HAC 2016)
176,900 Children under 5 with Severe Acute Malnutrition in 2016 (Nutrition Cluster 2016)
107,625 People displaced (IDPs, returnees, TCN, refugees) in the Lake Region
(Shelter/CCCM Cluster, 19 April and UNHCR 30 April)
UNICEF Humanitarian funding needs in 2016US$ 62.4 million
Received in 2016 US$ 9.5 million
Impact of violence in the Lake region
Elections were held in Chad on 10 April without major incidents for the population. In the Lake region, military operations against Boko Haram on the Nigerian-Chad border have led members of this armed group into Chad. According to authorities, some direct confrontation took place around the island Ngouboua between fighters fleeing the border and the Chadian army. Other supposed Boko Haram members were seen in southern areas of the lake Blarigui and Kangalam.
On 25 April, the Parliament decided to extend the state of emergency declared by the government in the Lake region in November 2015, and which was due to end on 22 April. Additional powers given to the Lake region authorities by the state of emergency include setting of curfews or searching homes. According to the latest CCCM bulletin from 19 April, there were 107,625 people displaced (refugees, returnees and IDPs) in the Lake region. Although no new displacements were reported in April, local and regional officials claim that there are other displacement sites not yet assessed by the humanitarian community in Loudia, Lom, Yaré, Gouarama, Foulatari, Ligra and Sommi in the sub-prefectures of Bol, Liwa and Daboua. An inter-cluster assessment mission is scheduled to visit these sites in coming days to confirm their existence and to assess humanitarian needs.
Access to displaced population has generally improved in recent months, although security continues to hinder the response. New local authorities following the elections have also brought the need to rebuild the working relationships that had been built throughout the response.
Progress has been made in most sectors of the emergency response, yet humanitarian needs continue to largely exceed assistance, notably in the Liwa, Daboua and Kangalam sub-prefectures. Main challenges continue to be limited funding, slow access to the population in need due to security and the physical environment. There are more than 59 sites of diverse sizes, many of which in the desert, scattered through large areas without any roads or other infrastructure all the way to the border with Niger and to the border with Camerun. This makes provision of basic services throughout the area difficult and expensive.
Measles outbreak
As of the epidemiological week 18, there were five deaths and 527 suspected cases of measles reported through the national epidemiological surveillance system. 68 cases were confirmed positive through laboratory testing. Four epidemic outbreaks were reported in Haraze Mangueigne district in the Salamat region, Mongo district in Guera region, Bedjondo district in Mandoul region, and Bagassola district in the Lake region. In the Lake region, suspected cases were reported in Ngouboua, the Dar es Salam refugee camp and the IDP camps of Dar al Naim, Tagal and Bibi. Out of five samples analyzed from these locations, four tested positive. An emergency vaccination campaign has taken place in three districts and in Dar es Salam refugee camp. Seven other districts are to conduct emergency vaccinations with UNICEF and WHO support from 18 to 24 May, targeting over 400,000 children aged 9 months to 14 years old.
Refugees, returnees from CAR and stateless persons in the South
A recent IOM verification exercise has confirmed the existence of 82,622 registered Chadian returnees from Central African Republic (OCHA Sitrep, April 2016). 61,203 of these people continue to live in returnee sites in the South and the site of Gaoui, in the outskirts of N’Djamena. The remaining 21,419 returnees are in host families in villages mostly in the Mandoul region and in the Logones. The lack of funding continues to cause great concern among humanitarian actors. After the sudden reduction in basic health services, WFP was also forced to interrupt its food distribution in the sites for two months due to insufficient funding, although distribution did take place in the month of April. The precarious shelter, made up largely of tarpaulin worn by a year and half under the scorching sun, is unlikely to make it through another rainy season which has already begun in the South. Some of the sites, like Gaoui, are also in floodable areas and require some work to prevent water from going into the shelters.
Food insecurity and malnutrition
The latest data from the March integrated phase classification shows an early lean season due to limited availability of pastures. Cereal production has also been lower, with an 11% decrease over last year’s production and a 9% decrease with regard to the last five-year average. The lower production has pushed cereal prices up in the Sahel belt, with a more acute increases in the West where the consequences of the security situation are strongly felt. Prices in the Sudan Belt, by contrast, have seen a mild decrease. In the March-May integrated phase classification results, 15 Departments along the Sahel Belt are in Phase 3 (crisis), and an additional 31 in Phase 2 (under pressure). No Departments are in Phase 4 and 5 (emergency and famine) under the latest analysis.
Global acute malnutrition in displacement sites in the Lake continue to be alarming. WFP screening data shared at the end of April show that out of 997 children under five screened in 8 displacement sites in the Lake, about 6% suffered from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and almost 18% from Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM). Although the data is not sufficiently representative to draw conclusions on the entire region, it is consistent with proportions found in previous screenings in IDP sites in the Northern part of the Lake region.