AMBASSADOR'S FY 2005 DISASTER DECLARATION: IMPACT

UNCLAS NDJAMENA 000020 SIPDIS USAID/W FOR RMT AND DCHA/OFDA STATE FOR AF/C, AF/EPS AND PRM DAKAR AND NAIROBI FOR USAID/RFFPO ROME FOR FODAG GENEVA FOR RMA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID PREF CD SU SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S FY 2005 DISASTER DECLARATION: IMPACT OF SUDAN REFUGEES IN EASTERN CHAD REF: A. A) 04 STATE 207288 ¶B. B) 04 NDJAMENA 0957 ¶1. This is an action cable. Please see para 8. ¶2. Disaster Determination. Under Section 062, Volume 2 of the Foreign Affairs Manual, I hereby determine that the Republic of Chad is suffering from a disaster which exceeds the host country's ability to provide an adequate response, that the host country has specifically requested donor support and has demonstrated its willingness to accept USG assistance, and that it is in the interest of the USG to respond. ¶3. Background. Since April 2003, more than 200,000 Sudanese from the western Darfur region have fled their villages and sought refuge in eastern Chad. A massive assistance program coordinated by the UNHCR has been organized, resulting in the successful relocation of refugees to ten refugee camps established at least 50 km from the border, and one transit camp. The U.S. is the lead donor in a multidonor effort, having provided a total of $75.6 million during FY 2004-05. Camp conditions are not yet uniformly meeting international minimum standards for caloric intake, potable water, immunization and number of children per teacher, but the situation has steadily improved. Following a five-month blanket supplementary feeding program for children under five and pregnant/lactating mothers, global malnutrition rates dropped from 35.6 percent (CDC) in June to 17.4% (MSF/Holland) at the end of December. The availability of water has been a major obstacle to the sustainability of camp operations and continues to pose serious problems which may result in relocation of some refugees to new camps further inland where water availability is less problematic. ¶4. Despite recognition on the part of the host country, donors and the NGO community as early as December 2003 that the impact of successive waves of refugees from the Darfur would be deleterious to Chad's rural populations in the border area, little has been done to offset the negative effects resulting from increased demand placed on a fragile environment and on a resilient, but resource-strapped population. The Embassy therefore issued a disaster declaration in June 2004 (Ref B) which focused on water shortages faced by the local population, with the objective of increasing both the quantity and the quality of potable water. The cabled funding request for installation of thirty wells was put on hold pending a formal assessment of the water/sanitation situation by an OFDA consultant; the cabled funding request to improve water quality by providing water purification kits and hand soap through UNICEF was approved. Despite completion of the water/san assessment in August, funding for the wells was not forthcoming; conversely, for the sanitation component, UNICEF completed procurement of the water purification kits/hand soap and supervised their distribution to the local population through NGO camp managers. Meanwhile, the U.N. system has become increasingly attuned to the need for assisting host country populations and has developed and included 63 project summaries which have been incorporated into its 2005 Consolidated Appeal to the donor community. In addition, the World Food Program conducted November 17-26, 2004 a rapid food needs assessment of host populations in the east, resulting in a series of recommendations to include targeted free distribution to the most vulnerable groups, school feeding, a program to assist with seed distribution, and a set of Food for Work activities all focusing on the local population. ¶5. Objectives: a) The current disaster declaration is to draw attention to the dramatic situation faced by Chad's rural populations in the refugee-affected border region and to initiate an immediate relief program which will be implemented in the form of Food for Work activities in collaboration with the non-governmental organization, ACTED, and with the World Food Program (WFP) which will provide the food rations. The Ambassador's disaster authority of $50,000 will be used to provide ancillary inputs to Food for Work activities undertken by the local population, with supervision from ACTED, in the Bahai region where the Oure Cassonitransit camp has been located. Funding not to ecee $50,000 will be granted to ACTED by the Embssy for the procurement of tools, supplies and lmited technical assistance required to implement set of Food for Work activiies recommended by WFP. Typical projects would include environmental protection (creation of tree nurseries and outplanting),construction of water retention infrastructure (check dams and ponds),rural road and airstrip repair, and well digging. An ACTED technician is currently in the east attempting to define in more detail the FFW activities (locales, numbers of participants, costs). The grant agreement will include a site listing of the activities to be undertaken and a line item budget. b) It is envisaged that additional relief activities will be submitted by the NGO community directly to OFDA also benefiting the local population. This will be separate from the Ambassador's disaster authority of $50,000. ¶6. Target Population. There are an estimated 722,247 Chadians living in the six departments where Sudanese refugees have been relocated: Department Chadian Region Sudanese camps Population Ennedi est 28,247 B.E.T Oure Cassoni Kobe 44,681 Wadi Fira Iridimi/Touloum/Am Nabak Dar Tama 73,625 Wadi Fira Kounoungo/Mile Ouaddai 233,931 Ouaddai Assongha 160,007 Ouaddai Farchana/Bredjing/Treguine Sila 181,756 Ouaddai Goz Amer/Djabal Total 722,247 The proposed free distribution recommended by WFP for the local population in these departments will target 117,200 persons. In addition, an estimated 32,000 Chadian children will be fed in the school feeding program. The FFW planning document included in the rapid food needs assessment projects 3,600 participating households (approx. 18,000 persons). WFP anticipates collaboration on FFW activities with several NGOs, including ACTED for the northern Ennedi Est (Bahai) department. ¶7. GOC Request for Assistance. An appeal for disaster assistance following a massive refugee influx from Darfur was first transmitted by the Government of Chad to the diplomatic corps February 6, 2004. In the appeal, reference is made to the negative effect of refugees on the local population. Since then, there have been numerous demarches made on behalf of the GOC to the Embassy and other donors for the provision of relief for local populations. Chad's President declared to a visiting CODEL December 10 that the economic and environmental toll being taken as a result of the refugee crisis was "catastrophic," urging that action be taken to redress current imbalances. Similar messages have been conveyed by Chadian authorities to Embassy personnel on a regular basis for more than a year. When the PRM/DAS visited the border area in January 2004, local authorities were already drawing attention to the negative impact of refugees and the need to provide assistance to host populations. The drafting of a U.N. Consolidated Appeal for FY 2005 is in recognition of this. ¶8. Action requested. Embassy requests a fund cite for $50,000 which will be granted to ACTED for the organization and supervision of FFW activities implemented by the Chadian population in refugee-impacted zones. Upon receipt of the fund cite, Embassy will draft and sign the grant instrument, after which the obligating document will be sent to USAID/OFDA for recording. ¶9. Please advise. CASEBEER NNNN