DISASTER RE-DECLARATION FOR CHAD COMPLEX EMERGENCY

UNCLAS NDJAMENA 000422 C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (DATE TIME GROUP CHANGE) NSC FOR MGAVIN, LETIM DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU GENEVA FOR NKYLOH UN ROME FOR HSPANOS NEW YORK FOR DMERCADO SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID PGOV PHUM SOCI PREF PREL CD SUBJECT: DISASTER RE-DECLARATION FOR CHAD COMPLEX EMERGENCY -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. The Republic of Chad continues to suffer from a complex humanitarian emergency affecting more than 1.1 million persons, including Sudanese and Central African refugees, Chadian internally displaced persons (IDPs),and other conflict-affected Chadians. The disaster is beyond GOC's capacity to manage and the GOC will accept USG assistance. Providing this assistance is in the USG interest. Charge d'Affaires therefore re-declares a disaster and requests USG humanitarian funding for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010. End summary. -------------- Background -------------- ¶2. Since April 2003, more than 250,000 Sudanese from the Darfur region have fled their villages and sought refuge in eastern Chad, an undeveloped, semi-arid and resource-poor region where the local population struggles to survive under the best of circumstances. As of September 2009, humanitarian agencies were providing assistance to approximately 268,000 refugees settled in twelve refugee camps. The refugees, many coming from agro-pastoralist backgrounds, arrived with an estimated 1.5 million animals, increasing pressure on scarce land, pasture, and water resources, and heightening tensions between refugee and host communities, which have occasionally led to conflict. ¶3. Beginning in December 2005, increased cross-border insecurity and inter-community conflict within Chad have exacerbated the humanitarian emergency. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, to date, armed opposition attacks, ethnic violence, cross-border raids, and banditry have displaced approximately 171,000 Chadians. Some populations have been displaced multiple times, straining traditional coping mechanisms and eroding household assets. ¶4. Conflict-affected communities' basic food, water, health and sanitation needs remain unmet while increased population pressure depletes local natural resources, including water, firewood, and pastureland. OCHA estimates that 700,000 people in eastern Chad have been affected by the influx of displaced persons in their communities. Since 2005, USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) has been providing assistance to local populations affected by the presence of displaced populations, as well as to Chadian IDPs. ¶5. In FY 2009, OFDA provided nearly $9.8 million to 11 humanitarian organizations providing health, nutrition, water, sanitation, and hygiene services, agriculture and food security interventions and humanitarian coordination activities. Since 2003, USAID's Office of Food for Peace (FFP) has been providing food assistance to Sudanese refugees, affected Chadians and Chadian IDPs. In FY 2009, FFP provided more than $139 million in emergency food assistance. The State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) has supported refugee assistance in Chad since 2004. In FY 2009, PRM provided $45.5 million to support refugee operations in southern and eastern Chad. ¶6. Most aid agencies predict that the situation in Eastern Chad will remain tense and unpredictable as long as the Darfur conflict continues and Sudan-Chad border tensions persist. Due to continued conflict in Darfur, as well as tensions along the Chad-Central African Republic border, and within Chad, humanitarian assistance to Chad will be required through FY 2010. -------------- Disaster Re-declaration -------------- ¶7. The humanitarian crisis in Chad is beyond the capacity of the GOC to manage, the GOC has requested and will accept USG assistance, and it is in the interest of the USG to provide the assistance. Therefore, Charge d'Affaires Sue L. Bremner hereby re-declares a disaster and requests further USG humanitarian resources for Chad in FY 2010. Bremner