Chad: UN HUMANITARIAN CHIEF: INCREASING HUMANITARIAN NEEDS BUT LIMITED RESOURCES

(Ndjamena/New York, 26 May 2010): John Holmes, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, today concluded his four-day mission to Chad.

"In addition to the crisis that has affected Chad since the arrival of Sudanese refugees in the east and Central African refugees in the south, and large scale internal displacement too, the country now faces a serious food insecurity and nutrition crisis in its Sahelian belt," said Mr.Holmes.

Mr. Holmes met today President Idriss Deby Itno. They discussed the humanitarian issues affecting eastern, southern and western Chad. The President reiterated the assurance that, with the progressive withdrawal of MINURCAT, the Government of Chad will take full responsibility for the protection of civilians, including the humanitarian community, and highlighted the steps that the Government had taken and would be taking to address the malnutrition and food insecurity crisis. He welcomed further assistance from the international community.

The Emergency Relief Coordinator also met the Prime Minister and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and of the Interior. He welcomed the security assurances given and made clear that the humanitarian community was counting on the government to turn them into reality.

In eastern Chad Mr. Holmes met refugees in Bredjing, internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Goz Beida and returnees in Koukou Angarana. Among the issues raised by humanitarians was the need to improve access to basic services for the local population and to provide the right conditions for the IDPs to begin to return in large numbers.

"We will work closely with the Government on matters related to security, in the new situation, to ensure that we can continue to have the access we need, and help protect the civilian population. We also need to do more to assist in facilitatingvoluntary returns," said Mr. Holmes.

In the Sahelian region affected by the food and nutrition crisis, he visited three nutritional centers in Mao, the main town in the province of Kanem. Both humanitarian actors and local authorities raised the need for more relief organizations and partners in the Sahelian region. "More actors on the ground and more resources are urgently needed to prevent the current crisis turning into a disaster in the months ahead. But once life saving assistance is provided in the short term, we also need to tackle the structural causes of these emergencies to avoid facing the same cycle endlessly in the future," said Mr. Holmes.

The total number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in Chad is now estimated at more than 2.5 million, including refugees, internally displaced people (IDPs), returnees as well as host communities, and people affected by the drought in the Sahelian areas.

The Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP) for Chad has requested US$458 million, including assistance to mitigate the impact of the 2009 drought. Although 42 per cent of the appeal is funded, only 9 per cent of that is new funding, with the rest being funds carried over from 2009 or allocated by the United Nations Central Emergency Fund (CERF).

Pour obtenir des informations supplémentaires, veuillez contacter: Katy Thiam, OCHA-Tchad, +23566 20 15 42, thiamk@un.org;

Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 5126, bunker@un.org; Nicholas Reader, OCHA-New York, +1 212 963 4961, mobile +1 646 752 3117, reader@un.org ; Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, mobile, +41 79 473 4570, byrs@un.org Les communiqués de presse d'OCHA sont disponibles sur http://ochaonline.un.org et www.reliefweb.int Pour davantage de renseignements sur le CERF, veuillez consulter le site http://cerf.un.org