The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) allocates US$10 million to help 210,000 people in southern regions of Chad and maintain humanitarian access

(N'djamena, 14 September 2016): Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, M. Stephen O’Brien, approved the allocation of US$10 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) for humanitarian action in Chad. The funds will provide vital assistance in four regions in the south, to meet the needs of 210,000 refugees and returnees from the Central African Republic and their host communities.

According to the humanitarian community, the situation in the regions of Moyen-Chari, Mandoul, Logone Oriental and Logone Occidental, in southern Chad, on the border with CAR, is of deep concern and notably marked by deterioration in food security in a context of gradual withdrawal of humanitarian partners due to a lack of resources.

The Humanitarian Coordinator in Chad, Stephen Tull, acclaimed the importance of the allocation while deploring the underfunding: "While the UN and humanitarian partners are working tirelessly alongside the Chadian Government and host populations to help the most vulnerable, the humanitarian funding gap is growing every year, especially for forgotten crises such as those in southern or eastern Chad, where the situation remains worrying. In a context where the limited resources of the Chadian state does not allow it to ensure widespread access to essential services, this funding is crucial to meet the urgent needs of refugees, Chadian returnees and vulnerable host populations while continuing to work on strengthening national capacities. "

In total, seven projects funded by the CERF will improve the living conditions of the most vulnerable populations. These projects will provide emergency multisectoral assistance by strengthening food security through cash transfers (46% of the funds), nutrition services (15%) and access to health care (19%), maintenance and improvement of water and sanitation infrastructure (6%), rehabilitation of destroyed shelters (2%), and access to education (2%). Ten percent of the funds will be allocated to UNHAS air service to maintain humanitarian access throughout the country. The United Nations recipient agencies are FAO, UNFPA, UNHCR, IOM, WHO, WFP and UNICEF. They will work together with implementing partners to deliver various projects over the next nine months.

According to Florent Méhaule, Head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Chad, "it is essential that other donors scale up their support because CERF funding will only cover a fraction of the needs. Chad is one of the countries where the humanitarian response plan (HRP) is the least funded. In addition, it is necessary to draw the attention of development agencies, to think about sustainable solutions and encourage projects that strengthen the resilience of affected populations."

Note to editors: Created by the United Nations General Assembly in 2006, CERF is a humanitarian funding mechanism managed by OCHA, which enables a faster and more effective response to vital needs of people affected by natural disasters, armed conflicts, or under-funded crises.

For further information, please contact:

Mr. Florent Méhaule, Head of Office, mehaule@un.org, Tel. +23568851004 Ms. Naomi Frérotte, Public Information Officer, frerotte@un.org, Tel. +23566901633 OCHA press releases are available at www.unocha.org or www.reliefweb.int.