UNICEF Chad Humanitarian Situation Report, 1 January - 30 June 2019
Highlights
• 21,584 suspected cases of measles have been reported in Chad by week 25. In response, 653,535 children aged 6 months to 9 years have been vaccinated against the disease during the campaign in ten health districts.
• 4,114 children, more than a six-fold increase for the same period in 2018 (616 children January-June 2018), benefitted from psychosocial support in child friendly spaces in the Lac province
• 125,371 severely malnourished children were admitted and treated in 724 UNICEF supported health facilities by week 20. A 26% increase in admission from the same period in 2018.
• As of June 2019, 41% of the HAC funding requirement is covered. An additional US$ 27 million is urgently required for UNICEF to provide lifesaving assistance to vulnerable children and women through an integrated multisectoral response.
Situation in Numbers
- 2,300,000 children in need of humanitarian assistance (UNICEF HAC 2019)
- 304,589 Under 5 children with Severe Acute Malnutrition targeted in 2019 (Nutrition Cluster 2018)
- 192,041 People displaced (IDPs, returnees, refugees, third-country nationals) in the Lake Province (OCHA, June 2019)
UNICEF Appeal 2019 US$ 46 million
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
The conflict in the Lake Chad Basin constituted the main crisis affecting Chad in the first half of 2019.The number of Nigerian refugees fleeing attacks by non-state armed groups in North-East Nigeria increased from 10,951 in December 2018 to 15,950 according to latest statistics (UNHCR, June 2019). As of June 2019, Chad is hosting 465,343 refugees and asylum seekers, including 342,406 Sudanese, 105,693 Central Africans, 15,950 Nigerians and 7,560 others. In addition to Nigerian refugees, 133,338 internally displaced persons (IDP) are registered in the Lac province (OCHA, May 2019). To meet the immediate needs of the newly arrived refugees, UNICEF, in collaboration with partners, constructed and rehabilitated water and sanitation infrastructures in the Dar Es Salam camp, and put in place structures to oversee the management and maintenance of these structures. 10,000 people received soap and water treatment products, and 2,000 households benefitted from non-food items including dignity kits, water buckets and jerrycans. To provide access to education for refugees that were identified as being school-aged children, twelve temporary learning spaces (TLS) were built, and salary support was provided to more than 300 teachers. Children identified as having special needs were given access to psychosocial support through established child friendly spaces and case management and family tracing services continue to be provided to unaccompanied and separated children.
Conflicts in the Lake Chad Basin continue to undermine efforts to provide access to education to populations living on the islands in western Chad. According to the education delegation in the Lac province, 25 TLS in five schools – on the islands of Salia, Gomirom Doumou, Narh, Gomirom Kili et Daliarom – were burned down by non-state armed groups. The reasons for these attacks are not yet clear. A total of 49 schools have been closed in this academic year (2018-19) due to attacks by non-state armed groups, affecting 12,046 students (including 5,416 girls) and 118 teachers. Four of the schools have been closed since the last academic year 2018 and 45 were closed in April 2019.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, covering the period of March to August 2019, indicated that 2018-19 cereal production increased by 11.2% compared to 2017-18 cereal production and by 12.6% compared to the last five years. According to the assessment, no department is at risk of being in either the crisis 1 or famine2 phase. Twenty departments are under pressure (at least one in five households is facing reduced food consumption), and 49 departments are in the minimal phase (at least four in five households are able to cover their food and non-food needs without humanitarian assistance). However, it is important to note that, even though no department has exceeded the defined threshold for crisis and emergency3 phases overall, approximately 305,460 people are currently in the crisis phase, and 6,528 are in the emergency phase.
The measles outbreak declared in 2018 continued throughout the first half of 2019, despite the November 2018 vaccination campaign where 1,949,545 children aged 6 months to 9 years were vaccinated. In the first week of 2019, a total of 178 suspected cases were reported in 22 districts. Transmission progressed consistently, reaching 79 districts by week 13. According to the Ministry of Public Health (MPH) surveillance services, the highest peak was observed in week 16 with 1,369 cases, followed by another recent peak observed in week 21 with 1,374 suspected cases after a slight decrease in weeks 18 and 19.
A total of 21,584 measles suspected cases (four times the number of reported cases in 2018) have been reported in the country from week 1 to week 25, with 211 deaths, yielding a mortality rate of 0.9%.
Since week 22, the trend of the epidemic has been significantly decreasing following various actions and interventions by the government with support from partners.
It is important to note that 80% of the cases were reported in 7 out of the 23 provinces in the country, with the city of N’Djamena recording 25% of the cases.