Mahamat Haroun Dahab, farmer, Chad: "What we really need here is schools, a flour mill and water"

 

By IRIN

The southeastern Chad border district of Tissi has seen an influx of people fleeing violence in neighbouring western Sudan, among them Chadian nationals who had either migrated there for work or fled earlier violence, and new refugees from Sudan’s Darfur area.

 

Mahamat Haroun Dahab’s family (his wife and four children) are among those from eastern Chad who left the country seven years ago during the conflict there, for Darfur. They recently returned to their Tissi village of Tadjou, after fleeing inter-communal violence. Dahab and his wife told IRIN their story.

 

Photo: Ann Weru/IRIN

Mahamat Haroun Dahab and his wife in the southern Chad village of Tadjou, in Tissi

 

[Dahab:] “I have been here for three months. I arrived in May when the Misseriya and Salamat [ethnic groups; the latter lives on both sides of the border] started fighting in Um Dhukun [Darfur]. I am not sure what they were fighting over. Around us there were people who were killed and injured.

 

“The journey from Sudan to the Chad border was by donkey. Then, once we were on the Chadian side, IOM [the International Organization for Migration] brought us here [to Tadjou village].

 

“We just packed what we had and sought safety; we did not have time to prepare ourselves.

 

“Here we are doing some farming, mainly of sorghum. Back in Um Dhukun I used to slaughter some sheep. I worked as a butcher. But I have always been a farmer.

 

“The land I had here before I fled is where I am planting my crops now; during the fighting this area was deserted and my land and house remained intact.

 

“None of my children have been to school. They are young and I don’t have enough money to register them.

 

“But I have no intention of going back to Darfur. Here, I can practice farming; there [in Um Dhukun] we had to buy things from the market.

 

“What we really need here is schools, a flour mill and water.

 

[Dahab’s wife - she did not give her name:] “We decided to leave [Um Dhukun] when our belongings, such as our [mobile] phones and livestock, started being taken by force by the Arabs.

“We are OK living here [in Tadjou] as we just go to the farm and come back.

 

“But the children really need schooling and some clothes. What we really want is schools.

 

“Myself, I have never been to school. I learned to speak Arabic because people around me speak it; but I can’t write anything or read. A person who doesn’t go to school can’t read Arabic.”

 

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Learning the Lessons in the Sahel

By Elise Ford, Humanitarian Policy Advisor / Oxfam

In 2012, the Sahel region of West Africa faced in 3 crises in 7 years.  It was unprecedented in its scale – it affected 18 million people across 9 countries – from Senegal in the West across 4,000km to Chad in the East. And yet, the crisis rarely received the media headlines and attention it deserved.  Marred in a cycle of hunger and chronic poverty, the story of a crisis in this region is no longer seen as news. Suffering was not thought to be sufficiently extreme. And yet, going to communities such as those in the Guera region in Chad, there could be no doubt that poor and vulnerable people had been pushed to the brink of survival. Mothers told me of how they had cut back the number of times they ate to just once or twice a day.  They were forced to bring together scraps to find enough to eat – resorting to boiling nettles or digging anthills for grain. 

 

I came to West Africa from Nairobi having dealt with the response to the famine that savaged part of Somalia the previous year.  In East Africa, there had been outcry and disappointment at the collective failure to respond to the early warnings received.  Oxfam had pointed to a widespread culture of risk aversion that had resulted in a ‘dangerous delay’, resulting in the loss of tens of thousands of lives and livelihoods. We knew that it could have been different.

 

As warnings emerged that the harvests had been poor and that the Sahel could face a similar crisis, food security experts in the region appeared determined that they would not repeat the mistakes of East Africa. This time they wanted things to be different.  In a Oxfam report released today ‘Learning the Lessons: assessing the response to 2012 food crisis in the Sahel to build resilience’, we analyse to what extent we really were able to do better this time and come to some worrying conclusions.

 

First, the good news. As soon as the first warnings were issued, governments began to issue appeals and agencies and donors came together to begin planning an appropriate response.  Some donors provided the first contributions for the crisis already at the end of 2011, allowing assistance to provided to those communities most in need before they even began to feel the effects of the critical food shortages and rocketing prices to come.

 

But the overall verdict is mixed at best. Although there were some initial positive steps, it is clear that the response was still not as good as it could or should have been, nor as many have been claiming. Despite new willingness from governments in the region, there were still critical gaps in their capacity to lead – something we must all take responsibility for.  A lack of consensus around the severity of the crisis led to a critical delay in the response. Donors still preferred to wait for certainty, rather than act on the basis of risk. 50% of the funding requested was still lacking by June. 5.6 million farmers didn’t receive the seeds and tools they needed in time for the main harvest, to help them produce the food to recover. The same old mistakes and flaws from past response reappeared. We’re still failing to learn the lessons.

 

There is increasing acknowledgement – from Oxfam and others - that the only way these challenges will be overcome is by adopting a new model of doing business rather tweaking an old one. Resilience - the ability of households to survive and thrive despite shocks and stresses – has become an important concept, offering hope that the cycle of hunger can be broken once and for all.  In the immediate resilience means investing in the poorest and most vulnerable communities so that they can recover from this latest crisis and build up the capacity to better cope in the face of future shocks. 

 

Whilst the 2012 crisis may have come too soon, it is also clear that we can afford no further delay. Conditions in the region are becoming increasingly precarious and unpredictable. The population in the Sahel increases 3% each year – making it constantly harder to produce enough food to meet needs. Climate change threatens to further exacerbate the problem – reducing yields and cultivable land.  According to the FAO, with appropriate action, climate change could mean an additional million people in Mali could fall into poverty by 2050. For some communities that Oxfam works with in Niger, that they describe only one in every three years as a ‘normal’ year.  Rocked by one crisis after another, there are limited prospects for the most vulnerable to escape from poverty.

 

The challenge is making change happen. The failings of the 2012 response and the poor showing so far in 2013 demonstrate the huge gap between the rhetoric and the reality that still needs to be overcome. Ongoing needs in the region are huge. 10 million people are still food insecure. 5 million are acutely malnourished. The road to recovery will be long. And yet, UN humanitarian appeals for 2013 – designed to meet immediate humanitarian and recovery needs and build the foundations of resilience in the region – remain desperately underfunded. Less than one quarter of the funds needed have been provided so far this year.  Donors have provided few concrete commitments on money to build resilience and improve food security in the region. National governments still need to convert unprecedented political will into actual policies.

 

The region will inevitably face more crises in the future. When those crises do hit, we must hope communities will be better prepared to withstand and thrive despite of them.  It is the actions that we do or do not take over the next months and years that will be critical in deciding that.

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New health centres and community outreach tackle Chad's nutrition crisis

By Laure Poinsot, UNICEF CHAD

 

A new report by UNICEF to be issued on 15 April reveals the high prevalence of stunting in children under 5, but also outlines the tremendous opportunities that exist to make it a problem of the past.

 

MONGO, Chad – The father wipes his eyes with the sleeve of his white boubou. “We did all we could,” says Dr. Kaimbo. “Unfortunately, the boy was too weak.”

 

Days like today weigh heavily on Dr. Kaimbo, who is part of a UNICEF-supported programme aimed at saving the lives of children affected by nutrition crisis in Chad. The programme is funded, among others, by the European Union humanitarian aid department (ECHO).

 

UNICEF reports on how new health centres and community
outreach are targeting the vicious circle of disease
and malnutrition in Chad.

 

Chad experiences chronic drought, among its harsh and erratic climatic conditions. The country is also faced with massive developmental challenges. Nearly 20 per cent of children die before their fifth birthdays. During periods of drought, many children suffer from severe acute malnutrition.

 

“[I]t’s not just drought and famine that causes malnutrition,” says UNICEF Chad Representative Bruno Maes. “There are three big factors in the vicious circle of disease and malnutrition. One is food insecurity due to bad harvests and rising food prices. Second is the poor health services. And the third is the parents’ lack of knowledge about food and basic hygiene. Then there’re also the risks associated with child marriages and polygamy.”

 

Scaling up the response

 

© UNICEF VIDEO
The programme is reaching out to the growing number
of malnourished children in Chad.

In response to nutrition crisis in Chad and the Sahel Belt region, UNICEF, the Government of Chad and partners such as ECHO have scaled up services and facilities to treat the growing number of children affected by malnutrition. “The number of treatment centres has doubled, from 210 to 425,” says Mr. Maes. “Two hundred thirty paramedics have been trained and despatched; hundreds of tonnes of supplies and materials have been delivered to reach as many children as possible.”

UNICEF recruits, trains and deploys paramedics. It also supports establishing therapeutic nutrition centres and outpatient nutrition centres, setting up nutrition outreach efforts and purchasing supplies.

 

Health official in the Guera region Dr. Honoré Dembayo says that these efforts have helped to alleviate some of the shortages of medicine and healthcare staff. “All this explains the good results seen in Guera – a cure rate of over 75 per cent.”

 

Screening and treatment for malnutrition

The success in Guera region is largely the result of careful screening of children at the community level and at health centres to make sure they receive the treatment they need – when they need it. Children are tested for malnutrition by checking their height and weight, the circumference of their mid-upper arm and any swelling. Depending on the results, they may be admitted into the nutrition programme.

 

The children then take an appetite test. They are given ready-to-use-therapeutic food made up of a peanut butter paste enriched with sugar and vitamins.

 

“Children who struggle to eat [the therapeutic food] have reached a highly advanced stage of malnutrition,” says UNICEF Nutrition Officer Jean-Pierre Mansimadji Mandibaye. “They are immediately taken to hospital, because their lives are in danger.

“The others can benefit from our programme and receive packets of therapeutic product. They must return every week until they’re cured.”

 

Outreach in communities

Once the children are back home, outreach volunteers monitor progress throughout the treatment period. They also teach families about good hygiene and nutrition, to keep the problem from recurring.

 

“It’s a lot of work, but I’m proud of saving children,” says Abderrahim Massadi, an outreach volunteer in Koulji, 15 km from Mongo.

 

There are 250 families in the village of Koulji, including about 1,500 children. One of these children is Saidja’s son. The little boy has successfully completed his treatment, and now Saidja is applying the skills she’s learned to keep him healthy. With support from the outreach volunteers, she has learned to make a healthier porridge for him, using fresh ingredients when she can afford them.

 

“I put in millet, some beans, a bit of peanut butter and sugar,” she says. “Since I started making him this porridge, he doesn’t get sick anymore. They also taught me to use soap to wash his hands and mouth before meals, and how to properly clean the kitchen utensils.”

 

For more go to www.unicef.org

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Mali: ICRC appeals for funds to boost aid effort

by International Committee of the Red Cross

Now that northern Mali has been in the grip of armed violence for almost 16 months, the living conditions of people affected by the conflict are very worrying and humanitarian needs substantial.

 

To continue to provide appropriate assistance for hundreds of thousands of people caught up in the conflict, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is asking donors for 40 million Swiss francs (around 33 million euros) in additional support.

 

"Communities have been hard hit. They need food, water and health care," said Régis Savioz, the ICRC's deputy director of operations, at a press conference in Bamako. "They need to regain a certain ability to fend for themselves so that they will ultimately be able to forgo outside help."

 

At the end of a visit that included a journey to Gao and Mopti, in the north of the country, Mr Savioz expressed the view that the unstable situation and the violence in northern cities are making living conditions even more difficult. "No significant return of refugees or other displaced people has so far been observed," he said.

 

The additional funding, bringing the ICRC's budget for Mali and Niger to around 75 million Swiss francs (around 61 million euros), will enable the organization to press ahead with the activities it has long been carrying out in the two countries. The operation in Mali and Niger will become the ICRC's second biggest in the world in budgetary terms.

Goundam, Tombouctou region, Mali.
Mali Red Cross volunteers distribute food to displaced people.
© ICRC / I. Sangaré

 

"Every donation will enable us to increase our aid wherever necessary; priority will be given to those who need it most," said Mr Savioz. "To be able to better understand and respond to the needs, we intend to step up our work in Mali, especially in the Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu areas. The time to take action is right now."

 

Mr Savioz also emphasized the importance of the efforts made by the Mali Red Cross to bring aid to needy people. "The Mali Red Cross plays an essential role in Mali, where it is a key partner of the ICRC," he declared. "Without the Mali Red Cross and the cooperation of its thousands of volunteers, to whom I would like to pay tribute, we would quite simply be unable to carry out our aid activities."

 

Around 420,000 people will be given food aid throughout the year and some 186,000 farmers will be provided with seed. In addition, the vaccination and treatment of two million animals and the distribution of 510 tonnes of animal feed will enable 35,000 herding families to maintain their livelihood.

 

The ICRC will continue to provide support for the regional referral hospital in Gao and for community health-care centres. It will also continue to help supply fuel for electrical power stations in the main cities in the north of the country to ensure that water is available to inhabitants.

 

ICRC delegates will carry on visiting people detained in connection with the conflict. Following an agreement signed this very day with the Malian government, the ICRC expects to step up its activities for detainees and to have access to all places of detention in the country.

To view new footage on northern Mali: www.icrcvideonewsroom.org
For more visit www.icrc.org

The Sahel Food Crisis and #SahelNow

 by Unicef-USA

The lives of 1,000,000 children are at risk right now in the Sahel region in West and Central Africa. Crops have failed. Families have nothing to eat.

We can save them if we act now. Sound the alarm. Share this video. http://youtu.be/zRg9izN6T3s

We can rush food, nutrition and other emergency relief to help children in the region, but we need your help. We have to alert the world about this looming crisis. We need your help to sound the alarm.

Make sure you’re following http://www.facebook.com/UNICEF-USA and http://twitter.com/unicefusa

ECHO´s new ebook

2012 Sahel Food & Nutrition Crisis: response by ECHO & partners

Together with its partners, The European Union Humanitarian Aid (ECHO) contributed to the early recognition of the 2012 food and nutrition crisis and to formulating an adequate response. In total, ECHO mobilized €173 million for the food and nutrition crisis, in addition to €58 million to address needs arising from the Mali conflict. This was the highest ever envelope allocated to humanitarian aid in the Sahel by ECHO, more than three times the amount in 2011 and twice the amount mobilized during the last nutrition crisis in 2010.

This document provides a summary of ECHO´s response to the 2012 Sahel food & nutrition crisis as well as a non exhaustive illustration of some of the work that was achieved thanks to its partners.

More about ECHO 

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Photos:  WFP Responds to Emergency Food Needs in Mali

By WFP

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Mali: Boats Take Food To Families Fleeing Fighting

 

By WFP

 

 Click on the picture to watch the video

 

Conflict in the north has forced thousands of families to flee their homes, uprooting half a million people. It's placing added pressure on vulnerable host communities who have not yet recovered from the Sahel drought. The conflict and population movement also complicates matters for agencies like WFP providing humanitarian assistance. WFP is sailing boats up the River Niger in order to bring food to families affected by fighting.

Video: The Sahel's Deepening Crisis and Its Humanitarian Consequences

David Gressly, Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel, discussed on 01/10/2012 in the NY International Peace Institute the current and future challenges facing the Sahel countries linked to chronic, structural food and nutrition insecurity, resulting in the need for a large-scale humanitarian response.

Watch David Gressly´s address at the IPI