Note: The last situation report was dated June 28, 2010.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

h In FY 2010, displaced Chadians, as well as Sudanese refugees who fled into eastern Chad since the start of the Darfur complex emergency in 2003, continued to reside in camps in eastern and southern Chad, taxing limited local resources and affecting local agriculture, livestock rearing, and other livelihood activities.

h Populations in the Sahel region of central and western Chad continue to experience food insecurity caused by below-normal rainfall in 2009 that resulted in failed harvests, poor pasture conditions for livestock, and subsequent protracted JuneVOctober hunger seasons, according to the USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET). As a result, approximately 25 percent of children under five years of age suffer from acute malnutrition, according to a July/August needs assessment conducted by Action Contre la Faim (ACF), the Government of Chad (GoC) Ministry of Health, and U.N. agencies. This figure exceeds the U.N. World Health Organization (WHO) global acute malnutrition (GAM) emergency threshold of 15 percent. ACF reported the most severe malnutrition in central-west Bahr El Gazel Region, with a GAM rate of approximately 28 percent.

h Flooding that commenced in mid-July continues to cause damage and displacement in 12 regions across Chad, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). As of September 17, floods had affected approximately 144,000 individualsXincluding more than 69,000 people who lost homesXand destroyed crops, livestock, and infrastructure, exacerbating food insecurity and malnutrition. In addition, stagnant water contributed to cholera outbreaks in Mayo-Kebbi Est and Lac regions in western Chad. Between August 31 and September 5, the GoC reported a total of 735 cholera cases, including 46 deaths, in the regions.

h In FY 2010, USAID/OFDA provided more than $8.6 million to support humanitarian assistance programs in eastern Chad, benefiting up to 2.6 million people, including internally displaced persons (IDPs), host community members, and populations affected by flooding, food insecurity, and malnutrition. In addition, USAID's Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) provided 18,400 metric tons (MT) of emergency food assistance, valued at $26.1 million, to support the U.N. World Food Program's (WFP's) Emergency Operation (EMOP) in the Sahel region. The EMOP intends to provide emergency food assistance to approximately 737,000 drought-affected individuals between March and December 2010.