ReliefWeb

Urgent action is needed to counter the devastating effects of the lean season in Chad. Between May/ June and September, close to 1 million people living in the Sahelian belt will have little or no access to food (i), as a result of a poor agricultural and pastoral campaign, climatic shocks, economic and fiscal crisis, conflict and market distortions. In the midst of drought, the country enters its worst lean season in six years: 19 departments are on crisis and emergency phases in 2018, compared to 17 in 2017 (ii). Children are harshly affected by the lack of food and poor diets. Global acute malnutrition (GAM) affects more than 610,000 children aged 6-59 months across the country, among which 200,000 suffer from its most severe form (iii). The number of regions with GAM rates above the World Health Organization’s (WHO) emergency threshold has almost doubled (from 7 to 12) since 2015. Most children suffering from malnutrition live in households exposed to high food insecurity during the lean season.

Addressing immediate needs

To prevent vulnerable communities from sliding deeper into food insecurity and malnutrition, the World Food Programme (WFP) and its partners will provide food and nutritional assistance to reach most vulnerable people throughout the lean season (iv). WFP plans to provide life-saving food and nutritional support to some 700,000 vulnerable Chadians.

Among them, some 131,084 people-at-risk (87,384 children aged 6-23 months and 43,695 pregnant and lactating women) will receive specialized nutritious foods and social behaviour change measures on key nutrition and health family practices to prevent malnutrition. Screening will be systematically done through the food and nutrition assistance platform to facilitate early detection and referral of moderate and acute malnutrition cases to the nearest health facilities.

A turning point

An effective humanitarian response is critical to curb the endemic food and nutritional crisis in Chad (v). This will prevent vulnerable people from resorting to survival strategies that are harmful for their health and that will most probably undermine their fragile livelihoods.

In spite of continuous fundraising efforts, WFP has only been able to mobilize 32.5% of the required USD 69 million needed to assist food insecure Chadian families during the lean season. As commodities arrive and additional resources are confirmed, it is WFP’s priority to progressively increase assistance to 70% rations in all the targeted regions. Funding shortfalls could result in a failure to halt further deterioration of the food security and nutritional situation.