Chad: Situation in the Lac Region and Impact of the Nigerian Crisis Situation Report n° 27 (16/11/2017)

This SitRep was produced by OCHA in association with humanitarian partners and is focused on the internal displacements since 21 July 2015. It was published by OCHA Chad and covers the period from 1 July to 31 August 2017. The next publication will be around 1 December 2017.

Highlights

• The security situation remains fragile in Kaiga Kindjiria and Tchoukoutalia border areas. Humanitarian access remains limited.

• The resumption of IOM activities has contributed to updating displacement figures in the region, with a total of 123,204 estimated displaced persons in nearly 200 localities assessed and 51,000 internally displaced persons returned to their villages of origin.

• The 2017 SMART survey highlights a deteriorating nutritional situation in the Lac region, with 18.1 per cent of global acute malnutrition, including 3.4 per cent of severe acute malnutrition.

• Protection incidents and cases of genderbased violence continue to increase

Situation Overview

The security situation remains fragile, with some incidents reported in the border areas of Kaiga Kindjiria, Tchoukoutalia and Ngouboua. A dozen attacks on civilians were reported each month in July, August, September and October; civilians were killed and abducted and food and livestock were stolen. These incidents are allegedly committed by armed elements attacking civilian populations for supplies.

Recurring security incidents continue to limit humanitarian access in Tchoukoutalia, Kaiga Kindjiria and Boma border areas. Access is also limited in island areas due to security and logistical challenges, limiting the operational presence of partners and the response to the vulnerabilities identified by the multi-sectoral assessments of February and June 2017. A workshop was held on 26 and 27 September in Baga Sola to define a humanitarian access strategy in the Lac region, which was validated in November and aims to identify constraints and improve access to people in need, particularly in island areas and areas with poor security. In parallel, the easing of measures related to mandatory escorts for United Nations agencies in some areas will facilitate humanitarian access to affected populations. Escorts remain necessary for travel to the border areas of the northern basin and to island areas of the southern basin.

In the department of Wayi at the end of July 2017, an inter-communal conflict occurred between two communities in Doum-Doum sub-prefecture. The conflict was over the use of a polder for agricultural purposes. Nine people were killed and the local authorities moved about 600 people to a village near Doum Doum. Mediation by the authorities is still ongoing. After consultation with the authorities, the NGO ACTED had to redirect its cash transfer activities to other areas. This situation has prevented providing assistance to 965 people initially targeted in the localities of Albout, Doum Doum and Malloum.

Displacement tracking was resumed by IOM and an estimated 123,204 displaced persons were accounted for in nearly 200 assessed locations. This represents a 3.7 per cent increase compared to the 118,804 displaced persons registered and estimated in January 2017. Among these displaced persons, there are 101,905 IDPs, 20,047 Chadian returnees, and 1,252 third-country nationals. In addition, there are 51,000 displaced persons who returned to their villages of origin. IOM started registration activities in November to clarify these estimates. Humanitarian partners are preparing several multi-sector assessments in Daboua, Kaïga Kindjiria, Liwa, Ngouboua and Kangalom sub-prefectures to assess the level of vulnerability of the populations in the new sites and villages listed by IOM.

Following an alert by local authorities, a joint UNHCR-CNARR mission conducted a pre-registration exercise in Litri from 10 to 12 October, which identified more than 2,200 asylum seekers of different nationalities. These people reportedly arrived between 2013 and 2014 in the area and benefit from the fruits of their agricultural and fishing activities. Only 52 households volunteered to be transferred to Dar-es-Salam camp.

A multi-sector assessment was carried out on 12 and 13 September at Dar-el-Kheir site, where 4,634 Chadian nomads who arrived from Niger in July 2017 were registered by UNHCR and CNARR. The sectors of concern are food security and nutrition. The depletion of stocks received by WFP in July / August 2017 led households to adopt negative coping mechanisms. There is also a need to strengthen the capacity of existing structures nearby to support these additional people, such as the Dar-es-Salam health center and the two nearby schools.

The follow-up of the recommendations of the assessments carried out in 2017 (in particular in the Kangalom islands in June 2017, on Kegua site in July 2017) reveals important gaps still remain, especially in the provision of shelters and non-food items.

Protection incidents and cases of gender-based violence continue to increase. 1,907 protection incidents were reported from January to August, including 1,080 GBV cases, with a noticeable increase being recorded since April. The increase may be related to the expansion and improvement of data collection mechanisms. However, these cases are only those reported, and are likely to be well below the actual number of GBV and protection incidents in the region. Men in uniform continue to be among the main alleged perpetrators of protection incidents.

In August, epidemiological surveillance reported two suspected cases of hepatitis E in Baga Sola Health District. Samples were sent to Cameroon for confirmation. For the moment, the cholera epidemic reported in Nigeria has not spread to Chad, as no cases have been identified in the Lac region. On the other hand, a deterioration in the HIV / AIDS situation is reported. About 30 per cent of people admitted to Baga Sola hospital since January 2017 test positive. While the national rate is 1.6 per cent, the Lac region is more affected by the virus, with a regional prevalence of 2.1 per cent. This situation is exacerbated by population movements, lack of knowledge about HIV transmission, and low access to health services.

The results of the 2017 SMART survey highlight a worsening nutritional situation in the Lac region, as in the rest of the country. The global acute malnutrition rate is 18.1 per cent, well above the 15 per cent emergency threshold and the 2016 rate of 12.2 per cent. Severe acute malnutrition also increased from 2.1 per cent in 2016 to 3.4 per cent in 2017, well above the 2 per cent emergency threshold. The Lac region is one of the 12 regions declared in a nutritional emergency in Chad.

The agricultural season started late and faced a rainfall deficit compared to the previous year, however the cereal production is satisfactory throughout the region except in the department of Mamdi. The areas sown to cereals and vegetable crops during the 2017 rainy season are increasing compared to the previous year (136,033 estimated hectares sown to cereals, an increase of 9.5 per cent and 1,722 estimated hectares sown to vegetable crops, an increase of 7.5 per cent). This increase can be explained in particular by the increase in the number of farmers for cereal crops, the renewed access to productive areas thanks to the relative improvement in the security situation and the enthusiasm of the populations for market gardening despite a decline in the number of producers.