The Federation's mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and its millions of volunteers are active in over 185 countries.
In Brief
Final Report; Period covered: 2 December 2003 to 31 December 2005; Final appeal coverage: 100 per cent.
Appeal history:
- Operations Update no. 3, dated 25 June 2004, revised the Appeal budget to CHF 3,968,000 and confirmed the extension of the appeal timeframe until 31 December 2004.
- Revised Appeal 23/2003, dated 27 July 2004, revised the Appeal budget to CHF 14,215,000(USD 11,241,600 or EUR 9,297,000), increased the number of beneficiaries to 80,000.
- Operations Update no. 9 amended the number of beneficiaries to 60,000 and extended the timeframe until the end of February 2005.
- Operations Update no. 10 extended the timeframe until the end of December 2005.
- Operations Update no. 11 and Operations Update no. 12 confirmed the extension of timeframe until 31 December 2005.
- Disaster Relief Emergency Funds (DREF) allocated: CHF 160,000). This operation was aligned with the International Federation's Global Agenda, which sets out four broad goals to meet the Federation's mission to "improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity".
Global Agenda Goals:
- Reduce the numbers of deaths, injuries and impact from disasters.
- Reduce the number of deaths, illnesses and impact from diseases and public health emergencies.
- Increase local community, civil society and Red Cross Red Crescent capacity to address the most urgent situations of vulnerability.
- Reduce intolerance, discrimination and social exclusion and promote respect for diversity and human dignity.
Background and Summary
The conflict in western Sudan, which started in early 2003, displaced nearly 1.8 million people, including 200,000 who fled into neighbouring Chad. The vast majority of the displaced were housed by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Chadian government in 12 refugee camps. Since the beginning of the conflict, cross-border raids into many villages hosting the Sudanese refugees in Eastern Chad as well as several attacks on Chadian host communities happened regularly along the border with Sudan.
The refugee influx into Chad slowed down in 2005, and humanitarian agencies were able to address the needs of camp residents. UNHCR and its partners also devoted increased resources to extend assistance to vulnerable local communities in the area. Such support to the Chadian host communities contributed to mitigating the impact of the presence of the refugees on the immediate environment of the area. However, continued violence in Sudan's Darfur and recent deterioration of security conditions in Eastern Chad could not allow anyone to envisage the return of the refugees in a near future.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (the Federation) and the Red Cross of Chad (RCC) provided emergency assistance to the refugees in the affected areas from December 2003 to December 2005. The two International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement partners were, in the beginning, in charge of managing only one camp - Treguine - with an estimated 14,000 residents. Later on, the Federation/RCC managed another camp in Bredgine, with an estimated 27,000 residents. The quality of services delivered to the refugee population in Treguine prompted UNHCR and other partner agencies to consider the Federation/RCC as a model in camp management and suggested the extension of Red Cross responsibilities on the management of this second camp.
Bredgine was the most congested of all 12 camps in Eastern Chad and resources available at that moment were used to satisfy the needs identified in both camps. This had the immediate consequence of increasing assistance to beneficiaries from the initial 14,000 (in Treguine) to 41,000 (in both camps). While - according to the contributions list - the appeal was fully covered, by December 2005 needs surpassed available resources. However, this situation did not affect the quality of assistance delivered to refugees since the Federation's management team concentrated available resources on core areas of assistance, albeit to the detriment of other Red Cross of Chad activities.
The refugee operation was effectively planned and managed, and achieved clear impact. Unfortunately, by the end of 2005, most expenses allocated to Bredgine camp - which were not included in the initial funding plan - had created a financial exposure of CHF 590,937; further audits later placed the figure at CHF 1.2 million. While this may raise valid questions over financial management and discipline, the Federation is resolving the situation transparently, working with the concerned National Societies and partners. [For further questions related to this issue, please refer to the list of contact details provided at the end of this report].
While struggling to maintain SPHERE standards in all sectors, with limited resources, the management of the Federation's Chad delegation resorted to resolve the deficit gradually in 2006 on one hand, and agreed with Red Cross of Chad authorities to revise the operation's staffing model on the other hand. This would be done by scaling down the number of Red Cross volunteers in the refugee programmes. Additionally, a decision was taken to reduce the number of international personnel involved in the operation. Only delegates and local staff involved in essential activities - such as coordination of the refugee programmes, water production/distribution, fleet management at refugee camp level, and those responsible for conducting aspects of National Society development programmes - would continue to operate.
For further information specifically related to this operation please contact:
In Chad: Andreas Koumo Gopina, Secretary General, Red Cross of Chad, N'Djamena; email: crt.tchad@intnet.td; telephone +235.523434;
In Chad: Dr. Razack V. Akadiri, Federation Head of Delegation, N'Djamena; email: razack.akadiri@ifrc.org; telephone +235.522.339; fax +235.522.399; Mobile +235.627.84.84
In Cameroon: Javier Medrano, Federation Head of Central Africa Sub-Regional Office, Yaoundé; email: Javier.medrano@ifrc.org; telephone +237.221 74 37; fax +237.221 74 39
In Senegal: Alasan Senghore, Federation Head of West and Central Africa Regional Delegation, Dakar; email: alasan.senghore@ifrc.org; telephone +221.869.36.41; fax +221.860.20.02.
In Geneva: Jaime Duran, Federation Regional Officer for Central Africa, Africa Department; email: jaime.duran@ifrc.org; telephone + 41.22.730.4914; fax +41.22.733.0395
All International Federation assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) in Disaster Relief and is committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response (Sphere) in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable.
For longer-term programmes in this or other countries or regions, please refer to the Federation's Annual Appeal.
For support to or for further information concerning Federation programmes or operations in this or other countries, or for national society profiles, please also access the Federation's website at http://www.ifrc.org.