While British public generously responds, governments look away as Chad crisis worsens
Two weeks after launching its public appeal for Darfur and Chad, Oxfam today criticised international donors, particularly Germany, France, Japan, Italy, Spain and Australia, for their inadequate or non-existent response to the UN humanitarian appeal for Chad and called on them to give generously to the aid effort.
Penny Lawrence, International Director of Oxfam said: "In stark contrast with the generosity of the public the international response to the humanitarian crisis in Chad has been very disappointing. Thankfully the public has thrown us a much-needed lifeline for our work. Rich governments now have the responsibility to respond as generously to the wider humanitarian effort in Chad."
The public donated more than £1m in the first 10 days of Oxfam's appeal. The total now stands at over £1.5m.
This year the UN has appealed for £82.5m ($174m) for Chad but has only received £36m ($72m). Approximately only 20 percent of the total needed has been given in cash that can be used to save lives immediately, the remainder is promises of food aid that can take months to arrive. Some vital life saving sectors, such as water and sanitation and shelter have yet to be funded.
Oxfam is calling on rich countries to fund urgently the appeal if the increasingly desperate humanitarian needs are to be addressed.
Based on each countries' 'fair share' of contributions to the UN appeal Oxfam calculates that Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden have very generously gone over and above their fair share, but Germany and France are giving well below theirs.
Oxfam is particularly critical of those countries that so far have failed to make any contribution what-so-ever to this year's UN Chad appeal which include Japan, Italy, Spain and Australia. The UK has told Oxfam that it will be giving £5m ($10m) to humanitarian work in Chad. Oxfam calculates that the UK's fair share for the UN appeal should be £6m ($12m).
Not all rich countries' donations to Chad go to the UN appeal with approximately £7m ($14m) being given to humanitarian work not included in the UN appeal.
The humanitarian crisis is quickly deteriorating with increased needs because of the recent numbers of people forced to flee the fighting. Since May last year the numbers of Chadians forced to flee the fighting has more than quadrupled, from 30,000 to 140,000. The situation has now reached an even more acute crisis with 10,000 people needing urgent assistance following attacks over the last month.
In Chad some 375,000 people have sought shelter from armed conflict, almost quarter of a million are refugees from neighbouring Darfur. In parts of the country aid agencies are only managing to get four litres of water to people a day for all their needs when the basic minimum ration should be 15 litres.
Since January, Oxfam has responded to the crisis around Goz Beida by digging boreholes to provide clean water, building latrines to improve the sanitary conditions and conducting public health outreach work to prevent disease outbreaks for those forced to flee the fighting. The international agency is providing life saving assistance to some 60,000 people in Chad.
"The international community has so far failed to halt the spread of this conflict. Civilians are bearing the brunt of this crisis, leaving many on the very brink of survival. This has been an international political failure. The crisis must not become an international humanitarian failure due to a lack of adequate funding," added Lawrence.
The public can donate to Oxfam's appeal by:
- calling 0870 333 2500
- going online at www.oxfam.org.uk/emergency
- going into any Oxfam shop
What your money will buy:
- £25 could buy 50 chlorine tablets to ensure clean, safe drinking water for 2,500 people
- £100 could pay for two people to be trained as public health workers
- £200 could buy an Oxfam tap stand, able to provide 1,500 people with water every day
For more information: Ian Bray, 01865 472498, 07721 461339, ibray@oxfam.org.uk
Notes to editors:
Oxfam's Fair Share Analysis of the UN's Chad Appeal 2007(1)
|
Country
|
Gross National Income (GNI) $m
|
% total GNI
|
Fair share of funding required in US$
|
Actual funding given to the UN appeal in US$
|
Percentage of fair share contributed
|
Gap between fair share and actual funding in US$
|
| US |
12,912,889
|
38.94%
|
67,916,204
|
37,156,829
|
54.71%
|
30,759,375
|
| UK |
2,272,716
|
6.85%
|
11,953,502
|
10,000,000(2)
|
83.66%
|
1,953,502
|
| CERF(3) |
0.00%
|
7,281,225
|
-7,281,225
|
|||
| Netherlands |
641,997
|
1.94%
|
3,376,626
|
6,173,000
|
182.82%
|
-2,796,374
|
| Sweden |
369,143
|
1.11%
|
1,941,532
|
4,755,686
|
244.94%
|
-2,814,154
|
| Canada |
1,052,563
|
3.17%
|
5,536,026
|
4,581,642
|
82.76%
|
954,384
|
| Ireland |
171,122
|
0.52%
|
900,028
|
1,973,683
|
219.29%
|
-1,073,655
|
| Germany |
2,875,640
|
8.67%
|
15,124,621
|
1,297,017
|
8.58%
|
13,827,604
|
| Finland |
196,883
|
0.59%
|
1,035,519
|
1,082,130
|
104.50%
|
-46,611
|
| Switzerland |
411,409
|
1.24%
|
2,163,833
|
819,672
|
37.88%
|
1,344,161
|
| Norway |
281,509
|
0.85%
|
1,480,615
|
798,700
|
53.94%
|
681,915
|
| Turkey |
341,987
|
1.03%
|
1,798,704
|
400,000
|
22.24%
|
1,398,704
|
| France |
2,169,169
|
6.54%
|
11,408,890
|
256,410
|
2.25%
|
11,152,480
|
| Japan |
4,976,464
|
15.01%
|
26,174,046
|
0.00%
|
26,174,046
|
|
| Italy |
1,772,942
|
5.35%
|
9,324,907
|
0.00%
|
9,324,907
|
|
| Spain |
1,095,876
|
3.30%
|
5,763,833
|
0.00%
|
5,763,833
|
|
| Australia |
673,197
|
2.03%
|
3,540,725
|
0.00%
|
3,540,725
|
|
| Belgium |
378,720
|
1.14%
|
1,991,903
|
0.00%
|
1,991,903
|
|
| Austria |
306,184
|
0.92%
|
1,610,395
|
0.00%
|
1,610,395
|
|
| Denmark |
261,757
|
0.79%
|
1,376,728
|
0.00%
|
1,376,728
|
|
| Total |
33,162,167
|
100.00%
|
174,418,637
|
76,575,994
|
Notes:
(1) The 'fair share' is based upon a countries' relative wealth in terms of Gross National Income (GNI). The richer the country, the greater the share of total funding contributed.
(2) This total has yet to be allocated and is for all humanitarian assistance in Chad, both within and outside the UN Appeal
(3) UN's Central Emergency Response Fund
Data from UN OCHA Financial Tracking Service, 1 May 2007. http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/fts.nsf/doc105?OpenForm&rc=1&cc=tcd