Attachments
Highlights
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During the reporting period, 90,072 malnourished children were admitted and treated in the supported health centres, bringing the year-to-date total to 308,070 in the targeted provinces, representing 74.3 per cent of expected cases, with a cure rate of 92.0 per cent.
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1,853, children received psychosocial support, including in child-friendly spaces, bringing the year-to-date total to 9,625 children.
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9,750 newly internally displaced people across Kousseri and Fourkoulom Nord site received access to drinking water through the construction of six (6) boreholes equipped with pumps.
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Floods affected 20 out of 23 provinces (388,000 people affected), UNICEF provided support to 8 of the most affected provinces. 12,228 households or 67,138 people in these provinces were assisted.
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35,448 people (5,908 households) had access to non-food items in the Lake Province through four cycles of distribution organised between June and November 2020.A total of 102,586 people (1,8136 households) received NFIs during displacement and flooding.
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In support of the National Contingency Plan for Preparedness and Response to the COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF focused on limiting human-to-human transmission through the procurement and distribution of 40320 masks to protect individuals from exposure to COVID-19 and minimising morbidity and mortality due to COVID-19 through the procurement and provision of 70 oxygen concentrators, 95 oxygen cylinders and 720 IR non-contact thermometers. An additional 500 masks (FFP2/N95), and 2 Oxygen concentrators have been provided to the district of Maro (Moyen-Chari Province).
Humanitarian Action for Children: Funding Overview and Partnerships
For 2020, UNICEF is requesting US$ 52,180,000 to assist 478,400 people including 448,600 children in humanitarian emergencies in Chad through the Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) appeal*. Since the beginning of the year,
UNICEF Chad has received US$ 24.8million ( 47.5per cent of the needs) from the European Commission, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), Japan and Sweden. Global thematic humanitarian funds of US$ 500,000 from the UNICEF National Committees of Norway, Denmark and the United States is also supporting flexible allocation of funds. Carried over funds from the previous year is providing an additional US$ 4 million, from the European Commission, the United Kingdom, the United States, and global humanitarian thematic funds.
UNICEF will continue to adapt and respond to critical humanitarian needs as they evolve and will advocate for flexible thematic and multi-year funding to reach the most vulnerable children and families with life-saving support. UNICEF is grateful to all partners for their continued support and collaboration and appeals for further assistance to children whose needs have increased due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
*HAC 2020 does not include the funding requirements for the COVID-19 pandemic, for which the office issued a separate HAC appeal.
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
Chad is facing multiple humanitarian crises in 2020. According to an analysis conducted in August 2020 by the Nutrition Cluster, with support from UNICEF and the World Food Programme, food insecurity, combined with the impact of COVID-19, has increased the number of children aged 6 to 59 with acute malnutrition from 1,711,090 to 1,893,199 including 526,984 children with severe acute malnutrition. UNICEF is targeting 414,301 of these children aged 6-59 months, as per the revised Chad 2020 Humanitarian Response Plan1 .
A measles outbreak has been persisting since April 2018, despite the various response campaigns conducted in epidemic affected districts. Since the beginning of 2020, as of epidemiological week 51 (20 December), the country has reported 8,717 measles cases including 41 registered deaths. However, a decreasing trend of reported cases has been noted since epidemiological week 14 (5 April), likely due to the onset of the rainy season. Between October and December, 186 children were newly infected. As of 20 December, three districts are suspected of reaching epidemic levels.
As of the epidemiological week 49 (6 December), 489 cases of meningitis were reported in 43 districts, including 45 deaths (9per cent), with most of the cases in the Mandoul province (324 cases).
The country has also been affected by an outbreak of cVDPV2 (circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses) since 2019.
The temporary deferral in the outbreak response due to COVID-19 has seen continued cases of cVDPV2 across the country. As of epidemiological week 50 (13 December) a total of 97 cases have been confirmed which includes 94 Acute Flask Paralysis (AFP) cases with an onset date in 2020 and three environmental cases with collection date in 2020.
Against this backdrop, the March 2020 outbreak of COVID-19 has further exacerbated the weakness of the health system. As of 31 December 2020, there has been 2,141 cases with 104 deaths reported across 17 provinces. 295 new cases were reported in November and 441 in December. Nearly 43,000 people have been quarantined since the beginning of the pandemic, of which 322 were still under surveillance as of 31 December 2020.
Health personnel represent 10.2per cent of the total reported cases.
The Chadian authorities lifted the international travel ban on 1 August 2020, yet passengers are required to present COVID-19 negative results followed by a seven-day quarantine and a negative control test before any movement. Given the country's limited health structures and capacity, key challenges remain, and the spread of the virus is still of great concern. The procurement and provision of protective equipment and essential supplies has improved but remains limited. Other challenges include limited capacity for surveillance, tracing, case management, isolation of contacts, laboratory testing capacity especially at land borders, inadequate sanitation facilities in quarantine sites and public spaces, and limitations in provincial-level preparedness. The pandemic is expected to further strain the resources already insufficient to deliver essential health programmes. Vulnerable groups include the elderly, women and children, people with pre-existing conditions, urban populations dependent on daily earnings, and displaced persons. An increase 1 The target was increased from 345,000 under-five children in the revision of the Chad 2020 Humanitarian Response Plan of COVID-19 cases has been noted in December especially in N’Djamena, leading to establishment of preventive measures of containment and land border closure for N’Djamena.
Overall, it is estimated that by the end of 2020, some 6.4 million people2, more than a third of the population of Chad, will require humanitarian assistance. The needs have increased from 5.3 million people3. As a result of insecurity in the Lake Chad basin and neighbouring countries, Chad is hosting over 480,000 refugees4, mainly from the Central African Republic and Sudan, and 370,0005 people are internally displaced. Humanitarian needs are increasing due to new population displacements in the Lac province which are exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The country is also extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change and natural disasters6. Following heavy rains in August and September, over 32,000 people (or 5,812 households) were initially affected by the flooding in N’Djaména. Many of the victims, who lost their homes to the floods, have been hosted by family members and friends in less affected areas of the capital.
UN agencies and NGOs are assisting the Government in responding to these needs, in accordance with the revised 2020 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) and the National Contingency Plan for Preparedness and Response to the COVID-19 pandemic. UNICEF is contributing to the response also in line with the 2020 WHO global Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan and the 2020 UNICEF COVID-19 Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) appeal.