UNICEF Chad Humanitarian Situation Report, 30 September 2017

Highlights

• Preliminary results of the SMART were published showing an increase in the national prevalence of the global acute malnutrition (from 11.9% to 13.9%). This rate exceed the emergency threshold of 15% in 12 out of 23 regions of the country.

• By end of September, 482 cases of cholera were reported in the two regions with an official death rate of 13% since the beginning of the outbreak mid-August. The WASH and Health clusters developed an integrated response plan, adopted by the Humanitarian Country Team, which requires over 2 million USD for the two affected regions. 295,000 USD had been mobilized at the time of validation.

• In response to the cholera outbreak, UNICEF’s emergency WASH response and social communication activities, as well as strong leadership by Sila health authorities, has helped curb the outbreak in Sila region. By the end of September, the number of cases per week had gone from 87 in the first week of September to 16 in the last week of the month. The trend in the region of Salamat on the other hand is of a sharp spread increase in cholera cases requiring prevention activities at scale.

• By the end of the third quarter of 2017, UNICEF has only received 44% of the $57.8 million required to respond to the needs of children affected by emergencies in Chad

Situation in Numbers

2,700,000
Children affected (UNICEF HAC 2017)

228,240
Children under 5 with Severe Acute Malnutrition in 2017 (Nutrition Cluster 2017)

133,172
People displaced (IDPs, returnees, TCN, refugees) in the Lac Region (IOM, DTM 18 January 2017 and UNHCR 30 September 2017)

UNICEF Humanitarian funding needs in 2017
US$ 57.8 million

Funding available
US$ 25.8 million

Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

Population Displacement

IOM has begun its efforts to update its Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) for the Lac region. Due to lack of funding, the DTM which has been used by the humanitarian community to report on displacement numbers, was last updated in January 2017. Overall, there are about 133,000 displaced people in the Lac Region, of which 106,045 have been registered by UN organizations up to January 2017 (90,911 IDPs, 14,810 Chadian returnees and 324 thirdcountry nationals), and 9,148 Nigerian refugees1 have also been registered by UNHCR as of end of August. The humanitarian community agreed that in October a team with technical expertise will analyse secondary displacement data and new arrivals, as well as known numbers of IDPs who have returned to their villages, in order to provide more up to date estimates of the displacement situation.

The situation is the Lac region remained calm but still marked by attacks allegedly perpetrated by Boko Haram combatants looting for food in several villages, mostly along the borders with Nigeria and Niger. OCHA’s humanitarian access survey however shows that overall humanitarian access is good in most of the region, with the exception of the border around Kaiga Kindjiria.

Epidemic Outbreaks

By end of September, 482 cases of cholera were reported in the two regions with an official death rate of 13%. The WASH and Health clusters developed an integrated response plan, adopted by the Humanitarian Country Team, just over 2 million USD for the two affected regions. 295,000 USD had been mobilized at the time of validation.

The cholera outbreak, which started in the region of Sila, Eastern chad in mid-August, extended to the region of Salamat in Southeastern Chad. The epidemic spread as people from Salamat were in contact with affected persons from Sila region, notably for traditional funerals. The number of cases significantly decreased in the region of Sila thanks to a rapid multisectorial response (3 Cholera treatment units opened by MSF, emergency WASH response and social mobilisation activities implemented by UNICEF and its partner CONCERN, 4 cholera kits for 400 severe cases and 1600 moderate ones, and 5 technical staff deployed by UNICEF,). 157 cholera cases were registered in August, and 275 in September. However, by the end of September, the number of cases per week in Sila had gone from 87 in the first week of September to 16 in the last week of the month. The trend in the region of Salamat on the other hand is of a sharp increase, first in the rural areas on the border with Sila, and then in the village of Amtiman, with a population of close to 100,000 people. Salamat, and particularly Amtiman, is still suffering from a Hepatitis E outbreak that has now lasted over a year despite efforts from multiple partners, showing important weaknesses in local health system capacity.

In addition to the cholera outbreak, cases of Hepatitis E continued to be reported in the Salamat region. The number of suspected cases had decreased in up until the end of a UNICEF supported WASH and social communication intervention aimed at containing the outbreak. However, the trend curved upward again in September (45 suspect cases against 18 in August), as soon as the project was over, showing the importance of investment in longer term development initiatives in WASH in the region. A total of 1, 817 cases (of which 20 deaths) were reported so far since the beginning of the outbreak in July 2016.