Chad - The German government has contributed EUR 500,000 towards IOM’s programme to assist up to 38,000 flood-affected persons in Southern and Western Chad.

The floods, the worst since 1962, have claimed the lives of 20 persons to date and destroyed 94,000 houses in 16 of 22 regions of Chad. The Office of the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, estimates that more than 700,000 persons have been affected by the floods, which also destroyed some 255,720 hectares of crops.

The most affected regions are Moyen Chari and Salamat in the South, Hadjer Lamis and the area of Walia around the capital, N’Djamena. More than 18,000 persons in the outskirts of Ndjamena have also been displaced.

The funds received from Germany will specifically go towards providing shelter, non-food items (NFIs) and health assistance to the 30,000 extremely vulnerable persons who have been identified by IOM.  They include women, children, persons with special medical needs and single headed families.

The funding will also be used to support government institutions and national humanitarian actors in developing their capacities to better respond to the cyclically reoccurring natural disasters. IOM will expand its response to floods to all locations currently not covered by the other humanitarian actors in the country.

IOM is currently assisting the Chadian government to transport flood victims from four flood-affected areas of Walia, Tukra A, Tukra B and Farsha around the capital to safe areas where the government has set up a temporary resettlement site.

The organization is also providing medical screening and referral as well as registration and distribution of non-food items such as hygiene kits, blankets and mats.

IOM aims to assist with the distribution of food in coordination with the World Food Programme, and non-food items such as tents, blankets, mats, kitchen sets and soaps to the affected persons.

Other planned activities include the provision of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services including the digging of latrines, rehabilitation of boreholes and water purification systems and support to a Cholera Awareness Raising Campaign.

Germany is one of the main donors to IOM Chad; having supported the humanitarian assistance provided to the Libyan returnees and is actively funding a reintegration programme for the returnees into their home communities.

“My government is committed to continuing humanitarian support to the people of Chad. We will continue to work with IOM in providing humanitarian relief assistance,” says M. Larretgere, chargé d’affaire of the German Embassy in N’Djamena.
 
For more information, please contact

Qasim Sufi
IOM Chad
Tel: 23562900674
Email: qsufi@iom.int