This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.


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FM AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 1237
AMEMBASSY DAKAR 
AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 
AMEMBASSY ROME 
USMISSION GENEVA

UNCLAS  NDJAMENA 000491 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
STATE FOR AF/C, AF/EPS, PRM AND 
USAID FOR RMT, DCHA/OFDA AND DCHA/FFP 
DAKAR AND NAIROBI FOR USAID/RFFPO 
ROME FOR FODAG 
GENEVA FOR RMA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID PREF CD SU
SUBJECT: RECOMMENDATIONS TO MITIGATE FOOD INSECURITY 
RESULTING FROM DUAL IMPACT OF SUDAN REFUGEES AND DROUGHT 
IN EASTERN CHAD 
 
REF: A) NDJAMENA 0020, B) 04 STATE 207288, 
C) 04 NDJAMENA 0957 
 
¶1.  This is an action cable.  Please see para 8. 
 
¶2. Summary.  The presence in eastern Chad of more than 
200,000 Sudanese refugees from the Darfur crisis has 
negatively affected the livelihoods and food security of 
the host population.  In addition there has been meager, 
untimely rainfall during the past two growing seasons 
and locust attacks on pastureland in 2004.  Experts warn 
that these combined factors could develop into famine 
conditions for eastern Chad in the coming months.  UN 
agencies, USG and other donors have begun to respond but 
there remain gaps in the effort. DART member on 
assignment in eastern Chad recommends continued USG 
support of the UN agency efforts in favor of local 
populations as well as additional mitigation activities 
for food security and livelihoods by USAID/DCHA/OFDA and 
where appropriate these should be in collaboration with 
DOS/BPRM efforts. End summary. 
 
¶3.  Background.  The influx of refugees from the Darfur 
crisis has significantly and negatively affected the 
livelihoods and food security of the host population in 
eastern Chad.  Two disaster declaration cables in the 
past 20 months have highlighted the deleterious impact 
that 200,000 Sudanese refugees have had on the fragile 
environment of this part of Chad (Reftel A and C). 
There is growing food insecurity among the Chadian host 
population as a result of sharing scare resources of 
water, pasture, firewood and arable land with a refugee 
population whose sizeable numbers and accompanying 
livestock challenge the supporting capacity of the 
area's environment.  The USAID famine early warning 
system (FEWSNET) recently published an alert of probable 
famine conditions developing in eastern Chad with 
drought exacerbating the severe pressure that the 
refugee presence has on the natural resource base. Rural 
Chadians in the area may soon exhaust usual coping 
mechanisms such as livestock sales.  Particularly at 
risk are Wadi Fira (surrounding Biltine, Iriba and 
Guereda) in eastern Chad and Kanem in the west. The 
situation also has security implications as there are 
some tensions between refugee and local populations over 
the use of scarce resources in areas around refugee 
camps.  Nutritional surveys conducted in December 2004 
among local Chadian population in the areas around 
Treguine and Oure Cassoni camps indicated global acute 
malnutrition rates of 14.2% and 21.4% respectively. 
 
¶4.  Food for Peace Officer (FFPO) and member of Darfur 
disaster response team (DART), Suzanne Poland, has 
completed a six-week TDY in eastern Chad during which 
she examined two aspects of the situation: the food aid 
response for the vulnerable populations as well as 
possible interventions to mitigate the negative effects 
the situation has on food security and local 
livelihoods.   Some recommendations are presented in the 
following paragraphs and action requested of OFDA in 
paragraph 8 below. 
 
¶5.  Food aid response summary 
 
¶A. Provisions in new EMOP. 
 
As noted in earlier cable (Ref A) the UN system has 
become increasingly attuned to the need for assisting 
host country populations and has developed and included 
63 project summaries which have been incorporated into 
its 2005 consolidated appeal to the donor community.  In 
addition, the World Food Program conducted November 17- 
26, 2004 a rapid food needs assessment of host 
populations in the east, resulting in a series of 
recommendations to include targeted free distribution to 
the most vulnerable groups,  school feeding, a program 
to assist with seed distribution, and a set of food for 
work activities all focusing on the local population. 
There are an estimated 722,247 Chadians living in the 
six departments where Sudanese refugees have been 
relocated: 
 
 
Department     Chad     region         Sudanese camps 
 
               pop. 
 
Ennedi est     28,247   B.E.T.         Oure Cassoni 
Kobe           44,681   Wadi Fira      Iridimi/Touloum/ 
                                       Am nabak 
Dar Tama       73,625   Wadi Fira      Kounoungo/Mile 
Ouaddai       233,931   Ouaddai 
Assongha      160,007   Ouaddai        Farchana/Bredjing 
                                       Treguine 
Sila          181,756   Ouaddai        Goz Amer/Djabal 
 
Total         722,247 
 
The proposed free distribution recommended by WFP for 
the local population in these departments will target 
117,200 persons.  In addition, an estimated 32,000 
Chadian children will be fed in the school feeding 
program. The FFW planning document included in the rapid 
food needs assessment projects 3,600 participating 
households (approx. 18,000 persons) in food for work 
programs.  In conjunction with a proposed FAO seeds 
distribution, WFP will provide food rations to 23,440 
households during the planting season to assure seeds 
are planted and not eaten.  WFP anticipates 
collaboration on seed protection and FFW activities with 
NGOs operating in the area, including ACTED, CARE, 
SECADEV, InterSOS, GTZ, OXFAM, Premiere Urgence, 
Africare and possibly IRD. 
 
¶B. Food aid activities already on-going for local 
population. 
 
The next three months (March to May 2005) are critical 
for the local population and for efforts to assist them 
in avoiding severe food insecurity and the specter of 
famine.  Food aid response is underway as of March. 
Blanket supplemental feeding continues in villages 
surrounding camps with plans to expand to villages more 
distant from camps during April.  School feeding program 
continues through May and some food for work activities 
began in late March 2005 with more slated for startup in 
April.  Seed protection food package should be 
distributed to 23,440 families along with seeds from 
mid-May to mid-June 2005.  Although the new EMOP begins 
June 2005, it has already been approved and WFP will use 
authority to take advance on EMOP for local purchases of 
food if necessary to cover the local population programs 
until June 2005. 
 
The re-registration process undertaken in all the 
refugee camps during February and March identified a 
number of Chadians from surrounding areas who had 
registered in camp in order to benefit from the food 
aid. The re-registration process includes new ration 
cards and photo identification cards. Although the 
Chadians in the camps will not receive either a new card 
or a photo ID, WFP and UNHCR have agreed that these 
families may keep their old ration cards and these will 
still be valid to access the food aid through September 
¶2005.   However in Goz Beida, Djabal camp, many Chadians 
in the camp were required to give up their rations cards 
during the re-registration process.  WFP is working out 
how to make sure that vulnerable families in surrounding 
villages who had ration cards can still receive food 
through the camp distributions until September 2005. 
 
¶C. Pre-positioning of food aid. 
 
Between March and June 2005, WFP plans to pre-position a 
three-month supply of commodities sufficient to feed 
both refugees and vulnerable host population in eastern 
Chad.  Eastern Chad will also be a transit zone for 
significant tonnage of commodities arriving through the 
Libyan corridor destined for pre-positioning in the 
Darfur region of Sudan. WFP has steadily improved the 
delivery system of commodities to eastern Chad. 
Although the slow delivery of commodities during 2004 
has resulted in an average distribution of less than 
optimum kilocalorie level during the past months, the 
March 2005 distribution for refugees included a complete 
30-day ration of 2100 kcal.   WFP plans to maintain this 
speedier pace of regular weekly delivery of commodities 
via the Douala corridor and Libyan corridor and through 
eastern Chad from March until arrival of the rains make 
 
roads impassable for heavy trucks.  Thus the outlook 
seems favorable for WFP to pre-position sufficient food 
commodities to cover both refugee and vulnerable local 
populations n eastern Chad before the rains begin.  The 
prosect for successfully pre-positioning the majority 
of the required commodities for internally displacd 
persons in Darfur by road through Chad is less 
promising.  Once the rains begin WFP special opeation 
plans to airlift from Al Khoufra whatever ommodities 
could not be moved by road. 
 
¶D. Overight of food aid program in eastern Chad. 
 
The Embassy prefers and recommends that one person be 
designated to oversee the food aid in eastern Chad and 
that the same person make the oversight temporary duty 
visits.  It is less effective to send a different person 
each trip because each new person that is sent must be 
briefed and get up to speed before they can effectively 
accomplish the task.  The same person returning on a 
regular basis could effectively build on knowledge from 
previous visits. 
 
¶6.  Recommended activities to mitigate effect of refugee 
influx and drought on food security and livelihoods of 
Chadian population 
 
¶A. Seeds and tools distribution. 
 
FAO has not yet received financing for a proposed seeds 
and tools distribution for the 2005/2006 growing season 
even though WFP has included food rations to protect the 
proposed seeds in the new EMOP.  DART member Poland 
recommends that OFDA consider funding a program 
providing seeds only (no tools) to 23,440 agropastoral 
families in the affected areas for rainfed millet and 
sorghum and vegetable seed for 4,000 families for off- 
season production in the amount of approximately 
$300,000. Consensus of Ministry of Agriculture officials 
and local administration and farmers is that tools are 
not needed. 
 
FAO does not have a representative based in the eastern 
Chad affected area so to more efficiently execute the 
program it is recommended that the logistics of moving 
and distributing the seeds be done through WFP in 
conjunction with the seed protection food rations with 
FAO providing technical assistance for the purchase of 
the seeds.   If available, some improved seeds of short 
season millet variety should be included in the package 
especially for Wadi-Fira area. 
 
The FAO and WFP must assure that quality seeds are 
purchased and that they are distributed along with the 
seed protection ration  in a transparent manner to 
vulnerable households with the means to use them and the 
seeds must be available to households by mid-May in the 
south through mid-June in the north. 
 
If not already under consideration, recommend that 
DOS/BPRM consider funding an additional quantity of 
seeds and tools to cover refugee families in camps who 
may have access to land mainly in the Goz Beida area. 
InterSOS worked with 5,000 refugee families last year in 
a seed distribution program and this would be a 
manageable number for the current season. Tools should 
be included because the refugees are less likely to have 
tools with them.  The same mechanism through FAO and WFP 
could be used for procurement and distribution of seeds 
for refugees as for local populations however funding 
through UNHCR is an option also.  ECHO is funding a 
small program with seeds for 500 refugee families around 
Treguine camp with Premiere Urgence. 
 
¶B. Food security interventions 
 
The food aid measures and seeds distribution are 
important for the immediate response but restoration of 
some water, soil and tree resources and prevention of 
further environmental degradation is imperative to 
prevent widespread food insecurity in coming years and 
to provide productive capacity and asset building. 
Recommend that OFDA consider proposals from NGOs 
Africare,  and International Relief and Development to 
 
conduct developmental relief activities that combine 
water and soil interventions, natural resource 
conservation and stewardship with food security and 
livelihood activities. 
 
Abeche to Adre area 
 
Africare's proposed program would directly affect 40,000 
households and focus on wells, livestock watering ponds, 
soil-water-harvesting systems in the Abeche to Adre band 
surrounding the three camps of Farchana, Treguine and 
Breidjine and the area for the new camp of Gaga. 
Africare has a Title II DAP program in this area funded 
by USAID/FFP through 2008.  The DAP program with check 
dams has been very successful. Villagers participating 
in the program have become food secure with water for 
crop production, livestock and off-season income- 
generating vegetable production in as short a time as 
one year.  The check dams slow the flow of the water 
through the wadis during the rainy season enough so that 
the water can infiltrate the soil, recharge the aquifers 
and also deposit soil that has been eroded from areas 
upstream.  Recommend that OFDA provide funds for 
Africare to expand this program in order to reach more 
villages in the coming year.  Currently the DAP has 
3,000 hectares rehabilitated in the check dam system, 
affecting the livelihoods of more than 30,000 families. 
 
SECADEV (CRS) and two local NGOs request support from 
OFDA for materials to complement the food for work 
activities they will carry out with local populations in 
the Farchana and Adre areas.  These are small requests 
and the three together should not exceed $25,000. 
Recommend one umbrella grant with an international NGO 
such as CRS or Africare to fund all three of the local 
NGOs. 
 
Iriba and Guereda area (Wadi-Fira) 
 
Wadi-Fira province is the most at risk of developing 
famine conditions in the coming months.  Last year Iriba 
recorded only 84 mm of rainfall compared to normal 
average of 350 mm.  International Relief and Development 
is an NGO with mostly Asian and eastern European 
experience looking to startup activities in Chad.  IRD 
has proposed to establish in the Iriba-Guereda area with 
water, livestock, NRM activities and a mobile health 
unit covering approximately 70,000 individuals or about 
14,000 households. 
 
Recommend that IRD begin smaller and cover only Iriba 
area villages and target 25,000 to 30,000 people or 
about 6,000 households.  Some of the villages in the 
Guereda area were previously covered by local NGO 
SECADEV and they may resume food for work and other food 
security activities in the coming year.   IRD would need 
to become functional very quickly in order to have an 
impact in this current food security emergency 
situation. 
 
Bahai area 
 
The Ambassador's disaster allowance of $50,000 was 
granted to ACTED to complement food for work activities 
in Bahai.  Recommend increasing the grant level to ACTED 
so that the food for work activities around Bahai and 
Oure Cassoni camp can be effectively carried out - 
approximately $100,000 to $150,000 additional funding 
required to provide vehicle and technical supervision 
necessary in the harsh environment of Bahai.  ACTED 
currently understaffed and will not have capacity to 
implement food security activities if vacant positions 
of country director and logistics officer are not filled 
very soon.  Note that ACTED logistics officer arrived in 
mid-march in Bahai.  ACTED must coordinate water 
activities and any agricultural activities around Lake 
Carriari with International Rescue Committee, the lead 
for wat/san sector in the Oure Cassoni camp near Bahai. 
There are some concerns about ACTED proposed livestock 
watering activities near the water treatment plant for 
the refugee camp. 
 
Kanem province 
 
Kanem province in western Chad is also cited by FEWSNET 
as a probable area where famine conditions could 
develop.  Action Contre la Faim (ACF) had a mother and 
child nutrition program in Kanem for 20 years but closed 
the program in 2003 because there was no measurable 
impact on the malnutrition situation after 20 years.  A 
local NGO continued the supplemental feeding program 
until the arrival of the Sudanese refugees.  WFP needed 
to mobilize food stocks in country to feed the influx of 
refugees and suspended its development program in the 
interim. The Kanem supplemental feeding program should 
start up again as soon as the country program resumes 
and if the local NGO still has the capacity to 
implement.  A food aid response is the only recommended 
action at this point.  ACF is not interested in 
reentering Kanem and no other international NGOs are 
present. 
 
¶7.  Peace Corps Volunteer secondary projects. 
 
There are possibilities for collaboration with US Peace 
Corps in some areas where food for work and 
developmental relief activities would be funded.  Some 
Peace Corps education volunteers might be interested in 
pursuing secondary projects involving implementation of 
food for work and developmental relief activities with 
NGOs during the school break period May through October. 
This could assist some NGOs having problems with timely 
recruitment of personnel.  In cases where an NGO can 
work out a satisfactory scope of work with PC/Chad and 
in areas where security situation is acceptable for 
volunteer placement, DCHA/OFDA may need to consider 
modest additions to NGO funding requests in order to 
provide accommodations and transport for participating 
volunteer(s) during a 2 to 3 month period. 
 
 
¶8.  Actions requested for OFDA Darfur RMT 
 
In order for there to be sufficient time for some of the 
water storage and availability  interventions such as 
well cleaning, well construction, water storage and 
livestock watering to be implemented in time to profit 
from the rains these recommendations should be reviewed, 
decisions made and implemented immediately.  If at all 
possible grant instruments should be in place by mid to 
late April.   The interventions should be approved for 
at least 12-month period so that there are even more 
beneficial results before the arrival of the subsequent 
rainy season in June/July 2006. 
 
Suggest that regional OFDA and FFP Officers could 
include oversight of these recommended food security 
activities in their regular scheduling of visits in the 
region.  OFDA should clarify if eastern Chad remains 
under jurisdiction of REDSO for these  interventions 
related to pressure of Darfur refugee presence and 
drought. 
 
WALL 
 
 
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