VZCZCXRO6142
RR RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHNJ #0625/01 2111618
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 301618Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5577
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 0741
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RUEHRN/USMISSION UN ROME 0045
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 NDJAMENA 000625 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AIDAC 
SIPDIS 
 
USAID/DCHA FOR MHESS, GGOTTLIEB, SBRADLEY 
DCHA/OFDA FOR KLUU, AFERRARA, ACONVERY, DLILLIE, AMALLEY 
DCHA/FFP FOR WHAMMINK, JDWORKEN 
USAID/AFR/EA FOR BDUNFORD 
NAIROBI/ECARO FOR JMYER; FFP FOR NESTES 
STATE FOR AF/C, AFR/WA, AF/EPS, EB, CRS, AND PRM 
USUN FOR TMALY 
BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER 
USEUCOM FOR USAID WANDERSON 
KHARTOUM/USAID FOR EKERST, JMARKS 
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH 
ROME FOR RNEWBERG, HSPANOS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAID PGOV PHUM SOCI PREF PREL CD
 
SUBJECT:  EASTERN CHAD - IDP NEEDS BEING MET 
 
NDJAMENA 00000625  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1.  Most of the estimated 173,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) 
in eastern Chad are now receiving assistance from humanitarian 
organizations.   USAID/OFDA's partners and other humanitarian 
organizations are providing services to the IDPs in the 
water/sanitation/hygiene (WASH), health/nutrition, shelter and 
protection sectors, although important gaps remain in protection and 
site management/IDP registration.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  Nairobi-based USAID/OFDA Principal Regional Advisor (PRA) Jack 
Myer visited Chad July 2-16.  While there he traveled in eastern 
Chad with USAID Field Officer Stan Stalla, visiting the towns of 
Abeche, Farchana, Adre, and Goz Beida.  The objectives of his trip 
were to track the evolution of the humanitarian situation affecting 
IDPs and consider further funding options. 
 
¶3.  This is the second of two cables on the IDP situation, and will 
report on specific IDP conditions.  The first cable reported on the 
general IDP situation, discussed some issues and provided 
recommendations. 
 
MOST IDP NEEDS BEING MET 
------------------------ 
 
¶4.  About 173,000 IDPs now live in sites and host villages in Dar 
Sila (120,000), Dar Assongha (40,000) and neighboring Departments 
(13,000) in eastern Chad, according to the UN.  Their immediate 
needs are now largely being met by UN agencies and international 
NGOs in almost all sites.  In the last few months new NGOs have 
arrived in Chad, including Mentor, World Concern, Islamic Relief, 
Save the Children/US and Concern, and have begun filling 
programmatic gaps in health, site management, protection and other 
sectors. 
 
¶5.  The Red Cross family is also represented in Chad, with the 
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the International 
Federation of the Red Cross, the Chadian Red Cross and several other 
national Red Crosses active in the IDP sites, implementing WASH, 
health, shelter and other activities. 
 
¶6.  All the major UN operational agencies are implementing programs 
for IDPs, including the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 
the World Food Program (WFP), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the 
World Health Organization (WHO), the Office for the Coordination of 
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Food and Agriculture 
Organization (FAO). 
 
¶7.  The arrival of several new NGOs and increased donor funding have 
caused some strains within the humanitarian operation.  Competition 
for scarce qualified Chadian staff, housing and other procurement 
has created inflation in some areas (notably Goz Beida) and tension 
between NGOs.  Secondly, the capacity of humanitarian air transport 
is now stretched to the limit.  Thirdly, the new NGOs sometimes 
arrive with erroneous assumptions and pre-determined approaches that 
do not make sense in the Chadian context.  Finally, coordination of 
the increasing number of actors has challenged the limited capacity 
of OCHA in Chad. 
 
¶8.  The start of the annual three-month rainy season in eastern Chad 
further complicates relief efforts, but also stabilizes the security 
situation to a degree.  Most observers are confident that there will 
be no major attacks by ethnic militia, rebels or bandits during the 
rainy season as movement is heavily curtailed due to flooding in the 
wadis that criss-cross the region.  IDPs will probably stay where 
they are, although many have temporarily sent family members back to 
their original lands to plant the cereal crop. 
 
¶9.  Rains also hinder truck traffic to the extent that WFP has had 
to stockpile three months worth of food for the refugees in the 
camps, and just completed a food distribution to the IDPs that 
should see them through the end of the rains in September.  Even 
four-wheel drive vehicle traffic is impossible on some routes, 
 
NDJAMENA 00000625  002.2 OF 004 
 
 
placing increased strain on the humanitarian air service, which also 
faces some flooded runways. 
 
¶10.  A good rainy season, of course, would be a boon for farmers 
cultivating the annual sorghum and millet crop, and would 
significantly enhance food security in the region in general. 
 
ASSISTANCE SECTORS 
------------------ 
 
¶11.  The WASH sector appears to be relatively well covered.  In Dar 
Sila, Oxfam and Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF - present in several 
national branches) have put in boreholes, shallow wells and other 
water infrastructure for most IDP sites, while in Dar Assongha, MSF, 
the ICRC and others have done similar work in the sites and areas 
where IDPs are.  UNICEF estimates that the average availability of 
potable water in the sites is between five and ten 
liters/person/day. 
 
¶12.  A large scale latrine building program is beginning to provide 
good coverage in most sites, but Dogdore in Dar Sila remains a 
concern, due to problems with the soil.  There is concern that the 
rains will raise the risk of water-borne diseases, especially in 
areas where people continue to rely on surface water for household 
purposes.  Most IDPs have received jerry cans and receive basic 
hygiene messages from health workers. 
 
¶13.  The health/nutrition sector has also received substantial 
attention from the humanitarian community.  The sector/cluster is 
being well-coordinated and activities supported by WHO and UNICEF, 
according to the NGOs, and no major gaps were noted.  In Dar Sila 
MSF and COOPI are providing most health services, with Action 
against Hunger (ACF) and MSF working on malnutrition.  USAID-partner 
the International Medical Corps (IMC) is also providing some 
services via mobile clinics to IDPs and local people in Dar Sila. 
In Dar Assongha, MSF, the ICRC, and Premier Urgence are implementing 
health activities.  Aid organizations were able to stockpile 
medicine and health supplies for the rainy season and are 
comfortable with stock levels. 
 
¶14.  Recent media and other reports have highlighted the 
malnutrition situation, especially in the Dar Sila sites.  A survey 
by MSF in June found global acute malnutrition (GAM) rates of 20 
percent in some sites, well above the standard emergency threshold 
of 15 percent.  The NGO COOPI, long present in the Goz Beida area, 
disagreed with these figures and a public spat ensued.  UNICEF and 
WHO have undertaken efforts both to resolve the NGOs' differences, 
and independently survey the situation, and believe that the MSF 
figures are accurate.  Agencies are now working on the assumption 
that the 20 percent figure is correct. 
 
¶15.  The NGOs, with material and technical support from WHO and 
UNICEF are responding, and are beginning to look at the root causes, 
which may be linked to inadequate clean water supply, eating habits 
and lack of adequate nourishment.  WFP IDP rations at present are 
about 1800 kilocalories (KC) per person per day, below the minimum 
requirement of 2100 KC/day, and not every IDP receives food and 
those that do, do not always get a full ration due to the lack of 
registration of IDPs and distribution relying on village leaders. 
WFP plans to increase the ration to 2100 KC/person/day and increase 
the amount of Corn-Soya Blend in the distribution.  With NGOs set to 
begin site management activities, which include headcounts and 
registration, and the establishment by MSF and COOPI of nutritional 
treatment facilities, it is hoped GAM rates will go down. 
 
¶16.  Ongoing challenges in the health sector include outbreaks of 
Hepatitis A, B and E, diarrhea, high malnutrition and weak GOC 
capacity.  With support from WHO and UNICEF, NGOs are addressing 
these problems.  With the onset of the rainy season there is concern 
that malaria may emerge, as it usually does in this region. 
OFDA-partner MENTOR and others are distributing mosquito nets and 
making other preparations for outbreaks. 
 
¶17.  The Chadian Ministry of Health (MOH) is reported to be fairly 
 
NDJAMENA 00000625  003.2 OF 004 
 
 
weak in the region.  It does manage some health centers and 
hospitals and provides guidance on policy matters, but has little 
capacity to provide services or coordinate health activities and is 
under-staffed.  In most areas where there are refugees and/or IDPs, 
NGOs are essentially managing the health facilities on behalf of the 
MOH. 
 
¶18.  UNHCR is the sector lead for shelter and non-food items (NFI). 
Unfortunately, it is not able to provide a complete picture of the 
coverage and gaps at present.  It says there are numerous new NGOs 
bringing in supplies, as well as non-coordinated GOC efforts, so it 
has lost track of the situation.  However, at present, it says it is 
not aware of any major gaps, and promises a full report by late 
July.  Most actors the team met agreed with this general assessment, 
which assumes no new displacement. 
 
¶19.  An emerging gap in eastern Chad at present, in part linked to 
the debate over standards of service delivery, the permanence of the 
sites and funding, is site management.  With the increase in IDP 
numbers, in NGOs assisting them and in the general level of interest 
and activity in the sites, it is becoming urgent that a single NGO 
be in charge of each site.  The role of the site manager NGO would 
be to count and register the IDP population, coordinate all 
activities at the site and work closely with cluster leads to ensure 
needs are covered and duplication avoided. 
 
¶20. A disturbing problem cited by most contacts is in the area of 
protection, especially of women and children.  With hurried 
displacement, crowded camp conditions, frustration in the camps, 
breakdown of social networks, the need to find firewood in the bush 
and the presence of marauding bandits and unpaid soldiers, the 
potential for child abuse and rape has increased.  NGOs are 
beginning to address these problems, and the ICRC has been 
implementing protection activities in its areas of operation since 
the beginning of the IDP crisis.  Nevertheless, more work needs to 
be done in this area. 
 
COORDINATION 
------------ 
 
¶21.  The UN country team is using the cluster system on a de facto 
basis, awaiting official word from UN New York to implement it 
officially.  OCHA is in principle the overall coordinator for IDPs, 
but due to continuing major capacity problems with support, 
leadership, vision and staffing, is still not able to fully take on 
its role (although several secondments from the UK's Department for 
International Development - DFiD - are providing vital surge 
capacity).  UNHCR as the largest of the agencies in the east has 
thus far been taking on the role, but is eager to hand it over to 
OCHA when the latter is ready (septel will provide more detail of 
OCHA's weaknesses in Chad). 
 
¶22.  Humanitarian coordination of activities for the IDPs is so far 
a mixed bag.  On the one hand, the response benefited from the 
presence of a relatively large scale and mature program for refugees 
in the region, vastly reducing startup times and costs for IDP 
activities by aid organizations, and the time needed to establish 
inter-agency contacts and coordination mechanisms.  On the other 
hand, these same organizations are stretched with providing for the 
needs of the 220,000 refugees in eastern Chad, and had to struggle 
to increase capacity to handle the IDP caseload as it grew to the 
current number, as well as the needs of many vulnerable villagers. 
The result at first was an ad hoc and poorly coordinated response. 
 
 
¶23.  The use of the cluster system in eastern Chad, representing a 
retro-fit of formalized coordination structure, will be difficult 
for the same reasons it is in other countries in the region. 
Because its being introduced into an ongoing emergency response, 
habits set over the last four years will need to be changed.  The 
roles and responsibilities for cluster leads and participants will 
need to be carefully explained to avoid confusion, stress and 
conflict.  The role of the GOC will need to be clarified, 
communicated and supported. 
 
NDJAMENA 00000625  004.2 OF 004 
 
 
 
¶24.  The good news in Abeche is that both UNICEF and WHO are getting 
positive reviews from NGOs for their leadership in the health (WHO) 
and nutrition, child protection and WASH (UNICEF) sectors.  Both 
have fielded experienced emergency officers and appear to have the 
full support of their Ndjamena offices.  UNHCR is getting a handle 
on its coordination of shelter, and has ensured there are no major 
gaps, and is getting NGOs on board for site management.  There do 
not appear to be any major complaints in the food sector, 
coordinated by WFP, aside from the malnutrition problems being 
addressed.  The major problem in logistics (WFP and UNHCR) is 
inadequate passenger air transport capacity, and a recently ended 
strike by UNHCR's logistics partner GTZ which almost paralyzed 
operations in some camps. 
 
CONCLUSION 
---------- 
 
¶25.  With most sectors of humanitarian response for IDPs in eastern 
Chad covered, the challenge facing the humanitarian community will 
be improving standards, sustaining the effort and ensuring strong 
coordination of the increasingly complex program. 
 
TAMLYN