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Chad: ICRC assists displaced and other vulnerable people affected by insecurity and violence
13-08-2009 Photo gallery
In 2006 and 2007, several outbursts of violence caused the displacement of tens of thousands of people in eastern Chad. The populations are today still having to cope with the consequences of chronic insecurity and violence in local areas, particularly in the areas on the border with Sudan. Whereas humanitarian and development organizations operating in the region are few and far between, the ICRC is continuing its operations there to assist displaced people, the war-wounded and prisoners as well as the most vulnerable members of the local populations.
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In 2006 and 2007, several outbursts of violence caused the displacement of tens of thousands of people in eastern Chad. The populations are today still having to cope with the consequences of chronic insecurity and violence in local areas, particularly in the areas on the border with Sudan. Whereas humanitarian and development organizations operating in the region are few and far between, the ICRC is continuing its operations there to assist displaced people, the war-wounded and prisoners as well as the most vulnerable members of the local populations.
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The ICRC identifies and registers children who have been separated from their families as well as other vulnerable people living in the refugee camps in eastern Chad. Across the border, in Sudan, the organization traces these people's families so that the messages can be exchanged. Since the beginning of the year over 1,600 messages have been collected and distributed in this way between people who have been separated by the violence.
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In order to boost productivity amongst the farmers of Dar Sila (in eastern Chad), to reduce the time they spend working in the fields and to increase the acreage under crop, the ICRC distributed hoes, sets of weeding tools and donkey harnesses to some 3,700 families in 23 different villages during the months of May and June. Two-thirds of the recipients are former displaced persons who have recently returned home. The others are resident families.
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The first batch of ploughs is distributed in the village of Moréna in the Dogdoré (Dar Sila) border area. The ploughs, transported in separate parts, are unloaded with the help of the village chief. The ICRC teams then assemble the new tools, try them out and give demonstrations.
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The ICRC plans to repair 30 wells in the Sila and Assoungha districts (on the border with Sudan) in 2009 in order to ensure that 36,000 people (displaced persons, returnees or residents) and their livestock have access to more water of better quality.
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A well recently sunk in the village of Harouftama. The morphology of the terrain makes it very difficult to dig deep to look for water. Many attempts are unsuccessful.
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The ICRC builds or upgrades health centres in rural areas, as it has also done in Kawa (Assoungha), in order to improve access to care for displaced persons and the communities who take them in.
In the Birak (Dar Tama) and Kawa (Assoungha) areas, traditional midwives are also trained with a view to improving maternal and infant health. And in the prefecture of Guereda some 3,000 children under 5 years of age have been vaccinated and 2,300 women of childbearing age have been given anti-tetanus injections.
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The distribution of a 3-month supply of sorghum, oil, sugar and salt enables the most vulnerable population groups to meet their most urgent needs. This aid covers 5,000 families (approximately 25,000 people) who have either returned to or reside in the Sila region as well as 670 families (approximately 4,000 people) who are still displaced in the Birak area.
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The ICRC also provides the needy with a number of items such as tarpaulins, blankets, khangas (traditional cotton clothing), jerrycans, buckets, cooking sets and soap. These items are distributed partly with the help of the Red Cross of Chad, as is the case here in Adé, very close to the Sudanese border.
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An "ordinary" day in the hospital operating theatre in Abéché, the main city in eastern Chad, where two patients with gunshot wounds have just been operated on with the help of the ICRC surgical team.
The team was based in the capital, N'Djamena, from 2006 to 2008, carrying out ad hoc missions to Abéché in the event of mass admissions of wounded casualties, but in February 2009 they set up in Abéché Hospital, where they operate the war-wounded as well as any other persons needing emergency surgery.
The team is composed of a surgeon, an anaesthetist, a theatre nurse, a post-operative nurse, a physiotherapist and a project manager.
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