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ACTUALITES, NUTRITION, SANTE, URGENCES

European Union provides €7.6 million to UNICEF to respond to multiple emergencies affecting children in Chad

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N’DJAMENA (Chad), 10 November 2017 – The European Union, Chad’s leading humanitarian donor, is renewing its response to the immediate needs of children and women in the country. Through its grant of €7.6 million to UNICEF, it will help improve the lives of 112,500 people, including 91,000 children under the age of five.

Thanks to this support by the European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian aid Operations (ECHO), UNICEF will reinforce Chad’s health system to better the response to the nutritional crisis in the Sahel through the set-up of 77 new Nutrition Units (5 hospitals and 72 health centers). The grant will also enable UNICEF to improve access of children under 5 to nutrition services, including treatment for Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM). This will be done through the distribution and management of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), capacity building of 250 health community workers, support to national coordination mechanisms, deployment of 150 professional health workers, and the reinforcement of the nutritional surveillance system.

Health centers at district level will be reinforced with technical staff who will contribute to better monitor the implementation of activities and ensure continuity in quality service provision for children with Severe Acute Malnutrition. The project also foresees the setup of an innovative monitoring system through SMS text in phones to ensure more timely data collection and analysis.

“Chad is currently facing multiple humanitarian challenges that range from population movements, such as refugees and returnees from Central African Republic, Sudan and Nigeria; to recurrent epidemics, including cholera; and the Sahelian food and nutrition crisis,” explains Philippe Barragne-Bigot, UNICEF Representative in Chad.

The Nutrition SMART Survey carried out in 2017 indicates that the prevalence of Global Acute Malnutrition stands at almost 14% and Moderate Acute Malnutrition at 10%, which is a slight deterioration from 2016. “Reinforcing Chad’s health system will support a better response to the nutritional crisis in the region. EU humanitarian aid funding is, therefore, key to reinforce national capacities and provide a more coherent response in close coordination with other sectors like water, sanitation and hygiene,” adds Mr. Barragne-Bigot.

“Given the complex humanitarian situation in Chad, we need to adopt an integral approach maximising the response to the various emergencies. Providing life-saving assistance to children and women, who are most at risk, is a shared responsibility. This is why the European Union is renewing its commitment to address with UNICEF the urgent needs of children suffering from malnutrition and epidemics, particularly cholera,” states Christos Stylianides, EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management.

In addition to the nutrition component, the EU-supported intervention will contribute to the development of contingency plans at regional level that will align with the National Contingency Plan developed in 2016. Two high risk regions (Hadjer Lamis and Logone Occidental) will be supported to conduct their risk assessment, emergency preparedness and regional contingency plans based on most likely hazards (epidemics, floods), and to make these plans operational. Cholera preparedness in particular remains a high priority for the sectors.

The European Union Civil protection and Humanitarian aid Operations (ECHO) is Chad’s leading humanitarian donor and among the five most important donors of UNICEF in this country. It has committed significant financial resources for Chad (more than €60 million in 2016 and €50 million in 2017), in order to address the most immediate needs of 1 million people.

About EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO)

The European Union, together with its Member States, is the world’s leading donor of humanitarian aid. Every year, through its Civil protection and Humanitarian Operations department (ECHO), the European Union helps over 120 million victims of conflict and disasters. Relief assistance is an expression of European solidarity towards people in need around the world. It aims to save lives, prevent and alleviate human suffering, and safeguard the integrity and human dignity of populations affected by natural disasters and man-made crises. Assistance to the most vulnerable is provided solely on the basis of humanitarian needs.

For more information, please visit the European Commission’s website: http://ec.europa.eu/echo. 

To find out more about the EU-UNICEF partnership, visit http://www.unicef.org/eu/

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For further information, please contact:

Maria Fernandez I Chief of Communication I UNICEF Chad
+235 66 36 00 42 I [email protected] I www.unicef.org/chad

Isabel Coello, Regional Information Officer for North, West & Central Africa, EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO). Tel. +221 33 869 60 92, Mob. +221 77 740 92 17, [email protected]

 

ACTUALITES, NUTRITION

EU donates additional €4 million to UNICEF to combat child malnutrition in Chad

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N´DJAMENA (Chad), 15 December 2016 – The European Union’s humanitarian department is strengthening UNICEF’s response to the nutrition crisis in the Sahel belt in Chad with an additional funding of Euro 4 million. This new grant will support the scale-up of Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM) for 40,000 children in 632 health facilities, and ensure that additional 350 health staff have the capacity to provide quality malnutrition treatment by the end of May 2017.

“Acute malnutrition is hampering the life of thousands of children in Chad. Developing integrated approaches to address it is a proven and high impact lifesaving intervention that UNICEF will continue to support,” stated Philippe Barragne-Bigot, UNICEF Representative in Chad. “We are grateful to the EU for its continued support to scale up such interventions in Chad, especially in the Sahel Belt.”

For years, Chad Sahel belt has been dealing with pervasive food and nutrition insecurity. It is estimated that over 4.3 million people in Chad are now food insecure. In addition, many of the neighboring countries – especially Nigeria, Central African Republic and Sudan- are facing political and security turbulences that lead to population movements which place an enormous burden on the already overstretched health system.

Recent surveys have revealed a Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rate of 11.7% with huge variations between regions. It is estimated that over six regions are above the emergency threshold of 15%. As a consequence, 558,000 children are estimated to be currently undernourished of which over 228,000 suffer from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM). Besides, chronic malnutrition is a public health problem and affects thousands of children across the country.

In partnership with different stakeholders, including the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid office (ECHO), UNICEF aims to reach at least 200,000 cases of severe malnutrition to reduce morbidity and mortality resulting from recurring humanitarian crises in Chad.

« The European Union is renewing its commitment to address the urgent needs of malnourished children” said Olivier Brouant, Head of the European Commission’s humanitarian aid office in Chad. “Multiple crisis are impacting Chad, and children are the most affected. We are stepping up to help UNICEF provide life-saving assistance to the most vulnerable, to reinforce national capacities to provide quality malnutrition services, and to build the resilience of the affected communities.” The European Union is UNICEF Chad’s leading humanitarian donor and among the five most important donors of UNICEF in Chad.

In close coordination with governmental and non-governmental organizations, the project aims to implement and scale-up Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM) in 50 new therapeutic feeding centres. This will increase the coverage to a total 632 health facilities and ensure that these centres have the capacity to provide quality treatment of severe undernutrition.

The project will target 40,000 severely malnourished children in 15 priority regions, including refugee, returnee and sites for Internally Displaced Persons across the country. The provision of improved quality SAM services, stock management, reporting and information management will be reinforced through training and equipment of 350 health staff.

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Haoua Yunus and her daughter are nomads. Thanks to the EU support they have beneffited from improved SAM services.

About EU Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection

The European Union together with its Member States are the world’s leading donor of humanitarian aid. Every year, the European Commission, through its humanitarian aid and civil protection department, helps over 120 million victims of conflict and disasters. Assistance to the most vulnerable is provided solely on the basis of humanitarian needs.

Relief assistance is an expression of European solidarity towards people in need around the world. It aims to save lives, prevent and alleviate human suffering, and safeguard the integrity and human dignity of populations affected by natural disasters and man-made crises.

For more information, please visit the European Commission’s humanitarian office website: http://ec.europa.eu/echo

About UNICEF

UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. For more information about UNICEF and its work visit: www.unicef.org

To find out more about the EU-UNICEF partnership, visit http://www.unicef.org/eu/

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A major humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Africa’s Lake Chad Basin, an area that comprises parts of Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad, where violence and destruction have led to a dramatic increase in malnutrition. Local communities are doing what they can to help those in need. Download multimedia contents here: http://weshare.unicef.org/Folder/2AMZIFWEC7O

For further information, please contact:

Maria Fernandez I Chief of Communication I UNICEF Chad
+235 66 36 00 42 I [email protected] I www.unicef.org/chad

Isabel Coello, Regional Information Officer for North, West & Central Africa, Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), Dakar, Tel. +221 33 869 60 92, Mob. +221 77 740 92 17, [email protected]

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ACTUALITES, SANTE, Uncategorized

Children lives matter

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By Badre Bahaji

I have been part of vaccination campaigns in many different regions and contexts, but nothing similar to the nomadic camp of Tchofio where a recent measles outbreak ravaged the community.

It is early morning as we head out to Abreche, in the Sahel Belt of Chad, where Oumar Mahazer, the Head of the health center is waiting for us. Many nomadic camps settle in his remote region during the rainy season but very few nomads make it to the health center. Today, he’s sending two vaccinators, Youssouf and Yaya, to the nomadic camp of Tchofio to immunize children against measles.

Ahmat Manani, 7. Children in the Nomad Camp of Tchofio in the Guera Region – Central Chad. Because of their multiple displacements and difficult access to basic social services, the local health center has organized various immunization campaign in the

Youssouf was born and raised in this area and knows every tree, every river around. “The nomads live with us but they move their camp twice a year looking for grazing and water points. Recently, I was in the market and saw nomadic children with red lips, eyes full of dirt and spots all over their bodies. I had almost no doubt that this was measles. I went to see their parents and I told them to go straight to the health center for medical care. I also alerted the authorities,” he said.

After a 30 minutes’ drive and a long walk in the bush under the heat, we get to the Tchofio nomadic camp. We realize that none of the children there had been immunized as we walk from tent to tent to sensitize families and immunize their children. “During the last measles outbreak, these nomads were not located here and they missed the campaign, it’s important to reach them to prevent any new epidemics,” adds Yaya.

 

Halime Attaï - 25 and her 4 children - all healed from measles outbreak. Children in the Nomadic Camp of Aboudroua in the Guera Region – Central Chad. Because of their multiple displacements and difficult access to basic social services, the local hea

Halime Attai, 25, is the mother of four beautiful children. During the last epidemic, early 2016 three of her children, Moussa, Izza and Mariam caught measles. “We were far away in the bush with our cattle, that’s why we missed the campaign but we have no problem with immunizing our children. We want them to be healthy, we have no reason to say refuse. Now that they are immunized, I don’t have to worry about that disease anymore,“ she said, smiling.

In Chad, because of conflict, or multiple displacements – inherent to the nomadic lifestyle – millions of children miss out on the basic vaccines they need to stay healthy and have a fair chance in life. Immunization against measles is an affordable and simple way to protect these children, especially the most underserved and marginalized communities.

 

Mariam Djibrine - 5 Children in the Nomadic Camp of Aboudroua in the Guera Region – Central Chad. Because of their multiple displacements and difficult access to basic social services, the local health center has organized various immunization campaign

Since the beginning of 2016, 318 cases of measles were detected in Chad. In total seven health districts in 4 regions were targeted to launch a mass immunization campaign. With support from the European Union’s humanitarian aid and civil protection department (ECHO), UNICEF launched an emergency immunization campaign. The response mobilized more than 700 vaccinators and community workers to reach close to 415 000 children aged 9 months to 14 years of age.

 Credit: UNICEF Chad/2016/Bahaji