N’Djamena – The Republic of Korea, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has granted USD 300, 000 to support the International Organization for Migration (IOM)’s assistance to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Chad’s Lake Province.  

The additional funding will enable IOM to continue its critical emergency programming in the Province, reaching an estimated 2,000 displaced persons. The emergency response includes the construction of shelters and the distribution of non-food items to displaced people, homeless due to insecurity caused by armed conflict with non-state armed groups and climate change.  

The Korean’s support will also help to ensure the continuity of the periodic baseline assessments for evaluating the needs of displaced people via IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM). 

At least 54,000 persons have directly or indirectly benefitted from IOM’s assistance in the area since 2018. An estimated 58 per cent of those beneficiaries were women. In close collaboration with its partners, including local and provincial authorities, IOM has distributed 2,500 shelter kits, and built 1,160 semi-durable shelters in 16 displacement sites and host communities across Lac Province.  

“With this generous donation from the Republic of Korea, IOM will continue helping internally displaced persons rebuild their lives in dignity and in safety while working towards durable solutions to their displacement,” said Anne Schaefer, IOM’s Chief of Mission in Chad. 

Since 2015, Chad has been fighting a deadly insurgency caused by non-state armed groups, including Boko Haram, in Lac Province. In 2018, IOM started its intervention with temporary shelters in crucial displacement camps.  

The conflict has created one of the world’s most alarming humanitarian crises, with more than 5 million displaced across the four countries, including at least 330,000 in Chad alone, according to latest data from IOM’s DTM. Shelter, water and non-food assistance are among the key needs expressed by displaced persons.  

Currently, IOM is one of the leading organizations in the humanitarian response to the crisis in the Lake Chad Basin. In addition to emergency shelter and non-food assistance, IOM leads on displacement tracking and monitoring to produce critical knowledge products, such as emergency tracking reports and displacement dashboards. These products are used by the humanitarian community to ensure equitable distribution of humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable people.  

For more information, please contact Daniele Febei, at IOM Chad. Email: dfebei@iom.int.