N’djamena – The UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund has allocated 700,000 US dollars to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to provide urgent emergency relief efforts in Chad’s Lac province. The new allocation will help IOM reach over 6,400 internally displaced persons as well as host communities in the province with emergency relief including shelter, non-food items including hygiene kits, water, sanitation, and hygiene support comprising of the construction of latrines and boreholes in displacement sites.

Since 2015, more than 450 000 persons have been displaced in one of Africa’s longest humanitarian situation. Around Lake Chad, the activities of non-state armed groups have rendered large swathes of land uninhabitable, forcing people to flee away from the Lake’s islands or shores in search for safety. This situation is compounded by climate extremes such as very high temperatures and unpredictable rain patterns which often cause droughts and flash floods and which destroy crops, reduce access to fishing areas and leave local populations with no option other than leaving.

Despite the criticality of the needs of those most vulnerable, funding for the humanitarian response in the Lac has been at its lowest in recent years. In 2021, only 31% of the requested 617.5 millions required in 2021 have been received so far, according to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. “According to the latest data from the IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix, there has been a 14% increase in the number of displaced persons between 2020 and 2021 which leaves numerous gaps”, said Anne Kathrin Schaefer, IOM Chad’s Chief of Mission. “Unless urgent funding is allocated for both emergency and durable solutions, we estimate that more than 247 000 persons will be left deprived of adequate and dignified shelter, and many more without food and non-food assistance”, she adds.

In Chad’s Lac province, IOM is one of the leading UN agencies providing emergency humanitarian and transition assistance to internally displaced persons and host communities. Since 2020, with the UN CERF’s support, IOM has been able to reach over 52,000 with lifesaving assistance. UN CERF’s funding also supports the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), IOM’s flagship tool to monitor sudden population movements, as well as the needs of displaced populations to enable decision-makers and responders to provide context-specific assistance. However, as the displacement situation in the Lac province enters its seventh year, more durable solutions are needed to facilitate the socio-economic integration of displaced persons and support the development of host communities.

Read IOM’s Crisis Response Plan 2021 – 2022 for Chad. 

For more information, please contact François-Xavier Ada, Communications and Policy Officer. Email: fadaaffana@iom.int.