By Haruna Gimba
The Government of Chad and the humanitarian community have inaugurated the country’s 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan to support the vulnerable populations and refugees in the country.
The Humanitarian Response Plan will prioritise food security and nutrition, health emergencies, and addresses the impacts of climate change, according to UN Spokesperson, Mr Stéphane Dujarric, briefing journalists in New York.
“In Chad, we, along with our humanitarian partners, launched the country’s 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan and the Cameroon Refugee Response Plan with the Government and donors to support vulnerable populations, including refugees living in Chad.
“The Humanitarian Response Plan seeks 511 million dollars to help 3.9 million people, including internally displaced, returnees, refugees, and vulnerable people living in host communities.”
Dujarric said in addition to the Humanitarian Response Plan, the Cameroon Refugee Response Plan covered the humanitarian and protection needs of 60,000 new refugees who fled Cameroon to seek refuge in Chad in December 2021 as well as the communities that host them.
He said it would require 95 million dollars to strengthen the coordination and management of the new crisis and respond to the urgent needs of the newly arrived refugees.
“Nearly 1.7 million people are expected to be severely food insecure during the lean season, between June and September, and will depend on humanitarian relief.
“More than 1.4 million vulnerable people do not have adequate access to health care.
“Despite growing funding shortfalls and a challenging operational context, humanitarian partners assisted two million people out of the four million targeted in 2021, with a Humanitarian Response Plan that was only 31 per cent funded,’’ Dujarric said.
