The rainy season is a blessing and a curse for the dry belt that spans Chad. While heavy rains bode well for pastoralists who rely on animal products such as milk and meat, the majority of people in areas where MSF works are agriculturalist, and food availability and poor harvests are a persistent problem for them. Dr. Kodjo Edoh, head of mission for MSF in Chad, tells us that seedlings planted over the past few weeks have been washed away by the heavy rains and flooding. This could delay the first harvests planned for late October and worsen the ongoing nutrition crisis. "The people in Chad have been unlucky: reduced rainfall created the food crisis that is now worsened by too much rain", says Dr. Edoh.
Areas of Chad have been hit by the worst flooding in more than ten years. In the Sebab area, close to Am Timan where MSF supports a 100 bed hospital, approximately 6,000 people have been affected. People are attempting to cope with the unprecedented flooding, says Jean-Francois Harvey, project coordinator for MSF in Am Timan. "They just built a one metre high wall with sand bags to protect some parts of their village and the health center, but water is already flowing over it. Their representative, whom I met in Am Timan last week, said that they sleep very little out of fear of more flooding. Currently, they are surrounded by water on two sides. To reach MSF in Am Timan, they had to swim and use bikes.”
Parts of Chad suffer massive water shortages. Still high numbers of people are being admitted to MSF nutrition programs in the country despite recent floods caused by heavy rainfall. Guera region, Chad, July 2010.
Photo by Boris Revollo/MSF
In Kerfi, where MSF supports a health centre, there was a sharp increase in people dropping out of treatment programmes, from 8.5 to about 20.5 percent. People living outside of town have been isolated by the floods and have not been able to reach the MSF health centre. An estimated 5,000 people have been affected by the flooding in Kerfi.
The rains may also produce an upsurge in malaria cases. With limited availability of treatment, malaria will pose an additional threat to the lives of already fragile, malnourished children. “We will be faced with a deadly combination of malnutrition, malaria and flooding” says Dr. Edoh.
In Bokoro and Am Timan alone 1,914 children have been admitted to MSF’s nutritional programme. “When we started our intervention in Bokoro in May, we saw many children die. Most of them came to us late as many parents had taken their children to traditional healers instead. With increased efforts to sensitise the communities, however, we have managed to improve awareness and gain acceptance in the communities." The quality of care given in the feeding centres has also improved, he said. "Consequentially, the mortality rate in our feeding programme decreased from 21 percent in June to 5 percent in July.” Efforts continue, and new feeding centres and project sites are being opened in different places across the country.
Currently, MSF is offering feeding programs in the Hadjer Lamis, Batha, Guéra Chari Baguirmi, Ouaddai and Salamat regions in Chad, as well as in the capital city of N’Djamena. Up to now, about 15,776 malnourished children have been admitted to MSF feeding programs since the beginning of the year, the overwhelming majority within the last three months.