Crossing hostile environments to deliver assistance in western Chad

APO Importer 13:53 - 13 March 2019

Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

Lac Province in western Chad has been severely affected by the conflict in neighbouring Nigeria. Violence, displacement, climate change and a lack of essential services have seriously impacted the resilience of already vulnerable populations. Humanitarian organizations are working with the Government of Chad to respond to the crisis and gain access to people in need, but insecurity and geographical constraints are major challenges.

At the end of December 2018, a humanitarian mission comprising several United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations (UNICEF, UNHCR, IOM, OCHA and ACF, ACHDR, APSELPA, Help Tchad, Oxfam and the Chadian Red Cross) managed to reach Yakou, in the Fouli Department, where several thousand internally displaced persons took shelter in 2017. It was the first time in two years that displaced people in Yakou received humanitarian assistance.