Lower than anticipated rainfall, poor local harvests, high food prices and continuing conflict across the region has resulted in a ‘forgotten food crises across Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Chad, northern Nigeria and northern Cameroon.

Merlin has identified Chad as one of the countries most in need of nutritional and health care support, which to date has not been sufficiently provided by national governments or international aid organizations to meet the increasingly critical needs.

In February 2012 Merlin’s Emergency Response Team carried out an assessment in Chad in order to clarify the needs of the population and design the most effective response possible.

Merlin’s Health Assessment: Chad

• The health system in Chad is not able to respond adequately to even the most basic health needs of its population, let alone the increasing demands resulting from the current food crisis.

• Those most vulnerable to acute malnutrition include young children, breastfeeding mothers and pregnant women, and the elderly and disabled populations.

• The food crisis is likely to result in 127,000 children aged between six months to five years being affected by Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) in 2012.

• Maternal mortality levels are currently 1,200 per 100,000 live births, four times higher than the Millennium Development Goal of 325 and twice as high as the Sahel regional average of 620.

• Cholera is endemic across the country but a further outbreak is expected in June with the beginning of the rainy season, while malaria is said to account for at least one death in five in children under five years.