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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC-CHAD: Refugees hit by malnutrition, NGO pleads for UN intervention

NAIROBI, 29 May 2003 (IRIN) - International NGO Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said on Wednesday that signs of malnutrition had been observed among an estimated 41,000 refugees from Central African Republic (CAR) who have fled to Chad since November 2002.

Describing the refugees' situation as "dire", the NGO appealed to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to assist the refugees "before it is too late".

"This population is urgently in need of more assistance, particularly in terms of food and a higher level of protection," Chris Verhecken, MSF's emergency coordinator in Chad, said in a statement issued in Brussels, Belgium.

Verhecken said the situation had become more precarious following rains at the weekend of 24-25 May.

MSF said the first signs of malnutrition had become evident among the refugees in Gore, 25 km from the Chad-CAR border. It said a recent MSF food security assessment found that 30 percent of children below five years of age were at risk from acute malnutrition, "yet still no food is forthcoming".

"Since March, the refugees have received a total of 8 kg of cereal per person: less than a third of the amount required," Verhecken said. "There are no seeds to plant and there is no food to eat, the result is that in our clinics we already see an increasing number of malnourished children".

MSF said that since the refugees' arrival, it had provided water, shelter and medical assistance but that it had now been pushed to the limits of its capacity. It urged UNHCR and WFP to "do more" to aid the refugees.

According to MSF, continuing insecurity in the CAR had prevented most refugees from returning.

Six months of fighting between October 2002 and March 2003 in the CAR ended when former army chief of staff Francois Bozize seized power in a coup on 15 March. However, insecurity has persisted in the north of the country, where most of the fighting took place. Thousands of displaced people are yet to return to their homes in the region.

Themes: (IRIN) Health & Nutrition, (IRIN) Refugees/IDPs

[ENDS]

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