POVERTY: CHAD: Factors behind the food crisis

N'DJAMENA, 23 June 2010 (IRIN) - The recently finalized multi-agency and governmental vulnerability assessment map (VAM) of Chad, covering more than 4,000 households in 212 villages from April to June 2009, [http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/MDCS-86EB6R?OpenDocument&rc=1&cc=tcd] analyzed factors contributing to the current food crisis http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=88370 triggered by a 2009 drought. The Tibesti, Borkou and Ennedi regions in the north, where 2 percent of the population live according to the 2009 census, were not surveyed [http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=89412]. Who heads the households, whether they can read, are married, or their children are in school, a person's profession and where they live all influence how much and what food someone accesses, finances and consumes. Here are some highlights from the report. . 1.6 million: People were "food insecure" and faced physical or financial barriers to getting food. . 50 percent: Children from 7 to 14 years of age enrolled in school in the regions of Kanem, Bahr-El-Gazal, Batha, Ouaddaï, Sila, Chari-Baguirmi, Hadjer Lamis and Salamat. These regions were also the most food insecure. . 16.6 percent: Children younger than five with acute malnutrition nationwide, with 4.4 percent severely malnourished. (Acute malnutrition is measured by the size of the upper arm and a child's weight. The World Health Organization classifies acute malnutrition levels above 15 percent as "critical" emergencies.) . 39.1 percent: Chronically malnourished children, determined by height. . 7.7 percent: Households nationwide that had taken a loan, of which 41 percent had borrowed money to buy food. . 54 percent: Illiterate heads of households. . 12 percent: Households headed by women - 56 percent widowed. . US$56: Monthly food expense in poor households - 70 percent of income. . $202: Monthly food expense in richer families - 58.7 percent of income. . 2 percent: Portion of monthly income spent on, respectively, healthcare, ceremonies, non-alcoholic drinks. . 56 percent: Households having a single source of revenue. . 43 percent: Households in the western, arid Kanem region, from which at least one person had migrated, most often for work (58 percent) versus the national migration average of 18 percent. . 24 percent: Households in the southernmost region of Logone Oriental, from which a woman had migrated. This region also reported one of the lowest rates of exclusive breastfeeding [http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=85611], with 92.2 percent of newborns receiving something other than breast milk as their first food. . 1 day: Number of times a week families eat vegetables, milk and fruit, respectively. . 78 percent: Families who buy their food at the market even though 83.6 percent reported growing food and 45.7 percent said they raised animals.