Dabanga ‘food shortage’ article sparks agencies’ reactions

An article published by Radio Dabanga indicating that 59 Sudanese families living at the Djabal refugee camp in eastern Chad were facing “a severe food shortage” sparked wide reactions among international agencies working in the region.   The item, published on 20 January, further indicated that 1.345 refugees had not yet received their monthly food rations of oil and mixed flour, Djabal’s head Khater Angoy was quoted as saying.  A source in the humanitarian field told Radio Dabanga that some UN organizations led by the World Food Programme (WFP) expressed their “deep concern over the sudden shortage of food rations in January” at the Djabal camp.They claim to have delivered the total amount of food rations to the organization responsible for redistributing them to refugees called Hyav.According to the source, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), which monitors the rations’ distribution, was questioned by a WFP administrator about the shortage of food. As a result, Hyav was put in “a critical position”, he added.“The lack of food rations led to a tug of war between the organizations working at the refugee camps in eastern Chad, as they are discussing how to contain the repercussions caused by the news published by Radio Dabanga”, the source said.The agencies reportedly organized a meeting to “broadly discuss the issue”. However, Saudi Hassan, an UNHCR administrator in Goz Beida, blamed Djabal’s leader for the lack of food rations at the camp, the source pointed out.Radio Dabanga file photoRelated: Djabal camp in east Chad suffering from food shortages (20 January 2013)