IOM finalises expansion of Chadian centre to provide assistance to Darfur
N'Djamena, Chad (PANA) - The United Nations Migration Agency (IOM) announced on Wednesday the completion of work to expand a humanitarian centre in eastern Chad to help an additional 220,000 people affected by the escalating crisis in Sudan.
Run by IOM, the Farchana humanitarian centre, near Chad's border with Sudan, coordinates the operations of several UN agencies and 26 international and local NGOs to deliver aid to Darfur.
This Sudanese region in the west of the country has been hit for several months by famine and a resurgence of the civil war which, since April 2023, has pitted the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) against the army of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane.
With nearly nine million people in Darfur now in urgent need of food, shelter, health care and protection, IOM has partnered with experts from the International Humanitarian Partnership, a European cooperation network that initiated the establishment of the centre in 2024, to undertake expansion work.
“Through the scale-up of cross-border operations, IOM has already provided critical humanitarian assistance to more than 82,000 people in Darfur, and with the expansion of the Farchana centre, we are ready to provide life-saving assistance to an additional 220,000 people in the coming months,” said IOM Chad Chief of Mission Pascal Reyntjens in a statement issued jointly with the International Humanitarian Partnership.
The expansion of the centre, through the creation of new offices and accommodation for humanitarian staff, will enable IOM to strengthen its operational and accommodation capacities, as well as its role in coordinating cross-border humanitarian efforts.
“Establishing a functional complex in eastern Chad was no easy feat,” acknowledged Bram Krieps, who led the International Humanitarian Partnership teams when the centre was created in 2024.
The harsh climate, logistical constraints and the distance from the centre made operations very complicated.
“But thanks to the strength of our partnership and the determination of our experts, we have transformed a difficult environment into a secure and operational base that supports cross-border humanitarian efforts on the ground,” said Mr. Krieps.
-0- PANA MA 6March2025
