WFP Chad SPECIAL OPERATION SO 200058 Country: Chad Type of project: Special Operation Title: Provision of Air Services to Humanitarian Community in Chad Total cost (US$): US$ 11,362,014 Duration: 12 months (January December 2010) Abstract 1. This Special Operation is established to continue the provision of safe and reliable air transport services to the humanitarian community in Chad. The areas where populations in need of humanitarian assistance are living are far away from the United Nations agencies and NGOs field offices. Given the poor road conditions and the prevailing insecurity, travel by road is extremely risky and impracticable. Besides the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which provide passenger air service for their own staff, WFP Humanitarian Air Service (WFP HAS) remains the only safe and reliable mode of transport for the humanitarian community in Chad. Project Background 2. WFP established humanitarian air services in Chad in February 2004. Since then, WFP HAS has been providing humanitarian air services for the United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) involved in the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Sudanese refugees, host populations and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the north-eastern Chad. 3. Eastern Chad has been characterized by frequent movements of military and rebel groups. The local population is being frequently attacked by Janjaweed militias. This has led to the internal displacement of an estimated 180,000 Chadians and 253,000 refugees in the areas bordering Sudan since December 2005. 4. Travel between the capital and the refugee camps remains highly hazardous and timeconsuming, primarily due to the prevailing security situation and the lack of basic road infrastructure. The north and the eastern part of the country are classified as United Nations security phase 4; road travel is authorized only with military/police escorts. Therefore, air travel has proven to be the only safe and reliable mode of transport to reach the refugees and IDPs during most of the year. Beside security concerns the 5-month rainy season is also making road transport extremely challenging. Most road travel is restricted during the rainy season in order to prevent further road damage caused by vehicle/truck traffic. 1
5. Over 100 United Nations agencies, international and national NGOs are deployed in N Djamena and eastern Chad and rely extensively on WFP HAS to implement and monitor their programmes. WFP HAS also covers locations in southern Chad, where about 70,000 refugees from the Central African Republic are hosted. The only domestic commercial airline in Chad does not meet the United Nations safety standards and consequently United Nations staff is not authorized to use it. 6. From January to September 2009, WFP HAS fleet has reported an occupancy rate of 70 percent, flying 4,600 hours, transporting over 41,000 passengers and 162 mt of light humanitarian cargo. The feedback received from the user group has been very positive. Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Total Hours Flown 526 450 509 546 508 510 525 462 523 4 559 Passenger 4 041 3 672 4 085 4 518 4 087 4 885 5 058 4 791 6 025 41 162 Cargo (mt) 13 17 15 14 15 17 20 29 22 162 No of Flights 474 423 467 474 427 472 482 441 487 4 147 Project Justification 7. Given the poor road conditions and the prevailing insecurity, travel by road to the remote areas where populations in need of urgent humanitarian assistance reside is extremely risky. There is little or no accommodation along these roads. Banditry on the roads has been a major problem in eastern Chad, with 51 carjacking incidents reported from January to September 2009. 8. During the dry season, it takes up to 3 days to travel the 900 km that separate N Djamena and Abéché, the hub of humanitarian activities in eastern Chad. During the rainy season, (June to mid-october), the road is officially closed to regular traffic by the Chadian authorities and travellers may require up to 10 days travelling along the northern desert route. The distance then increases to 1,400 km and guides are required to navigate through the desert. 9. The average distance between Abéché and the refugee camps is 250 km. Bahai, the furthest camp in the northern sector, is located 371 km from Abéché while the furthest one in the southern sector, Goz-Amir, is 265 km from Abéché. A road trip from Abéché to Bahai in the northern zone can take between 12 hours during the dry season and 2-3 days during the rainy season, depending on the situation at the many wadis 1 that must be crossed. Travellers must sometimes camp by the wadis while waiting for the water to recede and river beds to dry up. The two camps in the southern zone are inaccessible by road during 4 months of the year. 10. Given the extremely difficult environment in eastern Chad, air travel is the only way to transport humanitarian workers quickly and safely from N Djamena and Abéché to various locations. 11. There are no adequate medical facilities in eastern Chad. In case of serious injury/illness, aid workers requiring medical care, must be evacuated to N Djamena and frequently to 1 Wadis are dry riverbeds that contain water only during times of heavy rains. 2
Europe for treatment. Besides the French military and MINURCAT, with which there is no formal agreement, United Nations agencies and NGOs staff rely on WFP HAS for medical evacuation. WFP HAS has carried out 13 medical evacuations between January and August 2009. Project Objectives 12. The objectives of the SO are: to provide a safe, efficient and cost-effective inter-agency air transport service for over 100 United Nations Agencies, NGOs and donor organizations providing humanitarian assistance to Sudanese refugees, host populations and IDPs in the region; to transport light cargo such as medical supplies, high energy foods and information and communications technology (ICT) equipment; and to provide timely evacuations (medical and security) for the humanitarian community in Chad. Project Implementation 13. On behalf of all humanitarian agencies, WFP will continue to manage the common air service in Chad. WFP HAS User Group, composed of United Nations agencies, NGOs and other parties, defines the requirements and priorities in terms of air transport, and monitors the quality of service in order to provide guidance to the WFP Chief Air Transport Officer. 14. In 2010, WFP HAS plans to operate 3 aircraft (1 x 37-seat aircraft based in Ndjamena and 1 x 8-seat and 1x -19 seat aircraft based in Abéché) using a hub and spokes route structure in/out of Abéché and introducing some direct flights to Goz Beida from N Djamena. This route structure will be closely monitored and adjusted accordingly to meet the changing needs of the users. By reducing the fleet from 5 to 3 aircraft and introducing Dash 8, a 37 seater aircraft with a larger load capacity and good performance on unpaved airstrips, WFP HAS seeks to better optimize aircraft utilization and at the same time reduce cost by 25 percent. Regular/scheduled flights will be provided to 13 destinations within Chad. Special or unscheduled flights will be provided, as required, on a full cost recovery basis. The operational bases will remain in Ndjamena and in Abéché. 15. The project will continue functioning using the WFP management structures and support system already in place: Passenger and cargo booking are to be made through the already functional WFP air cell, with data and voice connectivity available to relay flight manifest and schedules to all locations where WFP maintains sub-offices. Users Groups in both Ndjamena and Abéché will meet at least on a monthly basis to review the effectiveness and quality of the common service. A dedicated communication system is in place to monitor the location and flight progress of the WFP operated aircraft through both very high frequency (VHF) radios and the air tracking system. The Flight Management Application (FMA) system is in place and functioning. The system enables monitoring of usage the service by the various agencies, load factors, flight routing and provide operational data for management overview. 3
Weekly/ monthly flight schedules are maintained, with flexibility to take appropriate action and adjust to requests for special flights. 16. OMLA, based in Rome, is responsible for the contracting and provision of aircraft and crew for the operation. 17. The Chief Air Transport Officer (CATO) will be managing the operation locally; CATO will provide operational reports to WFP Aviation Unit (OMLA) as well as to the Funds Manager. The Country Director will act as the Funds Manager for the special operation and the WFP Finance Officer will be the Allotment Administrator for the special operation. The Aviation Unit will provide operational and administrative support and will be responsible for oversight of the operational activities in Chad. 18. In line with the Government s regulations, the regular flights as per the established schedule will be free of charge. The application of any charges to passengers would lead to the operation being considered as a commercial activity, subject to license, taxes and payment of royalties, which would increase the overall costs. However, the full cost recovery mechanism will be applied to dedicated agency charter flights. Project Cost & Benefits 19. Operating costs are detailed in the budget attached as Annex 1. They amount to US$9,212,000 and cover the chartering of aircraft, aviation fees, airport charges as well as the costs for fuel, handling and office support. Direct support costs (DSC) covering WFP staff and related entitlements are estimated at US$1,406,705. 20. The envisaged benefits of the WFP-HAS in Chad are as follows: enhanced operationally, efficiency, effectiveness and security in the implementation and monitoring of humanitarian operations; a common service provided to the humanitarian community which is consistent with the call by the Secretary-General for greater unity of purpose and coherence at country level and that each United Nations entity should benefit from another s presence through establishing corresponding consultative and collaborative arrangements ; enhanced air safety through a standardized, single contracting and safety surveillance system; and, a cost-effective service that can take advantage of economies of scale through lower aircraft direct operating cost, payload consolidation and an integrated organisation. Monitoring & Evaluation 21. Key performance indicators will be reported at the end of the project and will include the following: Aircraft occupancy rate of 75 percent ; Number of passengers transported against planned (target: 4,000 passengers per month); Tonnage of food or non-food items transported against requested or planned quantities (target: 15 mt of non-food items per month); 100 percent utilization of contracted hours; 4
Frequency of and attendance to the Users Groups meetings; The number of United Nations agencies and other humanitarian organizations utilizing the service and number of locations served. Currently 100 agencies benefit from this service with access to more than 13 locations; and 100 percent response to medical and security evacuations. 22. The Chief Air Transport Officer will provide the operational reports to OMLA as well as to the Funds Manager. RECOMMENDATION 23. This Special Operation covering the period from January to December 2010 with possible extension in time at a total cost to WFP of US$11,362,014 is recommended for approval by the Executive Director with the budget provided. APPROVAL. Josette Sheeran Executive Director 5
Annexes: Project budget plan Project Statistics UNHAS Chad routes 6