Chad: Overseas Aid

Mr. Drew
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs  and the UN about the establishment of a humanitarian corridor for aid into Abeche in Chad to enable aid agencies to respond to the humanitarian need.

Gillian Merron
We have been in continuous contact with the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), with the World Food Programme United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (WFP UNHAS) and with other partners in Abeche and N'Djamena about the situation in eastern Chad. We recognise that this air bridge is of critical importance in maintaining ongoing support to existing refugee, IDP and host population caseload.

Over the last week, WFP UNHAS has established a regular service linking Yaounde (Cameroon) to Abeche, and is now looking at the possibility of re-establishing the N'Djamena-Abeche air link.