Report drought in west darfur in 2009

Report on drought in Forobaranga AU
30.09.09

Following the outcomes of focus group discussions in many villages of the rural areas of Forobaranga AU concerning the shortage of rainfalls in thisrainy season, Intersos office decided to assess some data and explore the issue from a closer look.

Statistics on rainfall: a comparison between 2008 and 2009
The office of the MOA in town sharedwith us the following data.

|Rainfall Measures FBG Town (mm) |
|  |2009 |2008 |Difference |
|May |15|15.5 |-0.5 |
|June |66 |31 |35 |
|July |112.65 |127 |-14.35 |
|August |112.65 |107.4|5.25 |
|September |40 |104 |-64 |
|Total |346.3 |384.9 |-38.6 |

A very important observation should beadded to these data. If in the past the rainfalls occurred in a homogeneous way across the whole AU, this year was not the case. Hence, the data here reported for Forobaranga town are not that relevantfor other areas outside town. Therefore, the MOA asked xxxxx to support them to assess the situation in the rural areas in the upcoming week.

Focus group discussion in rural areas
Particularlyaffected by the drought was the population located along the wadi Kaja (along the border with Chad). In these areas the 100% of the crop failed or is about to fail. These communities told to Intersosthat they need support otherwise their children will starve and they will be forced to move either to Chad or to other areas. The settlements that found themselves in this situation are:
1. UmbirdoHajer
2. Juma Damra
3. Abdarasul Damra
4. Hajar Bagar
5. Jimmeza Sunta

The whole area of Jimmeza might be in the same situation, but it needs a close assessment to validate this...