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Current Requirements (US$)$920.6 million
Analysis of the context, crisis and the needs
The protracted humanitarian crisis in Chad is becoming more entrenched due to growing food insecurity and malnutrition in some parts of the country; forced displacement; the effects of climate change; and political, socioeconomic, health and sanitation challenges. The combined effects of conflict, health emergencies and climate change affected an estimated 6.7 million people in 2022.
Food insecurity affects 6.1 million people, of whom 2.1 million are in the severe phase (phase 3 and above in the Cadre Harmonisé). The situation is deteriorating, and Chad is experiencing a third consecutive year of severe food insecurity and its worst lean season in the last 10 years. This situation is the result of a 9.09 per cent drop in cereal production for the 2021/2022 harvest compared with the previous year, and a 9.14 per cent drop compared to the average of the last five years. The situation is more worrying in the western Sahel provinces (Bahar-El-Ghazel, Hadjer Lamis, Kanem and Lac), where the decline reached 46 per cent compared to 2020/2021 and 21.7 per cent compared to the average of the last five years. This situation leads to depleted food stocks and to price increases of basic necessities by 30 to 40 per cent. The situation is exacerbated by the effects of the crisis in Ukraine and the prolonged effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which increase the population’s vulnerability.
Chawir Health Centre, Guéra Province, Chad
This woman has four children, including two-year-old Saad, who is malnourished.
OCHA/Augustin ZusanneMalnutrition in children aged 0-59 months remains a concern in Chad, with a prevalence of 10.9 per cent of global acute malnutrition (GAM) and 2 per cent of severe acute malnutrition (SAM). The situation is especially alarming in 16 of the 23 provinces that have exceeded the 10 per cent threshold of concern, and in 7 provinces that have surpassed the 15 per cent emergency threshold for GAM set by the World Health Organization. The high prevalence of malnutrition is a major contributor to the critical under-five mortality rate, which reached 2 persons/10,000 inhabitants/day in two provinces. Acute malnutrition affects 2 million children under age 5, including 380,000 children affected by SAM, 1.4 million affected by moderate acute malnutrition, and 248,000 pregnant and lactating women. Malnutrition is the result of several factors, including food insecurity, childhood diseases, conflict, prolonged displacement, and poor access to basic services such as health care, clean water and education.
On the security front, Chad continues to be affected by insecurity resulting from the insurgency of armed groups and by the fragile security situation in neighbouring countries: one million people are forcibly displaced. Chad hosts more than 573,762 refugees and asylum-seekers, mostly from Sudan, the Central African Republic (CAR), Nigeria and Cameroon, who depend primarily on humanitarian assistance. Attacks by armed groups in the Lake Chad basin and clashes between non-State armed groups (NSAGs) and the Chadian Army resulted in the cumulative displacement of 425,864 people, including 381,289 IDPs, 20,674 IDPs returned to their places of origin, and 101,551 Chadians who had lived for several years in neighbouring countries (Cameroon, CAR, Niger and Nigeria) but were forced to flee their places of residence in those countries to return to Chad. Expulsions of Chadian nationals from Libya to Ennedi West Province continued, with 1,899 expelled, including 209 in 2022.
Malfana, Prefecture de Mandelia, Chad
Sixty-year-old Maoula is one of many thousands of people who fled intercommunal clashes over scarce resources in Cameroon.
UNHCR/Aristophane NgargouneIn northern Chad, conflicts around gold mining areas on 23 and 24 May in Borkou Province caused 100 deaths and displaced many people, including 3,800 gold miners. Overall, the number of people forced to move around the country due to insecurity has reached an unprecedented level, with more than 1 million refugees, IDPs and returnees.
In Chad, nearly 2 million people are affected by health emergencies marked by recurrent diseases such as measles, malaria, leishmaniasis and polio. The most vulnerable among them are children under age 5, pregnant and nursing women, the disabled and the elderly. Chad remains exposed to cholera from endemic areas in neighbouring countries such as Cameroon and Nigeria.
In the face of these crises, women and girls are particularly vulnerable because of harmful social norms and cultural practices that contribute to barriers to accessing basic social services (health, education, protection, household economy) and to increasing cases of gender-based violence (GBV).
The humanitarian situation in Chad remains marked by acute and growing needs in a context of underfunding. At the end of October, 40 per cent of the funds required in 2022 had been mobilized. However, despite the lack of resources, humanitarian partners, in coordination with Government officials, managed to provide emergency assistance to 2 million people out of a target of 3.9 million comprising food, nutritional inputs, shelter, protection, health care, education, and water, hygiene and sanitation. Better funding would reduce the high vulnerability of crisis-affected people and promote proactive actions to increase their resiliency to shocks.
Chad experienced abundant rainfall in 2022. This led to major natural disasters marked by rain and river flooding, which affected 1.2 million people in 18 of the country's 23 provinces. This situation increases the vulnerabilities of populations already affected by other crises in a context of underdevelopment: 465,000 hectares of crops were destroyed, which will have a negative impact on agricultural production. The destruction of health structures and nutritional units has impacted access to primary health care and nutritional services. This situation also affects the education sector: rainwater destroyed 1,225 schools, causing 345,841 children to miss out on their education (including 202,658 girls and 143,183 boys).
Refugee camp on the Sudanese border, Chad
This camp hosts more than 25,000 Sudanese refugees. Most of them settled there almost 20 years ago when the conflict started in the country’s Darfur region. Others are fleeing the violence that began in recent years.
UNHCR/Xavier BourgoisProjected situation in 2023 and beyond
Humanitarian crises in Chad are perpetuated by interconnected situations of forced population displacement, food insecurity and malnutrition, health emergencies and the consequences of climate change.
The effects of climate change, including flooding and drought, continue to increase the population’s vulnerability. People affected by the current floods will continue to depend on humanitarian assistance and livelihood support. Floods return every year on a cyclical basis and could still affect the population in 2023. The need to restore the functionality of destroyed health centres and schools and ensure access to basic social services, including access to drinking water and sanitation, will remain a major challenge. Regarding education, the high illiteracy rate (78 per cent, including 89 per cent among women; the schooling rate is 49.1 per cent) contributes to the exacerbation of intercommunal tensions.
The security context will continue to be affected by the dynamics of the political transition and intercommunal conflicts, armed conflicts and the security situation in neighbouring countries. The presence of NSAGs in the Lake Chad basin and the military operations against these groups are likely to perpetuate the current situation of forced displacement and cause new displacements on the Lake, as well as the arrival of refugees from Nigeria. Nearly 1 million people will be at risk of protection incidents, including 250,000 people who need protection from GBV; 250,000 children, including displaced and unaccompanied children and separated children; and 200,000 people with other special needs, flood victims, and victims of intercommunal conflict.
Lake Chad border region, Chad
Forty-year-old Loura, a mother of six, used to sell fish in Tagal village, on Lake Chad. She is from Teteoua village on an island in Lake Chad, which was attacked by Boko Haram Islamist militants in 2015.
UNHCR/Sylvain CherkaouiContinued armed conflict in northern CAR affects the potential return of 124,509 Central African refugees in southern Chad, and it remains a factor of insecurity that could result in additional Central African refugees and Chadian returnees during the year. In addition, security instability in Libya will result in new waves of returnees to northern Chad. However, political developments in Sudan could lead to the gradual return of Sudanese refugees from eastern Chad if conditions for safe and dignified return are guaranteed. Intercommunal conflicts, particularly conflicts between farmers and herders, remain major factors of insecurity that could cause loss of life and property in the east, west, around N'Djamena, and in the south. Approximately 40,000 Cameroonian refugees who escaped intercommunal conflict in the far north of Cameroon remain displaced and dependent on humanitarian assistance in Chari Baguirmi Province and in the city of N'Djamena until living conditions and security are established in the area.
The food insecurity and malnutrition crisis that the Government declared in June 2022 could increase further with the significant destruction of food stocks, sown fields, livestock and livelihoods due to the flooding. Access to basic social services, particularly health services and education, will remain difficult, especially with the lack of adequate health-care services; the persistence of epidemics such as measles, leishmaniasis, meningitis and malaria; the inadequacy of school infrastructure; and the lack of qualified teachers.
Response priorities in 2023
In 2023, the humanitarian response will continue to be guided by three strategic objectives defined by the Humanitarian Country Team and aligned with development planning. The humanitarian response will aim to save and preserve life and dignity through integrated, coordinated and complementary multisectoral emergency assistance; reduce vulnerability by building resilience and resistance to recurrent shocks; and contribute to the protection of the most vulnerable populations, particularly children, girls and women, the elderly, and people living with disabilities, and to strengthen accountability to affected populations.
The priority approach of the response will promote an integrated multisectoral approach through defined multisectoral strategies (WASH in NUTRITION, WASH in SCHOOL, WASH in HEALTH), including for refugees, and it will reinforce the complementarity between humanitarian, development and peace actions to contribute to the achievement of collective results. This approach will also devote particular attention to the centrality of protection, gender and accountability. Community-based approaches to assistance and localization will be strengthened for the sustainability of interventions. In this context, strengthening Government leadership and finding durable solutions for people in situations of forced displacement (IDPs, returnees and refugees) will be a priority.
Chad HRP
Planning will be based, among other things, on the specific vulnerabilities of women, girls, boys, the elderly and the disabled in order to prevent and respond to the various protection risks, including GBV. It will integrate protection concerns and address the humanitarian impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The centrality of protection, gender and accountability to affected populations will be reinforced through community-based approaches and disaggregation of data to prevent protection risks and ensure the respect of basic human rights, taking into account the situation of people with specific needs. Emergency preparedness, response and risk reduction measures remain vitally important to mitigate the humanitarian consequences of climate change. The use of cash-transfer modalities, based on a feasibility and market accessibility study, will be further strengthened. Measures to prevent the sexual abuse and exploitation of beneficiaries will be strengthened through sensitizing humanitarian staff and beneficiaries alike and implementing monitoring and complaint management mechanisms.
In 2023, the humanitarian community estimates that 6.9 million people will need humanitarian assistance out of Chad's population of 18 million. This population is estimated based on last year's projected needs, with the addition of a growing estimate of people affected by flooding. The calculation takes into account people affected by severe food insecurity and people under food pressure in crisis zones (phase 2 of the March 2022 Cadre Harmonisé for the projected period from June to September), the consequences of flood-related natural disasters in 2022, and updated data on people in forced displacement situations. Data from the Cadre Harmonisé, population movements, and the number of malnourished children and flood victims are used to calculate the number of people in need because of their geographical importance and to avoid double counting.
The humanitarian response will target 4.5 million people, with an estimated funding requirement of US$570 million. This funding is an increase from the Humanitarian Response Plan 2022 ($510.9 million) due to the increased target caused by flood-related natural disasters.