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Current Requirements (US$)$986.1 million
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Current People Hyper Prioritized1.9 million
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Current Hyper Prioritized Requirements$620.2 million
GHO estimates at launch (8 December 2025)
Crisis overview
Chad is experiencing one of the most complex and protracted humanitarian crises in the region, driven by a combination of regional violence, climate shocks, and recurrent health emergencies. In 2026, 4 million people will require humanitarian assistance, compared to over 7 million in 2025. This 42% decrease does not reflect an improvement in the situation, but rather a methodological revision focused on the areas most affected by shocks.
In 2025, Chad conducted its needs analysis based on crisis types (food insecurity, malnutrition, floods, forced displacement, and health emergencies), covering the entire territory (70 departments), including areas with intersectoral severity levels 1 and 2. However, for 2026, the analysis was based on the identification of shocks and their impact on the most vulnerable populations. This led to a strategic refocusing on 53 departments with the highest vulnerability, and the identification of People in Need (PiN) was limited to localities with intersectoral severity levels 3 to 5. In addition to the 17 departments excluded from the scope of analysis, 1.3 million people living in 22 departments with severity levels 1 and 2 (though within the scope) were not included in the needs analysis. This shift aligns Chad’s people in need figures with global efforts to more precisely identify who is in humanitarian need, while the underlying crisis remains just as severe. The people in need, people targeted, and people prioritized therefore represent a more disciplined way of identifying the most urgent vulnerabilities, not a change in the nature or depth of those vulnerabilities. The reduction of nearly 3 million people in need reflects a narrower scope, not an easing of the crisis itself, as conflict-driven displacement, severe climate shocks, and an overstretched health and protection system continue to generate acute needs. The shift simply aligns figures with available financial resources and sharper prioritization, while the underlying pressures on affected communities remain intense and undiminished.
Chad
The conflict in Sudan continues to reshape the humanitarian landscape in eastern Chad. As of October 2025, the country was hosting 890,847 Sudanese refugees and 329,894 Chadian returnees, in addition to 229,000 internally displaced persons in the Lake region fleeing insecurity. Host communities in the east (estimated at over 1.6 million people and already highly vulnerable) are sharing land, water, and scarce resources, often at the cost of increased tensions. These groups together make up the core of the shock-affected population captured in the refined people in need figure, showing that prioritization does not reduce the scale of the crisis they face. Southern Chad remains affected by intercommunal tensions over vital resources and regional dynamics linked to the Central African Republic, with nearly 150,000 people forcibly displaced. Women and children, who represent more than half of these populations, are at the heart of this crisis (exposed to violence, hunger, and lack of protection). Their continued exposure illustrates that humanitarian needs remain widespread, even if the people in need figures appear lower due to stricter criteria.
The effects of climate change further exacerbate the crisis. Floods in 2024 affected nearly 2 million people, destroying homes, crops, and livestock. One year later, in 2025, an additional 407,759 people were impacted across 16 departments, with over 91,000 hectares of farmland inundated. These losses reduced agricultural production to 2.67 million tons, resulting in a cereal deficit of over 614,000 tons. This decline in supply triggered a surge in food prices, making access to food even more difficult for vulnerable families. Today, more than 3.3 million people face acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3+), particularly in the provinces of Moyen-Chari, Logone Oriental, Ouaddaï, Sila, and Lake. In some localities, hunger is no longer a threat; it is a daily reality. This persistence of severe food insecurity shows that the crisis itself is driving needs, and methodology explains only part of how the people in need have evolved.
Ouaddaï, Chad
General view of Andre refugee camp with trucks waiting to be unloaded for food distribution.
WFP/Julian CivieroThe health system, structurally weak, is under increasing pressure due to the concentration of displaced populations and environmental degradation. In July 2025, a cholera outbreak was reported in Ouaddaï, Sila, Guera and Hadjer Lamis provinces, with 2,824 suspected cases and a case fatality rate of 5.59% as of 27 October 2025. Measles outbreaks persist in N’Djamena and Sila, while cases of Hepatitis E have been reported in areas with high refugee concentrations, linked to waterborne transmission and lack of safe drinking water. Protection incidents have increased by 80%, with victims often unable to access the assistance they need.
This crisis is not merely an accumulation of shocks; it is a slow but profound erosion of dignity and resilience. Needs are urgent, massive, and rooted in basic survival. These worsening pressures reinforce that humanitarian assistance remains essential, even as the people in need figures become more standardized and narrowly defined.
Response priorities and financial requirements for 2026
In 2025, the coordinated humanitarian response in Chad reached 1.3 million people (23% of the target) during the first semester, representing a 69% decrease compared to the same period in 2024. Based on current trends, an estimated 2 million people will be reached by the end of the year. In 2026, the humanitarian response in Chad will be framed within a humanitarian reset, with a strategic focus on areas with the most critical needs. This approach aims to maximize the impact of a response under severe financial and operational constraints.
The targeted population has been reduced to 2.9 million people, down from 5.5 million in 2025, concentrated in 26 of the 53 departments included in the scope of analysis, where intersectoral severity ranges from 3 to 5 (East, Lake, and South). The financial envelope stands at $975 million; a 33% reduction compared to 2025. This decrease does not reflect disengagement, but rather an adaptation to the realities of funding and humanitarian access. The people targeted represent those whose needs are most urgent and life-threatening, creating a more coherent link between the people in need, prioritization, and the operational capacities of humanitarian partners to respond. In 2025, of the $1.45 billion required, only $379.9 million had been mobilized by the end of November; a 24.1% decrease compared to 2024. This structural underfunding led to implementation delays, interruptions of essential programs, and a reduction in service packages across several key sectors. This reinforces that stronger prioritization does not reduce the necessity of sustained donor support; if anything, it sharpens where support is most needed.
Ouaddaï, Chad
The war in Sudan has left many children severely malnourished. In Toumtouma, community volunteers trained by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) go door to door to screen children. Those identified with malnutrition are referred to nearby health centres for life-saving treatment.
UNICEFThe 2026 humanitarian response will focus on three strategic priorities:
- Saving lives: integrated health-nutrition-WASH services, food assistance, cash transfers, shelter, and essential non-food items, with a strong emphasis on flexible and dignified modalities.
- Protecting rights: strengthening child protection, addressing gender-based violence (GBV), legal and documentation support, and site coordination and management in hosting and return areas.
- Preserving livelihoods: targeted agricultural support, sustainable WASH infrastructure, emergency education, and restoration of productive assets.
The response will exclude non-life-saving needs and areas with moderate severity (intersectoral severity below 3), which fall under other frameworks, notably the UNSDCF. This means many families will remain dependent on complementary mechanisms (social safety nets, development cooperation) unless additional funding is mobilized. The reduction in targets reflects an adaptation to actual operational capacities: limited access due to insecurity and recurrent flooding, chronic underfunding (21.4% as of October 2025), and fragile supply chains. The connection between people in need, people prioritized, and people targeted is therefore grounded in realism: humanitarian partners are addressing the highest severity needs first. This prioritization is also informed by community feedback collected through AAP mechanisms, which highlight health, water, food security, and protection as absolute priorities.
Key changes between 2025 and 2026 include improved geographic prioritization, a deliberate reduction in targets to ensure higher-quality assistance, and a focus on vital multisectoral packages, with strengthened linkages to development actors for recovery and resilience. Priority will be given to resource optimization and sustainable standards in humanitarian responses to increase impact, considering current and future financial constraints. Major challenges remain humanitarian access, logistical constraints, and structurally insufficient funding. However, this narrower framework will enable deeper assistance, better aligned with priorities expressed by affected communities, particularly health, protection, water, and food security.
Chad
2025 in review: response highlights and consequences of inaction
Response highlights (June 2025)
Humanitarian assistance
1.3 million people received multisectoral humanitarian assistance in Chad in 2025, representing 23% of the population targeted under the HNRP.
WASH
719,748 hygiene kits were distributed; 346,500 people gained access to safe drinking water; 503,400 people benefited from gender-segregated latrines in high-vulnerability areas.
Food Security and livelihoods
522,850 people received emergency food assistance, and 361,236 benefited from agricultural support.
Nutrition
93,830 children suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), 50,299 with Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM), and 7,656 pregnant and breastfeeding women were treated.
Health and protection
1,393 survivors of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) received holistic care; 16,464 assisted deliveries were recorded; and over 12,000 patients were treated in supported health facilities.
Ouadaï, Chad
Herman, a Health and Nutrition Specialist at the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) outpost in Farchana, supports the national polio vaccination campaign in Ademour, a village in Sila province. He helps ensure children from host, refugee, displaced and returnee communities receive life-saving protection against polio.
UNICEF/AnnadjibConsequences of funding cuts
Underfunding
Due to a funding rate of only 21.4% ($323 million received out of $1.45 billion as of October 2025), 4.18 million targeted people were not reached in 2025.
Nutrition
240,000 children did not receive the planned nutrition assistance, increasing the risk of acute malnutrition in 2026.
Shelter
56,000 vulnerable households remained without emergency shelter following the floods.
Humanitarian projects
45 humanitarian projects in WASH, health, and protection sectors were suspended, disproportionately affecting national NGOs and reducing community-level response capacity in high-risk areas.
Access incidents
116 access incidents were recorded in the first semester: 71 movement restrictions, 13 cases of violence against humanitarian personnel, and 39 UNHAS flight cancellations.
Access constraints and challenges
These constraints limited or delayed assistance to over 400,000 people in border areas, notably in Lake, Adré, Ouaddaï, Sila, and Wadi Fira, with delays of up to 30 days for some priority interventions.