Geneva/N'Djamena: The United Nations' top humanitarian official in Chad, François Batalingaya, has sounded the alarm over an escalating humanitarian emergency in the country, particularly in its eastern regions, which he says are now on the brink of collapse.
Speaking to journalists in Geneva via video link from N’Djamena, Batalingaya pointed to a combination of intensifying climate-related disasters and the ongoing spillover from the war in neighbouring Sudan as the key factors driving the crisis.
“Chad is in crisis,” he declared, underscoring the urgent and multi-layered nature of the emergency. Last year’s devastating floods impacted close to two million people and wiped out over 400,000 acres of agricultural land, severely affecting food production.
The food security situation is worsening. Over three million people are expected to face hunger during the upcoming lean season between June and August — a nearly five-fold increase from 2015, when around 660,000 people were affected.
However, the most acute pressure is stemming from the mass influx of Sudanese refugees fleeing the conflict next door. Since the outbreak of violence in Sudan, more than 850,000 people have sought refuge in Chad, joining an existing population of some 400,000 Sudanese refugees who had arrived over the past 15 years. The refugee numbers have effectively tripled within two years.
Currently, around 300,000 people are stranded near the Chad-Sudan border, awaiting relocation. Many of them — predominantly women and children — are living without any shelter, clean water, or access to healthcare. Survivors have reported harrowing accounts of atrocities, including mass killings and sexual violence.
Despite its own internal struggles, Chad has kept its borders open. But its ability to continue hosting refugees is rapidly reaching its limit. Health facilities are overwhelmed, malnutrition is surging, and critical services are stretched beyond capacity. A new threat has emerged with the detection of cholera in El Geneina, just 10 kilometres from Adre, the focal point of the refugee crisis.
Although the UN and aid agencies are on the ground and responding, efforts are being severely hindered by a dramatic shortfall in funding. The 2024 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Chad, which requires $1.4 billion, has received only 9 per cent of the necessary funds so far.
This shortfall is having real-world consequences: out of 1.5 million people urgently needing safe drinking water, only about 105,000 are being reached — many receiving as little as 5 litres per day, a third of the minimum standard.
Batalingaya emphasized that the international community is well aware of the unfolding crisis. “The alarm has been sounded,” he said. “The question is whether the world will act — or simply turn away.”
