Title: UNHCR Chief Urges Greater Global Support as Chad Struggles to Aid 1.3 Million Displaced People
Chad is currently hosting 1.3 million forcibly displaced individuals, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), despite being one of the poorest countries in the world. Over half of these refugees are Sudanese, having fled violent conflict between rival armed forces in Sudan that erupted in April 2023.
On a visit to the Sudan-Chad border, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi described the ongoing conflict as “absurd” and condemned the continuing “vicious human rights abuses” against civilians. Grandi emphasized the pressing need for greater international support—not only for the Sudanese refugees but also for their Chadian hosts, who are shouldering immense humanitarian burdens.
Many of the refugees arriving in Chad are women and children. Aid workers report harrowing scenes of exhausted families crossing the border with little more than the clothes on their backs.
Funding Shortfall Deepens Crisis
UNHCR warned that a global downturn in humanitarian funding is significantly worsening the crisis. Aid cuts, including reduced international contributions from countries like the United States, are forcing the closure of essential services.
Vital community institutions such as schools and clinics—critical to protecting women and children from violence and exploitation—have shut down due to lack of resources. This year alone, about 8,500 displaced children in Chad face the loss of access to secondary education. If the funding crisis continues into next year, more than 155,000 children could be affected.
Abdelrahim Abdelkarim, principal of a secondary school in the Farchana refugee camp in eastern Chad, warned that the consequences of lost education are dire: “Many students will turn to dangerous, illegal migration routes. Some may drown at sea, while others could end up working in gold mines.”
Grandi has previously described the funding gap as a “crisis of responsibility,” warning that “the cost of inaction will be measured in suffering, instability, and lost futures.”
Worsening Conditions Within Sudan
As humanitarian funding dwindles, relief organizations are being forced to reduce or halt operations, leaving many Sudanese civilians without assistance while their communities are destroyed by conflict. After nearly two years of fighting, two-thirds of Sudan’s population—approximately 33 million people—now require humanitarian aid and protection.
Mohammed Refaat, Sudan Chief of Mission for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), reported from Khartoum—recently reclaimed by Sudanese Armed Forces from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces—that entire communities have been left in “siege-like conditions” without escape, aid, or basic human rights. “People have endured unspeakable abuse,” Refaat said, calling the destruction and human suffering “immeasurable.”
Struggle for Basic Services Amid Ongoing Conflict
Sudan’s civil war has killed tens of thousands and displaced over 12 million people. The conflict pits Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, leader of the Rapid Support Forces, against General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan of the Sudanese Armed Forces. Both factions face serious accusations of human rights violations, with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights documenting widespread abuse of detainees and civilians.
Although some families have returned to Khartoum, now under military control, access to basic services remains limited. UN agencies continue to call for international support to provide much-needed relief, warning that the crisis is far from over.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) projects that over three million children under five in Sudan are at risk of acute malnutrition this year alone. In Zamzam refugee camp in North Darfur, families have resorted to consuming animal feed due to food shortages. Children are also going without clean water, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Elsewhere in Sudan’s Blue Nile State, ongoing violence and blocked access are hampering humanitarian assistance. Thousands are fleeing toward towns like Ed Damazine, further straining already limited resources.
A Call for Urgent Action
UN agencies and humanitarian organizations are sounding the alarm: without immediate and sustained international support, millions of lives are in jeopardy. The crisis facing Sudanese refugees and their Chadian hosts is not only a humanitarian emergency but also a stark reminder of the global consequences of prolonged inaction.
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