Chad: "When you're hungry, it's hard to hear the cries of others"

The late afternoon sun beats down as Khadidja stands on the wall of her brick house and points to the meagre meal she has prepared for her family: a dough made of mil with a thin green sauce. “Everything has become so expensive lately," she mutters.

The 40-year-old mother of eight lives in the town of Adré, just 400 metres from the border with Sudan in Chad's eastern Ouaddai province. Once a quiet border town of 68,000 inhabitants, Adre's population has more than doubled as tens of thousands of people of all ages have arrived from Sudan since mid-June, when a new wave of violence broke out in El Geneina, the main town in West Darfur.

Khadidja's eldest daughter Hila, a young woman in her early 20s, says she feels the pain of those who have fled the war. Her own family has taken in two Sudanese teenagers who fled El Geneina in mid-June.

For generations, communities along the Sudanese-Chadian border have maintained a tradition of trade and cattle herding, bound by intermarriage and shared cultural affinities. Like many Chadians, Khadidja’s family have warmly opened their homes, sharing their food, land, and other resources with those fleeing the conflict. But the sudden arrival of thousands of people has put severe pressure on an already vulnerable local population in eastern Chad.
Three months after the conflict erupted in Sudan on 15 April, more than 250,000 refugees and returnees, have fled across the border into Chad's eastern provinces of Ouaddai, Wadi Fira and Sila. Nearly 90 per cent of these people are women and children from West Darfur which has been the epicentre of inter-communal conflict between Arab and Masalit tribes. The current wave of displaced people adds to the more than 400,000 Sudanese refugees who have been living in eastern Chad since 2003 as a result of previous conflicts.

As the crisis in Sudan continues to unfold, local communities in eastern Chad are grappling with soaring food prices due to the disruption of markets caused by the war and border closure. High inflation in Adre markets is causing major problems for vendors and customers alike, who are feeling the pinch of the rising prices. This is exacerbated by the already low-income levels of the population and the pressure on the livelihoods of local households from the influx of refugees and returnees.

Even before the conflict, an estimated 1.9 million people in the eastern provinces were in need of humanitarian assistance, with malnutrition rates exceeding the WHO's critical threshold in several places. Yet the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan has only received $122 million, or 18% of the $674.1 million requested to meet the needs of 4.4 million people nationwide, including those in the east.

“Because of the war, we now have to buy our goods at double the price," says Mahamat Hadabad, a trader and shop owner on the outskirts of Adré; "a bag of sugar used to cost CFAF 20,000 (30 euro) and now we have to pay 55,000 or 60,000 (90 euro); a koro of mil (the local metric unit, equivalent to about 2 kg) has gone from 350 (0.53 euro) to 750 or even CFAF 1000 (1.53 euro)” Mahamat laments. “People can no longer buy goods, and this is bad for business.”

As if that were not enough, access to basic health services has become difficult, as Adré's only hospital is overwhelmed by the new arrivals. In mid-June, 1,300 injured people arrived at Adré Hospital in a matter of days, many with gunshot wounds, overwhelming its capacity. Although the situation has calmed down, the hospital remains overstretched, with around 1,400 people seeking medical treatment each week, compared to an average of 600 before the crisis, according to hospital officials.

Since the beginning of the crisis in Sudan, the humanitarian community has been working closely with the Government of Chad to provide emergency humanitarian assistance including food, water, sanitation and hygiene, shelter, household items, health and protection. The imperative has been to relocate as many people as possible from spontaneous border sites to existing and/or newly established camps.

" The humanitarian community has been very active in supporting the government's efforts to help people arriving from Sudan, but we must not forget the local population," says Colonel Mahamat Ali Sebey, Prefect of the Assoungha Department, based in Adré, adding that "Chad cannot do everything on its own, so I appeal to the international community to support the Chadian government and also to fund partners who must take account of the local population in the three provinces hosting the refugees.”

Humanitarian agencies have been scaling up their support to the local population by strengthening existing infrastructure and improving access to basic services such as water and sanitation, education, and health. In June an additional $6 million was allocated from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF)to Chad for protection services and life-saving assistance to affected host communities. This was addition to $8 million already provided by CERF to the Sudan crisis response in Chad to the needs of refugees and returnees, bringing the total CERF contribution to $14 million.

However, the scale of the crisis affecting large swathes of people in eastern Chad requires more resources, and humanitarian partners are preparing for a possible new influx of people from Sudan and for possible epidemic crises during the winter season.

For Dieudonne Bamouni, head of the OCHA office in Chad, the conflict in Sudan is having a serious impact on the humanitarian situation in Chad. “In addressing this multidimensional crisis, we must prioritise inclusive coordination mechanisms and operational approaches that efficiently address the needs of all affected populations - refugees, returnees and the host population. We must also not forget the other crises in the rest of the country " said Bamouni adding that "the international community, which has congratulated Chad on its legendary hospitality, must now more than ever show its sincere gratitude by providing substantial financial support. The time to act is now, before it is too late.