Over 70 children under the age of five die every day in Darfur. With violence in the region escalating, many villages are burnt out shells. Save the Children is responding to the crisis in West Darfur and Chad by providing food, water and sanitation, healthcare and protection for children.
Nearly one in three of Darfur's population - approximately two million people - have been forced to flee the conflict to camps. Four million people - two-thirds of the population - have become dependent on humanitarian aid for their survival due to the crisis, which has been going on for more than four years.
In eastern Chad, repeated attacks on villages have forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. Grouped together in camps, children and their families are living in basic shelters and lack food, water and access to medical care. At least 247,000 children are affected by the current humanitarian crisis.
Looming rains in Chad and Darfur
Aid agencies are aiming to build up food and medicine stocks before heavy seasonal rains hit the countries. The looming rains bring the risk of diarrhoea and malaria, especially for children, pregnant mothers and the elderly.
The rains will also make the delivery of aid much more difficult, with swollen rivers difficult to cross and muddy roads slowing down or completely stopping vehicles from reaching many areas.
What Save the Children is doing
Save the Children is one of the largest NGOs working in West Darfur reaching around 500,000 people every month by providing food, water and sanitation, healthcare and protection for children.
In eastern Chad, children and families have been without basic supplies for many weeks, malnutrition levels are already rising, and education facilities are almost non-existent in many areas. We are rapidly scaling up to reach a total of 40,000 children with emergency shelters, basic supplies like soap and water containers, temporary schools and safe spaces to play.