Chad is now home to over 680,000 refugees from Sudan as people flee the devastating war in their homeland. In October alone, 60,000 new refugees arrived, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The majority of those reaching Chad are women and children, who often endure long, difficult journeys across the border.
One refugee shared the harsh reality they left behind: “We had nothing to eat at home; part of my house was also burnt down. Before we left, seven people were killed in front of our house. Nights have always been terrifying for us; there are so many people who have been killed,” they said.
Yet, the struggle does not end at the border. Chad, facing the largest refugee influx in its history, is grappling with its crises, including economic challenges, conflict, and food insecurity. The nation’s fragile infrastructure is under immense pressure as it tries to cope with the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi highlighted the strain on Chad’s resources, saying, “Non-stop humanitarian emergencies, of insufficient humanitarian funding, and where displacement is increasingly protracted in time with host community increasingly affected, we need to rethink our approaches to refugee displacement to make them more sustainable.”