Eastern Chad Refugee Crisis: Funding Cuts, Health Threats, Geopolitics

For more than two decades, Eastern Chad has hosted refugees fleeing conflict, but since 2023 the Sudanese civil war has driven over 850,000 people across the border, pushing the total refugee population to 1.2 million. Funding that once sustained basic services is drying up, and aid workers struggle to reach camps because unpaved roads become impassable during the rainy season.

Infrastructure and Health Challenges

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) systems are collapsing. Generators that pump water from underground sources into storage tanks frequently run out of fuel, leaving residents with only 7.6 liters per person per day—half the WHO minimum. Without latrines, open‑air defecation is common, contaminating shallow pits that many refugees now use for drinking water. The resulting exposure to Vibrio cholerae sparked a 2025 cholera outbreak, confirming 372 cases and 19 deaths. The transmission cycle thrives on the combination of contaminated water and inadequate sanitation.

Education and Future Prospects

More than 160,000 refugee children attend school, yet countless others remain out of the classroom. Teachers often go unpaid for months, receive a meager 90 euros monthly, and lack essential supplies such as whiteboards. The absence of stable instruction deepens trauma and erodes the future prospects of an entire generation, reinforcing the statement that “if they don’t have the teachers, there is no school at all.”

The Funding Gap

Global humanitarian financing has slipped to roughly 20 billion USD annually since 2022. Germany’s aid budget fell from over 3 billion euros in 2022 to about 1 billion euros in 2025, while US USAID contributions are being scaled back, threatening food‑distribution pipelines. The UNHCR responded by cutting 5,000 staff positions, leaving an estimated 14,500 employees to manage the crisis, and local NGOs—once the most efficient actors—now face severe resource shortages.

Long‑term Solutions and Geopolitics

Self‑sufficiency initiatives, known as “Hagina” projects, construct small dams in dry riverbeds to raise groundwater levels, enabling modest farming and reducing dependence on external food aid. At the same time, China expands its footprint through infrastructure such as stadiums and bridges, while Russia seeks strategic influence in the Sahel. Experts warn that without sustained support, the situation could ignite a new wave of migration toward Europe, echoing the 2013 Syrian crisis.