Inflow of refugees into Chad deepens existing vulnerabilities: World Bank

Sub: IR

Sec: Places in news

Context:

A World Bank report highlights that the influx of refugees into Chad, especially from Sudan, has exacerbated the nation’s existing vulnerabilities.

Details:

As of December 11, 2023, Chad hosted 1.1 million refugees and asylum seekers, primarily from Sudan, Central African Republic, Cameroon (mostly settled in two camps around N’Djamena and on the banks of the Logone River), and Nigeria (mainly distributed in the Dar es Salaam camp and host villages in the Lake region).
Continued conflict in 2024 could bring an additional 600,000 Sudanese refugees.

Impact on Host Communities:

Border areas hosting refugees face structural vulnerabilities, including poverty, gender inequality, and precarious livelihoods.
80% of refugees and host community residents struggle to meet basic needs, compared to 42% of Chad’s general population.
Refugees often have better access to education, healthcare, and essential services through humanitarian aid, leading to better living conditions than host populations.

Food Insecurity and Resource Strain:

Chad has experienced severe food insecurity for four consecutive years, affecting 2.1 million people in 2023.
Food insecurity and environmental degradation due to refugee influx have intensified pressures on natural resources, leading to conflict between host populations and refugees.

Chad:

A landlocked country located at the crossroads of North and Central Africa.
It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon to the southwest, Nigeria to the southwest (at Lake Chad), and Niger to the west.
Chad has a population of 16 million, of which 1.6 million live in the capital and largest city of N’Djamena.
Chad is the fifth-largest country in Africa and the twentieth-largest nation by area in the world.
Chad has several regions: the Sahara desert in the north, an arid zone in the centre known as the Sahel and a more fertile Sudanian Savanna zone in the south.
Lake Chad, after which the country is named, is the second-largest wetland in Africa.
Chad’s official languages are Arabic and French.

Source: DTE