N'DJAMENA, September 8, 2023 - The World Bank called for increased international support for refugees and host communities at the Chad-Sudan border and announced $340 million in new financing to help Chad address the multiple shocks the country is facing. This includes $90 million to respond to the massive influx of refugees from neighboring countries, which comes on top of more than $235 million in ongoing financing to support refugees and host communities in Chad. The announcement came during a two-day joint visit to Chad by World Bank Managing Director for Operations Anna Bjerde and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.
"Chad remains one of the least developed countries in the world, and is further facing challenges of persistent poverty, climate change, food insecurity, and fragility. Over the past five years, the World Bank has doubled its support to Chad to address the impacts of overlapping crises, while keeping sight of the country's long-term development needs," said Anna Bjerde, World Bank Managing Director for Operations, as she visited the refugee settlements of Adré and Farchana in the east of Chad. "The refugee crisis in the east is adding further pressure to social service delivery and natural resources. Working with UNHCR and other partners, we remain committed to help the people most in need and support the long-term economic recovery and resilience of the region."
Since the start of the conflict in Sudan, more than 400,000 Sudanese refugees and Chadian nationals from Darfur have fled the ongoing conflict and crossed the eastern border of Chad, intensifying the need for humanitarian assistance in an already fragile and climate-affected area. Over 40 percent of Chadians live below the poverty line. The influx of refugees, coupled with weak harvest and the compounding effects of climate change will drive up food insecurity in the coming months.
"We are grateful to the World Bank for its support to Sudanese refugees and their generous Chadian host communities in Eastern Chad. The sheer magnitude of the senseless, brutal crisis in Sudan, and the likelihood that it becomes protracted, require both humanitarian and development support. We hope the World Bank's example will inspire other development actors to step up their interventions, as Chad cannot be left alone to deal with this major crisis," said Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Chad has a long-standing culture of welcoming refugees. The resources announced today target both national programs and stepped-up support to refugees and host communities in the East. The aim is to support the government with additional resources to face the multiple shocks and to strengthen food security and climate resilience, promote livelihood opportunities in livestock and agriculture, and expand basic social infrastructure. It will also support a unified social registry, early warning systems, and cash transfers.
These interventions will complement ongoing efforts to promote social cohesion and greater integration of refugees through the Chad Refugees and Host Communities Support Project (PARCA), the Chad Energy Access Scale-Up Project, and the Chad Territorial Development and Resilience Project (RESITCHAD). More than 70,000 families have already received cash transfers and better access to schools and health centers through these programs, giving them hope for a better future.
In addition, the World Bank-UNHCR Joint Data Center on Forced Displacement in Copenhagen, Denmark, has supported the Government of Chad in conducting a series of surveys on Chadian and refugee households. Insights from these surveys have helped the government design and pass an inclusive Asylum Law in December 2020, guaranteeing refugees freedom of mobility and equal access to health, education, and justice.
These efforts are part of a global partnership agreement between the World Bank and UNHCR that aims to strengthen protection of forcibly displaced and stateless persons and ensure their inclusion in development programming.
