Overview
Growing instability and conflict is causing huge displacement of people in Chad with up to one million individuals affected by the humanitarian crisis. This situation is exacerbated by the presence of thousands of refugees from Darfur. Concern is taking a strong role in the management of several of the camps for these displaced people.
Chad is Africa’s fifth largest state. A landlocked country, it borders Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west. Chad is 171st out of 177 countries on the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI), which measures quality of life. For more information on the HDI please click here
Life expectancy in Chad is just 44 years of age and 80% of the population lives on less than $1 per day. The majority of Chad's population survives on subsistence farming and livestock. The country’s economy, while hampered by its landlocked geographical position, high energy costs and a history of instability, is enjoying a significant rise in oil exports, and is rich in gold and uranium. Nonetheless, the country’s infrastructure is inadequate and poverty is rife, with health and social conditions poor in comparison with other countries in the region.
A worsening crisis
The rising instability and growing humanitarian crisis in Chad has been mostly overshadowed by the violence in Darfur. Nonetheless, the total number of people directly affected by the conflict in Chad and is now in excess of one million. The escalating violence in the eastern regions of Wadi Fira and Ouaddaï has resulted in a new wave of displaced people in addition to the 260,000 Sudanese and 50,000 Central African refugees already present in eastern and southern Chad.
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