Chad — humanitarian situation

Chad continues to face complex humanitarian challenges driven by the ongoing Sudan crisis and longstanding vulnerabilities in the Lake Chad Basin. The country hosts substantial numbers of Sudanese refugees who have fled conflict since April 2023, with UNHCR coordinating relocation efforts from border areas to camps in eastern Chad and monitoring ongoing arrivals UNHCR. The Lake province remains affected by insecurity and displacement, prompting the Protection Cluster to develop a dedicated 2026 strategy addressing critical protection needs in alignment with the Humanitarian Response Plan and triple nexus approaches (UNHCR, Protection Cluster). Protection concerns feature prominently across affected populations. In July 2026, humanitarian actors delivered protection services including gender-based violence prevention and response, child protection interventions, and protection from sexual exploitation and abuse programming (UNHCR, Government of Chad, GBV AoR). Health services were also provided to displaced and host communities during this period (UNHCR, Government of Chad). Regional humanitarian access constraints affect operations, with OCHA reporting that five humanitarian workers have been killed, nine injured, and 14 kidnapped across West and Central Africa in 2026, the majority being national staff OCHA. The office has called for urgent action to protect civilians and humanitarian personnel amid escalating violence and shrinking access. Food security and livelihood resilience remain critical priorities. WFP's Sahel Integrated Resilience Initiative, active in Chad alongside Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger since 2018, has been recognized as a UN World Restoration Flagship for its large-scale land restoration and food security work benefiting over four million people across the region WFP. Coordination mechanisms continue operating, with the Cash Working Group convening in February 2026 with participation from multiple UN agencies, international NGOs, and government counterparts to align cash and voucher assistance approaches (OCHA, ACF, World Vision). These efforts occur against a backdrop of degraded lands and chronic food insecurity requiring sustained multi-year programming to address underlying vulnerabilities.