November 22, 2023
Libreville, Gabon
On Tuesday, November 21, the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) warned of an “imminent halt” to its food aid to Chad, due to the massive influx of refugees fleeing the war in Sudan and the lack of international funds, which have been redirected to “Ukraine and Gaza” in particular.
“In the last six months, as many refugees have fled to Chad (…) as in the last 20 years since the start of the crisis in Darfur (eastern Sudan) in 2003”, wrote the UN World Food Program (WFP) in a statement.
“The WFP today warned of an imminent halt to its food and nutritional assistance to 1.4 million people” in Chad, “including new Sudanese refugees, due to financial constraints”, the UN agency continued.
Chad is home to some 1.4 million internally displaced persons or refugees as a result of conflicts in the country and its neighbors.
Before a new civil war broke out in Sudan in mid-April 2023, according to the UN, Chad was already home to over 400,000 refugees who had fled the war that ravaged Darfur from 2003 to 2020. There are now almost 900,000.
“In December, the WFP will be forced to suspend its assistance to displaced persons and refugees in Nigeria, the Central African Republic and Cameroon, due to insufficient funds. From January 2024, this suspension will be extended (…) in particular to new refugees from Sudan, who will not receive food”, worries the agency.
“This forgotten crisis has worsened while the world’s eyes are riveted on other emergencies,” the text continues. “Probably because international donors are more focused on other humanitarian crises, such as those in Ukraine and Gaza”, Djaounsede Madjiangar, WFP spokesperson for West and Central Africa, told AFP.
“To ensure continued support for crisis-affected populations in Chad over the next six months, the WFP urgently needs $185 million”, concludes the WFP.
On Friday, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) estimated that thousands of Sudanese refugee children in Chad were suffering from “severe acute malnutrition”. The NGO has treated 14,000 of them since the beginning of the year, nearly 3,000 of whom had to be hospitalized.
In the first week of November alone, more than 8,000 Sudanese crossed into Chad, according to the UN, which is referring to “large-scale violence” in Darfur and a possible new “genocide”.
Sudan has been torn apart since mid-April by a civil war between the army chief and de facto ruler of the country, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, and his former right-hand man, General Mohamed Hamdane Daglo.
Humaniterre , humanitarian and sustainable development media with AFP
