Chad
Chad has a population of 17 million people, almost half of whom live below the national poverty line, according to the World Bank in 2023. Given the correlation established between poverty and disability, people with disabilities are over-represented among those facing situations of extreme difficulty. This fragile situation is exacerbated by conflicts in neighboring countries and the impact of climate change.
Women wait at an agricultural fair organized by HI in Owoli. | © Gwenn Dubourthoumieu / HI
Our actions
HI Chad implements emergency response interventions and development projects in the fields of assistance to survivors of violence, inclusion, mine action, physical and functional rehabilitation and inclusive education in emergencies. The program seeks innovative and sustainable solutions to effectively respond to real needs and to support the socio-economic development of people with disabilities through inclusion and the development of income-generating activities and vocational training.
In the Lac region, HI contributes to the protection and education of children and carries out risk education activities for host communities and displaced people affected by the crisis. The program also runs conflict transformation, social cohesion and inclusive local development activities.
HI also supports children with disabilities through psychological support and rehabilitation services, and implements the Stimulation Therapy approach for children younger than 5 experiencing malnutrition.
In 2023, in response to the Sudanese crisis on Chad's eastern border, HI began working with refugee populations providing rehabilitation services and mental health support. HI is also active in the region in the fields of logistics and civil engineering. Atlas Logistics provides international and local humanitarian organizations with warehouse facilities for humanitarian supplies, and an airstrip has been rehabilitated to facilitate humanitarian access.
Areas of intervention
Latest stories
Djadah & Haleema, refugees in Chad: finding solidarity after violence
Djadah and Haleema fled the violence in their country. Their sadly similar journeys testify to the terrible violence suffered by the people of Sudan.
Now living in Chad, Omran fled the war in Sudan with his family
Omran, a 9-year-old boy from the Darfur region of Sudan, has cerebral palsy. He was forced to flee his home with his family to escape the armed violence.
In Chad, Kaltouma and Hasseneih are rebuilding their lives
Kaltouma, 35, and her sister Hassaneih, 25, have fled the war in Sudan. Both women live with disabilities but despite difficult conditions, they are rebuilding their lives in Chad.
a life
Background
Chad has been affected by various humanitarian crises since 2003.
These crises are linked to major population movements in border areas, notably refugees from Sudan in the east, refugees and returnees from the Central African Republic in the south and, more recently, Nigerian refugees and internally displaced people in Lac Province in the west of the country. In Lac province, instability persists. This region is also affected by the consequences of climate change (extreme cycles of heavy rainfall and drought) that are drying up Lake Chad, at a time when the region is already under pressure from the arrival of displaced populations.
Predominantly rural, Chad is ranked among the poorest countries in terms of human development. President Idriss Déby died on 20 April 2021, the day after his fifth re-election. With Chad in deep economic recession since the 2016 presidential election and the fall in oil prices in 2014, the death of the president plunged the country into a period of uncertainty.
- Number of HI staff: 133
- Program opened in: 2014
