Protection and Education: The Challenges facing Sudanese refugees in Chad
Moatinoon
Twenty-three international humanitarian organizations working in eastern Chad have warned that the majority of these refugees and returnees are not receiving the protection and educational assistance they desperately need.
In the nearly two years since the war broke out in Sudan, more than 720,000 Sudanese refugees and more than 220,000 Chadians have fled the conflict and returned home.
More than two-thirds of those arriving in Chad experienced some form of violence during their ordeal, with a third of them being victims of physical assault, according to protection monitoring data collected in October 2024. That same month, a UN fact-finding mission documented widespread sexual violence committed by armed actors in Sudan, among other human rights violations.
“Most refugees cross the border with nothing but the clothes they are wearing, and a wealth of horrific stories,” says Alex Camus, president of the International NGO Forum and country director of Acted, which supports the management of the transit site in Adré, near the border.
“Many of them have to deal with a significant amount of trauma that could and should be addressed with a greater focus on child protection, education, mental health, and the treatment and prevention of sexual and gender-based violence. However, faced with an emergency of this magnitude on the one hand, and funding shards on the other, this type of assistance is being put on the back burner. It should be considered vital given what people have been through,” he adds.
The Chad refugee response plan for 2024 is only 30 per cent funded, and even food assistance has not substantially covered their daily needs. Meanwhile, the protection and education sectors have been the biggest gaps in the emergency response.
In some districts in eastern Chad, more than 80 per cent – refugees, returnees and children from host communities combined – are not in school in 2024. An assessment conducted by UNHCR in the Fira Valley in November 2024, with support from the Norwegian Refugee Council, revealed a severe lack of school infrastructure for both host and displaced populations, and a severe shortage of teachers.
“Getting back to school is crucial for children’s present and future,” says Mastam Digulmal, Education Coordinator at the Norwegian Refugee Council. “Despite forced displacement, the horrors they have experienced and the trauma that continues, education is the most powerful way to re-establish a reassuring routine and rebuild hope.”
The organizations are urging strong regional funding mechanisms to ensure that Sudan’s neighbors are not left scrambling for scraps as they respond to the fallout from the conflict.
“The world’s largest humanitarian crisis does not stop at Sudan’s borders,” says Amadou Bocoum, CARE Chad Country Director. “Despite the severe challenges it faces, Chad has welcomed refugees and guaranteed their right to asylum, which is remarkable. The international community must match this level of compassion and solidarity by urgently stepping up its efforts to adequately and adequately assist survivors.”
