Brussels 08.04.2025 European Commissioner in charge of preparedness and crisis management Hadja Lahbib will visit Chad this week for a mission focused on the situation of Sudanese refugees.
Lahbib will travel April 8 to Adré, on the border with Sudan, where the refugees are searching for safety fleeing the horrors of civil war. Since the conflict in Sudan began in April 2023, Chad has experienced a massive influx of Sudanese refugees, with over 600,000 seeking shelter in the country, primarily in camps in the eastern region, facing challenges like overcrowding and underfunding. (Image above: illustration)

Humanitarian access through Chad into Sudan is a lifeline for the people in Darfur.

The humanitarian community’s continued efforts underscore our commitment & readiness to scale up relief operations to meet Sudan’s immense needs. https://t.co/bdNk096Dmc

— Clementine Nkweta-Salami (@CNkwetaSalami) March 24, 2025

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

At present Chad and Egypt are offering refuge to the largest populations of Sudanese asylum seekers: In the nearly two years since war broke out in Sudan, almost one million people have fled into neighbouring Chad. Withing this flow there are more than 720,000 Sudanese refugees and more than 220,000 Chadians who repatriated when the civil war erupted.

The EU expressed its will to continue providing support, through humanitarian aid and through its commitment to peace and stability in the region, while the U.S. has frozen its development aid, suspending 92% of funding.

“The Sudanese conflict is dangerously destabilising the region,” Lahbib said before her departure to Chad. “Women and children are paying a heavy price.”

In Chad, she intends to meet political authorities and humanitarian actors, accompanied by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi. Together they will also visit refugee camps.

Chadian government has decided to accommodate the refugees, although concerns of the Sudanese conflict breaking through the boarders are becoming increasingly legitimate.

La ministre de l'Action sociale, de la Solidarité et des Affaires humanitaires, Mme Zara Mahamat Issa, vient de lancer le Plan de réponse humanitaire #HNRP2025 d’un montant de 1,454 milliard de $ visant à répondre aux besoins de 7M de personnes, avec 5,5M parmi les plus… pic.twitter.com/pQqL6S45eX

— OCHA Chad (@OCHAChad) February 28, 2025

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

The minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Zara Mahamat Issa, launched an appeal for international solidarity: “Faced with a critical humanitarian situation, exacerbated by the influx of refugees and the reduction in funding, Chad needs your help.”

https://x.com/fxbellamy/status/1854234692091891733

Chad has been dabbed as “the world’s most corrupt state” by the BBC for political instability, violence and poverty widespread. With a population of almost 12 million, 62% of Chadians live on less than $1.25 a day and the average per capita income is just $690. The extreme level of poverty in Chad is a major contributor to the country’s high rates of malnutrition, disease and illiteracy.

The visit of Commissioner Lahbib is taking place in the context of growing criticism of the EU African policies, lacking transparency in general, and transparency of functioning of the NGOs especially.