N’Djamena – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and its partners, Plan International, Concern Worldwide, Oxfam, INTERSOS and Acted, are calling for immediate action to ensure the continuation of vital services for Chadian returnees in Eastern Chad throughout 2024.

Uprooted by the persistent conflict in Sudan, Chadian returnees face dire circumstances and are in desperate need of life-saving assistance. Despite an initial request for 30,000,000 USD to aid over 93,000 registered returnees displaced from Sudan since April 2023, the funds mobilized have fallen far short of what is required, placing crucial humanitarian assistance at risk. Pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and children under the age of 18 are among the vulnerable groups of utmost concern.

With no signs of the Sudanese conflict abating, IOM anticipates the number of returnees to reach 150,000 by the end of March 2024. The funding gap directly impacts the delivery of assistance and protection services to Chadian returnees and vulnerable host communities.

Chadian returnees, as nationals, lack the international legal protection granted to refugees. Prolonged residence in Sudan has severed community ties, hindering their ability to meet basic needs post-displacement. The recent mass displacement into the provinces of Ouaddaï, Sila, and Wadi Fira in Eastern Chad, has strained services and resources in these host provinces, which already had low socio-economic resilience prior to the crisis. Added to this, the economic impacts of the war in Sudan on Chad, notably the decline in cross-border trade, could have disastrous consequences for the border regions.

“Without sustained funding, humanitarian agencies may be forced to scale back operations in 2024, heightening the precarity of vulnerable populations and risking inter-community conflict over scarce resources,” says Pascal Reyntjens, IOM Chad Chief of Mission. “We appeal to the international community for increased funding, which is vital for the provision of essential services for returnees and host communities in Eastern Chad, emphasizing a comprehensive response and prioritizing a conflict-sensitive approach,” he adds.

Since April 2023, IOM and partners, have been providing shelter, WASH, health, education, and protection assistance to vulnerable returnees in collaboration with the Chadian government.

Read the advocacy note: https://rodakar.iom.int/resources/advocacy-note-vital-services-must-continue-2024-returnees-eastern-chad-december-2023

For more information, please contact Francois Xavier Ada Affana, fadaaffana@iom.int.