In Chad, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee’s (UNHCR) Salih calls for urgent refugee support to save and rebuild lives

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Barham Salih, today underscored the need for urgent humanitarian assistance and protection for people fleeing the brutal war in Sudan, and for greater support for refugees to rebuild their lives with dignity.

During his first official overseas trip as High Commissioner, Salih met Sudanese refugee families who had fled the vicious fighting in Darfur only days earlier; many had been displaced multiple times since the conflict began. They described years of violent attacks and human rights abuses. Salih spoke with women who had been raped, and to people whose parents had been killed, arriving in Chad with only what they could carry and the hope of safety.

“What is unfolding in Sudan is a humanitarian calamity of overwhelming scale. Chad’s generous welcome of refugees is a powerful act of solidarity,” Salih said. “By keeping its borders open and protecting refugees, Chad is offering people safety, dignity and legal status. These are the foundations on which solutions can be built so refugees can start to rebuild their lives and contribute to society.”

Since April 2023, more than 900,000 Sudanese refugees have arrived in eastern Chad, with new arrivals every day. Sudan is now the world’s largest and most devastating displacement crisis, with 12 million people currently displaced, including more than 4.3 million refugees across the region. Salih made a strong plea for the international community to make every effort to bring peace to Sudan, paving the way for refugees to return home.

UNHCR continues to support the life-saving response in this part of Chad, but conditions in refugee settlements remain harsh, impacted by the dwindling funding. Many families lack shelter, water supplies are far below emergency standards, and overcrowded sanitation facilities pose increasing health risks. Trauma levels are high and mental health support reaches only a fraction of those in need, while many children remain out of school.

“People in eastern Chad are in acute need, but due to a lack of funds, the assistance provided is nowhere near the minimum level required. The responsibility to host these refugees has fallen on Chad, but other countries must rally to support it: it cannot be expected to shoulder such responsibility alone,” added Salih. “Refugees here may be safe from immediate harm, but they need opportunities through education, work and livelihoods to build a future.”

Salih visited programmes that build self-reliance for both refugees and host communities. In Iridimi, he spoke to refugee learners acquiring digital and language skills to support their education and access the job market. In Farchana, he visited market gardens where refugees and host communities grow and sell crops together. In Abeche, he met a group of lawyers, doctors and teachers displaced from Sudan who are now able to practise their professions in Chad.

Despite its challenges, Chad continues to uphold international protection and provide access to asylum at scale. Salih met President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno in N’Djamena, and reaffirmed UNHCR’s commitment to supporting refugees and host communities alongside the Government, paying tribute to communities that have generously welcomed refugees despite economic hardship and environmental pressures. Furthermore, Salih reiterated UNHCR’s readiness to work with the Government and all other stakeholders to implement the Integrated Settlement Approach, through which services are established or enhanced for both refugees and host communities, and economic opportunities are shared.

“Visiting Chad and Kenya this last week, both countries clearly demonstrate how, with sustained international support, inclusive policies can move us from responding to displacement emergencies towards providing solutions,” Salih said. “When refugees are protected and included, they can rebuild their lives and contribute to the societies that host them. This is what I am seeing here, and this is the direction in which we must travel.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).