A representative of the U.N. Refugee Agency, or UNHCR, said: “What we are seeing in eastern Chad is the human cost of funding shortfalls ... We ended 2025 with only around one-third of the resources needed to fully respond to the refugee emergency in the east. Given how dire the situation already is, without urgent support from donors, this year will bring deeper cuts, worse conditions and even greater suffering for families who have already fled war.”
Date: 4/26
Region: Africa
Country: Chad
Topic: Refugees & Displacement
Policy Lens: Security & Resilience
Entry Type: Field Observation
Additional Context: This quote is attributed to Patrice Ahouansou, a UNHCR representative in Chad. In eastern Chad, more than a million Sudanese refugees face life-threatening cuts to food, water, shelter, and healthcare as the UNHCR and the World Food Programme, or WFP, operate with less than half of required funding. As of April 2026, 80,000 families are without shelter, 243,000 are stranded at the border unable to be relocated inland, and most receive half the required food rations or less.
Devex Researcher Note: Between 2024 and 2026, funding for the humanitarian response in Chad dropped by $705.5 million. Decreases in U.S. funding account for a third of this change, with other major donors also reducing contributions.
Source: WFP