Chad is facing a severe humanitarian crisis, largely due to the influx of refugees and returnees from the war in Sudan. This has put immense pressure on host communities in eastern provinces, leading to food scarcity, rising prices, and overstretched services. Vulnerable populations, especially women, children, pregnant women, and survivors of gender-based violence (GBV), face heightened risks from insecurity, long distances to care, limited privacy, and poor infrastructure, which frequently disrupts essential health and protection services. Responders rely on proximity and integrated services, such as safe spaces and mobile teams, but these life-saving chains are fragile.
In response, UNFPA Chad significantly bolstered its services, reaching 45,724 individuals with sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care, including facilitating 5,520 skilled deliveries. UNFPA deployed 143 humanitarian midwives, provided antenatal care, managed obstetric complications, and distributed 1,450 dignity and mama kits. In GBV response, UNFPA supported 32 safe spaces, reaching over 3,000 women with case management and psychosocial services. Prevention initiatives engaged nearly 3,500 community members, including men and boys. Clinical and protection services were reinforced through community outreach and trainings on the Clinical Management of Rape and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS).
UNFPA led coordination meetings for the GBV Sub-Cluster in Ouaddaï and Iriba, rolling out the new 5W matrix for information management and integrating MHPSS into the GBV response. Additionally, strategic consultations were held to unify GBV and Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) priorities for the 2026 response. For SRH, a strategic monthly meeting finalized the 2026 action plan, established information management protocols, and finalized the terms of reference for a new Task Force under the SRH Working Group.
Despite these vital efforts, UNFPA's response is severely jeopardized by a critical 89 per cent funding gap, having secured only US$3 million of the US$27 million required as of December 2025. This shortfall has already resulted in the loss of 262 humanitarian midwives, the closure of 16 women and girls' safe spaces and 28 mobile clinics, and has left 306,957 women and girls without access to life-saving reproductive health services. Without immediate intervention, an additional 32 mobile clinics face imminent closure, escalating a budgetary gap into a direct threat to maternal survival across Chad.
