Escalating water shortages compound the crisis for Sudanese refugees in Chad

Sudanese refugees who escaped violent conflict in Darfur are facing an severe water shortage in eastern Chad’s overcrowded displacement camps.

Over 938,000 people have fled into Chad since fighting erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Settlements such as the Goudrane refugee camp, which accommodates roughly 50,000 refugees, frequently go days without water tank deliveries, leading to desperate scrambles when limited supplies arrive.

The extreme scarcity forces many families to survive on less than half of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) recommended daily minimum water allocation.

At local medical clinics, doctors report an inability to effectively administer treatments for bacterial infections because patients lack access to clean drinking water.

Aid agencies, including Solidarités International, caution that existing funding levels cannot keep pace with the growing capacity requirements for boreholes, sanitation, and water treatment infrastructure.

Refugees arriving at transit sites such as Adré and long-term camps like Metche describe systematic violence in Sudan, particularly targeting the Masalit community. Reports detail mass killings, sexual violence, heavy shelling, and deliberate destruction of vital supplies by RSF fighters during escapes from towns like el-Fasher and el-Geneina.

With the conflict entering its fourth year and diplomatic resolution remaining distant, displaced families face prolonged instability alongside severe resource shortages.