Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams are treating children with severe acute malnutrition in Adré, in eastern Chad, near the border with Sudan. The country, located in north-central Africa, officially declared a malnutrition and food insecurity emergency in June 2022. Below, Abdoulaye Ould Mohamedou, the head of MSF’s medical program in Adré, and Abderahman Ibet, MSF’s head of mission assistant in the regional capital Abéché, describe what the teams are seeing and why so many people are suffering from malnutrition in this area.
What’s the situation in eastern Chad, specifically in the Ouadddaï region where Adré is located?
Abderahman Ibet: On the socio-economic level, most people in the east of the country live in extreme poverty. Families often live off agriculture, so when there’s not enough rain their living conditions can deteriorate very rapidly. Land is shared between herders, who need it for their cattle, and pastoralists who need it for their fields. But, with less and less arable land, there are fewer crops and that creates tensions. Other economic issues are instrumental in destabilizing the region. For example, the export of millet—a staple in east Chad—to the Gulf States is also pushing up food prices.
Regarding Chad’s economy, Abéché is the biggest city in the east. It’s situated on the commercial road connecting the country to Sudan. Everything arriving from Arab countries passes through Sudan, Abéché, and from there to Nigeria. We’re seeing a surge in insecurity, as armed robbers and thieves are present in the area. The huge numbers of people panning for gold are also contributing to creating a climate of instability in Abéché. Crime and violence are surging.
Abdoulaye Ould Mohamedou: Security along the border with Sudan is a problem. Inter-communal conflicts are common in neighboring Darfur and trigger massive displacements of people. In January 2022, for example, we witnessed the arrival of more than 6,000 people fleeing the violence in Sudan.
Abderahman Ibet: The influx of such large numbers of refugees, which began in 2003, has destabilized the local population. When they first got here, they used a large part of the arable land and benefited from humanitarian aid, food in particular. It wasn’t the case for many Chadians, so it sparked tensions between the host population and the refugees.
