Sudanese refugees in Chad face water shortages in camps

Thousands of Sudanese refugees continue to pour across the border into Chad, desperately seeking shelter from the instability and violence ravaging their country.

The humanitarian situation on the ground is alarming: infrastructures are saturated, essential resources such as water and food are becoming insufficient, and access to healthcare remains limited. Faced with this crisis, Action contre la Faim teams have launched an emergency response in the camps for displaced people in the province of Wadi Fira in eastern Chad.

Improving access to water and sanitation in the camps

According to the latest figures from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), since the start of the war in Sudan, four million people have fled to neighbouring countries, including 1.2 million to Chad.

At the end of April, the violence in El Fasher and the attack on the Zam Zam camp for displaced persons (Darfur) led to a major influx of almost 70,000 new arrivals in May, mainly women and children, over 50% of them in Wadi Fira.

The Tiné transit site, the main point of entry into the province, located on the border with Sudan, is supposed to be a temporary arrival area where people pass through before being transferred to other refugee camps in the province. “Living conditions at this site are disastrous. Refugees wait for weeks or even months in this transit site before being relocated to camps where the response of the organisations is also insufficient to meet the needs”, explains Michele Torti, coordinator for the emergency response in Wadi Fira.

Given the urgency of the situation, and with the financial support of the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), Action contre la Faim teams are implementing an emergency water, hygiene and sanitation operation in the extension of the Iridimi refugee camp in the province of Wadi Fira. 

This camp, located more than 70km from Tiné, has been hosting large numbers of refugees for several years. To cope with the increase in arrivals and growing needs, an extension has been created to accommodate an additional 30,000 people.

“With the massive influx of refugees, these sites are overcrowded and vital resources such as water and food are running out. Today, refugees are surviving on less than 5 litres of water per person per day. This is a far cry from the 15 litres recommended by the World Health Organisation”, warns Mr Torti,

Faced with this problem, Action contre la Faim’s priority is to provide assistance in water, hygiene and sanitation, where the needs are immense, by distributing hygiene kits, building latrines and transporting drinking water by tanker lorry to the camp extension.

“At Iridimi, there are only around a hundred latrines for tens of thousands of people. Without access to water and adequate infrastructure, hygiene practices are completely absent. There is a real urgency to improve access to water in the camps.

Major health and nutritional risks

The rainy season has only just begun (June to September) and there is still cause for concern. “With the heavy rains, the sites are becoming increasingly inaccessible and there is a risk of flooding, leading to epidemics and water-borne diseases in the camps”, explains Michele Torti.

“The inadequacy of infrastructure for access to drinking water, hygiene and sanitation means that there is a risk of contamination by epidemics, particularly cholera, as is currently the case in Sudan. Mitigation measures must be put in place as a matter of urgency to prevent any spread of the disease in the camps and host communities, as this situation could have disastrous repercussions for populations that are already extremely vulnerable”, he warns.

Alongside WASH support, nutritional screening and referral activities are being carried out to address the worrying nutritional situation of children. “According to the results of the latest screening carried out between May and June 2025, more than 10% of new refugees were considered to be suffering from severe acute malnutrition. 435 new cases of severe acute malnutrition were detected in children under the age of 5″.

 “The people arriving in these camps are also exhausted by their migratory journey and the violence they may have suffered. That’s why our teams also provide psychosocial support to help people cope with the stress, but the needs remain immense in the face of the trauma and tragedy they have experienced”.

A critical situation that is under-funded

Humanitarian needs are considerable, and NGOs and authorities are finding it difficult to respond effectively to the urgent needs of refugee populations in terms of shelter, water, sanitation, health and food. To date, according to the Humanitarian Response Plan, the situation is only 11% funded and the funds available to respond to this new emergency are cruelly lacking.

In addition to drinking water and sanitation needs, health and nutrition facilities are inadequate. “The people living in the camps are completely dependent on the assistance provided by NGOs and the United Nations. However, in the current context of a general decline in international funding, these organisations are running out of steam”.

Cases of acute malnutrition need to be treated beyond screening. Unfortunately, due to a lack of resources, our capacities are currently very limited”, concludes Michele Torti.