Latest news with #Chad
News24
2 hours ago
- Politics
- News24
UNHCR reports record displacement in West and Central Africa
About 12.7 million forcibly displaced and stateless people are in West and Central Africa, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). This figure reflects a 48% increase since 2020, when the number was 8.6 million, underscoring a worsening forced displacement crisis. 'From conflict to climate shocks, protection risks are rising - particularly for women and children, who represent 80% of the forcibly displaced,' said Abdouraouf Gnon-Konde, the UNHCR's regional bureau director for West and Central Africa. Gnon-Konde said the UN's data also showed that displaced people are 'returning home in increasing numbers where conditions allow'. Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Cameroon are home to more than 80% of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the region. Drought, flooding, and chronic violence and insecurity have forced people to seek shelter in other regions within their countries. READ | Does SA have twice as many illegal migrants as Europe? Fact-checking Gayton McKenzie's latest claims According to the United Nations, over one million citizens of the Central African Republic (CAR) were forcibly displaced as of 30 April 2025. That figure, however, is 150 000 fewer than the same period in 2024. The slight improvement is attributed to an increase in voluntary returns. UN-sponsored voluntary returns Chad is providing refuge to almost 780 000 people who have fled Sudan's civil war, with another 250 000 expected to arrive by the end of the year. The country also hosts large numbers of refugees from the Central African Republic to the south and Niger to the west. Each group of displaced people faces unique dangers, and Chad is struggling to host all of them. The United Nations has been sponsoring voluntary returns to countries of origin within West Africa. It said 14 600 refugees returned to countries such as Nigeria, the Central African Republic and Mali from January through April 2025. 'Humanitarian crises are, first of all, political crises,' Alpha Seydi Ba, a UNHCR spokesperson based in Dakar, Senegal, told DW. Unless we are able to make peace, there won't be a situation where the returns are possible. Alpha Seydi Ba Ba said repatriations were carried out whenever and wherever possible and on a voluntary basis. As a result, the UNHCR says resettlement departures rose by 34% in 2024 (4 600 individuals), marking an increase of 1 500 people in the past year. 'I think it's always good news when people are able to go back home,' Ba said. 'Exile, it's not a choice. Being a refugee is not a choice, when someone leaves their home and everything behind.' 'We're seeing those people returning and rebuilding,' Ba said. 'I think it's one of the best things that can happen to the humanitarian person in his career.' 'Migrants become stranded' Although repatriation efforts have yielded some positive results, the UN's regional resettlement quota was reduced by 64% in 2025. To complicate matters, the UNHCR's regional budget overall has been reduced by 50% between 2024 and 2025. 'Our operations are very severely impacted,' Ba said. 'Meaning less food, less shelter, less health care, less clean water, less gender-based protection, which makes overall protection systems or displaced people more fragile,' Ba added. 'That's why the UNHCR in the region is at a tipping point.' 'The number of migrants, be it internally displaced people or migrants, is increasing,' Luisa de Freitas, who leads the Regional Data Hub in Dakar for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), told DW. 'We are seeing that, overall, more and more people are on the move.' Ben Stansall/AFP Though many people move to foreign countries because of climate disasters, armed conflict or instability, the IOM reports that economic needs are also a key driver of migration. 'Over 70% to 72% of the individuals that we survey at our flow monitoring points in 2024 were there because of labour or economic reasons,' de Freitas said. De Freitas said migration routes had become increasingly dangerous as EU nations and their partners within Africa have sought to stem the flow of migration to Europe. However, this has not deterred migrants from attempting to do so. 'People move when they feel they have no other option,' de Freitas said. 'They will take routes that are less and less travelled. So what is happening is that a lot of these migrants become stranded.' New strategies needed Simply putting up barriers or investing in forced removals of migrants is not the solution. Instead, de Freitas advised European nations to adopt a different approach that fosters and incentivises regular migration, benefiting both home and destination countries. Mohamed Elshahed/Anadolu via Getty Images 'Spain has just launched two initiatives: One to regularise migrants per year, and they've also launched system where Senegalese can apply for temporary travel visas to go and work in Spain,' de Freitas said. Many EU countries desperately need workers in sectors such as agriculture, she added. 'Circular migration allows migration on a temporary basis to address labour shortages in destination countries, while providing migrants with access to employment and education opportunities. 'Basically, try to make migration a win-win situation for both ends,' de Freitas said.
Arab News
9 hours ago
- General
- Arab News
Chad hopes ‘green charcoal' can save vanishing forests
N'DJAMENA: As they zigzagged from one machine to another in the searing African sun, the workers were covered in black soot. But the charcoal they were making is known as 'green,' and backers hope it can save impoverished Chad from rampant deforestation. Chad, a vast, landlocked country of 19 million people perched at the crossroads of north and central Africa, is steadily turning to desert. It has lost more than 90 percent of its forest cover since the 1970s, hit by climate change and overexploitation of trees for household uses such as cooking, officials say. 'Green charcoal' aims to protect what forest is left. Made from discarded plant waste such as millet and sesame stalks or palm fronds, it is meant to save trees from being chopped down for cooking. The product 'releases less emissions than traditional charcoal, it doesn't blacken your pots, it has high energy content and lasts up to three times longer than ordinary charcoal,' said Ousmane Alhadj Oumarou, technical director of the Raikina Association for Socioeconomic Development (Adser). 'Using one kilogramme of green charcoal saves six kilogrammes of wood.' The group has installed a production facility in Pont Belile, just north of the capital, N'Djamena. There, workers grind up burnt plant waste, then mix it with gum arabic, which helps it ignite, and clay, which makes it burn more slowly. The resulting black nuggets look like ordinary charcoal. Like the traditional kind, it emits CO2 when it burns — but less, said Souleymane Adam Adey, an ecologist at the University of N'Djamena. And 'it contributes to fighting deforestation, by ensuring the trees that aren't cut down continue to capture and store carbon,' he said. The conflict in neighboring Sudan, which is facing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, is adding to pressure on Chad, which has become home to more than 800,000 Sudanese refugees since 2023 — double the 400,000 it already hosted. 'Desertification has progressed in the regions that have been hosting Sudanese refugees for the past two years,' said Adser's director, 45-year-old businessman Ismael Hamid. Adser invested 200 million CFA francs (about $350,000) to launch the project, then won backing from the World Bank, which buys the charcoal for 750 CFA francs per kilogramme. The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, distributes the charcoal in refugee camps in eastern Chad. But Hamid said he hoped to expand production and slash prices to 350 to 500 CFA francs per kilo to make 'green charcoal' available and affordable nationwide. The plant currently produces seven to nine tons per day. 'If we want to meet the country's needs, we have to increase our output by at least a factor of 10,' said Hamid, calling for subsidies to support the budding sector. Environment Minister Hassan Bakhit Djamous told AFP the government was working on a policy to promote such projects. 'We need to bet on green charcoal as an energy source for the future of our country,' he said. jbo-emp/lnf/jhb/cw
Washington Post
a day ago
- General
- Washington Post
These are 5 things the UN does that you may not have known
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations' vast system has tackled everything from delivering life-saving humanitarian aid to providing crucial peacekeeping operations in conflict zones since it was established in the wake of World War II. As the international body closes in on 80 years, questions about its relevancy and efficiency have sharpened from supporters and critics alike. Recent U.S. cuts to foreign assistance and the reevaluation of humanitarian contributions by other countries have forced a reckoning for the U.N. The organization has long sought to highlight its unique role as the meeting place of global leaders, with an ambitious mandate to prevent another world war . Staffers, however, say the U.N. does more than respond to civilians' needs in war zones and debate resolutions in the Security Council. 'The things that are not on the radar of anyone, that nobody sees every day, that's what we do everywhere, in more than 150 countries,' said Diene Keita, executive director for programs at the U.N.'s population agency. Here are five things the U.N. does that you may not have known: U.N. agencies facilitate programs worldwide focused on women, tied to education, financial literacy, employment opportunities and more. Among the most sensitive services provided are those for victims of gender-based violence. In Chad, the U.N. Population Fund operates several rehabilitation programs for women and girls recovering from that trauma. One of them, Halima Yakoy Adam, was taken at age 15 to a Boko Haram training camp in Nigeria, where she and several other girls were forced to become suicide bombers. Adam managed to escape with severe injuries, while the others died in blasts. Through U.N. programs on the islands of Lake Chad, Adam received health and reproductive services as well as vocational training. She is now working as a paralegal in her community to assist other women and girls. 'We are not created to stay,' Keita said of U.N. agencies' long-term presence. 'So this is embedded in what we do every single day. We have that humility in knowing that we make a difference, so that people do not need us the next day.' Images of refugees at U.S. and European borders show the migration crisis around the world. Often overlooked are the refugees who are resettled in communities outside American and European cities, ones that resemble their home countries and cultural upbringings. Since 2016, the U.N.'s refugee agency has supported the integration of more than 50,000 refugees and asylum-seekers in Mexico. They arrived in southern Mexico and were relocated to industrial cities after being screened and granted asylum by the government. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees provides transportation, orientation and access to health, education and other social services. More than 650 companies have agreed to train and employ these people, whose labor has generated a $15 million annual contribution to the Mexican economy, according to the U.N. According to U.N. estimates, 94% of these working-age refugees have secured formal employment within their first month in the country and nearly 90% of school-age children have enrolled in school. The U.N. program also provides what staffers describe as clear pathways to Mexican citizenship. 'Mexico has become a country where people forced to flee can find the stability they need to restart their lives with dignity,' Giovanni Lepri, the top U.N. refugee agency official in Mexico, said in March. 'A strong asylum system and legal framework allows an effective integration of asylum-seekers and refugees.' U.N. agencies are present throughout various phases of war, from delivering food, water and medical supplies in an active military zone to the iconic 'Blue Helmets' — the military personnel deployed to help countries transition out of conflict. Less attention is paid to efforts made after the dust has settled. One of those initiatives, the United Nations Mine Action Service, was established in 1997 to facilitate projects aimed at mitigating the threat posed by unexploded munitions in countries years — and sometimes decades — after war. The U.N. estimates that on average, one person is killed or injured by land mines and other explosive ordnance every hour. In January, a 21-year-old man was harvesting olives in a Syrian orchard with two friends when they noticed a visible mine on the ground. Panicked, they tried to leave, but one of them stepped on a land mine and it exploded, amputating one of his legs above the knee. A month later, in Cambodia, a rocket-propelled grenade believed to be more than 25 years old killed two toddlers when it blew up near their homes. The U.N. program aims to work with communities in Syria, Afghanistan and Nigeria to safely locate and remove these remnants of war while providing education and threat assessments. Since its inception, the U.N. says more than 55 million land mines have been destroyed and over 30 countries have become mine-free. In a refugee camp in northwest Kenya, dozens of girls 12 to 18 have gathered every Saturday at a women's empowerment center to learn self-defense through a Taekwondo class. The program, launched by the U.N.'s Population Fund last year, has focused on providing an outlet for girls who have either been victims of gender-based violence or are at risk of it after fleeing conflict zones in countries like South Sudan, Ethiopia and Congo. The coaches are locals who understand the cultural and political dynamics their students face while living in a camp that is home to nearly 300,000 refugees. The goal is to use sports activities to create safe spaces for women and girls to discuss various issues like period poverty, abuse and domestic conflict. The program, which the U.N. has replicated in Egypt and elsewhere, is funded by the Olympic Refuge Foundation. Topics surrounding sex and reproductive issues were considered taboo for centuries in Buddhist communities. U.N. staffers have spent the past decade working with religious leaders in Bhutan and other countries in Asia to 'desensitize' the topics they believe are crucial to a healthy society. The campaign has led more than 1,500 nuns from 26 nunneries to hold discussions with community members around sexual and reproductive health and the prevention of gender-based violence. Now, at least 50 monks are trained to provide counseling services on these topics to students across Bhutan's 20 districts. The U.N. says these partnerships, which began in 2014, have contributed to a decrease in maternal mortality, an increase in contraception use, and better reproductive care for pregnant women.
Associated Press
a day ago
- General
- Associated Press
These are 5 things the UN does that you may not have known
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations' vast system has tackled everything from delivering life-saving humanitarian aid to providing crucial peacekeeping operations in conflict zones since it was established in the wake of World War II. As the international body closes in on 80 years, questions about its relevancy and efficiency have sharpened from supporters and critics alike. Recent U.S. cuts to foreign assistance and the reevaluation of humanitarian contributions by other countries have forced a reckoning for the U.N. The organization has long sought to highlight its unique role as the meeting place of global leaders, with an ambitious mandate to prevent another world war. Staffers, however, say the U.N. does more than respond to civilians' needs in war zones and debate resolutions in the Security Council. 'The things that are not on the radar of anyone, that nobody sees every day, that's what we do everywhere, in more than 150 countries,' said Diene Keita, executive director for programs at the U.N.'s population agency. Here are five things the U.N. does that you may not have known: Providing training to women and girls who have faced gender-based violence U.N. agencies facilitate programs worldwide focused on women, tied to education, financial literacy, employment opportunities and more. Among the most sensitive services provided are those for victims of gender-based violence. In Chad, the U.N. Population Fund operates several rehabilitation programs for women and girls recovering from that trauma. One of them, Halima Yakoy Adam, was taken at age 15 to a Boko Haram training camp in Nigeria, where she and several other girls were forced to become suicide bombers. Adam managed to escape with severe injuries, while the others died in blasts. Through U.N. programs on the islands of Lake Chad, Adam received health and reproductive services as well as vocational training. She is now working as a paralegal in her community to assist other women and girls. 'We are not created to stay,' Keita said of U.N. agencies' long-term presence. 'So this is embedded in what we do every single day. We have that humility in knowing that we make a difference, so that people do not need us the next day.' Resettling refugees in Mexico Images of refugees at U.S. and European borders show the migration crisis around the world. Often overlooked are the refugees who are resettled in communities outside American and European cities, ones that resemble their home countries and cultural upbringings. Since 2016, the U.N.'s refugee agency has supported the integration of more than 50,000 refugees and asylum-seekers in Mexico. They arrived in southern Mexico and were relocated to industrial cities after being screened and granted asylum by the government. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees provides transportation, orientation and access to health, education and other social services. More than 650 companies have agreed to train and employ these people, whose labor has generated a $15 million annual contribution to the Mexican economy, according to the U.N. According to U.N. estimates, 94% of these working-age refugees have secured formal employment within their first month in the country and nearly 90% of school-age children have enrolled in school. The U.N. program also provides what staffers describe as clear pathways to Mexican citizenship. 'Mexico has become a country where people forced to flee can find the stability they need to restart their lives with dignity,' Giovanni Lepri, the top U.N. refugee agency official in Mexico, said in March. 'A strong asylum system and legal framework allows an effective integration of asylum-seekers and refugees.' Eliminating exploding remnants of war U.N. agencies are present throughout various phases of war, from delivering food, water and medical supplies in an active military zone to the iconic 'Blue Helmets' — the military personnel deployed to help countries transition out of conflict. Less attention is paid to efforts made after the dust has settled. One of those initiatives, the United Nations Mine Action Service, was established in 1997 to facilitate projects aimed at mitigating the threat posed by unexploded munitions in countries years — and sometimes decades — after war. The U.N. estimates that on average, one person is killed or injured by land mines and other explosive ordnance every hour. In January, a 21-year-old man was harvesting olives in a Syrian orchard with two friends when they noticed a visible mine on the ground. Panicked, they tried to leave, but one of them stepped on a land mine and it exploded, amputating one of his legs above the knee. A month later, in Cambodia, a rocket-propelled grenade believed to be more than 25 years old killed two toddlers when it blew up near their homes. The U.N. program aims to work with communities in Syria, Afghanistan and Nigeria to safely locate and remove these remnants of war while providing education and threat assessments. Since its inception, the U.N. says more than 55 million land mines have been destroyed and over 30 countries have become mine-free. Teaching refugee girls self-defense in Kenya In a refugee camp in northwest Kenya, dozens of girls 12 to 18 have gathered every Saturday at a women's empowerment center to learn self-defense through a Taekwondo class. The program, launched by the U.N.'s Population Fund last year, has focused on providing an outlet for girls who have either been victims of gender-based violence or are at risk of it after fleeing conflict zones in countries like South Sudan, Ethiopia and Congo. The coaches are locals who understand the cultural and political dynamics their students face while living in a camp that is home to nearly 300,000 refugees. The goal is to use sports activities to create safe spaces for women and girls to discuss various issues like period poverty, abuse and domestic conflict. The program, which the U.N. has replicated in Egypt and elsewhere, is funded by the Olympic Refuge Foundation. Sex education by monks in Bhutan Topics surrounding sex and reproductive issues were considered taboo for centuries in Buddhist communities. U.N. staffers have spent the past decade working with religious leaders in Bhutan and other countries in Asia to 'desensitize' the topics they believe are crucial to a healthy society. The campaign has led more than 1,500 nuns from 26 nunneries to hold discussions with community members around sexual and reproductive health and the prevention of gender-based violence. Now, at least 50 monks are trained to provide counseling services on these topics to students across Bhutan's 20 districts. The U.N. says these partnerships, which began in 2014, have contributed to a decrease in maternal mortality, an increase in contraception use, and better reproductive care for pregnant women.
Forbes
2 days ago
- General
- Forbes
In Chad, UNICEF Emergency Aid For Refugee Children Fleeing Sudan War
By Brice Kevin Da After more than two years of civil war in Sudan, the number of Sudanese refugees and Chadian returnees seeking safety in eastern Chad has ballooned to over 975,000, creating a deepening humanitarian crisis. UNICEF is there, providing urgently needed assistance for children and their families. More help is needed. Halimé and her two children — Asmao, 2, and Zakaria, just 7 months old — rest at the temporary refugee location site in Tiné, Chad, near the border with Sudan. Fleeing violence in El Fasher, North Darfur, they began their journey on foot. "I crossed the border with my children, but my husband was taken by armed men," Halimé said. "I have no news from him. What will happen to us here? I don't know!" © UNICEF/UNI789812/Brice Kevin Da. All rights reserved. Since the surge of violence in Sudan in late April 2025, thousands of families have crossed the border into Chad on a daily basis, traumatized and burdened by the scars of war. Most are women and children, fleeing intense fighting in El Fasher, North Darfur. Tiné, a border town, has become the main entry point for this flood of desperate souls — mothers carrying babies, exhausted and starving children, families clinging to hope amid devastation. Loaded onto carts, tricycles, donkey backs, vehicles and even on foot, thousands of children and their families continue to cross the border every day. © UNICEF/UNI789765/Da UNICEF and its partners are on the ground in both Chad and in Sudan, responding swiftly by delivering lifesaving aid: safe water, child protection, emergency supplies and psychosocial support. The scale of need is huge, and much more support is urgently needed to prevent further suffering. s temperatures soar to 109 degrees Fahrenheit, mothers and children fleeing war in Sudan await transport to a transit site in Chad. © UNICEF/UNI789826/Brice Kevin Da. All rights reserved. With no safe place to shelter upon arrival, exhausted children and families huddle in the shade of trucks as they wait for transport to the transit site. Their faces reflect despair, uncertainty and the deep trauma of what they have endured. Children fleeing conflict in Sudan take shelter underneath a truck in eastern Chad. © UNICEF/UNI789833/Brice Kevin Da. All rights reserved. Shortly after, in large groups, they are loaded onto massive trucks and transported to a transit site located about three miles away. Salma and her five children wait for transport in Tiné. "What I experienced, I wouldn't wish on anyone," she says. "Some women were raped in front of their husbands and children, others were beaten while trying to stop the killing of their husbands. Our belongings, taken or destroyed. I don't know what we did to deserve such fate." © UNICEF/UNI789819/Brice Kevin Da. All rights reserved. Halimé and her two children, 2-year-old Asmao and 7-month-old Zackaria, began their journey on foot. Hours of walking under the unforgiving sun led them to join a group traveling by cart, eventually reaching Tiné, at the Chadian border. Their belongings? Just a mat and a few pieces of cloth, the only things they could carry. Weary from their journey and trapped in desperate conditions, many children arrive with visible signs of malnutrition: hollow eyes, frail limbs and weakened bodies. With nothing to eat and nowhere safe to rest, their health deteriorates rapidly. A UNICEF staff member plays with children at the child-friendly space set up by UNICEF in Tiné, Chad, near the Sudanese border. © UNICEF/UNI789821/Brice Kevin Da. All rights reserved. At the heart of the transit site, UNICEF has set up a child-friendly space: a haven where children receive psychological support to overcome the trauma of war, while also having the chance to play and interact with their peers. In the child-friendly space at the heart of the Sudanese refugee relocation site, children can play and receive psychosocial support to help them cope with the trauma they have experienced. © UNICEF/UNI789817/Brice Kevin Da. All rights reserved. Without safe water, displaced children are at heightened risk of disease. UNICEF and its partners have set up water points, but the demand remains high, and the needs are far from being met. Now more than ever, support is needed to continue providing lifesaving water and essential services to those who need it the most. "Access to safe drinking water has brought us tremendous relief," says Nassi Younouss, a mother of two. "Now, we don't have to worry about waterborne diseases, and our children can drink and bathe without fear. It's a huge comfort for all the families here." Nassi Younouss, a Sudanese refugee, fetches water from a water point set up by UNICEF at a temporary relocation site in Tiné, eastern Chad. © UNICEF/UNI789831/Brice Kevin Da. All rights reserved. The humanitarian crisis in eastern Chad continues to unfold, with families torn apart, children left vulnerable and entire communities struggling to survive. In support of the response to the refugee crisis led by the Chadian government, UNICEF is working to provide shelter, clean water, food, protection, access to education, dignified sanitation facilities, basic health care and proper nutrition. Support from donors can make a life-changing difference. Learn more about UNICEF's global efforts to meet the urgent needs of displaced and refugee children and to protect their rights. Your contribution to UNICEF is more important than ever. Please donate. Right now, the lives of the most vulnerable children hang in the balance as conflicts and crises jeopardize the care and protection that they deserve. Dependable, uninterrupted and effective foreign aid is critical to the well-being of millions of children. Please contact your members of Congress and urge them to support ongoing U.S. investments in foreign assistance.
