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Updated: March 2009

Chad

Overview | World Vision's history in Chad | World Vision in Chad today

Overview

The Republic of Chad lies in north-central Africa, bordered by Libya on the north, the Central African Republic on the south, Sudan to the east, Niger to the west, and Nigeria and Cameroon to the southwest. Chad’s northern region sits in the barren Sahara Desert, while the broad, arid plains of the Sahel in the center gradually give way to the widespread marshlands and tall grasses of the savanna in the south. Whereas the north sees little to no precipitation, the south experiences a rainy season from May to October.

Approximately 80 percent of Chadians depend on subsistence farming and herding for their livelihoods, while only 22 percent of the country’s income is earned in the agriculture sector. Agricultural products include cotton, cereal grains, peanuts, rice, and potatoes, along with cattle, sheep, goats, and camels. Chad has a variety of natural resources, including petroleum, uranium, sodium carbonate, white clay used to make ceramics, gold, limestone, fish, salt, sand, and gravel. In October 2003, Chad began exporting oil after the opening of a pipeline connecting its oil fields with those in Cameroon. Unfortunately, this increase in industrial production has led to improper waste disposal and the pollution of soil and water in rural areas.

The French began to colonize Chad in the early 20th century. A nationalism movement in the 1950s led to full independence in August 1960. After the president was killed in a 1975 coup, armed factions began contending for power, eventually causing France to withdraw all support from the country. Libya then tried four times to take over Chad in the 1980s, but French troops returned to expel the invaders. Idriss Déby, the current president, has faced six insurgencies since taking office in 1990.
 

Country statistics 
Population10.5 million
Land mass495,755 square miles
People per square mile21
Life expectancy47.4 years
Under age 5 mortality rate209/1,000
Literacy rate26%
Access to safe water42%
Average annual income (GNI per capita)US$480
Religion
Muslim53.1%
Christian34.3%
Animist7.3%
Other/Unknown/Atheist 5.30%
 
In the past two years, rebels, demanding Déby’s resignation, have tried twice to storm the capital, but Chad’s military was able to repulse the rebels both times.

The Sara ethnic group, the country’s largest, lives primarily in the southern region of Chad, while the Arabs, the second largest group, live in the north. Other ethnic groups include the Mayo-Kebbi, Kanem-Bornou, Ouaddai, Hadjarai, Tandjile, Gorane, and Fitri-Batha. French and Arabic are the nation’s official business languages, but more than 120 other languages and dialects also are spoken.

The arrival of refugees from the Central African Republic (CAR) and the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan, combined with 30 years of political instability, have hindered social and economic development and have had a severe impact on the situation of all these vulnerable groups. In eastern Chad, more than 250,000 Sudanese refugees, 60 percent of whom are children, have settled in 12 camps. Around 57,000 CAR refugees have escaped armed conflict in their country to occupy four temporary camps in southern Chad. In addition to violence spilling over from those two regions, fighting from internal rebellion in Chad has displaced approximately 180,000 people in the last three years.

Chad is currently ranked 170 out of 177 countries on the UN’s Human Development Index, which takes into account economic, education, and health indicators. Chad has historically ranked among the poorest nations in the world—made worse by the arrival of more than 300,000 refugees. There are few health-care centers and even fewer health professionals in Chad: There is only one doctor for every 27,680 persons. Due to the country’s poor pediatric health-care system and the growing rate of malnutrition, one child in five does not live to see his or her fifth birthday. These factors have combined to lower the typical Chadian’s lifespan to 47 years. Compounding the problem are more than 64 percent of Chadians living below the poverty threshold, and an estimated 80 percent living on less than $1 a day.

Due to the arid conditions of the Sahara and the frequent droughts that plague the Sahel region, most areas of Chad are affected by severe food insecurity. Chad has a limited capacity to cope with the influx of refugees and relies heavily on food aid from international organizations and other countries. Persistent lack of food, combined with chronic poverty, has resulted in limited access to education for most children. In fact, 13 percent of boys and only 7 percent of girls attend secondary school.

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World Vision's history in Chad

Initial efforts in Chad were conducted in 1982, when World Vision launched an anti-famine project. Rehabilitation efforts since that time have helped returning refugees, orphans, widows, and the destitute by providing food, clothing, medical care, and the repair of homes and churches. World Vision has partnered with many other faith-based agencies to help the residents of Chad. In 1983, a monumental drought affected 3 million people located throughout the country’s northern region and much of the south. World Vision responded by offering food and medical supplies. Child sponsorship projects began in 1989.

In the 1980s, the Interior Relief Project provided transport and food distribution assistance to 300,000 people in Chad’s mid-region provinces. Also, the Bougoumene Cereal Bank Project encouraged subsistence farmers to form a cooperative to store grain for eating and income generation during drought season. The Comité Soutien Rehabilitation Project provided food, medicine, clothing, and home repair to returning refugees.

During the 1990s, World Vision continued programs that targeted children and families who faced food shortages and malnutrition. Sponsorship projects grew, and with them, the other benefits of holistic programmatic interventions. Key efforts included:
  • The Logone Child Survival Project helped improve the high child and mother mortality rates that existed in that region. Immunizations increased by 75 percent. Other program components included growth monitoring and health education.
  • The Income Generation Project empowered villages to launch their own businesses to increase family incomes and improve the quality of life for the entire community.
  • The Gender and Development Training Project provided training and support to women to better equip them to care for their families and increase their involvement in community development activities.
Efforts in the 21st century have focused on water and sanitation improvement, health and nutrition education, and food provision for refugees and internally displaced persons located in the southern and eastern regions of the country.

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World Vision in Chad today

World Vision is committed to partnering with the people of Chad to enhance their lives today and to help enact sustainable solutions for the future of their communities, families, and children. Currently, more than 41,300 children are registered in the World Vision sponsorship program. Several times this number of children and other family members benefit from World Vision activities. Of these registered children, many have World Vision sponsors in other countries. U.S. donors sponsor 7,250 girls and boys. In addition, World Vision operates 16 development programs, two of which are supported by U.S. donors. Highlights of these efforts include the following:
  • The Potato and Moringa Growing Project in southern Chad seeks to improve food security, health, and access to basic education for 530 people in the Koumra and Kemkian communities. Project leaders plan to increase the potato production and income of the community by introducing potato seeds and farming techniques, improve nutritional balance and food supply by promoting use of the moringa tree, and ensure year-round rations for villages by establishing food banks. This project will also help children, who would normally work in the field all day, gain access to basic education.
  • The Mandoul Water and Sanitation Project, located in southern Chad, plans to improve community health through the provision of safe water and sanitation facilities. Eighty percent of the people in this area recently identified lack of access to potable water as a constraint to development. World Vision has responded with a plan to drill 14 borehole wells, construct 45 latrines in health centers and schools, and educate the community on water, sanitation, and hygiene. This project is being implemented in 117 communities and is benefiting nearly 70,000 men, women, and children.
For more information on World Vision’s programs in Chad, please contact the United States office.

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