Chad: EU launches Humanitarian Air Bridge to bring assistance to people displaced from Sudan

As the conflict in Sudan has already forced thousands of people to flee into neighbouring Chad, the EU has launched a Humanitarian Air Bridge to transport critical supplies for humanitarian partners assisting refugees crossing the Chadian border.

A first flight landed in N’Djamena today, carrying nearly 90 tonnes of material for UNICEF, UNFPA, ACF and Solidarités International. The cargo includes different non-food items, including shelter, water, sanitation and health equipment, as well as school supplies and other material for children.

This Humanitarian Air Bridge is organised in the framework of the European Humanitarian Response Capacity, which aims at filling gaps in the humanitarian response to natural and human-made disasters.

Earlier this month, the EU already launched another Humanitarian Air Bridge to Port Sudan, which in the past weeks has arranged three flights that carried a total of 90 tonnes of essential aid from UN warehouses in Dubai. Furthermore, a logistic assessment mission is ongoing in Chad by Atlas Logistique, a partner specialized in the delivery of humanitarian aid, in order to see how to further support partners in the country.

Additionally, the EU has mobilised €350.000 additional new funding of humanitarian aid for Chad, to provide emergency relief to vulnerable people impacted by the Sudan crisis.

Moreover, the EU has allocated another €1.66 million from existing funding, which will also serve to deal with the impact of the crisis in Chad, bringing to a total of €2,01 million.

Given the rapid deterioration of the humanitarian situation, the EU stands ready to do more.

Since the start of the crisis in Sudan, the EU has already allocated €200,000 to the Sudanese Red Crescent Society, for first aid assistance to populations in Khartoum and other states affected by the ongoing violence.

This funding is on top of the €73 million already allocated to Sudan in 2023 in humanitarian assistance. Furthermore, Red Crescent Societies in Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Sudan have also been allocated €200 000 each, to address the immediate needs of Sudanese refugees fleeing to their respective countries.

Background

Since fighting started in Sudan, at least 100 000 people have escaped towards Chad, the vast majority women and children. Such a sudden influx has highly strained the response capacity of humanitarian partners in the country, one of the less developed in the world and where previous humanitarian needs were already high.

Before the current conflict in Sudan, Chad already hosted nearly 600 000 refugees. Around 400 000 of those were from Sudan, while the rest came from Nigeria, Cameroon and Central African Republic.

For 2023, the EU had allocated €30.5 million to Chad, as part of its humanitarian aid in West and Central Africa. The region continues to face protracted crisis driven by conflict and worsened by other factors such as climate change and the global spike in food prices.