The United Nations World Food Programme said on Thursday that it urgently needs $162.4 million to assist the government of Chad in feeding 2.3 million people in need, including more than 30,000 who have recently fled the conflict in Sudan.
Despite the World Food Programme’s claims that it is responding to rising food needs in Chad, a lack of funding has resulted in the end of food aid for refugees and internally displaced people at the end of this month.
In a statement, WFP country director in Chad Pierre Honnorat said, “We need urgent funding to provide rapid food assistance to all vulnerable people in the country.”
As the rainy season approaches in June, many areas in Chad will be cut off, putting us in a race against time as we prepare to respond to the crisis caused by Sudanese refugees.
According to the World Food Programme, 2.3 million people in Chad, a poor country in central Africa, require immediate food assistance.
Since fighting erupted in Sudan three weeks ago, over 30,000 people have fled to Chad, with many more expected to follow in the coming weeks.
Around 600,000 people, mostly from Sudan, were already living in Chad as refugees after fleeing violence in their home countries.
The World Food Programme issued a separate warning on Wednesday that, as a result of the ongoing violence, an additional 2.5 million Sudanese people are likely to face hunger in the coming months.
