Concern and European Union support brings safe water to refugee and host communities in Chad

Working in Sila province in the east of the country on the border with Sudan, the Irish humanitarian organisation - in partnership with the European Union - has built 50 new water points and repaired 20 more.1,200 clean water and hygiene kits, which contain soap, chlorine tablets (for water treatment), jerrycans, menstrual products, and other items were also distributed. 

Sila province is one of the areas most affected by the crisis in neighbouring Sudan. The project is supporting both refugee and host communities, and strengthens their access to clean drinking water, hygiene and sanitation.

“In Sila, water is about far more than infrastructure. In communities hosting refugees and returnees, experiencing climate shocks and facing growing pressure on limited natural resources, access to safe water can help reduce tensions, protect health and restore dignity,” said Pierre Maget, Concern’s Country Director for Chad. 

“By supporting refugees, returnees and host communities equally, this project really helps strengthen peaceful co-existence and resilience in an increasingly fragile environment.” 

Once built and repaired, the community take responsibility for maintenance and management of the boreholes. Concern trained 144 people (more than half of them women) to work in water point management committees, and 26 people in water pump repair. 

Chad is one of the world’s poorest countries. In 2024, 36.5% of Chadians lived in extreme poverty, defined by the World Bank as living on less than $2.15 per day. 

In recent years, climate change and insecurity have made life even harder. 

Extreme heatwaves, with temperatures of up to 50 °C, are broken by torrential rainfall and flooding. Over 900,000 refugees from Sudan have come to Chad since April 2023, while nearly 390,000 people have returned home to Chad from Sudan, all adding significant pressure on already under-resourced and limited services.

Between June and August 2025, during the ‘lean season’ between harvests, approximately 3.36 million people in Chad experienced severe food insecurity. 

Families skip meals and eat less protein, leading to more cases of acute malnutrition. Young children are more vulnerable to diseases and common illnesses when malnourished. Without clean water, for both drinking and washing, children fall ill with fever, diarrhoea and vomiting, and rapidly lose weight. 

Concern started working in Chad, in Sila province in 2007, following the previous Darfur crisis. It is one of the few humanitarian organisations to maintain a continuous presence since then, and has solid experience in emergency and development programmes. 

For further information contact Eilis Staunton, Media Relations Officer, Concern Worldwide, at [email protected] or +353 85 872 0720