The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has warned this Monday that the conflict in Sudan, which is now entering its third year, has forced the return of more than 400,000 people to Chad, a figure reached "sooner than expected" and composed of more than half women and more than two-thirds children.
In a statement, the agency explained that its Deputy Director General for Management and Reform, SungAh Lee, stressed that these figures demand a response "beyond short-term aid," and underlined that it "must also prioritize protection, health, dignity, and long-term support for women, children, and host communities."
The IOM has emphasized that reaching the threshold of 400,000 returnees so soon "reflects the growing humanitarian cost and the enormous pressure it exerts on already vulnerable communities and the limited services in the east of the country," while specifying that 58% of the total are women and girls and 69% are children.
"I have sat with women returnees who walked for weeks, sometimes carrying children who were not their own, orphans or lost along the way. Upon returning home, we cannot allow them to remain invisible," Lee stated, putting a human face on the impact of the conflict.
According to the organization, a large portion of those who have returned have settled in makeshift camps or host communities in the provinces of Ouaddai, Wadi Fira, and Sila, "often with very limited resources and urgent needs for housing, water, essential items, medical care, and protection."
In this context, the IOM has recalled that eastern Chad "was already suffering difficulties before the start of the Sudan crisis." "Today, the magnitude of new arrivals has intensified pressure on water, housing, healthcare, and other essential services in provinces that were already facing great humanitarian needs," it added, warning that returnees "have borne the brunt of the conflict, and yet their plight remains the most ignored despite their vulnerability."
For this reason, the institution has described the limitations of an "exclusively emergency" response as "undeniable" and has called for "greater support" for the humanitarian response for returnees in eastern Chad, which combines immediate assistance with "investments in livelihoods, community infrastructure, and locally led recovery."
"Given that returnees now represent almost a third of all arrivals from Sudan to Chad, the needs are no longer temporary and the response can no longer be limited to emergency relief," concluded the IOM, urging the international community to maintain focus on this crisis.