Recent news has brought us into the urgency and tragedy of the devastating floods that have hit Chad since July 2024. This natural disaster has left nearly two million people in dire need, marking one of the worst humanitarian crises the country has ever seen.
The consequences of the floods have been devastating, sweeping away entire homes and shattering lives. As rising waters forced families to seek refuge on higher ground, they were only able to take with them the bare necessities.
No region has been spared from this disaster.
Many people have lost everything, with more than 13,000 people displaced and forced to seek shelter in temporary camps.
Gloria Nadgitssen, a woman forced to leave her home, expressed her despair when she said: “This is where I live. This is where I sleep. This is all I have to eat.” The water has destroyed everything, the rice, the sorrel, the okra. Everything is submerged.”
The global climate crisis is amplifying the frequency and severity of natural disasters such as floods, droughts and cyclones, undermining health, education and agricultural systems, and devastating the lives and livelihoods of many people.
Countries like Chad, among the hardest hit and least equipped to cope with climate change, are now facing major humanitarian challenges.
In N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, residents were left in a desperate situation as the Chari River and its tributary, the Logone, reached unprecedented levels due to heavy rains in October, flooding entire neighborhoods.
Rising waters have increased the dangers for women and girls, particularly those living in the Chari-Baguirmi displacement camp.
Midwife Lucille Denembaye shared a heartbreaking story: “I met a woman whose husband gave her HIV. She is just twenty-seven years old, a mother of five, and her house collapsed. Now she cannot care for her children; she has no shelter or food. Her situation is truly desperate.”
Suddenly deprived of essential services such as health care, food, shelter and clean water, childbirth has become a life-threatening ordeal for pregnant women.
In addition, malnourished mothers have been left unable to provide breast milk for their infants.
Displaced woman Chanceline Milamem lamented: “Look at me! I have become so thin because there is no food. If there was food, I could eat and produce milk for my baby, but there is nothing, and my baby is getting thinner. I am losing weight every day.” Fortunately, the midwives took good care of me.. »
About 4,000 people have sought refuge in the Chari-Baguirmi displacement camp in the Toukra region of Chad’s capital, N’Djamena.
The risks of violence and exploitation have increased, particularly for adolescent girls, as schools have closed.
In response, UNFPA, the UN agency for sexual and reproductive health, is responding to these urgent needs.
A total of 248 humanitarian midwives have been deployed across Chad, including to displacement camps like Chari-Baguirmi.
These midwives are specially trained to manage obstetric emergencies and provide support to survivors of violence.
UNFPA has also provided them with essential resources for safe deliveries and clinical management of rape.
The COP29 climate conference, which concluded on 24 November 2024, produced important global agreements on climate action, including a new collective climate finance target of $300 billion per year by 2035.
Now, these agreements must be implemented, with funding specifically allocated to women and girls impacted by disasters in climate-vulnerable countries like Chad.
Investments in adaptation and resilience strategies are essential to protect women and girls from future climate-related disasters.
This embodies the essence of climate justice, a call to action to ensure a safer and more sustainable future for all.