Statement by Dr. Amadou Bocoum, CARE Chad Country Director:
‘‘Catastrophic floods in 18 of Chad’s 23 provinces, driven by heavy rainfall, and overflowing rivers, have displaced over 200,000 households, destroyed countless health facilities, roads, bridges, crops, and water systems. On 20 October 2022, the Government of Chad declared a state of emergency and called for national and international solidarity to help the more than one million people affected by the floods. Chad is also in the grip of an unprecedented food crisis, exacerbated by climate change and other natural hazards, while the country’s capacity to respond to multiple crises is limited.
We are particularly concerned about the impact of the floods on vulnerable groups including female-headed households, the elderly and those with disabilities. We express our solidarity to the regional crisis committees, the inhabitants, and all those affected by the floods.
CARE is supporting affected communities in Lac and Mandoul provinces by promoting good hygiene practices and distributing blankets, mosquito nets, mats, buckets, soap, plastic jugs, and multipurpose cash assistance, but we urgently need more support from donors, national and international, to scale-up our response. The situation is critical and the time to act is now to avert the threat posed by waterborne diseases, save lives, and restore livelihoods.”