The war that resumed in Sudan in April 2023 has created the largest humanitarian and displacement crisis in the world, forcing more than 11 million people from their homes by June 2026. More than four million have sought refuge in neighbouring countries, primarily Chad, Egypt and South Sudan. For Chad, the consequences have been particularly severe. After approximately 400 000 Sudanese refugees crossed the border following the 2003 Darfur conflict, more than 900 000 new refugees have arrived since April 2023. More than 80 per cent of those new arrivals are women and children, placing additional pressure on an already fragile system of education, healthcare, protection and basic services.
Research carried out by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in Chad in 2024 and 2026 shows that the central challenge is no longer simply providing immediate protection and humanitarian assistance. For Sudanese refugees who have been displaced for prolonged periods, the ability to build sustainable lives increasingly depends on access to education, employment and land. In eastern Chad, where poverty and resource scarcity are already widespread, the absence of those opportunities is reinforcing dependence on humanitarian assistance while creating conditions in which tensions between refugees and host communities can intensify.
Education is among the clearest barriers. Chad already has approximately 3 million children who do not attend school, and the arrival of hundreds of thousands of refugees has placed further pressure on an education system described as fragile. As of June 2025, only 39 per cent of Sudanese refugee children in Chad were enrolled in school. The shortage of functioning schools, teachers and resources to pay salaries has left national and local authorities dependent on humanitarian organisations to provide education services.
For children who do attend school, the problems do not end with enrolment. Refugee camps face overcrowded classrooms, shortages of textbooks and school kits, and inadequate access to food, latrines and safe drinking water. In eastern Chad, almost 40 000 additional classrooms would be required to bring refugee enrolment rates into line with those of the local population. Recent arrivals face additional difficulties because many are accommodated in extensions to existing camps, increasing the distance they must travel to reach schools.
The consequences extend beyond missed lessons. Limited access to education during conflict and displacement reinforces existing inequalities and can have lasting effects on refugees. Vulnerable children, particularly girls, face heightened protection risks and exclusion when educational services are unavailable. For young Sudanese women interviewed by researchers, education remains closely linked to the possibility of rebuilding their lives. Many expressed a desire to continue studying in Chad, Sudan or abroad, yet opportunities remain severely limited.
Funding reductions threaten to make the situation worse. Further cuts could slow infrastructure development, restrict teacher recruitment and reduce the quality of learning in a system already under strain. The United States’s allocation to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has deprioritized education in favour of emergency response, while initiatives such as Education Cannot Wait and scholarship programmes involving universities and embassies have themselves faced funding constraints. The result could be a growing population of both refugee and Chadian children outside school, with consequences extending well beyond the camps.
Employment presents another barrier. The refugees arriving in eastern Chad increasingly come from both urban and rural areas and are more diverse and less socially integrated than earlier refugee populations. Many bring skills and qualifications that could potentially contribute to the Chadian economy, yet those qualifications are often not recognized. Skilled Sudanese refugees also struggle when they are not literate in French, restricting their access to the formal labour market.
The result is a sharp mismatch between qualifications and available work. Refugees who worked as teachers or nurses in Sudan may find themselves unable to continue those professions in Chad. One woman interviewed by the researchers had taught for 20 years in Sudan but, after arriving in Chad, could not find employment. Instead, she described taking on informal work, including washing clothes, to earn money. Many other women have been pushed towards activities such as laundry or brick-making, increasing economic vulnerability and exposure to exploitation and protection risks.
The contradiction is particularly striking because Chad itself faces shortages of qualified personnel, including within refugee camps. Programmes involving the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the Association pour la Promotion des Libertés Fondamentales au Tchad, UNICEF and UNFPA are seeking to improve skills, training and economic opportunities. Yet structural barriers remain. SIPRI argues that mechanisms for formally recognising Sudanese professional qualifications, including in medicine and law, could simultaneously help address skills shortages in Chad and provide refugees with access to dignified employment.
Land may prove the most sensitive issue of all. The Chadian government has allocated land to refugees in eastern Chad, while local Chadians provide access to agricultural land in coordination with authorities. But for refugee women, many of whom have assumed responsibility as breadwinners and caregivers, access to productive land is fundamental to achieving self-reliance and supporting their families.
The stakes are heightened by competition over scarce natural resources. In April 2026, more than 40 people lost their lives in intercommunal violence over access to a water point in Wadi Fira. In eastern Chad, minimal infrastructure, high levels of multidimensional poverty, low land productivity, climate-induced stress and demographic pressure have increased pressure on natural resources. The proliferation of weapons and limited state presence add further risks.
SIPRI’s research found that 23 per cent of surveyed members of the host community believed land disputes were a key driver of conflict with refugees. The lack of clarity surrounding land access and land use has also been identified as a source of tension. That makes land governance more than an agricultural issue. It is increasingly tied to the prospects for social cohesion between refugees and the communities receiving them.
There are efforts to address the problem. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN is supporting Chad’s land reform through reviews of land policy and the national Land and State Property Code, pilot projects to modernize the land registry and the development of mechanisms to monitor implementation. In 2023, the Chadian government also launched Haguina, in partnership with the FAO, UNHCR and World Food Programme, to allocate land to refugees, create economic opportunities and improve agricultural production.
The SIPRI findings point towards a broader approach in which humanitarian assistance, development and peacebuilding are treated as interconnected rather than separate concerns. Investment in education, professional recognition, French-language learning, digital education, agriculture and livestock farming could expand opportunities for both refugees and host communities. Better land governance could provide greater clarity over rights while reducing the possibility that competition over scarce resources becomes a source of conflict.
For Chad, the challenge is no longer measured only by how many refugees can be sheltered. It is also measured by whether people displaced by war can acquire the education, employment and productive resources necessary to build lives beyond emergency assistance, without placing unsustainable pressure on the communities that host them. With aid reductions already affecting critical services, the choices made over these three areas will shape not only the future of Sudanese refugees but also the resilience of eastern Chad itself.
