Humanitarian situation report for children in Chad

Çad

Capital: N'Djamena

Area: 1,284,000 km2

Population: 17,060,759

Administration style: Presidential system

The most common religion in Chad, located in Central Africa, is Islam at 60%. Christianity follows at 35%. The official language is French. About 7,854,390 of Chad's population are children, and there are approximately 5.3 children per mother. However, it cannot be said that the majority of these children have obtained their right to education due to problems such as poverty, inadequate material conditions, lack of teachers, overcrowded classrooms, gender inequality, and urban-rural inequality.

The number of children of primary school age is approximately 2,000,000. About 34% of children between the ages of 6 and 11 and about 800,000 children between the ages of 9 and 14 do not attend school. The percentage of children enrolled in school ranges from 95% in the southern regions to 20-40% in the northern regions. Across the country, the literacy rate among young people aged 15-24 is 41%, and the adult literacy rate is 22%. According to the 2019 Human Development Report, Chad is one of the poorest countries in the world. Poverty significantly affects 55% of the population. In addition, Chad has one of the highest poverty-related death rates in the world. According to 2020 data, there were 450,000 cases of acute malnutrition, of which 173,000 were severe. In addition, diseases such as meningitis, malaria, yellow fever and neonatal tetanus are the main causes of child mortality. If we look at the maternal and under-five mortality rates, we see that 69 out of every 1,000 newborns, 119 out of every 1,000 children under five, and 1,140 out of every 100,000 mothers die.

One of the reasons for the high level of poverty in the country is the arrival of refugees from countries such as the Central African Republic, Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon due to internal unrest and terrorism. According to the end-of-year 2019 report published by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are 442,700 refugees in the country, but this number is estimated to exceed 480,000. The number of refugees under the age of 18 is about 142,220 refugees. These children are exposed to all kinds of risks and all kinds of abuse.

Although the minimum working age in Chad is 14 years, many families employ their children before the age of 14 due to economic problems. The proportion of working children aged 5 to 14 is 48.8%, and the proportion of children aged 7 to 14 who work and study is 28.4%. The main areas in which children work are agriculture, charcoal production, animal husbandry, fishing, brick making, carpentry, mining, domestic work, sewing, cleaning, and even begging. Therefore, "child labor" is prevalent in the country, and this situation can lead to "human trafficking". In addition, boys are kidnapped by armed groups, and girls who are forced to work are subjected to various violations. There are approximately 1,030,000 orphans in the country. The Chadian government allows missionary activities through orphaned children and widows. TEAM, one of them, is present in the country with activities such as social activities, health services, and Bible readings. In addition, there are private schools called FATES and SCPEDT, which provide Protestant education in Chad, under the umbrella of the Synodal Orthodox Church of Lanesville.

Sources:

Humanium. “Realizing Children’s Rights in Chad.” https://www.humanium.org/en/chad/. (11.10.2021).

Knoema. “Chad-Under-Five Mortality Rate”. https://knoema.com/atlas/Chad/Child-mortality-rate. (11.10.2021).

MAHAMAT, Mahamat; GÜDÜL Serpil; BİLGİN, Kamil Ufuk. “Çad Cumhuriyeti Yerel Yönetimler Sisteminde Yoksullukla Mücadele”. “Reducing Poverty in the Local Government System of CHAD Republic”. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/1480728. (11.10.2021).

Orthodoxs Congregational Church in Lanesville. “Mission: Chad” https://occlanesville.org/missions/lanesville-global/mission-chad/. (11.10.2021).

Reliefweb. “Chad Situation Report, 30 Sep 2020”. https://reliefweb.int/report/chad/chad-situation-report-30-sep-2020. (11.10.2021).

SOS CHILDREN’S VILLAGES. “SOS Children’s Villages in Chad.” https://www.soschildrensvillages.ca/chad. (11.10.2021).

UNDP. İnsani Gelişme Raporu 2019. “Gelirin ötesinde, ortalamaların ötesinde, bugünün ötesinde: 21. yüzyılda insani gelişmedeki eşitsizlikler”. http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/hdr_2019_overview_-_turkish.pdf. (11.10.2021).