The World Bank in Chad

A landlocked Sahelian country in central Africa, Chad is grappling with security challenges associated with conflicts in bordering countries as well as the impacts of climate change, in particular accelerated desertification and the drying up of Lake Chad.

Due to the Sudan crisis and the constant arrival of new refugees and returnees, the Chadian government estimates that up to 600,000 refugees and returnees could arrive in Chad by the end of 2023. Chad used to host some 450,000 refugees from Sudan, the Central African Republic and Nigeria.

Poverty and vulnerability are pervasive in Chad, with 42.3% of the population living below the national poverty line. Extreme poverty ($2.15 /day per capita, PPP 2017) also remains high in the country and has increased significantly, rising from 31.2% in 2018 to 34.9% in 2021 and 35.4% in 2023.

Chad’s score on the World Bank’s Human Capital Index is 0.30. This means that a child born today will be 70% less productive in adulthood than a child who received a quality education and benefited from appropriate health services. Moreover, 20% of Chadian children will not make it to their fifth birthday, and 40% of children suffer from stunting, which can have long-term implications for their cognitive development. Between the ages of 4 and 18, on average, children in Chad spend no more than five years in school.

With 856 deaths for every 100,000 live births, Chad has one of the highest maternal mortality rates, a phenomenon aggravated by the high number of early pregnancies (164.5 births per 1,000 adolescents between the ages of 15 and 19).

Political Context

Following the death of President Idriss Déby Itno on the front line on April 20, 2021, a transitional military council, led by his son Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno assumed power. The country’s constitution was suspended, and an 18-month transition period (April 2021 to September 2022) was put in place. The Inclusive and Sovereign National Dialogue, which was held from August 20 to October 12, 2022, concluded with the decision to extend the political transition by two years. Sworn in as president of the transition on October 10, General Mahamat Deby Itno formed a government of national unity on October 14.

On October 20, the opposition protested against the decision to extend the transition period and allow the transition president to stand as a candidate in elections. Chad's National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) has put the death toll from the bloody October crackdown on opposition protests against the extension of the transition period at 128.

Meanwhile, the National Commission in charge of the Referendum Organization (Conorec) has begun revising the electoral rolls and has announced that the constitutional referendum will be held on December 17, 2023. The presidential election is scheduled for October 2024.

Economic Outlook

• Once an agrarian economy, Chad joined the ranks of oil-producing countries in 2003 and since then its economy has been heavily dependent on oil.
• In 2023, Chad's economy should grow by 3% (-0.2% per capita), after moderate growth due to flooding and insecurity in 2022. Non-oil GDP growth is expected to reach 2.2%, thanks to increased public investment. Industry, driven by the oil sector, should be the main contributor to growth.
• Inflation is set to jump from 5.8% in 2022 to 13.2% in 2023, with food inflation expected to reach 13.9%, mainly due to the war in Sudan, with trade disruptions reducing supply and causing shortages, while demand for goods from refugees has increased. Chad officially declared a "food and nutrition emergency" on June 1, 2022.
• Over the period 2024-2025, growth is expected to average 2.8% (-0.3% per capita), driven by moderating oil prices and the lingering effects of the Sudan crisis. Non-oil GDP should increase by 2.9% over the same period.
• Inflation is expected to remain high at 10.1% and 7% in 2024 and 2025 respectively, assuming that borders with Sudan remain closed for security reasons and that agricultural production remains low due to the already observed effects of climate change.
• This outlook is subject to multiple downside risks, including falling oil prices, political instability in the upcoming elections, rising insecurity and climatic shocks. A prolonged war in Sudan beyond 2023 would worsen the humanitarian crisis, weigh on public finances and increase inflationary pressures.

Last Updated: Sep 29, 2023

World Bank Group Engagement in Chad 

World Bank Group engagement in Chad is guided by a new Country Partnership Framework. The Country Engagement Note (CEN) supports the country’s second Five-Year Development Plan. The CEN will be implemented during the 2023–2024 period.

This new partnership framework was developed in close collaboration with the Chadian authorities, and was based on extensive consultations with the government, civil society, the private sector, and development partners.

The current CEN, which is aligned with the objectives outlined by the government in its Five-Year Development Plan (2022–2027) to improve governance, increase productive capacity, develop human capital, and combat inequality, aims to: 

• improve relations between the State and its citizens ;
• enhance governance and transparency in the management of the country’s fiscal and oil debt ;
• increase inclusive access to basic services and infrastructure, while ensuring that border and peripheral areas and conflict-affected zones are effectively targeted ;
• promote the management of natural resources and sustainable agriculture. 

The World Bank Group is financing 20 operations through the International Development Association (IDA): 11 national projects for a commitment of $1,366 million and 9 regional projects for a total of $752 million; making a total of $2.118 billion.

On April 28, 2020, to help the government cope with the Covid-19 pandemic, the World Bank released $16.9 million in emergency financing. The institution is also providing support for food security and livelihoods. These interventions are estimated at $21.7 million.

After a food emergency was declared in June 2022, the World Bank mobilized $50 million through the Crisis Response Mechanism to (i) support agricultural production by providing seeds and small agricultural equipment to producers; (ii) support the purchase of therapeutic foods; (iii) screen and manage cases of acute malnutrition (moderate and severe); and (iv) strengthen health promotion and prevention activities.

To help Sahelian countries stabilize the region and expedite their development, the World Bank became a member of the Sahel Alliance launched in July 2017, with the goal of enhancing coordination among partners to provide aid more rapidly and effectively and better targeted to vulnerable zones. 

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, has invested in the mobile telecommunications (Milicom) and health (Clinique Providence) sectors, as well as in industries and services. In collaboration with the World Bank, IFC is helping the Government of Chad with the implementation of reforms needed to improve the business climate. 

IFC is also exploring the possibility of strengthening agricultural sectors such as cotton, gum Arabic, sesame, and livestock, as well as providing technical advisory services and assistance to improve access to financing for Chad. 

Last Updated: Sep 29, 2023

Some of the results achieved with World Bank Group support include the following: 

HUMAN CAPITAL 

By mobilizing all stakeholders in society, the Sahel Women’s Empowerment and Demographics Project (SWEDD) seeks to help girls, adolescents, and women living in difficult conditions blossom and achieve their full economic potential by giving them access to a quality education and to adequate reproductive, maternal, and child health services.

• Over 13,000 vulnerable girls have received support (e.g., school kits, housing, school fees, academic support); 
• In three regions (Lac, Kanem, and Salamat), the number of girls attending secondary school increased by 23%, while the dropout rate has been cut in half; 
• 397 safe spaces in schools were created (targeting thousands of adolescent girls); 
• 168 women received training in renewable energies, and another 112 women were trained in the operation and maintenance of heavy agricultural machinery. 

The Chad Education Sector Reform Project (PARSET), which aims to improve teaching and learning in primary and secondary schools, achieved the following:

• Over 500 classrooms were built and equipped; 
• Close to 3 million textbooks were procured and distributed to schools; 
• 20,000 pupils (60% of them girls) learned to read and write; 
• Close to 13,000 community teachers were trained; 
• A new national center for curriculum development (Curriculum Center) was created; 
• The overall rate of children attending school increased from 87% in 2003/2004 to 96% in 2007/2008. 

To establish a social protection system that targets the most vulnerable households, the social safety nets project will include cash transfers and cash-for-work activities.

• In Bahr-el-Ghazal, 1,550 households received unconditional cash transfers, and 1,400 households received adaptive cash transfers to reduce food insecurity resulting from drought; 
• In Logone Occidental, 4,650 households received unconditional cash transfers; 
• In N’Djamena, 9,000 poor households are receiving support through the cash-for-work program implemented in three municipal districts (7th, 8th, and 9th). 

ECONOMY AND FOOD SECURITY 

The Bank is partnering with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) to assist refugees from the Central African Republic, returnees, and host communities in the south of Chad through the Emergency Agriculture Production Support Project. A pilot initiative has also been launched in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to promote the integration of two refugee camps (Gondje and Amboko) into the surrounding villages.

The targeted food assistance component was implemented by the WFP and achieved the following: 

• 32,460 beneficiaries (50% female) received food vouchers (against an initial target of 31,200 persons); 
• 2,520 children between the ages of 6 and 59 months received nutritional supplements to combat moderate acute malnutrition; 

The agricultural production and livestock stabilization component is being implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):

• 32,261 households received basic supplies (rainy season seeds, fertilizers, agricultural equipment, etc.) for market garden production during the dry season, as of December 31, 2018; 
• 10,996 associations were trained in production techniques as of December 31, 2018, for a 137.63% completion rate; 
• 10,000 households received a comprehensive technology transfer for agricultural production; 
• Market garden production increased 296.6%, from 10,000 to 29,664 metric tons; 
• 250 km of transhumance corridors were identified.

Last Updated: Sep 29, 2023

The World Bank Group is an active member of the Financial and Technical Partners Committee (CPTF) that brings together most of the bilateral and multilateral development and humanitarian organizations operating in Chad with the goal of enhancing the coordination of interventions in the spirit of the Paris Declaration and the Accra and Busan Conferences on aid effectiveness.

Last Updated: Sep 29, 2023