Telling the ECSA Story

A refugee who recently arrived in Adre, Ouaddai province, interviews conducted by CARE staff and meetings with community leaders. CARE N'Djamena, Chad 25 May 2023 - With the conflict in Sudan in its fifth week, CARE is deeply concerned about the impact the violence has had on hundreds of thousands of Sudanese people, especially women, and children, forced to flee their homes amid the violence. This includes over 90,000 refugees , who according to UNHCR and the Government of Chad, have fled to Chad to save their lives. Dr. Amadou Bocoum, CARE Chad Country Director said: “Alongside our partners, we have noted that 90% of the refugees crossing over daily are women and children. By the time they arrive, they have endured extreme hardship not only from their journey but also from the situation they left at home. Many arrive hungry, thirsty, and in need of immediate medical attention and other basic necessities. We are working alongside other humanitarian actors to support those c...

A cross-sectional view of the temporary structures that new arrivals from Somalia have built on the edge of Dagahaley. CARE Across Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia, the Horn of Africa is experiencing the extreme effects of climate change. Compounded by other factors, the impacts on communities have been catastrophic. CARE calls for the full funding of the Humanitarian Resource Plan in all countries to save lives. The region is facing the worst food crisis in over 40 years, which has left over 31 million people in need of emergency assistance. Due to failed rainy seasons, two locust invasions, conflict, and rising prices of basic commodities in the wake of the Ukraine conflict, communities in the region have been decimated, leading to the migration of over 2.5 million people. Additionally, malnutrition has been on the rise for children in all three countries as families have lost their way of earning a living. In the Horn of Africa, pastoralism used to be one of the key ways of earning a ...

With over 600 people dead, 5,100 injured, approximately 730,000 displaced, and few health centers operational, the dire situation in Sudan is getting worse, with growing health and hunger concerns. The conflict threatens the planting season which is set to begin at the end of May. If the season is missed, the number of people going hungry —at 11 million or 25 percent of the population prior to the current crisis—will increase. Before the conflict, one out of four people in Sudan was going to bed hungry. This additional (and imminent) threat to Sudan’s food system will impact women the most, a reality underscored by a recent analysis by CARE Sudan that found gender imbalances in the country’s existing hunger crises. David Macdonald, CARE Sudan Country Director, said, “With the ongoing crisis, women are eating less. Before the current crisis, 42% of households headed by women had less food compared to 31% of male-headed households. Women are key in the food production chain and with...

A woman refugee with her child who recently arrived in Adre, Ouaddai province. CARE   N’Djamena, Chad 28 th April 2023 - Over the last several days in Chad, community leaders in the Sudan-Chad border region have told CARE that the region has received more than 42,000 refugees. This number is expected to grow in the coming days as the conflict in Sudan continues. The refugees are arriving in the villages bordering Chad, some with a few essential items of luggage and others not at all because of the pressure and stress. They settle in the open area or in huts made with millet stalks. Most of those arriving at the border are women and children.   Soumaiya*, a divorced woman with eight children to support arrived in Chad on 20 th April 2023. "When the conflict reached my hometown, the civilians were left vulnerable. As a result, many preferred to leave the village. My family and I left the village at one o'clock in the morning to cross over to the Chadian side.  We made ...

  Some of the refugees who have recently arrived in Adre, Ouaddai province, with the CARE staff and meetings with community leaders. CARE Statement from Kate Maina-Vorley, CARE Regional Director for Eastern and Central Africa, on the ongoing conflict in Sudan:  “The current ceasefire comes as a welcome reprieve for Sudanese citizens, and we urge all parties in this tragic conflict to maintain a much-needed peace. CARE teams in Chad are already working closely with our partners to respond to the incoming Sudanese refugees, the majority of whom are women and children. In Sudan, we have relocated our staff to safe places, and thankfully all are safe and accounted for. We remain committed to supporting Sudan at this terrible time, and with a severe increase in cases of violence against women, alongside access to reproductive healthcare being severely compromised, we are working alongside our humanitarian partners to support access to midwives and psychosocial support to Sudan...

Omrakoba and Tinatba camps, Gadarif. CARE/Al Akheir  The continued fighting in Sudan has led to increased fatalities and casualties, despite a temporary ceasefire on Sunday, 16 th April 2023. The armed conflict, which is happening in and around residential areas, is worrying as civilians bear the brunt of the violence. CARE is deeply concerned about the safety and well-being of Sudanese communities – especially women and girls in the country. So far, reports indicate that there have been close to 200 deaths and 1,800 injuries. CARE condemns the ongoing fighting and is calling for a cessation of hostilities and prioritization of the protection of civilians.   The fighting is exacerbating an already difficult humanitarian situation in Sudan. Currently, over 11 million people can barely meet the minimum food requirements. Close to four million children under the age of five, as well as pregnant and lactating women (PLW), are acutely malnourished. Drought, floods, and disease...

Zainab collecting twigs to build a temporary shack. David Mutua/CARE At the edge of Dagahaley Refugee Camp located in Northeastern Kenya, 24-year-old Zainab Isak is busy building her temporary shack by tying together twigs with pieces of cloth and poles stuck to the ground. Dagahaley is already at full capacity, so all those arriving have to set up their structures outside the camp. Since she arrived from her home in Saakow Somalia, Zainab has been living in other people's structures. Her husband died in June 2022 due to sickness in Baidoa, leaving Zainab to become the breadwinner of her family comprised of her three children, her mother, and her father. As the conditions worsened, Zainab had no option but to leave her home “As a farmer, the lack of rain and drought made life unbearable. There was nothing to eat and all we had was finished. That is why we came here,” Zainab said. As she continues to build, Zainab does not know where her next meal will come from, because she still d...