Chad A country in transition

Chad is one of the world’s least developed countries. It is currently ranked 189th out of 193 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI). More than 40 per cent of Chadians live in poverty. Chad has been an oil-producing country since 2003; however, there has been very little development of other economic sectors. There is a high level of debt.

The country faces major challenges. They include high population growth, the impacts of climate change and associated food insecurity, sometimes violent power struggles, widespread corruption, ethnic conflicts, attacks by Islamist terror groups, and the need to provide for refugees and internally displaced persons. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated an already difficult situation.

After the sudden death of long-time president Idriss Déby Itno in April 2021, Chad is in a phase of political transition. Initially, a military council headed by his son Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno took over the leadership of the Central African country for 18 months.

A national dialogue led to an extension of the phase of transition by two more years in October 2022, the dissolution of the military council and Déby’s appointment as interim president for two more years. The constitution remains suspended. A transitional charter is governing the regime for the transition phase.

In the security policy context, Chad plays an active role in the region, participating in various military missions (MINUSMA, G5 Sahel Joint Force, Multinational Joint Task Force).

German development cooperation with Chad

Chad is a nexus and peace partner for the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Development cooperation with these partners focuses, in particular, on addressing the structural causes of conflicts, displacement and violence.

Transitional development assistance and the Special Initiative on Displacement

Germany has ceased its bilateral Technical and Financial Cooperation with Chad. The BMZ promotes projects in Chad through its crisis instruments, i.e. transitional development assistance and the Special Initiative “Displaced Persons and Host Countries”.

The focus of the cooperation is on food security, strengthening resilience and improving the living conditions for local communities and displaced persons. The support is to directly benefit the people and is being provided without any involvement of the government. It is being provided mainly through the United Nations. Chad is one of the recipient countries of the Sahel Resilience Initiative, which was jointly developed by the BMZ and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).

Furthermore, the people in Chad are being supported through development cooperation with regional organisations such as the Lake Chad Basin Commission (Commission du bassin du lac Tchad, CBLT), the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) and the Commission of Central African Forests (COMIFAC). In addition, the German government is contributing to programmes implemented by the European Union and various multilateral donors and is supporting non-governmental development cooperation in Chad.