Demining, social protection and economic development in Chad

Chad is one of the ten poorest countries in the world, a country with a predominantly rural character. According to the World Bank, Chad has around 14 million inhabitants, 47 percent of whom live below the poverty line. The regional security situation remains distressing: the crises in Sudan, the Central African Republic and Libya and the actions of the terrorist organization Boko Haram have exacerbated an already very complex humanitarian situation. The country is already home to almost 600,000 people who have fled from neighbouring crises and live in very precarious conditions.
Handicap International e.V.

Three decades of internal conflicts, the Libyan invasion (1979-1987) in the north and the recent terrorism of Boko Haram around Lake Chad have polluted large parts of Chad with landmines, so-called “Improvised Explosive Devices” and other “Explosive Remnants of War”. The Chadian government has identified this as a major obstacle to development and has asked Handicap International to help them improve the situation for their people.

The people displaced by the recent conflicts, in particular around Lake Chad, move across contaminated land and use roads that pose an immediate and long-term threat to their safety.

Landmine pollution causes death and injury, blocks access to vital resources such as rivers, roads and agricultural land, and hampers economic development.

The Project

Handicap International has set up a humanitarian demining project, which is supported by the knodel foundation.  The aim of the project is to combat the threat posed by landmines in Chad holistically and thus to improve the safety and health of the population in a sustainable way. The main focus of the project is thus to contribute to regional stability while addressing the root causes of forced resettlement and emergency migration and supporting economic activity, equal opportunities, security and development of the country. That is why the organization bases their work essentially on three pillars.

Handicap International supports local capacities firstly in mine clearance, secondly in the introduction of a social security system and the process of social protection for vulnerable groups and thirdly in the development of economic activities, especially for the most vulnerable sections of society.

Special focus is placed on mine victims, people with disabilities, indirect victims of war remnants, as well as people in extreme poverty who urgently need medical help, the elderly and orphaned children.

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