On 11 February, SIPRI convened a workshop hosted by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA).
The workshop took place in N’Djamena, Chad, and convened key actors involved in the humanitarian response in eastern Chad, including representatives from the UN system, national authorities and NGOs, to reflect on the evolution and future of humanitarian response in eastern Chad.
SIPRI was represented on-site by Senior Researcher and Programme Director Virginie Baudais along with Olivier Guiryanan and Prisca Nandoumabe from BUCOFORE, Chad. Together with a previous workshop held in Abéché (eastern Chad) on 28 January, these exchanges will directly inform and support joint advocacy efforts for a more dignified and gender-responsive humanitarian response amid the current funding crisis.
Drawing on SIPRI’s work on the experiences and perceptions of Sudanese refugee women and girls living in four refugee camps in eastern Chad, Dr Baudais contributed to discussions on how research and evidence-based analysis can inform more effective and locally grounded humanitarian and stabilization efforts.
The research highlighted critical gaps in assistance, particularly in access to food, health services, protection and education as well as increased vulnerability to risks of gender-based violence. The humanitarian response remains severely underfunded, further exacerbating these challenges and limiting support and opportunities for those in need.
As humanitarian needs remain acute in many parts of the world—including across the Sahel region—the workshop provided an opportunity to consider how partnerships between research institutions and operational actors can help address emerging challenges. Discussions identified sector-specific challenges and concrete solutions to translate evidence into operational and strategic action.
SIPRI’s participation aligns with its broader commitment to supporting informed dialogue on conflict prevention, resilience and human security. By engaging in policy-oriented workshops and multilateral forums, SIPRI seeks to contribute research insights that can strengthen collective efforts to build sustainable peace.
Further reading
Through their eyes: Experiences of displaced Sudanese women and girls in eastern Chad
The impact of conflict and displacement on Sudanese refugee women in eastern Chad
This workshop was organized under the project ‘Bridging research and humanitarian response for an evidence-based approach to displacement in the Chad–Sudan borderlands’, funded by the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) through its Research Commissioning Centre (RCC), part of the Global Research and Technology Development portfolio. The RCC is managed by 3ie and the University of Birmingham.