A critical shortage of clean water across the arid regions of eastern Chad is disrupting daily life and fuelling deadly violence over access to the remaining wells.
In Abéché, the second largest city in the nation, rapid population growth and urban expansion have put immense pressure on local water infrastructure. Local officials estimate the population has now passed 500,000 residents, leaving public utilities unable to meet demand.
Even in areas connected to the municipal network, supply remains unpredictable. Trader Issa Mahamat explained that tap water often cuts out during the daytime, returning only late at night. Other residents, including local inhabitant Kadidja, reported relying entirely on private water vendors because their neighbourhoods lack piped connections.
According to figures from the United Nations, fewer than one in ten households in Chad had access to a continuous, safe water supply in 2024.
Despite producing oil since 2003, Chad remains one of the poorest nations in the world, with over 70 per cent of its population living in rural areas. The lack of infrastructure to match the growing population has forced local authorities to step up emergency measures.
To address the shortage in Abeche, the government launched the Biteha water project, located 35 kilometres outside the city. Project manager Bakhit Diki Barkai confirmed that underground boreholes are now feeding two new water towers in the city.
Barkai noted that supply has improved over the past three years, especially during heatwaves. He stated that engineers expect to reach a daily production target of 25,000 cubic metres by the end of the year, which should help end major shortages in urban areas.
Some residents are already seeing the benefits. Chiteye neighbourhood inhabitant Ahmed Youssouf said the installation of a nearby water tower has brought reliable running water to his community after years of scarcity.
However, remote rural communities remain cut off from these developments. The secretary general in the Chadian ministry of water and energy, Nour Saleh Haggar, acknowledged that substantial investments are still needed for dams and water storage systems to support farming, livestock, and local families.
Inequality in water distribution has turned deadly in rural provinces. President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno highlighted these risks at an international water forum in N'Djamena on 15 July, warning that shrinking water supplies directly increase poverty and spark clashes between communities.
Eastern Chad has seen repeated clashes between settled farmers and nomadic Arab herders competing for land and water access. In April, a dispute over a well in Wadi Fira province escalated into clashes that left 42 people dead, following a similar outbreak in Hadjer-Lamis province six months earlier that claimed 33 lives.
International aid organisations continue to call for immediate investment in rural water infrastructure to prevent further humanitarian crises and regional instability.
