WFP said aid agencies were already scrambling to cope with an unprecedented exodus of refugees escaping an “unimaginable humanitarian crisis” unfolding to the east in Darfur, with reports of mass killings, rape, and destruction across the region.

Since May, as many Sudanese refugees have fled to Chad as in the two decades since the Darfur crisis began in 2003, forcing the program into “brutal choices” about who to help in the face of an explosion in the need for humanitarian assistance but insufficient money to fund it.

“This forgotten crisis has metastasized as the world’s eyes are on other emergencies. It is staggering but more Darfuris have fled to Chad in the last six months than in the preceding 20 years. We cannot let the world stand and allow our life-saving operations grind to a halt in Chad,” said WFP Chad-in-Country Director Pierre Honnorat.

“You can see the fear and despair in people’s eyes as they cross the border with nothing but harrowing tales of violence. Collectively we must find a way to support the women, children and men who are bearing the full brunt of this crisis. Cutting our assistance is simply not an option because it will have untold consequences for millions of people, jeopardizing years of investment in fighting hunger and malnutrition in Chad,” Honnorat warned.

The agency said lack of funds would mean it would be forced to suspend assistance to internally displaced people and refugees from neighboring Nigeria, Central African Republic, and Cameroon in December and then to a further 1.4 million people across Chad in January.

The WFP said people in Chad were victims of the climate crisis, geo-political events driving up food and fuel prices, falling agricultural output, and internecine conflict, exposing millions to acute food insecurity and malnutrition that impacts children particularly hard.

The refugee crisis was exacerbating food insecurity but the WFP was unable to do anything for 1.3 million of the 2.3 million people in desperate need of food in August with 1.36 million children younger than 5 suffering from malnutrition.

The latest Emergency Food Security Assessment for Eastern Chad found that 90% of newly arrived refugees, 77% of existing refugees, and 67% of locals were not getting enough food to eat. The program’s assessment found the number of internally displaced people without sufficient food had almost tripled to 40%, compared with 2022.

“Cutting assistance paves the way for crises of nutrition, crises of instability, and crisis of displacement,” said Honnorat.