Health in Chad

Health in Chad is suffering due to the country's weak healthcare system. Access to medical services is very limited and the health system struggles with shortage of medical staff, medicines and equipment. In 2018, the UNHCR reported that Chad currently has 615,681 people of concern, including 446,091 refugees and asylum seekers.^[1] There is a physician density of 0.04 per 1,000 population and nurse and midwife density of 0.31 per 1,000 population.^[2] The life expectancy at birth for people born in Chad, is 53 years for men and 55 years for women (2016). In 2019 Chad ranked as 187 out of 189 countries on the human development index,^[3] which places the country as a low human development country.

The Human Rights Measurement Initiative^[4] finds that Chad is fulfilling 52.1% of what it should be fulfilling for the right to health based on its level of income.^[5] When looking at the right to health with respect to children, Chad achieves 76.1% of what is expected based on its current income.^[5] In regards to the right to health amongst the adult population, the country achieves only 71.1% of what is expected based on the nation's level of income.^[5] Chad falls into the "very bad" category when evaluating the right to reproductive health because the nation is fulfilling only 9.1% of what the nation is expected to achieve based on the resources (income) it has available.^[5]