Survival budgets squeeze Chad’s households dry
Families in Chad are scraping by on as little as 2 000 francs CFA a day, barely enough to keep hunger at bay, sociologist Remadji Ngaba reveals. That works out to roughly 375 francs CFA per person in a typical household of five to six. What does that look like on a dinner plate?
Proteins disappear first, followed by fresh vegetables. Meals become whatever is available, whatever fills empty stomachs. A balanced diet is no longer an option; survival is the only goal. Children grow up without the nutrients they need to thrive.
“Chad is bleeding today,” Ngaba says. “The average shopping basket is nearly empty.” He points to the resilience of ordinary citizens as the only thing keeping the country from collapsing. “Without this inner strength, the situation would be unbearable,” he adds.
Women bear the heaviest burden
When rising prices tighten household budgets, women feel the squeeze first. “She is the one in charge of the home,” Ngaba explains. “When the numbers don’t add up, she faces the consequences before anyone else. And when she struggles, the entire family suffers.”
Fathers may dismiss a wife’s complaints about climbing market prices as exaggeration. In reality, the market has become a daily battleground—one where no lasting price controls exist. Even brief government interventions fail to stick: “Prices inch back up, and nothing changes,” the sociologist laments.
Farmers and herders trapped between scarcity and conflict
Chad has 33 million hectares of arable land spread across 1.28 million square kilometres. Yet hunger persists. The cost-of-living crisis is most visible in cities, where every necessity carries a price tag. But rural communities aren’t spared; farmers and herders face constant threats—livestock trampling crops, absent justice, and forced displacement to urban centres.
“You cannot fit everyone into N’Djamena,” Ngaba warns. “The city isn’t safe, and it isn’t sustainable.” Tensions between farmers and herders further cripple local food production, undermining efforts to stabilise urban prices. “Both groups deserve protection,” he argues.
Stagnant wages fail to match soaring expenses
The national minimum wage of 60 000 francs CFA hasn’t budged since 2011, while living costs have doubled. A decent room in N’Djamena now rents for 20 000 to 25 000 francs. Rent, electricity, and utilities swallow most paycheques, leaving little for food or other essentials.
Ngaba’s blueprint for relief
The sociologist calls for targeted action: subsidising agricultural initiatives, harnessing water resources more effectively, and instituting regular market price monitoring. “Leaders feel hunger too,” he notes, “but they must do more. They travel, they observe—how do other nations lift their people’s daily burdens?”
