Chad is a partner country of German Development Cooperation. Since 1986 GTZ has been active there on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

Chad suffers from several problems that are arresting its development. Among them are widespread illiteracy and insufficient access to primary healthcare and clean, safe drinking water. Chad has one of the world’s highest child mortality rates for the under-five age group.

The country’s economic development is hampered on the one hand by Chad being landlocked and 1,700 km away from the nearest port, and on the other by the fact that it has only around 600 km of asphalted roads serving an area of 1.2 million square kilometres. The transportation of persons and goods is hence exceptionally difficult and can become temporarily impossible during the rainy season.

Heavy population pressure and intensive farming practices are causing increasing degradation of natural resources in the south. The northern regions are suffering from spreading desertification which poses a major obstacle to agricultural activity.

Against this backdrop, by agreement between the German and Chadian governments GTZ’s activities currently focus on the priority area rural development in the Mayo-Kebbi and Ouaddaï/Biltine regions.

Within this priority area GTZ is implementing two programmes in the southern region of Mayo-Kebbi West and Ouaddaï/Biltine in the north-east. Additional measures include a primary education project and a project to promote decentralisation. Other activities concentrate on cross-sectoral issues such as HIV/AIDS prevention, the abolition of female genital mutilation and promoting children and adolescents.

GTZ uses impact orientation concepts and instruments to prepare, implement and evaluate technical cooperation projects in Chad.

In the field of German Development Cooperation in Chad GTZ works with the following cooperation partners:

• KFW Entwicklungsbank (development bank)
• German Development Service (DED)

GTZ also implements projects on behalf of the following international organisations:

• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
• World Bank
• Agence française de développement (AfD)

GTZ has maintained an office in N’Djaména since 1991.