N'DJAMENA, November 12, 2023 - Chad's economy is facing multiple, and often interrelated challenges that have slowed down its growth, according to the latest Chad Economic Memorandum (CEM) titled “Boosting growth and reducing vulnerability” published by the World Bank. Furthermore, up to 3.34 million additional people in Chad could fall into poverty by 2050, due to shocks linked to climate change, if urgent adaptation measures are not put in place, as estimated by the same institution in the Country Climate Change and Development Report (CCDR) for the G5 Sahel countries: Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Chad. These two reports will be presented respectively on November 13 and 14, 2023 during an event attended by representatives from the Government, the private sector, civil society, and academia.
The Country Economic Memorandum identifies insecurity, over-reliance on oil revenues and failure to use those revenues to bolster broad-based economic growth, climate change and variability, weak public finance management and business environment, as well as limited physical and human capital, as the country’s main growth constraints. Increasing insecurity within Chad and in neighboring countries also constitutes a significant driver of short-term growth volatility.
“Chad would benefit from urgently implementing strong reforms in various sectors, including oil, infrastructure, education and employment, as well as strengthening security and resilience to climate change, in order to trigger structural transformations that will enable the country’s economic transition.” says Fulbert Tchana Tchana, Program Leader for the Equitable growth, Finance and Institutions Global Practice for the central Sahel countries.
According to the CCDR report, the combined emissions of the G5 Sahel countries do not exceed 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, they are however among the most vulnerable countries to climate change in the world. The Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement as well as the CCDR estimates indicate that the financing needs of the G5 Sahel countries in terms of climate action amount to more than $30 billion. If no action is taken – through the six impact channels identified in the Growth Impact Analysis modeling in the CCDR –, Chad's annual GDP could decline by 4.2% to 10.5% as a result of climate change, respectively in the wet and dry scenarios.
“The presentation of these two reports is timely, especially given the increasing needs for Chad to be supported in its efforts towards diversification and to strengthen its resilience to shocks,” explains Rasit Pertev, Country Manager of the World Bank for Chad.
