Chad, a landlocked African country, is currently the nation with the lowest life expectancy in the world, an analysis of data provided by the United Nations Population Division, the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) suggests.
The average life expectancy in this country in central Africa is 53.68 years, according to the ranking created by Worldmeters.info.
Women have an average life expectancy of 55.41 – a few years higher than men, whose average is 52.01.
The World Bank notes Chad is currently grappling with issues linked to conflicts in bordering countries.
Among them is the wave of migration of war refugees coming from neighbouring Sudan, which in April saw its Armed Forces clash with the Rapid Support Forces in Khartoum.
READ MORE: Wagner ‘makes £8m a month’ from terror in Mali as desperate Putin plunders gold
In the past months, more than 300,000 Sudanese nationals have crossed the border with Chad.
The Chadian government estimates that up to 600,000 refugees and returnees could arrive in the country – which is already struggling with widespread poverty and a lack of resources – by the end of this year.
Chad has also become the home over the past years of several thousand refugees from the Central African Republic and Nigeria.
Moreover, this landlocked nation is one of the many countries that are already heavily suffering the effects of climate change.
Don’t miss…
Putin ‘offered Ukraine to end war in 2022’ in exchange for unacceptable move[INSIGHT]
Vladimir Putin on collision course with top ally as he threatens to cut funds[REPORT]
Hamas glorification is part of a worrying rise in antisemitism[COMMENT]
Lake Chad, a key source of life at the heart of Sahel, is vanishing at a rapid pace, with desertification reducing its surface by 90 percent since 1960.
The lake, which sits across the borders of Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon, is the focus of violence between military forces and non-state armed groups in the region – that often causes casualties among civilians.
Poverty and vulnerability are described as “pervasive” in Chad by the World Bank, which reports 42.3 percent of the whole population lives below the national poverty line.
Extreme poverty, quantified as living under $2.15 per day per capita, has increased from 31.2 percent in 2018 to 35.4 percent this year, the international financial institution added.
- Support fearless journalism
- Read The Daily Express online, advert free
- Get super-fast page loading
Chad, which declared a “food and nutrition emergency” in June 2022, is also seeing raging inflation, with food inflation expected to reach 13.9 percent this year due to the war in Sudan, the increased number of refugees and trade disruptions.
The low life expectancy in Chad is also linked to the high maternal mortality rates – 856 deaths for every 100,000 live births.
Chad is also experiencing difficulties when it comes to national politics. Since the death of former president Idriss Déby Itno last year, his son Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno took over power and declared himself the head of the Transitional Military Council. While he has promised to hold fair elections, he has repeatedly postponed them.
A Human Rights Watch report spoke of a crackdown on political dissent and opposition, with security forces harassing and prosecuting opposition voices as well as using violent methods to disperse protests.
Source: Read Full Article