ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

The civil war in Sudan has caused a massive humanitarian crisis. Some 13 million people have been displaced according to the World Health Organization. More than 600,000 have fled west to Chad, and more arrive every day. In some places, refugees nearly outnumber locals. That strains local resources and humanitarian aid organizations. NPR's Fatma Tanis is in one of those rural towns in eastern Chad. Hi, Fatma.

FATMA TANIS, BYLINE: Hi, Ari.

SHAPIRO: Tell us about where you are and what you've seen.

TANIS: So I'm in a town called Guereda. It's about 20 miles from the border with Sudan. And, Ari, this is a very remote part of Chad. The only way in is by road, which is unpaved and flooded and muddy. Now, this town is surrounded by massive refugee camps, where about 90,000 Sudanese people are staying. The majority of the adults are women, and more than half of the entire camp population are children.

I spent some time with them yesterday and today. And, you know, they all have harrowing stories of the war in Sudan. Many of their family members have been killed. But right now, they are in dire need of food and water and health care. The children I saw today, you know, Ari, they were very thin. And many told me that they're eating only one meal a day, and it's always a porridge that's made of water and flour.

SHAPIRO: I understand why food can't reach Sudan given the war, but you're in Chad. Why can't food reach those people through humanitarian aid organizations?

TANIS: So there are two main issues here - funding and access. I was with World Vision country director Edouard Ngoy today, and he told me that they've only received about 20% of the funding that they need for their response to this crisis. Many other groups have the same problem.

Then there's the issue of access. You know, our car got stuck in the mud on our way to the camps yesterday. It took about an hour to get out. And it would have been nearly impossible for a heavier truck carrying aid to make it through that.

And so because of this, aid organizations like the World Food Programme and World Vision and others, they started giving refugees small amounts of cash so that they can buy their own food from locals and not have to wait for aid. But not everyone has received that help, and food prices have gone up quite a bit because of the overpopulation. And so food aid is still an emergency need.

SHAPIRO: And what does all of this mean for local people who have lived in Chad since before the war started?

TANIS: They're being affected immensely. You know, today, I sat in on a meeting between community leaders and the refugee camp. They meet to solve problems together and avoid conflict. Now, Chad, as we know, is one of the poorest countries in the world. People here are farmers, and they talked about huge chunks of farmland has been taken up by refugees. And so resources like food, firewood and water are running out.

They have some solutions too. You know, they want aid organizations to help them set up water systems and give trainings so that people can make a living in ways other than farming, but they say that they've gotten no help from anyone so far.

SHAPIRO: And what have you heard from the Sudanese refugees who you've spoken with?

TANIS: Their main concern is, of course, hunger. You know, one of the few women in the room spoke up bluntly and said that malnutrition among women and children was out of control. Others said that they felt forgotten by the world. One of the refugee elders, Yahya Adam Nadhif, asked me, do Americans know what is happening to us? Here's what he said.

YAHYA ADAM NADHIF: (Non-English language spoken).

TANIS: He said, "our people are dying in Sudan because of the war, and they're dying here because of hunger."

SHAPIRO: That's NPR's Fatma Tanis, reporting from eastern Chad. Thank you.

TANIS: Thank you, Ari. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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