EU steps up humanitarian aid for victims of Boko Haram in Africa's Lake Chad region

Met dank overgenomen van Europese Commissie (EC), gepubliceerd op vrijdag 15 juli 2016.

The European Commission has today announced €58.2 million in humanitarian aid to support the populations in the Lake Chad region in Africa. The funding brings the overall EU humanitarian aid package for the Sahel region to over €203 million in 2016.

"A full-scale humanitarian crisis has been fuelled by violence in a fragile region. The EU is committed to supporting those displaced and affected by the violence of Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin. Our support will target the most vulnerable in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger where more than two and a half million people have been displaced by the terror of Boko Haram alone. Our aid will help provide food, shelter, clean water, and healthcare, as well as protection to the displaced and the host communities. Everything must be done so humanitarian aid workers can deliver lifesaving assistance safely and urgently access those in need" said Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides who is currently on a visit to the region.

The violence inflicted by the terrorist group Boko Haram from northern Nigeria has destabilised the entire Lake Chad region, causing large scale displacements of people. To make things worse, there is a high scarcity of food in the region and access to basic services are severely limited. In turn, this makes the local population particularly vulnerable to man-made and natural disasters.

Nigeria is the country most affected by the current humanitarian crisis in the region. An estimated 2.1 million Nigerians are internally displaced, of which 800,000 people in the north-east of the country are facing severe food shortages and are in need of immediate assistance.

In Chad, one million people are now considered severely food insecure and more than 105,000 people have been internally displaced in the Lake region due to violence. Across the border in Cameroon, around 139,000 people have been displaced.

In neighbouring countries like Niger, a recent escalation of Boko Haram violence has led to new displacements, with over 300,000 people forced from their homes in the country.

Total EU humanitarian aid to populations in the Lake Chad basin and in the Sahel in 2016: €203 700 000.

Type of assistance

Country

Resilience and food

Support for conflict affected population in Lake Chad Basin

Burkina Faso

15 300 000

Cameroon

2 000 000

9 000 000

Chad

41 000 000

9 200 000

Mali

17 500 000

Mauritania

10 700 000

Niger

29 000 000

9 000 000

Nigeria

31 000 000

Senegal

6 400 000

West Africa regional programmes

23 600 000

Total EUR

145 500 000

58 200 000

Background

The European Commission has been providing humanitarian aid to local, host and displaced populations aiming to cover the most urgent needs over recent years. While scaling up emergency assistance remains absolutely essential, there is a need for more solid investment in resilience building and development efforts, in parallel, to help provide more sustainable solutions.

For more information:

Chad factsheet

http://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/aid/countries/factsheets/chad_en.pdf

Cameroon factsheet

http://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/aid/countries/factsheets/cameroon_en.pdf

Niger factsheet

http://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/aid/countries/factsheets/niger_en.pdf

Nigeria factsheet

http://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/aid/countries/factsheets/nigeria_en.pdf

IP/16/2445

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