Africa's Lake Chad region receives €40 million boost in humanitarian aid
Africa's Lake Chad region receives €40 million boost in humanitarian aid
European Commission's Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), 19 Jan 2017
URL: http://ec.europa.eu/echo/news/africas-lake-chad-region-receives-40-million-boost-humanitarian-aid_en
The European Commission has released €40 million in additional humanitarian aid to support the populations in the Lake Chad region in Africa. The new funding brings the overall EU humanitarian aid package for the region to over €116 million since the beginning of 2016.
It will help scale up operations and respond to urgent humanitarian needs in the areas of food, nutrition, water and sanitation, health and protection.
"The EU is making a strong humanitarian contribution for the most vulnerable in Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad. The humanitarian situation in this fragile region is reaching extremely worrying proportions. The difficult security situation and lack of access to certain areas severely hamper the capacity of relief organisations to assist. Today I am announcing new EU support to urgently address the increasingly pressing needs. Everything must be done so that our humanitarian partners can deliver lifesaving assistance safely and rapidly to those in dire need," said Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides.
Nigeria, which is struggling with an ongoing economic crisis in addition to hosting nearly 2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) will receive €22 million, the biggest part of the assistance. Cameroon (€7 million), Niger (€6 million) and Chad (€5 million) will also benefit from the emergency aid package.
Background
The crisis in the Lake Chad has been escalating. Violence inflicted by the terrorist group Boko Haram from northern Nigeria has destabilised the entire region and caused large scale displacements of people. There is a high scarcity of food in the region and access to basic services is severely limited. The risk of epidemics due to the lack of water, sanitation, shelter and health services is extremely high.
The crisis affecting the Lake Chad basin, including Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger has greatly escalated over the past two years. Some 2.6 million people in the region are currently internally displaced, while 169 000 have sought refuge in neighbouring countries. Both host and local communities are highly dependent on humanitarian assistance. The most vulnerable households are struggling to find food.
The European Commission has been providing humanitarian aid to local, host and displaced populations in the region helping to cover the most urgent needs.
It will help scale up operations and respond to urgent humanitarian needs in the areas of food, nutrition, water and sanitation, health and protection.
"The EU is making a strong humanitarian contribution for the most vulnerable in Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad. The humanitarian situation in this fragile region is reaching extremely worrying proportions. The difficult security situation and lack of access to certain areas severely hamper the capacity of relief organisations to assist. Today I am announcing new EU support to urgently address the increasingly pressing needs. Everything must be done so that our humanitarian partners can deliver lifesaving assistance safely and rapidly to those in dire need," said Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides.
Nigeria, which is struggling with an ongoing economic crisis in addition to hosting nearly 2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) will receive €22 million, the biggest part of the assistance. Cameroon (€7 million), Niger (€6 million) and Chad (€5 million) will also benefit from the emergency aid package.
Background
The crisis in the Lake Chad has been escalating. Violence inflicted by the terrorist group Boko Haram from northern Nigeria has destabilised the entire region and caused large scale displacements of people. There is a high scarcity of food in the region and access to basic services is severely limited. The risk of epidemics due to the lack of water, sanitation, shelter and health services is extremely high.
The crisis affecting the Lake Chad basin, including Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger has greatly escalated over the past two years. Some 2.6 million people in the region are currently internally displaced, while 169 000 have sought refuge in neighbouring countries. Both host and local communities are highly dependent on humanitarian assistance. The most vulnerable households are struggling to find food.
The European Commission has been providing humanitarian aid to local, host and displaced populations in the region helping to cover the most urgent needs.