Donors Pledge $700m for Lake Chad Region

Donors have pledged about $700 million to address the humanitarian crisis in the Lake Chad Basin with Nigeria receiving a large chunk of the outlay for relief interventions in the region. This was disclosed by Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, on September 11 in Abuja following a closed-door meeting with a United Nations (UN) delegation led by Mark Lowcock, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. It will be recalled that that the UN had in February organised a $1.5 billion Donor Conference in Oslo, Norway, to tackle the crisis caused by the insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin.

Donors had pledged more than $670 million at the conference hosted by Norway in conjunction with Nigeria and Germany to support the mobilization of aid to the region. The minister commended the UN for the role it played in organizing the conference but noted that there were challenges in the redemption of the pledges by the donors. He however said that this was a work in progress and that a significant amount has been redeemed. Mr. Lowcock had earlier stated that he was in Nigeria for a direct assessment of the humanitarian crisis in the northeast region and will report his findings to the UN General Assembly. “My visit is to have firsthand assessment of the situation here and, in particular, to understand the progress made in the lives of the people that need humanitarian help.”

Lowcock said that he would be in the North-East to meet with affected populations and humanitarian partners to evaluate the response. The UN official also revealed that the visit would give him the opportunity to interact with government officials in the North East and to advocate for increased support for the affected communities. Lowcock who said his visit was also aimed at drawing global attention to the area and issues, stated that the focus was particularly on women and children amid growing protection concerns, food insecurity and worsening health conditions as evidenced by the recent cholera outbreak across camps.