The EU has announced plans to provide €138m in humanitarian aid and development funding for countries in Africa’s Lake Chad region.
The new money will provide humanitarian aid and development funding to Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon, which have faced a worsening humanitarian crisis thanks to ongoing violence and environmental degradation. The specific allocation of €138m is part of an overall EU aid package for the Lake Chad region worth a total of €232m.
The funding will be allocated among the four countries relative to the challenges they are facing:
- Cameroon will receive €15.1m in humanitarian aid and €2.7m in development assistance;
- Chad will receive €11.8m in humanitarian aid and €33.2m in development assistance;
- Niger will receive €15m in humanitarian aid and €32.2m in development assistance;
- Nigeria will receive €47m in humanitarian aid and €74.5m in development assistance.
More than 2.4 million people have been forcibly displaced in the region, and the EU’s funding will be used to cover the challenges of providing access to basic health care, shelter, and food and nutrition for these people. The money will also address the security challenges which are prolonging the problems these countries are facing.
What support is the EU offering in the region?
Between 2014 and 2017, the EU provided close to €700m in humanitarian aid and development funding, and will continue to support economic recovery and job creation in the region to ensure the provision of basic services, as well as the sustainable reintegration of internally displaced people and refugees.
Christos Stylianides, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, emphasised the EU’s commitment to helping the region recover from the ongoing challenges it faces. He said: “The disastrous effects of armed conflict and violence in the Lake Chad basin have had a serious impact in an area already plagued by poverty and the extreme effects of climate change. The EU is committed to continue to help the most vulnerable. Today we are stepping up our humanitarian and development assistance. What is crucial is for all parties to the conflict to ensure full access throughout the region so our aid can reach those in need.”
