Alexander De Croo allocates more than EUR 9 million in humanitarian aid for the Lake Chad Basin
Under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Development Cooperation Alexander De Croo, Belgium has decided to allocate more than EUR 9 million in humanitarian aid to address the needs in the Lake Chad Basin.
"Lake Chad Basin is seriously affected by the violent attacks by militant group Boko Haram and by a severe food insecurity. More than 2,6 million people have been displaced due to the terror caused by Boko Haram. About 9 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian aid. Belgium closely monitors the evolution of this crisis and places a particular focus on this region, one of the priority areas for Belgian development cooperation”, said Alexander De Croo.
Following the worsening of the humanitarian situation in the Lake Chad Basin, Belgium has decided to grant a specific support of EUR 9.151.332 for the period 2016-2017 to the following humanitarian organizations:
- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
- The World Food Programme (WFP)
- The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
- The NGO Caritas
The funding of EUR 2 million for the ICRC operations in Nigeria aims at responding to emergencies in this country, in particular in the conflict zone in the North-East. The objective of the project is notably to support and protect the victims of the conflict and to work together with the authorities, the armed forces, the police, the civil society and the Economic Community Of West African States in order to raise awareness about International Humanitarian Law and to promote its implementation at a national level.
The funding of EUR 3 million for the WFP aims at delivering air services (UNHAS) in Nigeria and Chad to allow a quick and safe access to the aid beneficiaries.
The funding of EUR 2.050.000 allocated to OCHA aims at strengthening the capacity of their offices in Niger and Chad in order to ensure a better coordination of the available humanitarian resources.
The funding of EUR 2.101.332 to the NGO Caritas aims at building the capacity of vulnerable population of Niger to limit the adverse impacts of drought and of population displacement due to the atrocities of Boko Haram. The direct beneficiaries of the project, implemented in Diffa, will be refugees fleeing Nigeria, Nigerien returnees from Nigeria, internally displaced persons as well as the host population.
Our country also provides substantial funding to the flexible funds of OCHA (CERF) and WFP (IRA). In June 2016, CERF spent US$ 13 million to provide vital support to 250.000 persons in North-East Nigeria. It also allocated US$ 10 million in response to the crisis in the Lake Chad area and to food insecurity in Chad. In 2016, IRA approved the allocation of US$1.682.243 to address humanitarian needs in Nigeria. Belgium contributed therefore indirectly to this additional aid as well.
