US okays fresh $37m for Lake Chad Basin region

The United States government, through its Agency for International Development (USAID), on Wednesday, announced that it would be providing more than $37 million additional humanitarian assistance to people affected by the ongoing conflict and severe food insecurity in Nigeria and throughout the Lake Chad Basin.

Activities of Boko Haram had triggered humanitarian crisis in the country and surrounding countries in the Lake Chad Basin region.

While families have been driven from their homes, millions were left without enough to eat, as humanitarian situation remained dire.

Approximately five million people needed emergency food assistance, with 2.5 million people displaced.

The new funding is targeted to help tens of thousands of people receive critically-needed humanitarian assistance, including food, water, shelter, and services to address acute hygiene, protection, and nutritional needs.

The food assistance will be delivered to conflict-affected communities in the Diffa Region of Niger, including populations who fled their homes following the recent attacks in Bosso.

Nigeria Mission Director of USAID, Michael Harvey; US Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance Director, Jeremy Konyndyk and Office of Food for Peace Deputy Director, Matt Nims confirmed the new assistance after a trip to the northeast where the humanitarian needs were the most acute.

They noted that the US, by providing more than $318 million in humanitarian assistance since 2015 to the Lake Chad Basin Region, remained the single largest humanitarian donor to the region.

In addition to humanitarian funding, they hinted that the USAID provided targeted assistance that sought to reduce extreme poverty and improve the quality of life for Nigeria’s most vulnerable communities through improved governance and civic participation at the federal, state, and local levels.