A. Situation analysis
Description of the disaster
In 2015, Federal Government of Nigeria (FGoN) military forces with the support of the Multinational forces of Chad, Cameroon and Niger have made significant progress to dislodge the Boko Haram (BH) insurgency from their occupied territories. The FGoN had set a deadline to end the insurgency by the end of December 2015; and as such intensified efforts, revising its military strategy, and moving the command centre to Maiduguri, Borno State to ensure its effective implementation. Despite progress made so far, the insurgency has developed new approaches, with increased suicide bombings mostly carried out by women, girls and children targeting crowded places including markets and places of worship - on average there are 10 suicide attacks being reported per week.
The number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) has risen to over two million (according to the United Nations (UN)); while the number of refugees in the three neighbouring countries - Chad, Cameroon and Niger is over 150,000 people, mostly women and girls. The IDPs are in camps especially in the state capitals, however the majority are in host communities where they are receiving limited or no assistance. In the areas that have been recaptured, people are not yet confident to return to their communities because of the continuing fear of the insurgency, and they remain mostly inhabitable as infrastructure (bridges, homes, hospitals, roads, schools and water facilities) had been destroyed by the insurgency; however this is expected to change over the coming months as the situation stabilizes. The FGoN has prioritized the reconstruction of the northeast, and called on other stakeholders to support this process. The speaker of the National Assembly has prioritized developing the affected communities in the northeast and has Emergency Plan of Action Update Nigeria: Complex Emergency appealed to donors internally and externally for support. During his visit to the USA, the President of Nigeria also appealed to the World Bank for support in the rebuilding of the northeast, and resources have been committed. It is expected that these resources will be used to construct infrastructure including bridges, government buildings, hospitals, roads and schools.
The MDRNG018 Nigeria Complex Emergency Appeal (EA) is continuing to support the immediate needs of the affected population with the multilateral funding that has been secured (CHF 1,154,892/42 per cent coverage); while also making efforts to assess and mobilize resources for medium/longer term assistance through Development Operational Plan (DOP) since the situation/needs of these people as they begin to return to their communities is expected to extend well beyond the timeframe allowed through this EA. In addition, to the resources received through multilateral funding to the EA, the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS) has received bilateral support (based on the same Emergency Plan of Action (EPoA)) of US$ 1.5 million from a number of partners in-country including:
Government of Japan (US$ 400,000), Norwegian organization (US$ 250,000), PINE (US$ 260,000), Total (US$250,000), UNFPA (US$ 180,000), UNHCR (US$150,000); of which 50 per cent was received in cash while the remaining were goods in kind (food and non-food Items [NFIs]). As such, it is estimated (based on the inclusion of both bilateral and multilateral support), that the EA coverage is approximately 95 per cent.
This Operations Update is requesting an extension of timeframe of four months (new end date: 30 June 2016) to enable the completion of activities planned in the EA, which are related to commitments made to pledges, which were received later than expected and have not been fully expended; as well as enabling the responsible closure of the operation, and transition into the DOP. The implementation of the ECOWAS pledge which forms part of the remaining balance of funds on the EA has been extended to 30 June 2016.
As of 5 November 2015, the appeal has been supported by multilateral contributions from British Red Cross, Canadian Red Cross, ECOWAS, Japanese Red Cross, Netherlands Red Cross, Red Cross of Monaco and Swedish Red Cross. IFRC, on behalf of the Nigerian Red Cross Society would like to extend its appreciation to all partners for their generous contributions to this EA.