Regional Highlights
Despite facing sustained military pressure, Boko Haram gunmen continue to carry out attacks targeting civilians in markets, mosques and even settlements hosting the displaced. Their strategy has changed, preferring the more unpredictable suicide bombings, improvised explosive devices, raids on villages to loot food, and abductions.
While fewer displacements have taken place in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the large population movements observed in the last quarter of 2015, the situation remains volatile. In Nigeria, for instance, large numbers of spontaneous returns are being observed in Adamawa State, while in other parts of the country, displacements continue.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) will work with Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria on a regional tripartite framework to guarantee the right of refugees to voluntary return in safety and dignity. Since the start of the year, UNHCR estimates that around 64,000 Nigerian nationals have crossed the border from Cameroon’s Far North Region back to Nigeria (including both voluntary and involuntary returns).
As the lean season gets underway, food insecurity is set to worsen. Nearly three million people are currently grappling with severe food shortages in the conflict-hit regions of the Lake Chad Basin. Poor rainfall and harvests have meant an earlier than usual lean season in some regions. The number of people facing severe food insecurity is expected to rise in the coming months.
9.2m People in need
5.2m Targeted for assistance
2.4m People displaced
21m People living in affected areas
2.97m Severely food insecure
$535m Funding requirement in 2016