HIGHLIGHTS
- Rapid assessments in northeastern Nigeria indicate urgent humanitarian needs
- More than 20,000 newly displaced people registered in Cameroon’s Far North Region between February and April
- ERC Stephen O’Brien calls for increased assistance for Lake Chad Basin response
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
As the security situation in the Lake Chad Basin gradually improves, relief actors are evaluating security conditions and humanitarian needs in newly accessible areas. UN multi-sector rapid needs assessments conducted in northeastern Nigeria’s Borno and Yobe states in mid-April found significant humanitarian needs across multiple sectors—including food security, health, nutrition, protection, relief commodity, shelter, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)—among households affected by Boko Haram-related violence. Response actors note that further assessments are required to confirm the extent of humanitarian needs throughout the northeast.
From May 16‒19, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) Stephen O’Brien visited Niger and Nigeria; during the visit, he called for the humanitarian community to address the urgent needs among vulnerable households in the Lake Chad Basin, particularly in northeastern Nigeria. ERC O’Brien also urged relief organizations to coordinate with development and security actors to ensure a comprehensive response to the complex emergency in the Lake Chad Basin.
In April, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released a revised Humanitarian Needs and Response Overview (HNO) for the Lake Chad Basin, requesting $535 million to support approximately 5.2 million people in need. The UN estimates that approximately 9.2 million people in the region require humanitarian assistance.
USAID/OFDA recently provided $2 million to a non-governmental organization (NGO) partner to support vulnerable households in northeastern Nigeria with emergency relief commodities, shelter assistance, and WASH support. The new funding brings total FY 2015‒2016 USAID/OFDA assistance for the Lake Chad Basin response to more than $36 million.