HIGHLIGHTS
Humanitarian assistance reaches vulnerable populations in newly accessible areas of Borno State
Onset of the rainy season in northeastern Nigeria exacerbates health needs among vulnerable populations
USAID provides $37 million in new funding for the Lake Chad Basin humanitarian response
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
Senior USAID officials—Nigeria Mission Director Michael T. Harvey, USAID/OFDA Director Jeremy Konyndyk, and USAID/FFP Deputy Director Matt Nims—announced more than $37 million in new humanitarian funding to the Lake Chad Basin region on August 10. The announcement followed a trip to northeastern Nigeria’s Borno State, where humanitarian needs are the most acute.
Of the new assistance, USAID/OFDA committed $27.8 million toward agricultural and livelihoods support, nutrition and food security activities, and health, protection, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions for vulnerable populations affected by the ongoing crisis in the Lake Chad Basin region. USAID/FFP committed an additional $9.7 million for emergency food assistance, including food vouchers, cash transfers, and ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) for children experiencing severe acute malnutrition (SAM). The U.S. Government has provided more than $318 million in humanitarian funding for the Lake Chad Basin response since FY 2015 and continues to be the single largest humanitarian donor to the region.
UN Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) Stephen O’Brien briefed the UN Security Council on the Lake Chad Basin humanitarian situation on July 27. ERC O’Brien highlighted the critical needs of vulnerable populations, particularly internally displaced persons (IDPs), throughout the region and called on the international community to increase attention and financial support to the crisis.