On Monday 3 September, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides announced at a high level conference in Berlin (3-4 September) on the Lake Chad region that the EU is to release an additional €138 million for the most vulnerable communities in the Lake Chad region (Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon).
The conference was organised jointly by Germany, Nigeria, Norway and the United Nations.
This new money, which combines humanitarian and development assistance, will bring the EU's funding for the region to €232 million in 2018.
The assistance is partly aimed at responding to the needs of the victims of the humanitarian crisis, which continues to worsen under persistent violence, insecurity and degradation of the environment. It is also partly aimed at creating the security conditions for the return and reintegration of people who have been displaced and refugees.
The humanitarian assistance will be allocated as follows: Nigeria (€47 million), Niger (€15 million), Chad (€11.8 million) and Cameroon (€15.1 million). Out of this funding, €58.75 million was announced in July 2018 as part of humanitarian assistance provided by the EU to the Sahel countries (see EUROPE 12059).
The development assistance will go to the following countries in the region: Nigeria (€74.5 million), Niger (€32.2 million), Chad (€33.2 million), and Cameroon (€2.7 million), for a combined amount of €143 million, out of which €34.7 was announced earlier this year. Nigeria and Chad are two pilot countries for better linking humanitarian and development assistance. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)