World Bank, Restoring the shrinking Lake Chad to strengthen resilience, livelihoods
Abuja, June 17, 2020,The protracted conflict in the Lake Chad Region has left about 10.8 million people in need of humanitarian assistance with over 2.3 million people Internally Displaced across the region.
Abuja, June 17, 2020,The protracted conflict in the Lake Chad Region has left about 10.8 million people in need of humanitarian assistance with over 2.3 million people Internally Displaced across the region.
The Lake Chad region has suffered from poor development and economic setbacks significant gaps in infrastructure, access to basic services was poor, and natural resources and livelihoods were severely impacted by climate change.
The situation however continues to worsen following the prevailing insecurity since 2009.
In a bid to restoring the region, the World Bank has approved two operations totaling 346 million dollars in International Development Association (IDA) financing to help strengthen resilience and livelihoods in the Lake Chad region.
The bank made this known in a statement on Wednesday, adding that the fund would be shared among Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria.
The intervention fund seeks to assist more than 49 million people in the region who have been prevented from attaining their livelihoods in fishing, livestock farming and agriculture.
The World bank said that the two newly approved operations focused on enhancing regional collaboration among the four countries to support communities close to the shore of Lake Chad areas.
It said the operations would also improve the living conditions of the population, including vulnerable women and youths who were being faced with the negative impacts of climate change and suffer from insecurity.
“The first project, the Lake Chad Region Recovery and Development Project (PROLAC, 170 million dollars), will support national and regional coordination platforms and local capacity building.
“It will contribute to restoring sustainable rural mobility, connectivity and strengthen the recovery of agricultural livelihoods in selected provinces of Cameroon, Chad, and Niger.
“It will also promote knowledge sharing and regional dialogue with a data platform hosted at the Lake Chad Basin Commission
“PROLAC will contribute to the rehabilitation of rural roads and small transport infrastructure, and will promote productive investments by helping agricultural producers to increase productivity in the polder areas in Chad, the farming of oasis areas in Niger, and in the areas close to the shore of the Lake Chad in the Far North of Cameroon.
“The second project, the Multi-Sectoral Crisis Recovery Project for North Eastern Nigeria, Additional Financing (MCRP AF, 176 million dollars), will help the Government of Nigeria to improve access to basic services and livelihood opportunities for crisis-affected communities in the North Eastern States of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.
“It expands the ongoing 200 million dollars MCRP project and puts an increased emphasis on support for agricultural livelihoods and investments, the World Bank explained.
To achieve this, Nigeria’s Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq inaugurated the National Steering Committee for Multi-Sectorial Crisis Recovery Project (MCRP)- Lake Chad Region Recovery and Development Project (PROLAC), on June in Abuja.
According to the Minister, the inauguration is to kick-start activities towards effective implementation of the MCRP-PROLAC AF, in response to the challenge faced by the North East and based on the Recovery and Peace building Assessment (RPBA).
She explained that te project will complement existing State, National, and Regional strategies, including the AU-LCBC Lake Chad Regional Stabilization Strategy.
Farouq said that the committee will leverage on the lessons learned from the implementation of the MCRP, support of the participating State Government and the guidance of this Steering Committee in achieving its objective in the year 2024.