UN Earmarks $2.1bn as Humanitarian Aid for Lake Chad Basin

•Reiterates commitment to peace in North-east

Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri and Udora Orizu in Abuja

The United Nations has announced a decision to donate $2.1 billion in humanitarian relief for crisis response in the North-east. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator, Achim Steiner, said this on Friday in Abuja during a press conference at the UN National Human Development 2018 Report Launch dinner.

Similarly, yesterday in Maiduguri, Steiner and the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, restated the commitment of the world body to the return of peace to the insurgency-plagued North-east and the entire Lake Chad Basin. Addressing a press conference after their visit to places of intervention of UN agencies, both Steiner and Lowcock called on national and international partners to reinforce joint efforts to address the dire humanitarian needs of people in the north-east states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.

At the Abuja event, Steiner explained that $1 billion was to be allocated for humanitarian aid while $1.1 billion would be set aside for development recovery oriented projects for the Lake Chad region.

“There is a challenge at the moment in the security dimension of the North-east region and that is a challenge that the government of Nigeria is trying to confront and the international community is also providing assistance for,” he stated.