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Lake Chad Basin crisis. Response strategy (2017–2019)

Mitigating the impact of the crisis and strengthening the resilience and food security of conflict-affected communities

Year of publication 2017

Pages 12p.

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Document

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) Boko Haram-related violence in northeastern Nigeria has spilled over to areas of neighbouring Sahelian countries in the Lake Chad Basin – specifically, Cameroon, Chad and the Niger – with devastating effects on food security and livelihoods. The violence has driven millions from their homes and hampered access to agricultural lands and assets, creating massive humanitarian needs in an area already characterized by food insecurity, poverty and environmental degradation. In 2016, the reinforcing o f the Multinational Joint Task Force operations enabled the recapturing of the main towns and many of the villages that were previously under the control of Boko Haram. Increased access to these areas, particularly in Borno State in northeastern Nigeria, has revealed an extensive and expanding humanitarian crisis. Despite the steady reduction in the areas under the control of Boko Haram, the violence has continued, focusing on suicide bombings and targeted attacks aiming at civilians and the sec urity forces, and resulting in loss of lives, destruction of infrastructure, disruption of trade and communications, and potentially destabilizing inter-community relations.

Language English

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    The conflict in the Lake Chad Basin has intensified over the past years as Boko Haram attacks and suicide bombs have targeted civilians, causing widespread trauma, forcing millions from their homes, preventing people from accessing their fields and destroying essential infrastructure and services. The conflict has affected the four countries of the Lake Chad Basin – Cameroon, Chad, the Niger and Nigeria – and has uprooted millions of people from their homes across the four countries. The arrival of a large number of Nigerians in border areas of Cameroon, Chad and the Niger, along with the ongoing cross-border attacks is also putting already impoverished host communities under extreme pressure. As a result, host communities are in urgent need of assistance for food production and livelihoods restoration and protection. Insecurity has so far limited humanitarian access to certain areas where the food security and nutrition situation is critical. However, in the last few months, significa nt territory has been rendered accessible to humanitarian assistance, opening a window of opportunity to scale up interventions in the area.
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    Evaluation of the FAO response to the crisis in the Lake Chad Basin 2015‒2018 2021
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    Forty-nine million people live in the Lake Chad region, exploiting its rich natural resources and relatively constant supply of water, fodder and fertile land all year round. The area used to be a food production hub, with local markets supplying produce to Cameroon, Chad, the Niger and Nigeria. However, poor natural resource management, poor coordination across the different countries of the region, and the widespread impact of climate change have contributed to the significant deterioration of the Lake’s natural ecosystem capacity. Agricultural soils and pastures have been widely degraded, leading to a huge reduction in food productivity and, thus, job opportunities, especially for the youth living in rural areas who account for a high percentage of the population. Conflicts and tensions have created a conducive context for young people in search of income and opportunities to join the Boko Haram terrorist movement originated in Nigeria. This evaluation was conducted to address FAO’s response to the Lake Chad Basin crisis, including interventions conducted in 2015‒2018, as FAO published the Lake Chad Basin Crisis Response Strategy (2017–2019) to address the needs of the identified 6.9 million people affected by soaring food insecurity in the Lake Chad Basin in early 2017. The objectives of this evaluation were to analyse FAO’s responses to the crisis at operating level, with a focus on efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability, while assessing the relevance and consistency of the regional approach from a strategic perspective. The evaluation team visited many of the areas concerned, and at the end of each visit they organized a debriefing session with the respective FAO country team to share information gathered and collect complementary data and analysis to inform its deliberations. This helped to ensure transparency in the data collection process and to maximize the learning process. For FAO to support the food security and nutrition of communities in the Lake Chad region effectively, a regional strategy focused on supporting the resilience of communities is relevant and appropriate. Complementary to FAO’s country-based programmes, a regional strategy bears the potential to devise interventions that adapt to the cross-border nature of issues that each country faces and would allow supporting a more cohesive and collaborative way of working. Based on the Regional Response Strategy (2017–2019), FAO should revise its strategy and approach by incorporating governmental objectives, and translate it into an operational action plan, in line with other partners’ strategies in the region.
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