The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has launched the Regional Stabilization Facility for Lake Chad, an ambitious multi-million dollar fund to scale up the range of stabilization intervention in areas of Lake Chad Basin.

According to the UNDP, about 2.8 million people are in dire need of protection and humanitarian intervention as the Lake Chad region continues to witness the ravages of the Boko Haram insurgency.

UNDP states that the facility will start operating on 1 September in eight affected regions of the 4 riparian countries (Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria). The facility will serve as a rapid response mechanism to help local authorities curtail the ability of Boko Haram insurgency by restoring and extending effective civilian security and improving the delivery of basic services and livelihoods.  The facility will operate for two years.

At the opening ceremony of the 2nd Meeting of the Lake Chad Governors’ Forum, UNDP Regional Director for Africa Ms. Ahunna Eziakonwa said that this was the right time to restore hope to affected populations, especially women and youth who have been most affected by the scourge.

“If we respond appropriately to grievances and end the spiral of insecurity, forced displacements and conflict, the situation in the Lake Chad Basin can be stabilized, and the foundations of recovery and development established,” she said.

The facility will be implemented with a planned budget of $100 million for the first phase across the four countries, which have expressed their continued strong commitment to leading necessary stabilization efforts in the region.