Regional humanitarian coordinator for the Sahel calls for urgent support to people affected by Boko Haram in the Diffa region of Niger

(Niamey 15 September 2016): Assistant-Secretary-General and Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel Toby Lanzer completed today a four-day mission in Niger. He went to the Diffa region, part of the Lake Chad Basin, where violence at the hands of Boko Haram has pushed hundreds of thousands of people from their homes, disrupted trade and livelihoods and heightened malnutrition and food insecurity. Toby Lanzer, who was accompanied by Niger’s Minister in charge of humanitarian action, Laouan Magagi, commended local communities and displaced people for their solidarity and called on the international community to show increased support for the people of Diffa and of the rest of the Lake Chad Basin.

“Despite difficult living conditions, lack of sustainable income and basic means of daily subsistence, thousands of families continue to care for those who have even less’’, Lanzer said. ‘’People in the Lake Chad region provide us an example of humanity that should be an inspiration for us all,’’ he added.

Over 280,000 people have been forced from their homes in Nigeria and within the Diffa region due to Boko Haram raids and attacks on villages. Two of every three displaced people have had to move more than once, each time testing their resilience and further deepening their suffering. Entire villages have been emptied of their residents; a large proportion of fields have not been tilled; and, access to basic social services such as water, health and education has been further restricted. Some 400,000 people need emergency food assistance. The Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rate of 17 per cent exceeds the emergency threshold.

Humanitarian organisations have scaled up their operations during the lean season which stretches from June to September. For example, food assistance reached more than 65 per cent of the 400,000 people targeted, up from 41 per cent in May.

However insecurity and lack of funding are limiting humanitarian teams’ ability to reach the most in need. The humanitarian response in Diffa is only 38 per cent funded, with $28 million of $73 million secured. About 50 per cent of food needs for the rest of the year will not be covered if additional funding is not received.

‘’$44 million are needed to respond to an overwhelming situation and deep suffering,” said the Humanitarian Coordinator in Niger, Fodé Ndiaye. “It is my hope that the Lake Chad Basin event, organised on 23 September in New York in the margins of the General Assembly, will mobilise the attention of the international community and pave the way to ending violence and misery across the region. This requires creating youth and women’s employment, creating socio-economic opportunities, and strengthening social cohesion.”

For further information, please contact:
Katy Thiam, Public Information and Advocacy Officer, OCHA Niger, thiamk@un.org, Cell +227 99 71 71 39 Eve Sabbagh, Public Information Officer, RHC Office Dakar, sabbaghe@un.org, Cell +221 77 569 96 54 OCHA press releases are available at www.unocha.org/Niger or www.reliefweb.int.