The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
During a two-day high-level conference on the Lake Chad Basin in Niamey, Niger, governments of the region as well as international donors and international organizations came together to discuss the needs in order to address long-standing issues and the needs of the population.
The Lake Chad Basin which includes Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon is marked by a combination of extreme poverty, climate change and violent conflict which has put 11 million of the region’s 17,4 million people in urgent need of live saving assistance.
“The international commitment must be measured in decades and not years to build lasting resilience in the region. said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) when speaking today at a briefing at the United Nations in Geneva. “In total, 11 million people need humanitarian aid in the so-called basin region of those four countries”.
That is an increase of 600,000 since the Berlin Conference, the last one on the Lake Chad Region, in 2018.
“Out of the 11 million people who need aid, 400,000 are malnourished children and 5.6 million are severely food insecure. So very serious situation”, concluded OCHA’s spokesperson.
The objectives of the conference include strengthened coordination among humanitarian actors, development activities in the region, better access for humanitarian assistance and addressing the impacts of climate change as part of the peacebuilding efforts.
The third High-Level Conference on the Lake Chad Region wraps up later today.
-ends-
- Wide shot, UN Geneva flag alley.
- Medium shot, Spokesperson Jens Laerke on podium
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for UN OCHA: “The international commitment must be measured in decades and not years to build lasting resilience in the region. In total, 11 million people need humanitarian aid in the so-called basin region of those four countries.”
- Close-up, camerawoman behind camera
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for UN OCHA: “Out of the 11 million people who need aid, 400,000 are malnourished children and 5.6 million are severely food insecure. So very serious situation.”
- Close up, hands taking notes
- Close-up, camerawoman behind camera
- Medium shot, Jens Larke at the podium in background, journalists in foreground
- Medium shot, journalists looking at screens
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