Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon get EU’s €12.5m aid as humanitarian crisis worsens

European Commission on Friday announced an additional €12.5 million in humanitarian aid to support people in Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon as they face a deteriorating humanitarian crisis.
Today’s additional emergency assistance will help vulnerable populations in the Lake Chad region, out of which €9 million will be provided to support people in Nigeria, €2 million in Cameroon and €1.5 million in Niger.
The latest EU aid announced comes on top of the €58 million previously allocated to the Lake Chad Basin crisis, bringing overall EU humanitarian aid to over €70 million for the region in 2016 alone.
The EU is a major humanitarian donor in the region, providing assistance to local, host and displaced populations in various humanitarian aid sectors in recent years.
The new funding comes as violence by the terrorist group, Boko Haram, from northern Nigeria has severely destabilised the Lake Chad region, causing the displacement of millions of people.
“When travelling to the region last month, I witnessed the plight of people in the Lake Chad Basin. Millions have been displaced and the number of those struggling to find food is increasingly alarming. The situation in Nigeria is especially dramatic,” Christos Stylianides, who is EU’s commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management, said.
According to Stylianides, as always, children are hit the hardest and we must urgently intervene to stop their suffering. This additional funding from EU will focus on emergency assistance, primarily in the areas of food and nutrition, water and sanitation, and health.
Stylianides urged that all efforts should be made to ensure that humanitarian organisations could safely reach those who need urgent help.