US commits fresh $40m to Boko Haram victims

The United States says it is giving an additional $40 million to Boko Haram victims in the Lake Chad region.

Samantha Power, US ambassador to the United Nations, announced the humanitarian aid during a trip to the Lake Chad Basin region to highlight the growing threat of Boko Haram.

In a statement by the US missions to Nigeria, the US said it is giving “nearly $40 million in new humanitarian assistance to support people whose lives have been affected by Boko Haram violence”.

“Approximately 7 million people are suffering displacement, deprivation, and disease from the consequences of armed conflict in Nigeria, including 2.2 million internally displaced,” the statement read.

“As a result of the prolonged crisis, communities who have generously hosted IDPs have also exhausted their resources and find themselves struggling to make ends meet.

“There are nearly 170,000 Nigerian refugees who have fled to Cameroon, Chad, and Niger – countries whose citizens have also suffered from Boko Haram attacks and consequent displacement.”

The new assistance is reported to bring the entire humanitarian assistance of the US to the Lake Chad basin to $237 million.

“This funding will support the work of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN World Food Program (WFP), and other international aid organizations in the region to provide essential protection and assistance to those affected.

“This new funding brings the total U.S. humanitarian assistance for the Lake Chad Basin humanitarian response in FY 2015 and FY 2016 to more than $237 million.”

The funding is aimed at helping “UNHCR to provide Nigerian refugees with essential assistance, such as access to clean water and sanitation facilities, health care, essential household items, shelter, programs which protect children, and activities to prevent and respond to gender-based violence”.

In total, the UN estimates that there are 9.2 million people across the Lake Chad Basin region in need of immediate assistance and has requested $535 million for the 2016 response. The United States encourages other donors to join us in responding to this humanitarian crisis.