HIGHLIGHTS
UNSC adopts resolution addressing security and humanitarian assistance in the Lake Chad Basin Region
WFP reaches more than 1 million people for fourth consecutive month, but requires support to continue scale-up
IOM identifies 1.7 million IDPs in Nigeria’s northeastern states
IDP population in Cameroon’s Far North Region increases by 17 percent since January
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
In late March, the UN Security Council (UNSC) adopted a resolution addressing security, human rights, humanitarian assistance, and stabilization efforts in the Lake Chad Basin Region, comprising areas of Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria. The resolution calls on regional governments to facilitate safe, timely, and unhindered humanitarian access, as well as ensure voluntary returns of internally displaced persons (IDPs).
For food-insecure populations in northeastern Nigeria, the lean season, which typically occurs from June–September, is likely to begin in April or May due to the early depletion of household food stocks, which may exacerbate food insecurity in the worst-affected areas of Borno and Yobe states, according to the USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET).
Relief agencies, including USAID/FFP partner the UN World Food Program (WFP), are providing emergency food assistance to vulnerable populations. In March, the UN agency provided emergency food and nutrition assistance to more than 1 million people in northeastern Nigeria for the fourth consecutive month. However, WFP reports that financial support is needed to continue reaching vulnerable populations with food assistance and to increase activities in the coming months.
Insecurity continues to prompt population displacement in the Lake Chad Basin Region.
While the overall population of IDPs in Nigeria’s Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe states decreased by approximately 4 percent between January and March, clashes continue to displace individuals within northeastern Nigeria, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Meanwhile, IOM recorded more than 223,600 IDPs in Cameroon’s Far North Region in March—a nearly 17 percent increase compared to the 191,900 people identified in January.