Africa Press-Nigeria:
The World Bank has approved $346 million in International Development Association (IDA) financing to help strengthen resilience and livelihoods in the Lake Chad region.
The money will be shared among Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria.
In the Lake Chad there are significant gaps in infrastructure, access to basic services is poor, and natural resources and livelihoods are severely impacted by climate change.
According to a statement from the World Bank, “the situation is exacerbated by insecurity prevailing since 2009 due to insurgent activities that prevents more than 49 million people from attaining their livelihoods in fishing, livestock farming and agriculture.”
The two newly approved facilities “focus on enhancing regional collaboration among the four countries to support communities close to the shore of Lake Chad areas and to improve the living conditions of the population, including vulnerable women and youth who face the negative impacts of climate change and suffer from insecurity.”
The first project to be funded valued at $170 million is the Lake Chad Region Recovery and Development Project (PROLAC, $170 million). “It will support national and regional coordination platforms and local capacity building, contribute to restore sustainable rural mobility and connectivity and strengthen the recovery of agricultural livelihoods in selected provinces of Cameroon, Chad, and Niger.”
The facility will also promote knowledge sharing and regional dialogue with a data platform hosted at the Lake Chad Basin Commission.
