The World Bank approved two operations totaling $346 million in International Development Association financing to help strengthen resilience and livelihoods in the Lake Chad region, which is shared among Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria.
Overall, the Lake Chad region suffers from poor development and economic indicators compared to the averages in the four countries. There are significant gaps in infrastructure, access to basic services is poor, and natural resources and livelihoods are severely impacted by climate change. 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 operations 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 Lake Chad region remains a priority area of engagement given the common nature of the challenges faced by the sub-region and the huge potential for regional cooperation”, says Deborah Wetzel, World Bank Director of Regional Integration for Africa. “The framework being created by both PROLAC and the MCRP AF will lay the foundation for future regional and coordinated investments that will improve access to regional markets, promote value-chains development and revive cross-border and regional trade”.
The first project, the Lake Chad Region Recovery and Development Project (PROLAC, $170 million), 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. PROLAC will contribute to the rehabilitation of rural roads and small transport infrastructure, and will promote productive investments by helping agricultural producers to increase productivity in the polder areas in Chad, the farming of oasis areas in Niger, and in the areas close to the shore of the Lake Chad in the Far North of Cameroon.
The second project, the Multi-Sectoral Crisis Recovery Project for North Eastern Nigeria, Additional Financing (MCRP AF, $176 million), will help the Government of Nigeria to improve access to basic services and livelihood opportunities for crisis-affected communities in the North Eastern States of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, while enhancing coordination among these States and other Lake Chad countries. The project will also expand its education and health activities to include a focus on service delivery by providing grants to school committees and incentives to returning teachers, and by promoting quality of primary health care services in targeted public health centers and district hospitals.
Original source: World Bank
Published on 26 May 2020
