The funding announcement was made during the Senior Officials Meeting on Sahel and Lake Chad, held on Tuesday in Brussels and attended by EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič. The funds are aimed at addressing urgent needs such as food security, malnutrition, healthcare, protection, water, sanitation and hygiene, shelter, and education. Additionally, the funding will facilitate the transportation of humanitarian workers and supplies to remote and inaccessible areas.
A statement issued on Tuesday detailed the allocation: Burkina Faso (€26.9 million), Cameroon (€21 million), Chad (€57.9 million), Mali (€24 million), Mauritania (€5.7 million), Niger (€24.6 million), and Nigeria (€31.5 million). The aid for Chad includes an additional €8.7 million in response to the Sudan conflict and €3.1 million to support an EU Humanitarian Air Bridge operation in the East, supplementing the initial €45.3 million announced earlier this year.
Commissioner Lenarčič emphasized the gravity of the situation: “Insecurity, violence, and over a decade of armed conflict have driven communities in the Sahel and Lake Chad regions to unprecedented levels of suffering. Over 35 million people are now in need of aid, while the humanitarian crisis is spreading to West Africa’s coastal countries. The international community must increase its efforts to meet the growing needs. The EU is committing over €200 million for 2024 and urges others to contribute.”
The funding will also address epidemics and population movements, with €2.4 million allocated through the Emergency Toolbox for rapid response in sudden-onset crises.
The humanitarian crisis in the Sahel and Lake Chad regions is dire, with more than 35 million people requiring assistance in 2024. This includes one in five people in the Central Sahel countries of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. Despite the scale of the crisis, funding remains inadequate: only about one-third of the required funds for these regions were met in 2023.
Insecurity and violence are the primary drivers of the crisis, affecting food security, causing forced displacement, and disrupting basic services. The food and nutrition crisis is severe, with projections indicating that more than 46 million people will face food shortages between June and August 2024, a 105% increase over the past five-year average.
The crisis has also displaced over 10 million people within the Sahel and Lake Chad regions, leading to widespread school closures and affecting more than 2.2 million children by March 2024.
The statement underscored the challenges faced by humanitarian workers, including access restrictions, bureaucratic hurdles, and security threats from both non-state armed groups and regular armed forces. Despite these obstacles, the humanitarian community continues to provide critical assistance, though it remains insufficient to meet all needs. The statement called for a combined effort of humanitarian aid and development assistance to address the multifaceted challenges.
