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Nigeria + 3 more

Lake Chad Basin: Crisis Overview (as of 22 October 2018)

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Background

The Lake Chad Basin humanitarian emergency is among the most severe in the world. The protracted conflict has uprooted around 2.5 million people, stoked high levels of hunger and malnutrition, and subjected millions of civilians to extreme hardship. Insecurity is hampering the resumption of normal life, leaving conflict-affected families dependent on humanitarian assistance for survival.

Recent Developments

The humanitarian community has been deeply devastated by the execution of two International Committee of the Red Cross aid workers in northeast Nigeria. On 15 October, midwife Hauwa Mohammed Liman was executed by her captors. Her killing came a month after her colleague, Saifura Hussaini Ahmed Khorsa, with whom she was abducted,was executed. The two were kidnapped in March 2018 when armed men raided Rann town in north-east Nigeria. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the aid community in Nigeria strongly condemned the killings. Around 3,000 humanitarians work in Nigeria’s north-east, where armed violence continues to inflict great human suffering and undermine aid operations. Since the end of a military operation in June, the Lake Chad Basin has seen a surge in attacks. Civilians have been kidnapped, killed and displaced.

The region is also facing its worst cholera outbreak in eight years. More than 38,000 cases and 845 deaths have been officially reported since the start of the year. Efforts are underway to contain the epidemic which risks spreading to other neighbouring countries and set back progress made in eliminating cholera.

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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
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