ReliefWeb

In 2015, the ICRC stepped up its efforts to help some of the many hundreds of thousands of people affected by the Lake Chad conflict and who lack even the basic necessities of life. With the support of the Red Cross societies throughout the region, the ICRC built shelters, distributed food and essential household items, facilitated access to medical care and water, visited security detainees and helped to re-establish contact among families separated by the conflict.

Below is an overview of the ICRC's work in the region in 2015.

Food, household goods and livelihood support.

Emergency relief distributed in conjunction with the Red Cross societies helped conflict/violence-affected people meet some of their needs and cope with their displacement.

• In Nigeria, 538,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returnees received food, 387,000 IDPs received essential household items, and 57,000 people received cash and vouchers to enable them to purchase basic necessities. A total of 52,000 people who had returned to their places of origin after fleeing violence received assistance (fertilizer, seed or vouchers for agricultural inputs), allowing them to harvest and rebuild their lives. A total of 1,400 women widowed by the conflict were helped to increase their resilience.

• In Cameroon, 14,500 displaced and host families received food; another 7,000 received essential household items; and 5,100 families hosting displaced persons each received 75 tonnes of seed and some 250 tonnes of fertilizer so they could grow staple foods.

• In Niger, 116,000 people received food, more than 9,000 people received seed and fertilizer, and 35,000 pastoral households were assisted to increase their cattle productivity and to ensure that they had sufficient food.

• In Chad, the ICRC and the Red Cross of Chad distributed household items to 2,000 families who had fled violence taking place on the islands of Lake Chad.