African Development Bank reaffirms full support for Lake Chad Basin Commission
The African Development Bank reaffirmed its full support for the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), which brings together Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria and Chad, faced with the threat of the jihadist group Boko Haram.
The director of the Coordination Office for States in Transition (RDTS), Yero Baldeh, received, at the Bank's headquarters, a delegation from the LCBC led by its executive secretary, Ambassador Mamman Nuhu. “The African Development Bank has always paid very high attention to the Lake Chad basin. She has been working with the LCBC for many years to build resilience in this area. We are happy to look together at the ways of more effective collaboration, ”he said.
The Bank operates, over almost a million square kilometers, in several sectors to promote regional integration between the countries bordering the lake, strengthen the resilience of populations and fight against fragility.
Through its Transition Support Facility, the Bank plans to finance a project to strengthen the institutional capacities of the LCBC and the platforms (civil society and private sector) in Niger and Chad for nearly $ 2.7 million as well as the empowerment of young people and women in the Lake Chad basin.
"We thank President Adesina and his staff for the Bank's continued support of the LCBC," said Mamman Nuhu. The Bank is a strategic partner who has always had a decisive presence alongside us. We are happy to be in Abidjan to take stock of our partnership and examine ways to strengthen it."
The Bank and the LCBC are looking for greater synergy between the partners present in the basin. To this end, a working meeting brought together the delegation of the LCBC and various entities of the Bank, in the presence of representatives of the African Union and the United Nations Development Program.
An assessment of bilateral cooperation was made before identifying the various points for improvement. The two sides want to better assess fragility, face the challenges of climate change, create jobs for young people, empower women, better collaborate with civil society and the private sector, and strengthen institutional capacities.
"It is important for the African Development Bank to help you strengthen your institutional capacities in order to better mobilize funds, better design projects and even increase the capacity to use available funding", detailed the director of the Institute African Development, Kevin Chika Urama.
The discussions also made it possible to discuss “the regional strategy for stabilization, recovery and resilience of the areas of the Lake Chad basin affected by Boko Haram. Validated by the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, the LCBC's new strategy for 2018-2023, includes 9 pillars to stabilize the regions affected by Boko Haram, restore the authority of the State and promote return of the displaced. It is also about promoting synergies between development partners.
"This strategy is an excellent and ambitious tool," said Solomane Koné, acting director general of the African Development Bank for Central Africa. It makes it possible to take stock and assess the gaps for an action plan and to identify the partners to be mobilized. The Bank is helping to implement this strategy through its regional interventions but also through its national operations in the four countries of the basin. "
The Lake Chad basin has been confronted for several years with the challenges of climate change and the threat of the jihadist movement Boko Haram, which weakens nearly 47 million people. The Bank has mobilized $ 68 million to finance the Lake Chad Basin Systems Rehabilitation and Resilience Program (PRESILAT). In order to strengthen regional integration, one of its five so-called "High 5" priorities, it is also funding nearly $20 million for the Project to support economic and social integration for the most vulnerable groups in Lake Chad.
