Hopes of reviving the Lake Chad region brightened on Wednesday
as the World Bank approved two operations totaling $346 million in
International Development Association (IDA) financing to strengthen
resilience and livelihoods in the area, 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 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. It will also promote knowledge sharing
and regional dialogue with a data platform hosted at the Lake Chad
Basin Commission while strengthening community empowerment through
citizen engagement, social cohesion activities, and labor-intensive
public works. 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. It expands the ongoing $200 million MCRP project and
puts an increased emphasis on support for agricultural livelihoods
and investments. In addition, the MCRP AF will include support for
labor-intensive approaches and works programs, promote rural and
regional connectivity, rehabilitate market infrastructure, and
prioritize climate change adaptation and mitigation. 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.
“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”.
Both PROLAC and the MCRP are well aligned with existing regional
and national strategies, including (i) the World Bank’s Regional
Integration and Cooperation Assistance Strategy which promotes
collective actions to address the risks of regional economic
contagion, fragility, epidemic and climate hot spots; (ii) the
World Bank’s Strategy for Fragility, Conflict and Violence; and
with (iii) the Country Partnership Frameworks for Cameroon, Chad
and Niger, and the Country Partnership Strategy for Nigeria.
Hopes of reviving the Lake Chad region brightened on Wednesday
as the World Bank approved two operations totaling $346 million in
International Development Association (IDA) financing to strengthen
resilience and livelihoods in the area, 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 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. It will also promote knowledge sharing
and regional dialogue with a data platform hosted at the Lake Chad
Basin Commission while strengthening community empowerment through
citizen engagement, social cohesion activities, and labor-intensive
public works. 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. It expands the ongoing $200 million MCRP project and
puts an increased emphasis on support for agricultural livelihoods
and investments. In addition, the MCRP AF will include support for
labor-intensive approaches and works programs, promote rural and
regional connectivity, rehabilitate market infrastructure, and
prioritize climate change adaptation and mitigation. 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.
“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”.
Both PROLAC and the MCRP are well aligned with existing regional
and national strategies, including (i) the World Bank’s Regional
Integration and Cooperation Assistance Strategy which promotes
collective actions to address the risks of regional economic
contagion, fragility, epidemic and climate hot spots; (ii) the
World Bank’s Strategy for Fragility, Conflict and Violence; and
with (iii) the Country Partnership Frameworks for Cameroon, Chad
and Niger, and the Country Partnership Strategy for Nigeria.