The Lake Chad Basin in western Africa is suffering a complex humanitarian emergency affecting 17 million people across Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria. Conflict and drought have forced more than 2.6 million people to flee their homes and one in every two people are in need of emergency relief. Nearly nine million people are going to bed hungry every night.
Now meningitis and Hepatitis E epidemics are threatening the lives of nearly 10,000 people in Nigeria and Niger. Meningitis has already killed 839 people and hepatitis E has claimed 25 lives – all of them pregnant women.
Funding has been slow to arrive from the international community. Only 21% of the 1.1 billion dollars pledged through a UN funding conference earlier this year has been received. And sadly, the violent conflict is restricting humanitarian support from being delivered.
CARE has recently opened an office in Nigeria to help break through these barriers and get help to those who need it most.
“People will starve without urgent humanitarian support,” warns Garth Van’t Hul, interim Country Director in CARE’s Nigeria office.
CARE is helping people in the Lake Chad region with life-saving food, water, shelter, hygiene kits and health services as well as supporting women affected by gender-based violence.
“Families need humanitarian support now so we avoid the worst and help them rebuild their lives.”
You can be a part of the solution by donating to our global emergency fund.
