The World Bank has provided one billion dollars to strengthen resilience and improve the livelihood of the people in the countries affected by the insurgency in Lake Chad.
The bank’s Country Manager for Chad, Mr Rasit Pertesv, made this known on Thursday during the Fourth Lake Chad Governor’s Forum meeting in N’Djamena, Chad.
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The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the forum occurs amidst shifting conflict patterns and emerging challenges that have resulted in widespread displacement, damage to the social fabric, interrupted public services, and weakened institutional capacities across the affected countries – Chad, Cameroon, Niger, and Nigeria.
He said that the funds which were disbursed among the crisis-affected countries have helped in revitalizing economic development, creating jobs, and improving the lives of people who had suffered the brunt of the crises.
The country manager said that the zero-interest financing from the International Development Association provided support for two major regional development priorities which include the recovery of livelihoods to reduce the vulnerability of people living in Lake Chad.
He said that it would go a long way in expanding cross-border economic activity to spur greater opportunity and integration in the areas of agriculture, energy, transport, and regional trades.
Pertev lauded the regional stability programme aimed at restoring and improving security in Lake Chad and called for redoubled efforts toward sustainable recovery in areas that were economically affected.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, Amb. Mamman Nuhu stressed that prevailing poverty, unemployment, and illiteracy created a susceptible environment for the extremist group’s ideology to spread rapidly among communities in the Lake Chad region.
