Lake Chad Basin: Boko Haram-induced crisis is 'children's crisis,' UNICEF warns
| Publisher | UN News Service |
| Publication Date | 25 August 2016 |
| Related Document(s) | Children on the move, children left behind - Uprooted or trapped by Boko Haram |
| Cite as | UN News Service, Lake Chad Basin: Boko Haram-induced crisis is 'children's crisis,' UNICEF warns, 25 August 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57bfda7940c.html [accessed 21 October 2022] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
25 August 2016 - Years of violence by Boko Haram in Africa's Lake Chad basin, which includes Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, have led to a worsening humanitarian crisis that has displaced 1.4 million children and left at least one million still trapped in hard-to-reach areas, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in a report released today.
"The Lake Chad crisis is a children's crisis that should rank high on the global migration and displacement agenda," said Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa, in a news release.
"Humanitarian needs are outpacing the response, especially now that new areas previously unreachable in northeast Nigeria become accessible," he added.
Released ahead of the UN Summit on Refugees and Migrants on 19 September 2016, the report, Children on the Move, Children Left Behind, looks at the impact of the Boko Haram insurgency on children in the Lake Chad basin countries and its devastating toll on children.
The report noted that, in addition to the 2.6 million people currently displaced, 2.2 million people - over half of them children - are feared to be trapped in areas under the control of Boko Haram and need humanitarian assistance.
The report also noted that an estimated 38 children have been used to carry out suicide attacks in the Lake Chad basin region so far this year, bringing to 86 the total number of children used as suicide bombers since 2014.
