‘We are always 2 steps behind the displacement,’ Karl Steinacker, UNHCR representative for Niger on BBC Newsday
Julian Keane from the BBC spent the past week in Niger, reporting on the situation in the Diffa region. He met with Government officials in Niamey to discuss the security situation, and travelled to Diffa to visit the displaced population who have settled along the Route National 1.
Today he met with Karl Steinacker, Representative of UNHCR Niger to discuss the displacement situation in the Diffa Region.
Although the situation is extremely difficult, Mr. Steinacker pointed out that “it is made easier by the attitude of the population and by the Government” who have been welcoming refugees from Nigeria since 2013.
Mr . Steinacker emphasized the fact that despite the severity of the situation, it remains one of the most underreported crises in the world, with aid agencies having received just 20% of the funds they require for 2016. “In Diffa it is basically impossible to plan in the long run…we are always basically two steps behind the displacement situation there”. However, Mr. Steinacker mentioned some of the positive steps made in terms of settling people, providing them with land plots, and supporting education for Nigerian refugees. He pointed out that these positive experiences motivate the humanitarian community to move forward.
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