Locations
5th Lake Chad Basin Governors’ Forum, Maiduguri, Nigeria
Session 6, 30th of January 2025, 15:00 – 16:30
Challenges and opportunities for adopting durable solutions for IDPs and refugees in the Lake Chad Basin Region
Opening remarks (5 minutes)
Dr. Zeynu Ummer, Director, Resilience Hub for Africa, UNDP
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, all protocols observed,
It is a great pleasure for me to open today’s session on opportunities and challenges that we face in adopting durable solutions for internally displaced persons and refugees in the Lake Chad Basin region.
Building on the rich deliberations we heard in previous sessions, it is evident that we need to advance solutions to forced displacement as an inseparable part of our efforts to sustain peace, enhance security, and drive sustainable and inclusive developmentacross the Lake Chad Basin region.
The numbers speak for themselves: together, Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria host over 3.1 million internally displaced persons and 320,000 refugees in the region, many of whom in protracted situations.
I would like to start our session with five reflections. I hope these can contribute to a frank, forward-looking exchange on where we have made progress towards solutions and where we need to adjust our approaches.
First, Solutions for internally displaced persons need to be government-led and anchored in communities hosting them, including in contexts of return. This means mainstreaming displacement into national and local development plans and dedicated frameworks. Examples include the Action Plans on Durable Solutions for Yobe, Adamawa and Borno States here in the North-East of Nigeria, and the national government action plan for Chad.
Second, we need to continue scaling up our joint efforts for the financing for solutionstogether with governments, donors, international financial institutions, United Nations and other partners. This needs to be combined with growing efforts towards private sector engagement and investment opportunities, as highlighted during the 2024 Africa Roundtable on Private Sector Solutions to Internal Displacement held in Lagos last November.
Third, we need to support communities in fragile, conflict-affected contexts across all our efforts. This includes building the resilience of the most vulnerable against compounded risks, ranging from deteriorating stability and socio-economic constraints to environmental hazards. In response to more frequent and severe disasters, UNDP established a Community Recovery and Resilience Facility last year, with integrated components on displacement, social cohesion and livelihoods. Given the devastating floods in this region, allocations were fast-tracked to Chad and Nigeria.
Fourth, our efforts to move the humanitarian-development-peace nexus from theory to practice are not complete yet. We need to continue ensuring that life-saving humanitarian responses are accompanied by stabilization, early recovery and longer-term development interventions. This is especially important in contexts marked by fragility, conflict, and large-scale or recurring displacement. Together, we have made good progress through the Regional Strategy for Stabilization, Recovery and Resilience in Boko Haram affected areas. UNDP continues being committed to these efforts through the Regional Stabilization Facility, reinforcing the foundations for durable solutions. Yesterday, we launched a Special Multi-Partner Delivery Fund that includes a dedicated Nexus Funding Facility. This brings renewed hope and return to normalcy for communities who have lived through the devastating consequences of conflict, with women and children often disproportionally affected.
Fifth, we are all affected by shrinking funding and competing geopolitical priorities. We need to think comprehensively and “out of the box” how different policy and programmatic interventions and funding instruments can contribute to solutions to displacement. Let me take the example of climate change adaptation programming, vertical funds, and discussions to address Loss and Damage from the lens of displacement, as we heard during COP29.
In a region like the Lake Chad Basin, affected by serious droughts, access to water is pivotal to prevent and resolve displacement. The Africa Groundwater Access Facility, GAFA, helps addressing resource scarcity and inter-communal tensions from a transboundary lens. It was launched in the Horn of Africa and CCD COP16 last year by UNDP’s Administrator Achim Steiner. It is set to play a game-changing role for the development of drought-prone areas across Africa, with an investment aim of 2 billion USD. The launch of GAFA in the Sahel is planned for this year.
Globally, over half of UNDP’s resources – 2.5 billion USD – are allocated to fragile contexts, contributing to solutions to displacement. Borrowing the words of our Administrator, development is the only path out of crisis. Count on UNDP’s continued contribution in achieving this collective commitment in the Lake Chad Basin.
I look forward to an interesting exchange. Thank you.
