WHO: Achim Steiner, United Nations Development Programme Administrator, and Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator

WHAT: Joint mission to Nigeria and Chad

WHEN: Nigeria 5-6 October, Chad 6-7 October

WHERE: In Nigeria: Abuja and field visits in Borno State. In Chad: N'Djamena

UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock will travel together to Nigeria (5-6 Oct) and Chad (6-7 Oct) on a mission to highlight and support joint humanitarian and development efforts in these countries.

In Nigeria, Mr. Lowcock and Mr. Steiner will meet with high-level government officials and representatives of the humanitarian, development and donor communities. On 6 October, they will travel to Borno State and visit a site for internally displaced persons, a transition centre and a rebuilt community. Humanitarian and development partners are linking up efforts to respond to the devastating consequences of the ongoing violence in north-eastern Nigeria while seeking to promote durable solutions for affected communities.

The humanitarian crisis in northeast Nigeria has spread across the Lake Chad region and remains severe with 7.7 million people in urgent need of assistance. The UN has stepped up coordination to improve resilience and self-reliance of local communities through the restoration of basic services such as water and electricity, the rehabilitation of schools and hospitals and emergency jobs programmes.

In Chad, the two UN principals are expected to meet President Idris Déby, senior government officials as well as humanitarian and development partners. On 7 October, they will visit a nutrition centre in N'Djamena where international NGOs and UN agencies are treating children with malnutrition amid one of the worst nutrition crises the country has ever experienced. A third of Chad's population - more than 4.9 million people - urgently need humanitarian assistance due to food insecurity, malnutrition, and health emergencies. The joint mission will provide a unique opportunity to assess UN coordination on the ground, to mobilise resources to address longer-term needs, and seek further commitments from Government and partners.

The joint mission comes one month after the High-Level Conference on the Lake Chad Region held in Berlin. Mr. Lowcock and Mr. Steiner will discuss with partners and governments how to translate commitments made during the conference into practical action on the ground.

Contacts

Lucky Musonda, UNDP Nigéria +234 812 949 2749, lucky.musonda@undp.org
Samantha Newport OCHA Nigéria: +234 906 22 77 205, newports@un.org
Toussaint Mbaitoubam, UNDP Tchad, + 235 662 75 033 toussaint.mbaitoubam@undp.org
Jens Laerke, OCHA Geneva, +41 79 472 9750, laerke@un.org
Russell Geekie, OCHA New York, +1 917 331 0393, geekie@un.org
Christina Lonigro, UNDP New York, +1 212 906 5301, christina.lonigro@undp.org
Sarah Bel, UNDP Geneva, +41799341117, sarah.bel@undp.org