The Government of Cameroon has signed an agreement with the Lake Chad Basin Commission, for the disbursement of an FCFA Six Billion loan destined for the socio-economic reintegration of the vulnerable.

The project which cuts across three countries, notably Cameroon, Chad and the Central African Republic will be executed with funds from the African Development Fund along with the contribution of beneficiary countries. The commission seeks to ameliorate the living conditions of persons living in the area, by enforcing the socio-economic reintegrating of those affected by the security challenges and the adverse climatic conditions.

The target destination of the funds will principally be persons affected by the Boko Haram atrocities and others affected by the deteriorating climatic conditions of the basin. The Cameroon entity of the project that should last four years, will be implemented in Diamare, Mayo Tsanaga, Logone and Chari and the Mayo Chari Divisions of the North and far North Regions of the Country.

“The project to reconstruct the Lake Chad basin is a very important project. It will go a long way to stabilise the Northern part of Cameroon which has witnessed a lot of challenges especially in the Boko Haram affected areas. It directly concerns the Northern part of Cameroon, Central Africa and Chad,”the Executive Secretary of the Lake Chad basin commission, MammanNuhu said.

He also added that the humanitarian challenges in the areas are quite enormous and any help destined for the affected is most welcome. “You can’t address the security situation without tackling the challenges faced by the vulnerable,” he stressed.

Monday’s signing came weeks after the  launch of the Regional Stabilization Facility for Lake Chad, an ambitious multi-million-dollar fund to scale up the range of stabilization interventions in areas of Lake Chad Basin.