This EU funding will allow the Nigerian Red Cross to provide emergency assistance to affected and at-risk communities by reducing the impact of diphtheria through risk communication, outbreak control activities, surveillance, patient referral and hygiene promotion, and early case detection in affected areas.

Humanitarian assistance will be provided directly and indirectly to approximately 1,585,080 people, with a special emphasis on vulnerable people at risk of diphtheria.

Humanitarian assistance will, directly and indirectly, target around 1,585,080 people, with a particular focus on vulnerable people at risk of diphtheria, those living in sheltered communities or hard-to-reach locations.

This funding is part of the EU’s overall contribution to the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

On 20 January 2023, the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) officially declared an outbreak of diphtheria in Kano and Lagos states after several suspected cases appeared a month earlier.

The disease then spread rapidly to other states. From 136 cases in the first week of 2023, the country now records a total of 733 suspected cases and deplores89 fatalities.

The outbreak is described as one of the most serious occurrences in Nigeria in recent years. Children aged between 5 and 18 years are the most vulnerable group.

Diphtheria is a highly contagious bacterial infection transmitted between humans. It causes an infection of the upper respiratory tract, which can lead to breathing difficulties and suffocation. Those most at risk are children and people who have not been fully vaccinated against the disease.

Violence in the area is leading to widespread displacement, interruption of livelihoods, and a lack of access to essential services, with the civilian population becoming more and more the target of targeted attacks.

As the humanitarian situation in the Lake Chad region worsens, the Commission has provided €102.5 million in humanitarian aid to assist vulnerable communities in Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon.

Violence in the region, where the civilian population is increasingly the victim of targeted attacks, is resulting in large-scale displacement, disruption of livelihoods, and lack of access to basic services.

The pledge was made on the occasion of the High-Level Conference on the Lake Chad Region, held in Niamey on 23-24 January. The total amount for 2023 will be distributed as follows: Nigeria (34 million), Niger (25 million), Chad (26.5 million), and Cameroon (€17 million).

The funding is part of the total €181.5 million allocated this year for the Lake Chad basin, the Central African Republic, and the Sahel, as announced last week.

• The EU’s humanitarian aid in the Lake Chad region is targeted to:
• Providing life-saving assistance to people displaced by conflict and hosting communities;
• Responding to the most acute food needs of households and communities affected by conflict and treating severe acute undernutrition in children under 5;
• Giving access to healthcare to populations that are newly displaced or outside the reach of health authorities, and improving the access to safe water and sanitation;
• Supporting emergency education for displaced children and those in hard-to-reach areas;
  Strengthening disaster preparedness (e.g. early warning systems and climate resilience actions).