Oslo pledges must be followed by improved access and coordination in Lake Chad Basin

After the Oslo Conference on the Lake Chad Basin crisis closes with donors pledging $672m of the $1.5bn needed to avert famine, Pauline Ballaman, Oxfam’s Head of Response to the Lake Chad Basin region, said: 

“This is an important start. But the speed at which the money pledged arrives in country is critical.  The funds are only one third of what is needed, so more money must be provided soon.

“Money is not the only thing that is required in Nigeria and the Lake Chad region. Access needs to be improved so that we can get aid to all those that desperately need it.  This is still an active conflict and those in greatest need are in places controlled by Boko Haram that aid agencies cannot reach.

"We also need to strengthen humanitarian coordination between all those involved in the response and ensure that nobody is forced to return to their homes if it is not safe to do so."