Both Chad and Niger are countries in which armed conflicts due to scarce natural resources are common. The regions chosen in this project in both countries are border areas strongly affected by climate change, floods, high food insecurity, malnutrition, gender-based violence, as well as forced migration and internal displacements due to armed conflicts linked to the presence of the Boko Haram group in the Lake Chad basin. The increase in average annual temperatures and the gradual decrease in summer rainfall are adversely affecting harvests. In addition, there is a lack of public investment, that would be necessary for development, and weak local governance.

Expected Results

R1: Promote the access of highly vulnerable households to a social protection system.

R2: The access of vulnerable households to basic social services is improved.

R3: Protecting and promoting the livelihoods of vulnerable households through a comprehensive multi-sectoral package.

R4: Strengthening of social cohesion, conflict prevention and management, influencing capacity and relations between the inhabitants of the project municipalities and the decentralised structures and local authorities.

Main Activities

• Unconditional cash support
• Emergency Material/Input Support for Livelihood Development
• Awareness raising on essential family practices, gender equity, gender-based violence and climate change
• Screening of children for malnutrition and referral to care facilities when necessary
• Conditional cash support in the form of CFW/CFL
• Support for the 16 vulnerability monitoring systems already in place (feedback of information, even across borders, to the level of the municipalities)
• Establishment of 7 law shops to raise awareness on gender-based violence (GBV) for the benefit of 40,806 women
• Promotion of birth registration through collaboration between local authorities and community relays
• Support to women and youth for the development of IGAs
• Support for the creation/support of savings-credit groups
• Support for agro-sylvopastoral, fisheries and craft production
• Cross-border experience exchange visits
• Training on conflict prevention and management for the benefit of different stakeholders
• Workshop with authorities for peace building / social cohesion
• Conducting and updating conflict analyses

Participants

The target groups are 19,248 very poor and vulnerable households (including refugees, returnees and displaced persons) in the 9 targeted communes. These households will directly benefit from a change in their living conditions as a result of the improved social and community situation. Among these households, a total of 3,956 households will receive a full package of project activities. Participants with the full package will be identified during the first two months of the project, targeted according to HEA and other discriminating criteria (presence of persons living with a disability in the household, female head of household, household size, number of children < 5 years, number of pregnant and lactating women). The average size is estimated at 6 persons per household. A system for checking participants lists will be put in place to mitigate the risk of exclusion. The same households will be targeted for all the actions, some of which will focus more specifically on a certain sector of the population, in particular women and children.