As conflict continues to uproot communities across the Central Sahel, the European Union (EU) has
announced €10 million in new funding to support forcibly displaced people and the communities hosting them in the neighbouring coastal countries of Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Togo.
The funding is part of a broader regional initiative called “Unite”, aimed at strengthening the resilience of both displaced populations and their host communities.
Over the next two years, the project will be jointly implemented by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP), in partnership with national and local partners.
In April 2021, Côte d’Ivoire became the first coastal country to start receiving people fleeing insecurity and violence in the Central Sahel.
Over the past few years, Benin, Ghana, and Togo have also received thousands of displaced people.
Currently, the northern regions of Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Togo, and Ghana host around 160,000 refugees and asylum seekers, mostly from Burkina Faso.
Internal displacement is also growing in parts of the northern areas of Togo and Benin. Many of these communities already face severe challenges, including poverty and limited access to basic services.
The EU support is based on the Gulf of Guinea Joint Response Plan, in which the four UN agencies provide support to asylum seekers, refugees, and members of the host communities.
Under the Joint Response Plan, Project Unite’s partners will work together to ensure that forcibly displaced populations and host communities have effective and equitable access to essential socio-economic services.
It also includes sustainable livelihood opportunities, thereby complementing humanitarian interventions with development-focused approaches.
Through this joint effort, the four UN agencies will deliver coordinated support across key areas.
IOM will support local food systems by strengthening smallholder farms and livestock cooperatives while also improving data collection on movements and the needs of displaced people and host communities.
UNHCR will lead on collecting and analysing socio-economic data to improve access to national services such as education, health, and livelihoods for refugees and asylum seekers.
It will also prioritise access to safe, dignified, climate-resilient, and appropriate housing for the most vulnerable, alongside expanding access to electricity and clean cooking solutions in underserved communities.
UNICEF will improve access to quality, safe, and inclusive education for displaced children while strengthening access to safe water, child protection services, prevention of gender-based violence, and safeguards against sexual exploitation and abuse.
The organisation will also promote continued learning and build local capacity to foster social cohesion.
WFP will implement community-based projects that engage displaced and host populations in climate-resilient agriculture, asset creation, and nutrition-sensitive livelihoods.
Through multipurpose cash transfers, women’s empowerment, and local food systems, these activities promote self-reliance and social cohesion. School feeding, cooperative strengthening, and real-time food security monitoring will support inclusive recovery and long-term resilience.
Francesca Di Mauro, Ambassador of the European Union in Côte d’Ivoire, emphasised the EU’s solidarity with displaced people and their hosts.
“Our support aims not only to address urgent humanitarian needs but also to build long-term resilience for both displaced populations and host communities.
Through Project Unite, we reaffirm our commitment to regional stability, protection of human rights, and inclusive development in West Africa.”
Olivier Beer, Representative of UNHCR Multi-Country offices of Côte d’lvoire, welcomed the EU’s contribution, “As the influx of displaced persons continues, we commend the EU’s support for these essential protection activities. Registering asylum seekers and refugees, collecting socio-economic data for inclusive development and increasing the resilience of host and refugee communities are fundamental to ensuring both protection and stability”.
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