On the third anniversary of the abduction of the Chibok
school girls, Foreign Office Minister and International
Development Minister said:
“Our thoughts are with the Chibok girls who remain
missing, their families and all those abducted by Boko Haram. We
are working side by side with Nigeria in the fight against Boko
Haram and call for the release of all those who have been
taken.
“During our visits to Nigeria last year, we heard how
people’s lives have been devastated by Boko Haram. We are
committed to supporting Nigeria in the fight against these
barbaric terrorists. More than 22,500 Nigeria military personnel
have received UK training, with a significant number deployed on
counter insurgency operations in north-east Nigeria.
“Lasting stability and security requires all parties to
work together to address the long-term causes of the conflict,
and the empowerment of women and girls must be at the heart of
this process. The UK was one of the first to respond to the
humanitarian crisis in north-east Nigeria, and continues to reach
millions of people who have been forced from their homes with
lifesaving support to improve education, nutrition and basic
health services to stop people dying from starvation and
hunger.
“We will not be deterred from supporting Nigeria to
tackle violent extremism and build peace for the people of
north-east Nigeria.”
Background
· Since
2014 the UK has significantly increased its support to help
Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram through the provision of
a substantial package of military, intelligence and development
support.
· The
UK has contributed £5 million to the Multi National Joint Task
Force, a regional force against Boko Haram, comprised of troops
from Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Chad and Benin.
· Last
year, we provided £74 million for emergency food, shelter and
health care for hundreds of thousands of people displaced by Boko
Haram’s violent insurgency. DFID significantly increased its
humanitarian support: from £1m in 2014 to £74m last year.
· In
health, DFID is supporting the International Committee of the Red
Cross, who have helped restore basic health care services for
over 500,000 people affected by conflict, provided 150,000
immunisations for children and enabled over 20,000 women to give
birth safely. In 2016 alone we reached over a million people with
food and provided 34,000 children suffering from malnutrition
with lifesaving treatment.
· In
education, DFID is supporting access to education for over 25,000
marginalised children in the north-east, including girls, through
an innovative approach that engages government, community members
and religious leaders to introduce the teaching of literacy in
the local language, numeracy and basic science alongside Quranic
education in 200 “Integrated Quranic schools” (IQS). DFID
supported research suggesting strong demand from communities
affected by the conflict with Boko Haram to expand this
approach.
