EU pledges 4.1 bn FCFA to Boko Haram affected countries

Delegation of the European Union (EU) in Cameroon has announced the release of aid to the sum of 4.1 billion FCFA to finance two mentoring programs in areas affected by the Nigerian sect Islamist Boko Haram in the Far North region.

Both programs aim at strengthening the operational capacity of civil protection, including the bodies of firefighters and border police (2.6 billion FCFA), but also socio-economic integration of disadvantaged young people in the area (1, 5 billion CFA francs).

In the less favored regions of the country affected by the atrocities of the sect, the EU also announced the preparation with the Cameroonian government of a rural development program to the same part of the country, amounting to 185 billion FCFA under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF).

This support involved the sidelines of an inter-institutional mission in Cameroon, which since the beginning of the week, met with Deputy Ministers for Defence, External Relations of Territorial Administration and the Secretary General of the Prime Minister.

EU mission recalls, however, its institutional partners, the importance of including civil society in its aid strategies.