The African Development Bank Group and the government of Chad have signed a $10.8 million grant agreement to promote stability and economic development in the Lake Chad Basin.
The implementation agreement for the “Risk Prevention through Lake Chad Stabilisation” (PROSTABLT) project, was signed on 28 February 2025 by Tahir Hamid Nguilin, Chad’s Minister of Finance, Budget, Economy, Planning and International Cooperation, who is also Governor of the African Development Bank for Chad, and Claude N’Kodia, the Bank’s Acting Country Manager in Chad. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the project’s executing agency, is also one of the signatories.
The project is a response to the crucial need to improve the general situation in the Lake Chad region, which has suffered from years of security crises and the adverse effects of climate change. It aims to restore conditions that will enable development to resume for the benefit of local communities.
The Lake Chad Basin is significantly more fragile than other areas in the neighbouring countries of Cameroon, Nigeria and Niger, as it suffers from a shortage of human capital and limited access to essential infrastructure. This situation is exacerbated by two major factors: the recent violent conflicts that have taken place there, and the long-term changes in climate that have altered the ecosystem of the lake and surrounding land. These conditions have hampered access to markets and complicated the traditional economic activities – farming, fishing and livestock production – which form the basis of the local market trends.
“[The Lake Chad region] requires major investment if the lake is to once again become what it was, i.e. one of the most prosperous, promising and valuable regions of our country,” said Minister Nguilin. “The support provided to young people, women, young entrepreneurs, schools and agriculture in this province represents an important lever for the development of the entire country.”
N’Kodia highlighted the project’s innovative approach, which will promote a humanitarian-development-peace nexus and help to instil a positive dynamic in the relevant areas. He said, “The project’s ambition is not only to help reduce the risks of crises and conflicts resuming or spreading, but also to develop the socio-economic resilience of communities affected by violent extremism and forced displacements and to enhance the climate resilience of communities and ecosystems, while reducing the region’s fragility.”
The project will also help the Bank to consolidate and extend the results and achievements of the Lake Chad Basin Regional Stabilisation Mechanism, run by the UNDP in Cameroon and Chad since 2019.
The strategic partnership between the African Development Bank Group and Chad is outlined in the Bank’s Country Strategy Paper (CSP) for the Central African country, focusing on two priority areas: the development of infrastructure to achieve strong and more diversified economic growth, and the promotion of good governance for more effective public action and a more attractive economic environment.
Source African Development Bank Group
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