The IRC Project

Consortium leader : International Rescue Committee

Consortium members : ONG Karkara, SOS Sahel International Tchad (SOSSIT)

Countries of implementation : Niger - Chad

Period of implementation : March 2023 / December 2025

Total budget : 8.644.013 GBP

Project summary : The consortium has designed an integrated, adaptive programme in alignment with the context and risks associated with the situation of the Lake Chad Basin. The proposed intervention aims to ensure that vulnerable people in the Lake Chad Basin, particularly women and girls, have access to an integrated package of quality services that address their urgent health, food security, nutrition and protection needs, and are supported to improve their resilience and livelihoods, as well as to prevent and mitigate the impacts of climate change. To accomplish this, IRC brings together a consortium of exceptional technical expertise and contextual knowledge of the Lake Chad Basin region to implement a project that centred around population’s protection and basic needs and supported by thorough needs assessments, which will support service delivery, multi-purpose cash assistance, and access to essential services and referrals. The project will bridge the gap between humanitarian response and resilience-focused actions to mitigate the impacts of climate hazards and conflict though the development of economic opportunities, sustainable farming, value chains and market linkages.  

Specific Objective 1 (health): Access to quality health services for vulnerable populations, in particular children under 5 years old is improved to combat their main causes of mortality and reduce the mortality rate  

• Outcome: Access to primary health care is improved; The quality of care provided is improved; The capacity of health authorities in the management of health facilities is be improved  

Specific Objective 2 (nutrition): Access to treatment for severe and moderate acute malnutrition is improved in the project area.  

• Outcome: Infants and young children have an optimal food intake; Treatment and prevention interventions for acute malnutrition is accessible to accompanying mothers and children and is of high quality.  

Specific Objective 3 (protection): The protective environment for women, girls and boys in the Lake Chad Basin is improved  

• Outcome: Women, girls and boys are safe in their communities; Women, girls and boys, benefit from appropriate and quality protection services; Key stakeholder’s capacity is built at all levels  

Specific Objective 4 (food security and livelihoods): The food security and livelihoods of vulnerable populations in the Lake Chad Basin is improved  

• Outcome: Vulnerable households have their basic food needs met and avoid negative coping strategies; Women and youth control resources and generate income; Vulnerable households are resilient to the effects of climate change and improve agricultural production  

The consortium will target remote and hard-to-reach vulnerable populations affected by conflict and displacement in the Lake Chad Basin, focused on areas where few actors are present to address gaps, and to leverage existing presence on the ground of consortium members to promote scaling and complementing of current interventions. In Chad, IRC and SOSSIT will target Liwa and Daboua in Fouli department in Lac Province. In Niger, IRC and Karkara will target Bosso, Gueskerou and N'Guigmi in Diffa region. Core to the project’s design is a central focus on addressing the immediate humanitarian needs of forcibly displaced populations and host communities, cross-cutting protection prevention and response, and integration of cash assistance to promote a protective, empowered and dignified environment within targeted communities