West and Central Africa — Within and Beyond Borders Displacement Report (December 2016)

In response to the need for accurate and up-to-date information on displacement and human mobility resulting from the Boko Haram crisis in the Lake Chad basin, IOM activated its Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) in Nigeria in July 2014, Chad in January 2015, and Cameroon in November 2015. The abovementioned countries are affected by the same crisis in similar contexts. As such, IOM deemed important to link the different data collection exercises conducted in the sub-region in order to compare the displacement trends in the concerned countries, improve the analysis of regional movements, facilitate the definition of regional strategies and actions, and highlight the different displacement and migration flows (especially internal and cross-border movements). Among others, the regional report found that as of September 2016, an estimated 20,000 people have lost their lives in Nigeria alone, 17.2 million people are living in affected areas, and 2.6 million persons (IDPs and refugees) are displaced across Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad, resulting in one of the fastest growing displacement crisis in the region.