Launch of the RESILAC project

16/01/2018

The Lake Chad Basin is a region that is affected by recurring climatic shocks and is currently at the centre of a regional security crisis. Action contre la Faim, CARE and Groupe URD have devised the RESILAC programme which will be implemented working closely with the populations in the region. The programme will aim to contribute to economic recovery and help to rebuild the social fabric in the region. Groupe URD will provide support to strategic decision-making through evaluation, lesson learning and operational research.

With the aim of increasing resilience and autonomy, particularly among young people who are prepared to invest in the economic recovery of the region, this project will last 4 years and will concern 4 geographical areas: the Diffa region in Niger, Borno State in Nigeria, the Lake Chad region of Chad, and the Extreme North region of Cameroon. The RESILAC project will involve 90 000 direct beneficiaries and 1 600 000 indirect beneficiaries.

Four intervention pillars

1. REINFORCEMENT OF HUMAN CAPITAL AND SOCIAL COHESION

Social cohesion
Mental health and trauma
Secure management of access to natural resources

2. ECONOMIC RECOVERY

Local economy and youth employment
Rural youth and jobs
Reinforcement of value chains

3. REINFORCEMENT OF INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITIES AND PROGRAMMES

Implementation of the project with the public and local authorities,
Local civil society organisations
Lesson learning and feedback about successful methods

4. KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION

Programme monitoring and evaluation system
Action-research and knowledge management programme

Groupe URD is in charge of the fourth pillar. We carried out exploratory field visits in Cameroon, Niger, Chad and Nigeria in 2017 in order to refine the operational planning of the project. The activities should begin in the first quarter of 2018.

An innovative approach

RESILAC is designed to be an agile solution that will adapt continuously to the region’s climatic and security challenges.

This approach will also make it possible to:

Monitor the development of the project and continuously learn lessons, while ensuring that the project respects the principle of “doing no harm”,
Shed light on operational issues that emerge during the project due to the short-term production of knowledge.