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Amb Power’s remarks to UN Security Council on Boko Haram
Yet, despite this overwhelming need, the $535 million in humanitarian appeals for the affected countries, as we’ve heard, are grossly underfunded.
In Nigeria, only 28 percent of the appeal has been met; in Cameroon, 22 percent; and in Chad, only 17 percent.
We’ve provided more than $253 million in humanitarian assistance to countries in the Lake Chad Basin in the last two years, and we, like the United Kingdom, are considering now what more we can do, because the situation demands it, and more countries need to step up immediately.
In addition to strengthening these military and humanitarian efforts, we also need to address the chronic problems that helped fuel Boko Haram’s rise in the first place, and which – if left unaddressed – will lead to further instability and insecurity.
And this is my final point: we have to play the long game in countering violent extremism.
That means investing more in the education of young people from marginalized communities, which can open up the opportunities that provide a brighter path than the one offered by terrorist groups, who exploit marginalization.
It means building law enforcement bodies that are actually accountable to the communities they serve and work to earn their trust.
It means amplifying the voices of religious leaders who condemn terrorism and seek to exercise their faith in moderate and peaceful ways.
It means rooting out the rampant corruption that has long siphoned away resources from the people who need it most, and fostering inclusive institutions that serve all people rather than one group at the expense of another.
This is a daunting agenda, and one of the challenges we face now is we have to simultaneously take on these root causes and address this agenda.
At the same time, we keep people alive in the here and now who desperately need our humanitarian support.
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