The Boko Haram and the Conflict Dynamics in the Chad Basin analysis and research brief was commissioned and produced by the UNDP African Borderlands Centre.

In 2020, the Lake Chad borderland region witnessed increased levels of violence linked to extremist organizations, perpetrated primarily by Boko Haram(Jama’atul Ahl Sunnah Liddawati wal Jihad, JAS) and its sub-factions. The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) estimates that since 2009, up to 40,000 people have been killed in the Boko Haram conflict,1 1.8 million are displaced, while about 230,000 live at the borderland as refugees. An estimated 7.1 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. These conflicts have been exacerbated by the challenges of climate change, cross-border migration, the COVID-19 pandemic, illicit flows of light weapons, demographic changes, persistent poverty, and poor governance. Recent findings indicate that the attacks and killings by Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have not been curbed by COVID-19 restrictions.