Plight of 2.4m children uprooted or trapped by Boko Haram in Lake Chad basin

Nigerian Khadija Kaku lives in refugee camp in Chad Picture: UNICEF/Tremeau

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Khadija Kaku is only 15. But already she has lived in five different places because of drought and conflict.

She has seen her village destroyed, witnessed threats to her school and fled barefoot through the bush for days, leaving her beloved schoolbooks behind.听

国产视频淥ne morning when we entered the classroom, we found a letter slipped under the door of the school at night, written in Hausa by Boko Haram,国产视频� said Khadija. 国产视频淭he letter ordered parents to send their children home and teachers to leave the area.国产视频�

The Nigerian teenager now lives in a refugee camp in听Daresalam. It is in the Lake Chad basin, home to 21 million people across four countries 国产视频� 2.6 million of them displaced from their communities by conflict.

Years of violence by听Boko Haram have led to a worsening humanitarian crisis in the region that has displaced 1.4 million children and left at least one million still trapped in hard-to-reach areas.

A report released today by the United Nations children国产视频檚 agency UNICEF听looks at the impact of the Boko Haram insurgency on children in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger and its devastating toll on children.

The report says that:

• An estimated 475,000 children across Lake Chad will suffer from severe acute malnutrition this year, up from 175,000 at the beginning of the year
• In north-east Nigeria alone, about 20,000 children have been separated from their families
• An estimated 38 children have been used to carry out 国产视频渟uicide国产视频� bomb attacks so far this year, taking the total since 2014 to 86

Children prepare fish at Takal on the shores of Lake Chad Picture: UNICEF/Tremeau

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The report adds: 国产视频湽悠禍Fear of abuse, sexual violence, forced recruitment or death have forced children to leave their towns and villages, often with as little as the clothes on their back.

国产视频淢any of the children caught in the conflict have been subjected to unimaginable violence and abuse 国产视频� they have lost their families, their homes and years of education.国产视频�

In May, the Education Cannot Wait Fund for education in emergencies was launched to provide the money needed to supply safe schooling in humanitarian crises.

The fund aims to reach more than 13.6 million children and youth living in crisis situations with quality education over the next five years and 75 million by 2030. But donors have been slow to provide the initial money needed to get the fund going.

UNICEF is working with partners to meet the basic needs of children and their families in the conflict-affected areas.

So far this year, nearly 170,000 children have received psychosocial support, almost 100,000 were treated for severe acute malnutrition and more than 100,000 took part in school and learning programmes.

But the agency听has received only 13% of the $41.2 million it needs for its humanitarian response in the Lake Chad basin.

For now, Khadija is in school. She said: 国产视频淚国产视频檓 sure it国产视频檚 not over, we国产视频檒l have to move again. I don国产视频檛 know when, as far from now as possible.

国产视频淚国产视频檝e started going to school here. It国产视频檚 a bit difficult for me, since it国产视频檚 all in French but I国产视频檓 getting used to it.国产视频�