Throughout 2016, Boko Haram insurgents continued to commit grave human rights violations and carry out attacks against civilians in north-eastern Nigeria and in the Lake Chad Basin. Despite achieving considerable gains, counter-insurgency operations led to further forced population movements. Over 226,559 Nigerians had been forced to flee their home country by the end of July 2018, seeking refuge in Chad, Cameroon and Niger. Chad currently hosts more than 10,300 Nigerian refugees.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the wider humanitarian community have mobilised in Baga-Sola, Chad to meet the growing needs of refugees from Nigeria.

In situations where people have been forced to flee, the Refugee Emergency Telecommunications Sector (RETS) provides vital communications means to the humanitarian community, supporting their life-saving work. RETS is the mechanism through which UNHCR coordinates the communications technology response in refugee emergencies.

Building on the shared accomplishment of the Diffa connectivity project, UNHCR requested emergency.lu support for its operations in  Baga-Sola.