Africa, Chad, Lake Chad

A severe humanitarian crisis is unfolding in the Lake Chad basin, affecting over two million refugees, five million people facing food insecurity, and 500,000 children with acute malnutrition. Two main causes drive what The New Yorker calls "the world's most complex humanitarian disaster": the lake's desertification, with a 90% reduction in surface area over 50 years, and Boko Haram's terrorism, which has made the basin a frontline for jihad in Africa. The report captures life around the lake, the struggles in Bol's only hospital and the dire conditions in refugee camps. It includes the story of Halima Adama, who was forced into a suicide mission at 18, survived the explosion, and now lives with her family — a unique perspective on the horror of extremism.