The joint United States Department of State – Department of Defense Global Security Contingency Fund (GSCF) is scheduled to implement a Multinational Regional Border Patrol Strategy Workshop in Yaoundé, Cameroon from May 5-7.

A statement issued on Wednesday says the workshop, hosted by the US embassy in Yaoundé, will bring together senior-level officials from the governments of Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria to develop a regional border security strategy to address emerging border security challenges and help degrade Boko Haram’s ability to penetrate borders and cause humanitarian suffering in the Lake Chad Basin.

This workshop is the first GSCF funded activity focused on assisting countries in the Lake Chad Basin to counter instability caused by Boko Haram, the statement says. It adds that a follow on training will focus on national-level border security strategy development in Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria.

This training will complement other GSCF activities over the next three years that will bolster partner nation government’s security sector programs to enable them to address emergent challenges and seize opportunities important to US national security, the statement adds.