Conflict-Sensitive Development and the Humanitarian-Development Nexus in Borno State

This study examines the application of conflict-sensitive development approaches in Borno State, analysing how humanitarian and development actors navigate the operational and governance challenges of simultaneously addressing humanitarian needs and building sustainable development foundations in an active conflict environment. The humanitarian-development nexus, formalised in the United Nations Secretary-General's New Way of Working agenda, calls for greater coordination between humanitarian and development actors to collectively pursue outcomes that reduce humanitarian need over multiple years. Using a qualitative research design, the study draws on interviews with staff of international non-governmental organisations, United Nations agencies, Nigerian government ministries, and community representatives operating in the Lake Chad Basin crisis response, supplemented by analysis of joint programme planning documents and outcome assessments. The humanitarian-development nexus theory and the conflict-sensitive programming framework are applied to evaluate coordination arrangements. Findings reveal that despite formal commitments to the nexus approach, operational separation between humanitarian and development actors persists in Borno State, driven by distinct funding cycles, risk appetites, programme logics, and accountability frameworks. Conflict-sensitive development programming is practiced inconsistently, with some interventions inadvertently exacerbating inter-community tensions over resource access. The protracted nature of the conflict and the cyclical deterioration of security conditions have repeatedly forced development actors to revert to humanitarian response modalities. Recommendations include multi-year joint planning frameworks, shared monitoring and evaluation systems, and government leadership platforms for humanitarian-development coordination. Keywords: conflict-sensitive development, humanitarian-development nexus, Borno State, Lake Chad Basin, peacebuilding