By Asmau Ahmad
The German Government, World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have inaugurated a €40million resilience and essential services support for 500,000 people in North-East Nigeria.
The information is in a joint statement issued by WFP and UNICEF on Thursday in Abuja.
According to the statement, the programme is funded by the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development through the German Development Bank, KfW.
It states that the Resilience and Social Cohesion project will be implemented for three years by WFP and UNICEF.
Under the programme, children from 0 to 23 months, pregnant women, school-age children, adolescent girls, female-headed households and people with disability will be targeted.
The statement notes that over 500,000 conflict-affected people will benefit from the new humanitarian and development package.
It adds that the programme is to enhance peace, increase livelihood opportunities and provide education, health, nutrition, child protection, and sanitation support to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable populations in Borno and Yobe.
“The multi-year project will leverage ongoing humanitarian support in Bade Local Government Area of Yobe and Shani Local Government Area of Borno and provide multi-sectoral interventions to address drivers of conflict and fragility.
“The project will support the strengthening of local governance structures to promote social cohesion through community-based processes and capacity building of government partners.’’
According to the statement, now in its 13th year, armed conflict in the region has levelled communities, destroyed livelihoods and disrupted essential services for children and adults.
It states that protracted insecurity, high food prices and COVID-19 lockdown
put more than four million people in need of food assistance.
“The situation is further exacerbated by severe impact of violence and unrest on family income, mental health, nutrition, education and other child protection concerns.
“Across the region, 1.14 million children are acutely malnourished at a scale not seen since 2018.”
The UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Mr Peter Hawkins, says the programme is a pathway to peace and sustainable development.
He adds that children and other vulnerable groups will have a lifeline and an opportunity to survive and thrive in communities where livelihood and peace building activities are available.
“Conflict in any region is potential instability in the rest of the world. UNICEF is grateful to the German Government for supporting pathways to child survival and peace in North East Nigeria.”
Ms Simone Parchment, the Deputy Country Director and Officer in Charge of WFP Country Office in Nigeria, says the organisation welcomes the timely and generous support from the German Government.
She also said that the project would support people and communities facing the peril of conflict and hunger in the region, especially in Borno and Yobe states.
She says “in these affected states, persistent conflict, climate shocks, high food prices and reduced household purchasing power undermine people’s ability to feed themselves and sustain their livelihoods.
“This contribution from the government of Germany will go a long way in building resilience, social cohesion and peace in affected communities.”
The programme will contribute to seven Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of poverty eradication, zero hunger, access to quality education, gender equality, good health and wellbeing, climate action, peace, justice and strong institutions, as well as partnership for goals.
The programme will focus on peace building, governance capacity strengthening, sustainable livelihood creation, restoration of infrastructure, and provision of life-saving services to 156,888 direct beneficiaries and 362,307 indirect beneficiaries in both local government areas.
