The German government, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) have launched a €40 million humanitarian and development support for conflict-affected people in North-east Nigeria.
Over 500,000 conflict-affected people will benefit from the support which is aimed at enhancing peace, increasing livelihood opportunities and providing education, health, nutrition, child protection, and sanitation support to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable populations in Borno and Yobe States, according to a statement by UNICEF on Thursday.
Funded by the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development through German Development Bank, the UN agency stated that children 0-23 months, pregnant women, school-age children, adolescent girls, female-headed households, and people with disability will be targeted under the Resilience and Social Cohesion project to be implemented for three years by the WFP and UNICEF.
Now in its thirteenth year, armed conflict in north-east Nigeria has levelled communities, destroyed livelihoods, and disrupted essential services for children and adults. According to UNICEF, protracted insecurity, high food prices and COVID-19 lockdowns have put more than 4 million people in need of food assistance.
“The situation is further exacerbated by a 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,” it stated.
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Peter Hawkins, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria said, “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.”
The new programme which will focus on peace building, governance capacity strengthening, sustainable livelihood creation, restoration of infrastructures, and provision of life-saving services to 156,888 direct beneficiaries and 362,307 indirect beneficiaries in both LGAs, UNICEF stated.
“WFP welcomes this timely and generous support from the Government and people of Germany. This project will support people and communities facing the peril of conflict and hunger in northeast Nigeria, especially in Borno and Yobe states,” said Simone Parchment, Deputy Country Director and Officer in Charge, the World Food Programme Country Office, Nigeria.
“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 the affected communities,” she added.
