By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
The Nigeria Government in collaboration with the ECOWAS in 2021 supported the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) with the sum of US$1 million as humanitarian assistance to the Nigerians trapped in the violent conflicts in North West and North East Nigeria.
The ECOWAS fund drawn from ECOWAS Regional Stabilization Fund was to alleviate food and nutrition needs in Katsina, Zamfara and Borno states.
The humanitarian ministry said that the programme was to provide food assistance to 840 food insecure households with 4,196 persons in Zamfara, Katsina and Borno states.
Also the beneficiaries received additional cash transfer of N 27,000 each in their prepaid bank cards or WFP SCOPE cards every month to purchase their preferred food from local markets.
Beneficiaries are encouraged to buy a wide range of local nutritious foods as an added advantage of stimulating local markets and agricultural production in the country.
Meanwhile the programme includes preventing acute malnutrition in children in the first 1,000 days of their lives by providing nutrition assistance to children between 6 – 23 months old, pregnant and breastfeeding women from indigent households.
Equally 14,070 children and 1,932 pregnant/breastfeeding women receive specialized nutritious food in the three project states, the ministry stated.
The WFP donation to build the resilience of the households in the conflict-affected states of Borno, Adamawa, Yobe and Katsina.
Commenting on the assisted programme, the humanitarian ministry Minister Sadiya Farouq said, “This project has provided the FMHADMSD the unique opportunity of showcasing best practices of partnership and collaboration in delivering humanitarian intervention. It has equally advanced the efforts of the Nigerian Government in touching the lives of a critical mass of Nigerians in vulnerable situations.”
Commissioner for Social Affairs and Gender, ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Siga Fatima Jagne, stated that the programme which is in line with the ECOWAS humanitarian mandate of 17th December 2016 is to assist victims of North East Nigeria terrorism.
Jagne said, ” the ECOWAS Commission in strong collaboration with the Government of Nigeria and the World Food Programme is providing humanitarian support to our populations in need in Nigeria and will continue to build the resilience of our people to bridge the humanitarian-development nexus across the West African region for a prosperous ECOWAS Community.”
WFP Representative and Country Director in Nigeria Ronald Sibanda, noted that persistent conflict, climate change and climate shocks in addition to continued hunger drive high food prices and reduced household purchasing power undermine people ability to feed themselves in the affected states.
“In these affected states, persistent conflict, climate shocks, high food prices and reduced household purchasing power undermine people’s ability to feed themselves, Sibanda remarked.
WFP welcomes this contribution which underpins efforts to continue providing life-saving food and nutrition support and livelihoods assistance to those in need in the conflict-affected states, he said.
