Federal government said 40,432 Nigerians across North East and North West geopolitical zones of the country affected by the 2020 flood have so far benefited from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Stabilisation Fund.
The permanent secretary, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Dr Nasir Sani-Gwarzo stated this during the ‘Close out Meeting’ of implementation of ECOWAS Stabilisation Fund in the North East and North West Nigeria in Abuja yesterday.
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Sani-Gwarzo said that the projects initiated by the ministry were successfully implemented by World Food Programme (WFP) and Nigeria Red Cross Society (NRCS) and touched many lives in the North East and North West as well as in the other geopolitical zones of the country.
He said: “Specifically, the humanitarian assistance for flood victims with the objective to provide in kind assistance of food and nonfood items, shelter kits to households, water sanitation was implemented across the 16 flood most affected states, namely: Kogi, Benue, Nasarawa, Kwara, Niger, Kebbi, Sokoto, Jigawa, Katsina, Bauchi, Yobe, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta and Anambra. And a total number of flood victims that benefitted from the project both in cash and in kind were 13,000 persons.”
In the same vein, he said the stabilisation fund project was implemented in six local government areas in the North East and North West respectively with a total of 27,432 persons impacted across the selected LGAs.
He said the methodology deployed in capturing the vulnerable households who benefitted from the initiative includes: the poorest of the poor in affected communities, widows, people with disabilities (PWDs), child headed households, pregnant and lactating mothers, aged 60 years above, sick household heads (bed-ridden), Household with concentration of children with less sources of income, displaced persons/people in IDPs camps.
While acknowledging that the socio-economic impact of 2020 flood was devastating and resulted in loss of lives and livelihoods in communities across the six geopolitical zone in Nigeria, he said that the persistent conflict and insecurity concomitant with the frequent insurgency attacks also resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of population, in North-East and North-West regions.
On his part, ECOWAS president, Dr Umar Touray who was represented by ECOWAS Commission’s director, humanitarian and social affairs, Sintiki Ugbe explained that the stabilisation project was borne from the 15th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS which took place in Abuja, Nigeria on December 17, 2016.
He also disclosed plans by ECOWAS Commission’s Humanitarian and Social Affairs Directorate in collaboration with the ECOWAS Food and Agricultural Agency (AARA) and the ministry to provide enriched flour worth US$731,000 to tackle malnutrition in most vulnerable children in Nigeria.
In his remarks, NRCS director of Disaster Management, Mr Benson Agbro, reaffirmed the resolve of the organisation to provide necessary humanitarian assistance.
While noting that the organisation has over 800,000 volunteers across the 36 states of the federation and Federal Capital Territory (FCT), he averred that the organisation is never overwhelmed when it comes to intervention.
He also pledged NRCS’ readiness to work with the ministry and other relevant agencies with a view to providing humanitarian assistance during the 2023 flood.