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Nigeria donates $1m to WFP’s food, nutrition programme

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), said it received the sum of $1 million in 2021 from the Nigerian Government, as part of an ECOWAS humanitarian assistance for victims of violent conflicts in North West and North East Nigeria.

The fund was granted to Nigeria from the ECOWAS Regional Stabilization Fund, for which it sought the collaboration of WFP in Nigeria to apply the fund for alleviating food and nutrition needs in Katsina, Zamfara and Borno states.

The programme targeted 840 food insecure households (some 4,196 persons) in Zamfara, Katsina and Borno states with food assistance.

WFP in a statement on Thursday, said the target beneficiaries received an average cash transfer of N27,000 in their prepaid bank cards or WFP SCOPE cards every month to buy their preferred food from local markets.

Beneficiaries were encouraged to buy a wide range of local nutritious foods from their preferred shops. Cash transfers have an additional advantage of stimulating local markets and agricultural production.

To prevent acute malnutrition in children in the first 1,000 days of their lives, the programme also provides nutrition assistance to children 6-23 months old and to pregnant and breastfeeding women from vulnerable and food insecure households.

Some 14,070 children and 1,932 pregnant/breastfeeding women received specialized nutritious food in the three project states.

In addition to providing life-saving food and nutrition assistance to vulnerable families, WFP is also using the ECOWAS donation to build the resilience of the households in the conflict-affected states of Borno, Adamawa, Yobe and Katsina.

The project will provide milling machines and training support to 603 returnees from Cameroon and displaced rural women to support them in generating some income to sustain their livelihoods.

In these affected states, persistent conflict, climate shocks, high food prices and reduced household purchasing power undermine people’s ability to feed themselves.

Commenting on the programme, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, 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.”

Also, the Commissioner for Social Affairs and Gender, ECOWAS Commission Dr. Siga Fatima Jagne, said the ECOWAS Commission “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.”

He noted that this is “in line with the humanitarian mandate of the ECOWAS Commission and in response to the Decision of the Fiftieth Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of December 17, 2016, to assist population in North East Nigeria affected by terrorism.”

On his part, WFP Representative and Country Director, Ronald Sibanda, said: “The Government of Nigeria’s contribution, through ECOWAS, came at a very critical point as conflict and impact of climate change continue to drive hunger in the country. In these affected states, persistent conflict, climate shocks, high food prices and reduced household purchasing power undermine people’s ability to feed themselves.

“WFP welcomes this contribution which underpins efforts to continue providing life-saving food and nutrition support and livelihoods assistance to those most in need in the conflict-affected states.”

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