14,694 Vulnerable Persons Get Support from ECOWAS, WFP, FG
By Isma’il Adamu
14,694 vulnerable persons across Katsina and Sokoto States will benefit from cash and food assistance as well as livelihood support to cope with the aftermath of displacement caused by security challenges in the two states.
The assistance, which is the second phase, is being provided by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation with support from the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP).
Beneficiaries of the intervention included Internally Displaced Persons, refugees, migrants and other vulnerable communities that are coping with the aftermath of a decade-long security crisis across states of the North-west zone of the country.
The representative of the ECOWAS Commission at the launch of the intervention, Ambassador Olawale Emmanuel, explained that the humanitarian assistance was supported with an annual Stabilization Fund set aside by the commission to support the efforts of the Nigerian government in resettling displaced populations in different parts of the country.
He said aside post-flood assistance, ECOWAS had in the last three years disbursed over $25 million in supporting humanitarian efforts of Member States.
He noted that in Katsina State, a total of 7,347 vulnerable persons from Jibia and Katsina Local Government Areas will benefit from the intervention.
In her speech, the representative of the World Food Programme, Mrs. Manuel Reinfeld, explained that the intervention was prompted by the worsening food security situation in Nigeria which is being caused by displacement and other factors.
She noted that this phase of intervention would build on the successes of the first phase by mobilizing local support and setting up structures to ensure its sustainability.
In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mr. Olumuyiwa Enitan, noted that the beneficiaries for the support were real victims of displacement from banditry attacks and other security challenges in the two states.
Katsina State Governor, Dr. Dikko Radda, thanked the ECOWAS Commission, World Food Programme and the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs for the donation which he said will provide succour to displaced persons from the selected communities in the state.
