“These are our people, this is our country, and this is our problem. As much as we are getting help from the rest of the world, we must be able to find solutions for our own people. As a Nigerian, the people I met here today are our brothers, our sisters and our children, and I don’t wish to see any single one of them living in the conditions we saw here today,” said Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria Limited.

“That gives us the impetus and the drive to take the situation more seriously than we ever did.
Our vision is beyond what our companies can do. Our goal is to get every single Nigerian to own this situation,” she concluded.

Mrs. Awosika led a delegation that included Mr. Biyi Olagbami, Executive Director of Ecobank, Mr. Kyari Bukar, Co-Chair of the NHF PSI Steering Group, and Mr. Olumide Akpata, Senior Partner of Templars Law Firm, among others, to Maiduguri where they met and interacted with displaced men, women and children who are bearing the brunt of the ten-year conflict in Nigeria’s northeast.

As the protracted crisis continues, Nigeria’s private sector is stepping into the realm of humanitarian response and has pledged to contribute resources and identify collaborative avenues to address the humanitarian needs of more the 7.1 million people in need across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.

They joined the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr. Edward Kallon, who emphasized the crucial role Nigeria’s private sector has to play in driving forward effective solutions.

“The Nigerian Humanitarian Fund Private Sector Initiative is an innovative platform to foster effective collaboration between the UN, the Government of Nigeria and leading Nigerian business. We are here today to see how we can work with them to mobilize action and resources to meet the needs of the displaced people in north-east Nigeria,” said Edward Kallon, United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria.

This second visit of private sector leaders to Borno State was part of the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund-Private Sector Initiative (NHF-PSI). The NHF-PSI is a ground-breaking global initiative created in Nigeria and managed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on behalf of the UN Humanitarian Coordinator. The initiative will see Nigerian companies join donor countries in pooling donations and resources together. The platform aims to create a more collaborative and effective response by bringing awareness to the ongoing humanitarian crisis – one of the most severe in the world – which is predominantly affecting women and children.

Fourteen of Nigeria’s leading companies signed up to the initiative launched in Lagos in November 2018, which will harness their financial resources, innovative capacity and entrepreneurial drive in support of the humanitarian response. The NHF-PSI offers a measurable and accountable platform for companies to pool their resources together to more effectively transform the lives of millions of their fellow Nigerians.

To date, the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund has raised $90 million in contributions and pledges, thanks to the generous support of seventeen donor countries, and aspires to raise $80 million from the private sector. The unique collaboration presents an unprecedented opportunity for Nigerian businesses to lead the way in bringing Nigerians together for Nigeria.

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The humanitarian emergency in the northeastern Nigeria is one of the most severe in the world today, with 8.5 million people in need of life-saving aid in 2017 in the worst-affected states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.

The Nigeria Humanitarian Fund (NHF) allocation will help address this devastating situation by financing 24 projects in the sectors of protection, nutrition, water and sanitation, health, education, shelter and non-food items, rapid response and early recovery, targeting a total of 950,000 people.

In line with commitments made at the World Humanitarian Summit, five local responders are being supported through direct funding in this allocation. By empowering national partners, a more integrated and localized response will be possible, and their capacity will also be strengthened.

“Humanitarian needs in north-east Nigeria are still vast,” said Mr Edward Kallon, the Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria. “The United Nations and our partners, in support of the Government of Nigeria, are committed to assisting those in need, especially in pivotal areas such as protection and health.”

In particular, the funds will be used to expand and improve sexual and reproductive health services for nearly 130,000 women and adolescent girls in areas of Borno, the epicentre of the crisis, and boost mental health services for vulnerable children, women and men. Gender-based violence will also be addressed by providing more accessible medical care. In light of the recent cholera outbreak and to mitigate the risk of faecal contamination and poor hygiene, funds have also been allocated to improve the availability of safe water and sanitation for 125,000 people.

The NHF is one of 18 country-based pooled funds and was launched during the Oslo Humanitarian Conference on Nigeria and the Lake Chad Region in February 2017. Managed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on behalf of the Humanitarian Coordinator, it plays a vital role in ensuring an effective, coordinated, prioritized and principled humanitarian response in Nigeria.

To date the NHF has received $41 million in contributions and pledges, thanks to the generous support of Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Ireland, Norway, Switzerland, the Republic of Korea, Canada, Spain, Luxembourg, the Arab Gulf Program for Development, Malta, Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka.

The post Nigeria: UN Allocates $13.4 Million to Support 1 Million People with Life-Saving aid in North-East first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

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