The Government of Borno State and the United Nations (UN) on Friday hosted a high-level delegation of key partners during a one-day mission to Borno State to highlight humanitarian and development priorities in north-east Nigeria.
Delegates from Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America as well as the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund (IMF) visited key locations and were provided an overview of the coordination and operational challenges related to humanitarian and development programming in the region.
The objective of the high-level visit was to underscore development deficits in the three States of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe, and to put a spotlight on humanitarian needs, particularly with regard to access for service delivery, security, and the rapidly escalating food insecurity.
The mission included two parallel visits to Banki, Bama LGA as well as Maiduguri in Borno State. In Banki, delegates visited and met with key partners and beneficiaries from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Regional Stabilization Facility
The high-level delegation discussed the ongoing insecurity in the region, and how the protracted conflict in Nigeria has affected the Lake Chad Region, including its neighbouring countries of Cameroon, Niger and Chad for over 10 years. As a result, over 3.2 million individuals are displaced, with 4.4 million food insecure people at crisis and emergency levels and millions of civilians subjected to extreme hardships.
In north-east Nigeria alone, 13.1 million people live in areas affected by conflict, out of whom 8.7 million are in need of immediate assistance. The security situation remains highly volatile with non-state armed groups (NSAGs) continuing to target communities as well as humanitarians, including in areas that were previously considered secure.
Led by the Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Zulum, the mission also provided an opportunity to advocate for humanitarian and development efforts, emphasize the protection of civilians in the context of a challenging and insecure operating environment, and highlighted operational efforts in restoring the dignity of conflict-impacted communities through a people-centered approach paired with durable solutions.
In addition, the delegation discussed the urgent need to scale-up initiatives around food security, nutrition, protection and livelihoods for impacted populations in desperate need.
In his remarks, Prof. Zulum said the uncertainty arising from the conflict in the region is hampering normal life making dependency on humanitarian assistance a necessity but an unwarranted norm.
“Here in the Lake Chad Region, we face one of the most severe humanitarian emergencies in the world. The uncertainty arising from the conflict is hampering normal life making dependency on humanitarian assistance a necessity but an unwarranted norm. While we thank our committed international stakeholders for their strong partnership and generous contributions to the stabilization of the north-east, I urge for continued support from all partners to continue to join us, whole heartedly, in taking bold steps to promote development in the region,” Zulum said.
For his part, Mr. Edward Kallon, Resident Humanitarian Coordinator, United Nations Nigeria, on behalf of the UN system, appreciated the international partners for their continued support to the government and people as well as the Lake Chad region.
According to him, “The mission today has shown the power in combining development and humanitarian efforts, and it is clear that we must accelerate these contributions and find innovative ways to end this decade-long conflict if we are to meet our global, national and state goals to build back stronger”.
The Head of Cooperation of the EU delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms. Cecile Tassin-Pelzer said the high-level visit to Borno State, including Banki, has been a great opportunity to reassert the EU and the international community support to the implementation of the Lake Chad Regional Stabilization Strategy, adding that till date, the EU and its member states have committed around 56 million euros through the UNDP Regional Stabilization Facility.
“This is a concrete illustration of Team Europe’s contribution to the stability of Nigeria and the wider region,” she said.
