UN plans $860m aid for Borno, Yobe, Adamawa.

UN plans $860m aid for Borno, Yobe, Adamawa.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says it requires at least $860m to reach 4.4 million of the most vulnerable persons in Nigeria’s northeastern states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe in 2024

OCHA revealed this in an overview of its soon-to-be-published Humanitarian Response Plan for the year.

$860m, the lowest target in four years, is expected to reach millions of locals in need of food, healthcare and shelter, among other forms of intervention in the three states. This population comprises Internally Displaced Persons, returnees and inhabitants of host communities.

However, it warned that “Humanitarian funding for Nigeria is predicted to decline significantly in 2024,” even as 63 per cent of its funding target for 2023 was unmet.

“In 2023, the humanitarian response in the BAY (Borno, Adamawa and Yobe) states has been challenged by severe funding and access limitations. Of the $1.3bn requested to assist six million people, only 37 per cent, or $479.8m, has been received at the end of October.

“This significant funding shortfall, compounded by persistent security challenges and movement restrictions, hampered delivery, leaving many acute needs unmet.

“Despite these challenges, 130 partners have reached 3.4 million people through humanitarian interventions,” the UN revealed.

OCHA said its Humanitarian Country Team “foresees an even tighter funding environment, predicting a sharp decline in humanitarian allocations for Nigeria” in 2024.

“In the face of these anticipated financial challenges, humanitarian partners aim to support 4.4 million people, setting a funding target of about $860m, which includes estimated funding requirements of $45m for anticipatory interventions to address in particular climate-related shocks such as flooding and cholera outbreaks,” it added.

Fourteen years after Boko Haram and other terrorist groups began gory campaigns in Nigeria’s northeast, OCHA says the ensuing humanitarian crisis remains one of the most complex globally.

In June 2021, the United Nations Development Programmes estimated at least 350,000 deaths from conflicts with Boko Haram since 2009. It cited damage to agriculture, water, trade, food and healthcare, concluding that “Many more have died from the indirect effects of the conflict.”

At least 66,768 lives were lost in states most hit by the conflict—Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Zamfara, Kaduna Benue and Plateau—a September 2023 survey by the Council of Foreign Relations revealed.

However, direct deaths make up only a portion of the conflict’s impact.

Boko Haram, which aims to banish Western influence and create a Salafi-Islamist state in Northeast Nigeria and the entire nation, has also displaced over three million people, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees said.

In October 2017, then-president Muhammadu Buhari signed into law the establishment of the North East Development Commission in October 2017, to lead the reconstruction and development of Nigeria’s northeast.

NEDC earmarked N31.01tn in its 10-year North East Stabilisation and Development Master Plan in September 2022.

It said the amount is to be sourced from “a robust partnership with humanitarian actors such as International Non-Governmental Organisations, INGOs, captains of industries and investors worldwide.

In its 2023 dashboard, OCHA said, “To date, the Humanitarian Response Plan is now 70 per cent funded. Of the $1.1bn requested funding, some sectors remain vastly underfunded, forcing response partners to prioritise interventions in communities ranked highest on the severity scale.

“Despite this funding shortfall, 124 humanitarian actors are responding to the most acute needs. Together, they delivered some form of humanitarian assistance to 4.7 million people since January 2022, accounting for 84 per cent of the estimated people identified for assistance.”

However, it forewarned that “if the funding deficit continues, a number of life-saving programmes across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states will have to scale down or shut down completely.”

Although the Office did not specify what areas or locations its operations suffered the most hit, it said, “certain areas remain inaccessible to humanitarian partners, diminishing the overall humanitarian footprint.”

The most capital-intensive areas in 2024 are likely to include camp coordination and camp management, early recovery and livelihoods, education, food security, health, nutrition, protection, shelter & non-food items and water, sanitation and hygiene.

From January 2022 to June 2023, OCHA said it received $9m on Camp Coordination and Management despite targeting $51.4m, $22.5m for early recovery & livelihoods despite a $133.6m target, $14.7m on education while needing $194.2m, $454.4m on food security with an initial target of $921.1m.

Health gulped $117.6m with an initial target of $221.5; nutrition, $120.2, initially targeting $277.5. OCHA received $31.7 for shelter and non-food items and $8.7m for water, sanitation and hygiene from its 123 partners.

When reached for comments, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs Rhoda Iliya, declined to provide a statement.