DFID invests £300m on humanitarian response in north-east zone
By The sum of €300 million has been invested by the Department for International Development (DFID), UK, over the last five years on humanitarian response issues aimed at saving lives and minimizing suffering in the North-Eastern zone of the country.
Programme Officer of DFID in Nigeria, Ijeoma Agwu stated this at the final project review and close out the meeting of the Integrated Basic Nutrition Response to Humanitarian crises in Borno and Yobe States held at Maidugu Hotel in Gombe on Saturday.
The close-out meeting is also for the multi-sectoral Pilot Integrated Nutrition Programming plus (INP+) funded by Action Against Hunger, World Food Programme and UNICEF.
Ijeoma Agwu said that the UK considers Nigeria a key partner and that the UK remains one of the leading international donors to the humanitarian response here in North-Eastern Nigeria, delivering urgent assistance in order to save lives and minimize suffering.
According to her, “DFID is currently investing £300 million over five years, reaching over one million people in 2018 alone with life-saving food assistance, 532,000 with clean water and 196,000 with health care”.
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She added that the UK is also supporting the Government of Nigeria to address the root causes of the conflict and rebuild communities in the longer term.
Mr Nwogu Kelechukwu, the INP+ Consortium Coordinator told Journalists in an interview that even with several interventions and support malnutrition in Nigeria still remains a very serious menace because nutrition issues have not been taken as a priority by the political class.
He said that: “more awareness, more advocacy by the media, technical experts and all stakeholders should join hands to advocate so that nutrition will be made a priority both in Government policies and budgets so that it will become a priority like other health issues”.
Participants at the meeting were brought from National and State Primary Healthcare Development Agencies, Nutrition focal persons, partners from the Federal Ministry of Economic Planning and other stakeholders from the two States of Borno and Yobe. The programme took place in eleven LGA’s of the two States.
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