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Nigeria tops nominations for international refugee advocacy award

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42 non-profit organisations from Nigeria have been nominated for the 2021 edition of the Sharjah International Award for Refugee Advocacy and Support (SIARA), partly sponsored by the UAE-based global humanitarian organisation, The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF).

The award, which is in its fifth edition, received about 213 nominations from 41 countries with 105 nominations from across Africa and 94 from Asia, representing 49 per cent and 44 per cent respectively of the total number of nominations.

In a statement made available to Ripples Nigeria by TBHF, its Chairperson, Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasim, said Nigeria topped the list of nominations with 42 entries, followed by Lebanon with 16 entries.

Also, she said Kenya and Uganda shared the third spot with 14 entries while Jordan and Pakistan had 13 nominations each. Bangladesh was represented with 9 nominations, India and Palestine with 7 entries each, Yemen and Iraq with 6 entries each, while Somalia had 5 entries.

Also, Europe, North America and the rest of the world were represented with 14 nominations, collectively amounting to 7 per cent of the total nominations received.

Meanwhile, the TBHF chairperson disclosed that the cash prize of AED 500,000 (US$136,000) to be won in the award was a special contribution by TBHF, and does not represent any share of the donations made to the foundation.

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According to her, the award is organised and sponsored by the Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, HH Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, TBHF and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR’s) Eminent Advocate for Refugee Children (EARC) initiative.

She said: “Last year, TBHF expanded SIARA’s scope to include the entire African continent in light of its leading contribution to supporting nearly 30 per cent of the world’s refugee population and help raise the standard of humanitarian relief work by boosting its support for Africa.

“This move has allowed Africa its best representation yet on SIARA’s platform with 105 nominations from the continent.”
Other countries from which nominations were received include South Africa, Ethiopia, USA, Egypt, UK, UAE, Turkey, Netherlands, Rwanda, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Nepal, Cameroon, Zambia, Tanzania, Syria, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Libya, Ghana, Germany, Gambia, Burundi, Afghanistan, and Hong Kong.

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