Nigerian govt, UN, others to generate $5bn annually to fight poverty

In an approach at finding durable solutions to alleviating poverty in Nigeria, the Federal Government of Nigeria, the United Nations, as well as other development partners have resolved to generate $5bn annually towards Nigeria’s Humanitarian and Poverty Alleviation Trust Fund.

The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation announced this resolution Wednesday during a humanitarian coordination meeting at the United Nations House, Abuja, where the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, engaged ambassadors, UN agencies, NGOs, etc, on their commitment to humanitarian crises in Nigeria.

“The meeting, which was at the instance of the minister, brought all the humanitarian responders in Nigeria under one roof, where they all committed to a durable, smart, and coordinated approach to humanitarian response.

“Part of the resolutions of the meeting was the commitment to raise $5bn annually for the Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Trust Fund in Nigeria by the Federal Government, other countries, private sector, donor agencies, and the development partners,” the ministry stated in a statement.

Edu conveyed President Bola Tinubu’s appreciation to the UN agencies and development partners for their contributions to easing humanitarian challenges in Nigeria.

She, however, stressed that the era of uncoordinated, unaccountable, and silotic approaches to humanitarian response in Nigeria was over.

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“President Bola Tinubu does appreciate the effort of the UN agencies as well as other organisations that are working in the humanitarian space, but we just need to bring this effort in a more coordinated manner so that we can achieve more, especially in the face of dwindling resources.

“There is a need for the government to take the lead and properly coordinate. The days of uncoordinated responses to the humanitarian crisis in Nigeria should be over.

“The days of operating in silos and duplicating efforts that lead to wastage, among other things, should be over. The government must take the lead to coordinate, to ensure that we are first in line with government priorities, and then secondly, we are meeting our targets,” the minister stated.

She emphasised the Federal Government’s commitment to reduce, prevent, mitigate, and respond adequately to the humanitarian crisis in Nigeria in a more coordinated manner, thereby reducing poverty by 50 per cent.

On his part, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Matthias Schmale, who spoke on behalf of UN agencies, expressed support for the government in its effort to tackle humanitarian challenges.

“We’ve heard very clearly from you that humanitarian needs span the rest of the country. We are here as United Nations agencies to support in ensuring proper coordination, develop review and implementation response plan, mobilise resources for country response, as well as align to the Federal Government priorities,” he stated.

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