The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has set aside $2.5 billion to address hunger and malnutrition in the North East, North West and other selected States.
Country Director of WFP, David Stevenson, stated this at a joint press conference with the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development on Wednesday in Abuja.
The project tagged: "Country Strategic Plan (CSP)", would be executed in Nigeria for a period of five years, from 2023 to 2027.
He said: “The country strategy is valued at $2.56 billion and it’s more than $500 million a year assistance for Nigeria to achieve food security and improve nutrition by 2030."
The benefitting states are Borno, Yobe, Taraba and Adamawa in North East; Sokoto, Zamfara and Katsina in the North West, as well as Cross River.
Stevenson noted that the intervention was designed to support Nigeria in achieving food security and improve nutrition by 2030, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 2).
He pointed out that the CSP would bolster good health and wellbeing, inclusive of education, gender equality and climate action, adding that it would strengthen national humanitarian and development response in accordance with the SDGs.
The country director stated that his job in Nigeria requires offering assistance valued at $1 million every day, saying that WFP is signing contracts with Nigerian companies and civil society organisations for food assistance.
He disclosed that WFP is making significant investment in Nigerian economy by buying food and investing in agriculture.
Stevenson assured that WFP would not renege on its agreement in supporting the government on life changing initiatives, which he believed would maximise investment in food security and nutrition.
He noted that WFP intervention aligned with Nigeria’s development plan, national multi sectoral plan of action for food and nutrition, and national humanitarian development peace framework.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Dr Nasir Sani, hinted that the partnership between the ministry and WFP led to several milestones in the humanitarian space.
He informed that the stabilisation fund project was implemented in six Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the North East and North West with a total of 27, 432 beneficiaries.
The WFP Head of Programme, Mr Serigne Loum, hinted that the intervention would focus on the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, meant to address the challenges posed by deteriorating food and nutrition in Nigeria.
He maintained that WFP Nigeria covers the North East, North West and states hosting Cameroonian refugees, with a total budget of $2.5 billion for five years.
Comments
Post a Comment