The Norwegian Government has committed an additional $4.5 million fund in support of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), humanitarian activities in addressing the lingering crisis in the northeastern part of Nigeria through resilience building of livelihoods of the affected populations.
The support is geared towards implementing an existing project which is aimed at upscaling food security, nutrition, and sustainable livelihoods in Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, and Taraba States.
Fred Kafeero, the FAO Representative in Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), while speaking during the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) ceremony between the UN body and the Government of Norway in Abuja, stated that the support from the government of Norway has amounted to $24 million since the beginning of the crisis.
He explained that since 2017, the Government of Norway, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has been contributing to rebuilding the lives and livelihoods of the most vulnerable communities in Northeast Nigeria that are affected by the now over a decade-long conflict.
Kafeero noted that FAO, being a key provider of livelihood support in the food security sector, has set a target of reaching two million people in the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP).
He said that currently, only 56,000 individuals have been reached.
“Moreover, an analysis of the funding trends reveals that only 3.4 out of 100 units of total funding allocated to the food security sector are directed towards livelihood interventions.
“In this regard, this addendum for a complementary fund for 2023 is deemed more than important, not only because it marks the continuous and fruitful collaboration and partnership that exists between the Government of Norway and FAO in Nigeria but also because it will contribute to filling the livelihoods funding gap for the 2023 lean season.
“While the funding is contributing towards improving food security in the NE, the gap is still huge in meeting the needs of 3.7 million people who need livelihood assistance”, Kafeero said.
The Ambassador of the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Nigeria, Knut Eiliv Lein, while speaking earlier, said the $4.5 million additional funding commitment made by the government is aimed at supporting agriculture and people impacted by the conflict.
“We had a three-year programme with the FAO that we renewed another three years last year, and we increased funding to four and a half million dollars,” Lein said.