The Government of Japan has released $1.5million to fund community stabilisation activities in the North-East region of Nigeria. According to a statement issued on Tuesday, the funds would be utilised through an ongoing programme launched in 2016 and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Nigeria.
The interventions being implemented in the region are aimed at supporting victims of Boko Haram insurgency in the three most affected states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe. According to the statement, the recent release of funds “builds on ongoing activities that the Government of Japan has been supporting which have facilitated the rehabilitation of 20 public infrastructures and provided emergency employment to more than 2,000 Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and returnees”.
Also, more than 4,000 farmers and over 1,000 small businesses have received support with inputs and capital that helped improve and expand their sources of livelihood. The Government of Japan has already invested $6.5million in stabilisation activities in Nigeria’s North-East.
The funding from the Japanese government would be utilised within the framework of Integrated Community Stabilization Programme which UNDP has been implementing in the region intended to directly benefit 125,000 people in the three states. An additional one million people will indirectly benefit from interventions under the project. Implemented through an integrated approach, the project’s goal is to support over 2,200 farmers, 500 small businesses, five community public infrastructures, and provide emergency employment to over 850 community members.
Speaking on the activities in the region, Khardiata Lo Ndiaye, acting UNDP Resident Representative, said: “Stabilization efforts in the North-East are helping families and communities begin to rely less on humanitarian aid and more on themselves. This support from the Government of Japan will go a long way in laying a foundation for development to take place again in the region.”
Ms. Khardiata added that meeting urgent early recovery needs of the crisis-affected communities remained a huge challenge requiring more partners and investment. In his remarks, Shigeru Umetsu, Chargé d’affaires ad interim of Japan to Nigeria, gave the assurance that the Government of Japan would continue to support efforts aimed at restoring stability and livelihoods for the communities in the North-East.
