Norway pledges $4.5 million to help support food crises in Northeast Nigeria

The Norwegian government has pledged an additional $4.5 million to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to help address the humanitarian crisis in northeast Nigeria. The funding will be used to support FAO’s ongoing initiatives to improve food security, nutrition, and sustainable livelihoods in the region.

FAO Representative in Nigeria and ECOWAS, Fred Kafeero, said that the Norwegian government’s previous contributions to FAO’s work in northeast Nigeria have totalled $24 million. This funding has helped to reach over 1.1 million conflict-affected people in the region.

The new funding from Norway will be used to expand FAO’s work in Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, and Taraba states. These states are some of the hardest hit by the conflict in northeast Nigeria.

Kafeero said that FAO has set a target of reaching two million people with its humanitarian activities in northeast Nigeria in 2023. However, so far, only 56,000 people have been reached.

FAO is a key provider of livelihood support in the food security sector. The organization’s work in northeast Nigeria includes providing seeds, tools, and training to farmers; supporting the rehabilitation of irrigation systems; and providing cash assistance to vulnerable families.

The Norwegian government’s additional funding will help FAO to reach more people with essential food security, nutrition, and livelihood support. This funding is a significant boost for FAO’s work in northeast Nigeria and will help to make a real difference in the lives of people affected by the conflict.

What he said

• “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.
• “The 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 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.”

 The Ambassador of the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Nigeria, Knut Eiliv Lein, said the $4.5 million additional funding commitment made by the government was aimed at supporting agriculture and people impacted by the conflict.

• “We had a three-year program with the FAO that we renewed another three years last year and we increased funding to four and a half million dollars”, Lein said.

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