The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is set to expand its support to humanitarian and development programmes in Nigeria. This is based on a new Country Strategic Plan (CSP) for the next four years (2019-2022).
A statement signed by the national communication officer WFP, Mr Kelechi Onyemaobi, said the plan will focus on self-reliance, resilience and peace building initiatives to enable access to food by all that will help achieve zero hunger.
“While we remain committed to the crisis response in the north east, this plan provides new and wider entry points for our assistance in Nigeria in the future,” said Myrta Kaulard, WFP Representative and Country Director in Nigeria.
“We look forward to broadening engagement with the Nigerian authorities, the donors and the cooperating partners in order to restore livelihoods and boost resilience and together reduce the number of people depending on food assistance.”
“WFP will maintain its vital lifesaving assistance in Nigeria under the new strategic blueprint; however, it will also focus on self-reliance, resilience and peace building initiatives to enable access to food by all that will help achieve zero hunger”
The plan is expected to also provide an opportunity for WFP to strengthen gender-transformative programming in Nigeria by empowering women and girls to face some of the challenges that affect their food security and hinder their participation in decision-making.
WFP worked closely with the government of Nigeria, donor governments, civil society, private sector and other humanitarian agencies and development partners working in the country to develop the new framework.
It is in line with Nigeria’s National Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERPG) and it also aligns with two of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals – Zero Hunger, which aims to eradicate hunger by 2030; and SDG17, which promotes both public and private partnerships.
The WFP Executive Board approved the Nigeria Country Strategic Plan, during its meeting in February in Rome.
Since 2016, WFP’s emergency operation in the North East in cooperation with government authorities and partners, has made a significant impact on the lives of conflict-affected persons. In 2018, WFP consistently addressed the immediate food needs of an average of 1.2 million vulnerable people through the lean season.
The UN agency recognizes the following partners and funding sources that have provided or pledged contributions to the CSP, namely the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Nigerian Humanitarian Fund, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States.
