As part of efforts to address the humanitarian crisis in the Northeast, the Government of Norway through the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has provided a total sum of $4.5 million funding to Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), to implement a project aimed at scaling-up food security, nutrition and sustainable livelihoods in Borno, Adamawa, Yobe and Taraba States.
Speaking recently during the signing of the agreement at the Embassy of Norway in Abuja, the Ambassador of the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Nigeria, His Excellency, Knut Eiliv Lein, said his country has a three year programme with FAO on food security and that it is being renewed for another three years.
Lein said the new programme will be implemented in the four states in the Northeast.
He said: “We have for a long time had a very close relationship to FAO that in which government considers your close partner both here in Nigeria, but also but also nationally where you are one of the biggest partners we have in handling not only humanitarian crisis but also the longest term bridge between humanitarian crisis development so we are very happy that we will now be able to expand the programme that we already have. And this year as part of what we call the Nonsan package, which is a Norwegian support package for Ukraine.
“The Norwegian government and the parliament also added a substantial part of that to help out for countries in the south affected by the crisis caused by the Russian aggression in Ukraine. And we have chosen to focus on food security, because of the rising food prices internationally.
“And this is where FAO and the cooperation we have fit perfectly in helping us with the dire situation. So, Fred, we are both grateful for your fantastic work for the partnership we have with you. And we are really happy to be here today to sign this addendum to the already established programme that will allow you to scale up the important work you do in northeast Nigeria,” he said.
Also speaking, the FAO Country Director, Mr Fred Kafero, explained that while the funding is contributing towards improving food security in the North East, the gap is still huge in meeting the needs of 3.7 million people who need livelihood assistance.
“For the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), FAO, being a key provider of livelihoods support in the Food Security Sector, has set a target of reaching 2 million people. However, up to this point, 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,” he said.
He said the investment made by the Government of Norway in Nigeria in support of FAO humanitarian efforts in the Northeast amounted to over $24 million since the beginning of the crisis, reaching over 1,19877 conflict affected people at present and still counting. This, according to him, has positively impacted the lives of the most vulnerable people in critical need.
“Let me bring here some of the positive milestones from the implementation of the project funded by Norway and other resource partners. To mention but a few, some of the results achieved include the following:
“Protection: with generous funding from Norway, FAO through the Safe Access to Fuel and Energy (SAFE) programme established 3 briquettes and 2 fuel efficient stoves production centres as well as distributed 10 000 fuel efficient stoves and briquettes kits to vulnerable households, which contributed to the reduction of exposure to protection risks of women and girls, including GVB and abduction by 50% as well as provided them with means of livelihood,” he said.
