(Quick News Africa)- The European Commission on Thursday announced a support package of €143 million for early recovery and reconstruction needs in Borno State.
The state is located in the northeastern region of Nigeria, which is suffering from a worsening humanitarian crisis caused by Boko Haram, ans Islamist insurgency group.
The €143 million package combines short term EU humanitarian aid with long term development support to help those in the affected areas.
“Our support package of €143 million will assist approximately 1.3 million internally displaced people and affected communities in and around the Borno State in Nigeria, and will not only target the immediate needs of the people but, it will also help to restore basic services, stimulate employment and create livelihood opportunities, particularly for women and young people,” said Neven Mimica, EU commissioner for international cooperation and development.
This brings total EU support for the crisis in Nigeria’s Borno state to €224.5 million in 2017 alone, following earlier announcements of €81.5 million in humanitarian aid.
The €143 million announced on Thursday consists of a development aid of €123 million from the Nigeria 11th European Development Fund National Indicative Programme and €20 million from the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa.
It comes in addition to the previously announced €81.5 million in humanitarian funding, apart from the €177 million in development assistance from the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, which was recently allocated to support 17 projects in and around the Lake Chad area.
The latest EU support is intended to provide immediate humanitarian assistance for the most vulnerable populations affected by the ongoing emergency situation, as well as for early recovery and restoration of basic services, such as health, nutrition, education, water access, sanitation and hygiene, solar power, in areas of return or resettlement.
Furthermore, it will provide social protection, stimulate employment and livelihood opportunities, with a special focus on women, young people and vulnerable households.
Also, by strengthening public administration and financial management systems in Borno State, it will help improve sustainable public service delivery, crisis management and coordination of related donor activities.
Nigeria is one of four countries across the globe experiencing, or at risk of famine this year, along with Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen.
A large proportion of the Borno population has little or no access to clean water, sanitation, shelter, education, primary health care, as 60 percent of health infrastructure is either destroyed or damaged, while food is insecure.
There are an estimated 1.7 million internally displaced persons, the majority, living in and around the urban area of Maiduguri, the Borno State Capital, with nearly 200,000 refugees from Nigeria living in neighbouring countries around the Lake Chad basin.
