By Adedapo Adesanya
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has released more than $1.8 million to address the urgent needs of people affected by floods across Nigeria.
The funding will enable local and international non-governmental organisations to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to more than 180,000 people in Borno, Benue, Adamawa and Yobe States.
The first round of funding allocations for the flood response totalled $1.8 million started in August 2024 and was made to the following local and international NGOs: Salient Humanitarian Organization (SHO), Solidarités International (SI), Wadata Relief Care Initiative (WRCI), Grassroots Life Saving Outreach (LESGO), Sheriff Aid Foundation (SAF), Global Village Healthcare Initiative for Africa (GHIV Africa), Center for Advocacy, Transparency, and Accountability Initiative (CATAI), GOALPrime Organization Nigeria (GPON), and the Care Aid Support Initiative.
Speaking on this, the IOM Nigeria Chief of Mission ad interim, Ms Paola Pace, said, “The dramatic flooding we are witnessing this year has devastated countless communities, displacing families and disrupting lives.
“Our priority is to ensure immediate relief and support is provided to those affected, ensuring they have access to essential services and the resources needed to rebuild their lives.”
Channelled through the Rapid Response Fund, the initiative will include shelter, non-food items, multipurpose cash assistance, protection and water, sanitation, and hygiene services to alleviate their immediate suffering and facilitate their timely recovery.
The funding which complements existing allocations including from the Central Emergency Response Fund and the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund, will also contribute to strengthening protection services, including community-based protection services for children and women, prevention and response to gender-based violence in some of the targeted areas.
More than 1.2 million people have been affected by floods across Nigeria this year, most of them in Borno State which has been the epicentre of a protracted humanitarian crisis and has created unprecedented destruction, reportedly killing 300 people, and forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes in search of safety.
The RRF is a small grant mechanism that provides rapid humanitarian assistance to communities during external shocks resulting from natural and/or man-made disasters.
In Nigeria, the RRF is implemented across Nigeria through the provision of grants to national and international non-governmental organisations, allowing for immediate access to funds for life-saving interventions.
Modupe Gbadeyanka