Abuja - A new project implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and supported by the European Union (EU) providing EUR 2.8 million, aims to reinforce protection and resilience of displaced and conflict affected populations in north-east Nigeria and provide an accurate overview of their movement and emerging needs through enhanced displacement tracking and multi-sectoral support.

Growing insecurity, protracted conflicts, poor living conditions are just a few of the factors characterizing this part of the country as one of the most hard-to-reach areas for humanitarian relief. This situation has continued to deteriorate due to resurgent violence, substantially reversing the humanitarian gains of previous years. The conflict is deteriorating the livelihoods of the population, increasing food insecurity and poverty, worsening the access to development opportunities, and limiting access to essential services.

“We witness a steady increase in IDP numbers in Borno State and together with the lack of access to populous LGAs could be an indication of a continuously deteriorating humanitarian situation.The continued support from the EU will enable IOM to provide a comprehensive overview of mobility, displacement, critical needs and vulnerabilities, and help inform a tailored humanitarian response reaching nearly 700,000 beneficiaries, primarily in the State of Borno.” noted Franz Celestin, IOM Nigeria Chief of Mission.

The region has been further affected by the COVID-19 pandemic adding additional burden to the already protracted humanitarian context. Particularly, for the IDPs living in highly congested camps and overcrowded shelters, the pandemic poses a significant health risk. According to IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) as of February 2021 there were more than 2,184,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) living across the States of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe. However, humanitarian actors are unable to access more than 1.2 million people in this region and therefore are cut off from much needed humanitarian assistance.

Responding to this, through the EU-funded project, IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) will continue to strengthen the collection, analysis and dissemination of critical multi-layered information on the mobility, vulnerabilities, and needs of displaced and mobile populations in the North East, and North West and North Central regions of Nigeria. With the help of this data and analysis, IOM will continue to enable decision makers and responders to strengthen the coordinated, well-informed and context specific provision of critical basic services to displaced and conflict affected populations towards improving their living conditions and reinforcing their protection and resilience.

Over the seven-month project duration, multi-sectoral support will be provided in North East Nigeria in the areas of site management and site improvement support, including safety audits in camps as well as language and interpretation services for affected communities ensuring their active participation in the process; reinforcement and improvement of shelters and enhanced distribution of reinforcement kits and non-food items (NFIs); as well as ensuring the provision of water and sanitation services to minimise public health risks for the affected communities. Additionally, the project will also support the management and operation of nine IOM-operated Humanitarian Hubs in Borno State to continue the provision of safe and secure accommodation and operating space for crisis responders.

The project builds on significant progress made through funding received from the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), since the beginning of the crisis in north-east Nigeria, through which IOM provided cross sectoral humanitarian and life-saving assistance to conflict-affected populations in North East, and North West and North Central Nigeria.

The new ECHO-funded project started officially on 1 June 2021.

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For more information, please contact Stylia Kampani at IOM Nigeria, Tel: +234 906 273 9168, Email: skampani@iom.int