The World Food Programme (WFP) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have announced an initiative to combat food insecurity and malnutrition in North-West Nigeria by providing a total of $1 million in multi-purpose cash and nutritious food.
At the launch of the second phase of the ECOWAS-FMHAPA-WFP stabilization project in Katsina, WFP's Deputy Head of Programme, Manuela Reinfeld, emphasized that the WFP contributed approximately $600,000 to the fund.
This allocation is intended to address malnutrition, particularly for pregnant and lactating women and their children under the age of two.
Reinfeld highlighted that the initiative includes therapeutic supplementary feeding, such as a soya-corn blend, and to provide unconditional food assistance, which will include 5,000 metric tonnes of wheat sourced from Ukraine for distribution in Katsina, Sokoto, and Zamfara States.
Reinfeld stated, “We are also trying to help them address the root causes of malnutrition. We are helping them with resilient building activities and we are targeting women.”
Musa Nuhu, Nigeria's Permanent Representative to ECOWAS, noted that the stabilization fund was initially established to assist victims of terrorism and has since expanded to include those affected by banditry.
He explained that ECOWAS has committed to providing $1 million annually to Nigeria to support social alleviation initiatives for those impacted by insecurity in both the North-East and North-West regions.
The Katsina State Government expressed gratitude to ECOWAS, WFP, and the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs for their support. Dikko Radda, the state governor, remarked that the project would empower local institutions and promote best practices during its implementation.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Olumuyiwa Enitan, confirmed that beneficiaries were selected based on global best practices, targeting the most vulnerable populations.
