25 million Nigerians need humanitarian aid yearly – Minister

From Aniekan Aniekan, Calabar

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Bernard Doro says twenty five million Nigerians need aid yearly.

The Minister disclosed this in Calabar while declaring open the maiden edition of the National Council on Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction.

He added that 60% of the population live in multidimensional poverty and the capacity of states to handle this challenge should be strengthened as they are in the frontline.

“Nigeria today faces stark realities. Over 25 million citizens require humanitarian assistance annually, while more than 60 percent of the population lives in multidimensional poverty.

“States and local governments are at the frontline of these challenges and their capacity must be strengthened through financing, skills development, data integration, and institutional support, enabling locally led and context-specific solutions”, he said.

He emphasized that the theme of the meeting which is “Beyond the National: Strengthening Sun nationals and Multi-Stakeholder Synergy for a Unified Approach to Humanitarian Response and Poverty Reduction”, is apt as it speaks directly to our reality.

He added that Nigeria’s humanitarian and poverty challenges can no longer be addressed in silos, by isolated actors, or through fragmented interventions.

In his words. ” They demand coordination, coherence, and collective responsibility across all levels of government and society”.

He said the Council is the institutional vehicle for delivering the Ministry’s Vision of One Humanitarian, One Poverty Reduction System: A system designed to harmonise interventions, eliminate duplication, align humanitarian response with poverty reduction, and ensure that all actors operate within a unified national framework.

Hon. Dr. Yusuf Sununu, the Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction said government is open to ideas and solutions that will improve the lot of the people.

Declaring the meeting open, Deputy governor of Cross River State, Dr. Peter Ode said the state government will continue to do its best within available resources to mitigate challenges associated with the humanitarian crisis.

He expressed optimism that together, humanitarian actions can be made efficient, inclusive and sustainable in line with the theme of the council meeting.