Germany has announced additional financial support of €26 million to Nigeria for humanitarian assistance in Northeast region battling Boko Haram/Islamic State in West African Province (ISWAP) terrorists’ violence.
The fund, disbursed under the Solidarity and cooperation with Nigeria amidst COVID-19 pandemic, would provide life-saving humanitarian assistance in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States.
The following institutions and agencies are beneficiaries of the fund, namely, the UN World Food Programme (€8 million), the International Committee of the Red Cross (€7 million), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (€5 million), Caritas International (€3.5 million) and the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund (€2.5 million).
They are to help support the Nigerian Government with a view to protecting the most vulnerable groups and meeting the humanitarian needs in Nigerian States bordering Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
Commenting on the need for multilateral cooperation and coordination, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stated: “The logic of the COVID-19 pandemic tells us that we either prevail over the virus worldwide, or not at all. And our success will be determined not with us, but among the poorest of the poor”.
In the UN Security Council, of which Germany is currently a member, as well as in other UN bodies, Germany is pressing for UN organizations to play a leading role at global level.
According to the United Nations, the humanitarian crisis in North East Nigeria after more than a decade of armed conflict is affecting the lives and livelihood of some 7.9 million people.
The threat of the COVID-19 pandemic in the States affected by the conflict is regarded high considering that around 35 per cent of health facilities have been destroyed or partially damaged due to the Boko Haram terrorists’ conflict.
In 2019 Germany was the third biggest bilateral donor of humanitarian assistance to Nigeria, enabling lifesaving humanitarian assistance in the Lake Chad Region amounting to €67.5 million.
Furthermore, Germany is extensively engaged within the European Union (EU) and participating actively in the global cooperation package focusing on Africa (“Team Europe”). Tackling the COVID-19 crisis in Africa will be a key issue during Germany’s EU Council Presidency in the second half of 2020.