From Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri
Over 500, 000 households in two local governments in Borno and Yobe states will benefit from a special support on resilience and social cohesion being executed by the United Nations’ Children Fund (UNICEF) and World Food Programme (WFP).
Officer in Charge, UNICEF Chief of Maiduguri Field Office, Dr Clement Adams disclosed this on Tuesday in Maiduguri at a workshop organized by the two global organizations for commencement of the Resilience and Social Cohesion (peace) project for northeast.
Adams explained the choice of two local governments; Shani, southern Borno and Bade, northern Yobe State, was strategic. He said the two areas did not experience much violence in the over 12 years insurgency.
“Shani has been relatively peaceful. We need to do the project where the situation is relatively stable, where we can move around to communities to make inputs,” he disclosed.
WFP Head of Area Office, Mr Bernard Owadi said the €40 million euro (N17.4 billion) project is supported by the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation, an agency of the German government. He said the project which starts this July, expected to last for three years.
UNICEF emergency specialist, Josephine Okhide, while giving an overview of the project explained the intervention which is a multi-sectoral approach, include UNICEF nutrition programme, health, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and children protection, as well as WFP livelihood and nutrition.
She said 156, 888 households are expected to benefit directly while 362, 307 indirect beneficiaries consisting of pregnant women, children under 23 month, school-age children between the ages 6 and 17 years, households with vulnerable adolescent girls are targeted.
She said the project will include Cash transfers through e-voucher, active malnutrition case finding and referral for community-based management, social behaviors change. Others include primryb health-care service, routine immunization, disease outbreak response, suppliers of essential drugs and equipment, routine immunization and capacity building.
Borno State Commissioner of Finance, Budget and economic planning, Alhaji Adamu Lawan commended the two organizations. He assured the government will monitor the implementation of the project and consider domesticating it in more local governments.
