The Government of Japan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Nigeria has donated $5,7 million (equivalent to N2.2 billion) towards the ‘Support for Social Stability and Security of the Conflict-Affected Communities in North-East and Middle Belt of Nigeria Project’.
The partnership is to improve social stability and security, mitigate the negative social effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in the two regions, also aims at supporting early recovery and peace building in conflict-affected communities in the states of Adamawa, Borno, Yobe in the North East, and Taraba, Nasarawa, and Benue in the North Central.
Chargé d’ Affaires at the Embassy of Japan in Nigeria, Mr. Shinozawa Takayuki, explains that the Government of Japan has taken stabilization efforts in the North-East and North Central of Nigeria that helps vulnerable people and communities which are facing challenges due to the prolonged insurgency and the COVID-19 pandemic as priority.
“Although the ongoing health and humanitarian crisis casts a shadow of uncertainty over the North-East and North Central the Government of Japan is committed and will continue to offer humanitarian assistance through international organizations such as our longtime partner UNDP to mitigate the influence of the crisis in an integrated way that helps to accelerate Nigeria’s response for recovery and enhance communities’ resilience.”
Takayuki, added that “Specifically, the contribution will be used to fund agricultural skill improvement programmes for 2,400 farming households, vocational skills training for 1,000 youth, enhanced access to basic services of 7,200 community members, emergency employment opportunities for 1,800 workers, governance training for 120 state and local government officials and Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) training for 1,000 community members. Furthermore, state and local government officials will be provided opportunities to learn from the Japanese experience on conflict recovery through this initiative”.
The UNDP Resident Representative Mohamed Yahya, noted that with the multiple crises, conflict and farmer-herder conflict faced by North East region, and in the North Central of Nigeria, the health and socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19 are retracting development gains in its communities, the Government of Japan UNDP are making efforts to address the challenge.
“The Government of Japan is a longstanding partner of the UNDP both globally and in Nigeria, with strong support towards the realisation of human security. To date, the Government of Japan has allocated over 16 million dollars, for the recovery and peace building of conflict-affected regions in Nigeria”.
“We are grateful for the strategic partnership between the UNDP and the Government of Japan which will help Nigeria’s recovery through the provisioning of livelihood opportunities, training and strengthening of capacities and basic services to boost peace building and recovery efforts.”
According to the UNDP Resident Representative Yahya, “through support from the Government of Japan, the project will adopt an integrated resilience-based strategy that aims to enable community recovery and peace building, through the provisioning of livelihood and economic opportunities, restoration of basic services, the establishment of effective and accountable local governance and the revitalization of social cohesion and community security”.
Building on the lessons and successful results of the former UNDP projects in the regions, support to conflict-affected and at-risk communities will be provided integrated community recovery through a peace building and resilience building approach for the proposed four outputs as follows: livelihood and economic opportunities for the target communities are improved, basic services are restored in target communities, effective and accountable local governance is emerging in target states as well as social cohesion rebuilt and community security re-established.
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