Nigeria Humanitarian Response Plan 2024

Foreword

Introduction by the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator a.i for Nigeria

As the Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) shows, there are many humanitarian needs across Nigeria. In the north-west and north-central regions, humanitarian needs are rooted in poverty and underdevelopment, weak rule of law and increased competition over natural resources. Armed banditry and intercommunal conflict, coupled with many of the struggles described above, profoundly affect people’s vulnerability.

The 2024 Humanitarian Programme Cycle needs analysis in the HNO covers the whole of Nigeria. However, this Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) is only focused on humanitarian crises in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) states in north-east Nigeria, where more than 14 years of conflict has ravaged social infrastructure and killed and maimed tens of thousands of people, depriving them of their ability to eke out a living. At least 7.9 million people need humanitarian assistance in 2024. Of these, we are seeking to reach 4.4 million of the most vulnerable people. Some 4.4 million people will face severe hunger during the lean season, including about 2 million children affected by acute malnutrition. In 2023, I visited nutrition stabilization centres in Maiduguri, Borno State, where the number of children admitted for treatment was higher than in 2022. The numbers for 2024 are expected to be just as high, if not higher. The 4.4. million people targeted for assistance include more than 2 million internally displaced people in continued need of support.

In 2024, we will be confronted with some stark and difficult choice, as resources for humanitarian assistance are dwindling not just in Nigeria, but globally. We must consider even more carefully how to maximise dwindling resources and how to organize the humanitarian operation. Reflecting these challenges, further prioritisation and targeting of the most vulnerable means that the number of people targeted for humanitarian interventions has reduced from 6 million to 4.4 million people. We must ensure that we do not spread too thinly, and this is one of the reasons why the HRP will retain its focus on aiding the most vulnerable people affected by the armed conflict in the BAY states. In the rest of Nigeria, we will utilize different approaches, leveraging government leadership and working in tandem with development partners to address vulnerability and its causes. We have long recognised that humanitarian aid is not the solution to the underlying problems causing needs in Nigeria, including in the north-east.

For the 2024 HRP, we are promoting a differentiated approach to analysis and response planning for each of the three BAY states. Where conditions allow, the UN and its partners will support the Government in implementing more lasting development solutions to internal displacement, which will help reduce people’s vulnerabilities and build their self-reliance. Government service provision must be supported by development actors. In parts of the BAY states that have become more secure, investment in social infrastructure and livelihoods will be critical to reducing dependence on humanitarian assistance.

As in 2023, we anticipate that there will be areas, especially in Borno State, where affected people will have little or no access to humanitarian assistance. Where government and humanitarian actors are unable to reach people in need or people are unable to reach assistance, we will continue advocating with civilian and military authorities to allow civilians unhindered freedom of movement to seek protection from conflict and access to humanitarian assistance. Moreover, in Borno, most primary supply routes remain insecure for civilians, humanitarian workers and suppliers. As a result, the humanitarian operation continues to rely on the UN Humanitarian Air Service to reach humanitarian hubs, which protect aid workers and enable operations in the deep-field locations.

Protection concerns continue to dominate work in the north-east. While there were fewer attacks on military and civilian infrastructure in the BAY states in the last two years, attacks on civilians by non-state armed groups (NSAGs) are worryingly increasing. In particular, women and girls lack adequate protection, access to justice and access to services. They are threatened by violence, abduction, rape, gender-based violence, forced and child marriage, and other violations of their rights. Young boys are targeted for recruitment by NSAGs.

Women and girls are not only among the most vulnerable in north-east Nigeria, but also in the rest of the country as reflected in the HNO analysis. Supporting the most vulnerable women and girls and making space for their voices must be a key priority for all of us. Addressing their plight includes enabling and empowering women-led organizations through their inclusion in the Humanitarian Country Team and other coordination mechanisms, in addition to enabling women-led organisations through the Nigerian Humanitarian Fund.

This year cannot be business as usual and we must prioritise the most critical lifesaving and life preserving activities. The Humanitarian Strategy for 2024-2025 is a step in the right direction. We will need to improve the way we work by innovating and making sure that we can make scarce resources go further. More must be done to reduce the cost of providing assistance through greater efficiency and effectiveness. Even greater emphasis will be given to cash or vouchers, which reduce transaction costs and give people choice. We must strengthen our two-way communication with affected people to improve our understanding of what they need and ensure the relevance and appropriateness of our actions to support them.

We hope and expect that federal and state governments will increasingly lead and commit resources towards humanitarian needs. I am encouraged by the Government’s Renewed Hope agenda and see the plans to establish a national trust fund for humanitarian activities and poverty alleviation as a positive development.

We have only been partially successful in achieving localization, one of the key commitments of the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit. Localization is about enabling and empowering local authorities and civil society to take action. Further shifts towards national and local leadership will make humanitarian action more impactful. Moreover, when local partners are funded directly, transaction and overall costs are further reduced.

We will continue to build on the lessons learned from several years of the lean season and rainy season plans derived from the HRP. This has enabled us to adopt a less siloed approach to ensure a more integrated, joined up, and coordinated response. Similarly, a focus on states and the most affected people and areas enables an area-based approach.

The crisis in the BAY states is, unfortunately, far from over. Though security has improved in Adamawa and Yobe, as well as in parts of Borno, there are still nearly 8 million people in peril due to conflict, violence and related causes in the north-east. We face immense challenges in 2024, but I remain optimistic that we can make a profound difference. I am grateful to our partners for their tireless efforts to alleviate suffering and save lives under difficult circumstances. Last, but not least, I also want to recognise the continued strong commitment of our donors who have stood with the people of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states in their time of need. With your support and solidarity, we will continue to work with the Government and all involved actors to protect and provide improved and more dignified lives for the people of Nigeria.

Matthias Schmale
United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator a.i. for Nigeria