PIND Releases Impact Assessment Report on Niger Delta

The Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND) and its US-based strategic partner, the Niger Delta Partnership Initiative (NDPI), have released an independent impact-assessment report detailing the progress made by both organisations to date towards achieving sustainable, systemic change in the Niger Delta.

The report showed that since its inception in 2010, PIND and NDPI had brought significant international attention and resources to support sustainable development initiatives in the Niger Delta, a region that until recently was virtually beyond reach by the international community.
As a result of PIND and NDPI’s work, the Niger Delta is now receiving investment from multi-lateral and bi-lateral donors and international NGOs as well as other private sector institutions, according to the impact assessment report prepared by the Initiative for Global Development (IGD), a Washington DC-based non-profit organisation.

In a statement signed by the Knowledge Systems Manager of PIND, Chinwe Nnoham-Onyejekwe, PIND and NDPI’s work have enabled and strengthened relationships between local individuals and hundreds of organisations, resulting in more than $92 million of new investment into the region in both monetary and in-kind resources since 2010, according to the report.

“Although socio-economic challenges in the region persist, this report emphasises that PIND and NDPI have created positive change for the people of the Niger Delta,” said PIND Chairman Clay Neff.

“We are proud that this assessment validates the progress we have made to date and provides us with recommendations to generate even greater impact going forward.”
The greatest impact of PIND and NDPI’s work was in the areas of economic development, peace building, and cultivating an enabling environment through advocacy and capacity building for economic growth and peace to take hold.

PIND and NDPI have also achieved significant impacts in forging strong partnerships, alliances and networks, and establishing a self-sustaining, rapidly growing movement of peace actors numbering more than 3,800 individuals, according to the report.

“We place a high priority on working with partners and existing organisations because coordinated development efforts can achieve greater impact than each organisation working alone,” said PIND Executive Director, Sam Daibo.

With more than 32 million people, the Niger Delta represents a complex, yet critical region to Nigeria and West Africa as many of its current events typically have far-reaching effects. “The report shows PIND and NDPI’s programmes are moving the needle on achieving systematic, sustainable change in a complex, yet important social environment in West Africa,” Daibo said.
The IGD impact assessment report is available online at www.igdleaders.org. Information about PIND and NDPI programs are available at pindfoundation.org and ndpifoundation.org.

Established in-part through a five-year, $50 million endowment by Chevron in 2010, the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND) and the Niger Delta Partnership Initiative (NDPI) work with a wide range of partners in the public, private and civil society sectors to support projects designed to reduce poverty and conflict in the Niger Delta region.In 2014, Chevron committed an additional $40 million to the initiative over the following five years.

PIND and NDPI focus on sustainable market systems to create economic opportunities for the people of the Niger Delta, while also empowering over 3,000 individual peacemakers to mitigate conflict. Partners include international and local organisations, such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), the US African Development Foundation (USADF), and the New Nigeria Foundation (NNF). While PIND is responsible for operational planning and project implementation, NDPI focuses on strategic planning and project funding. Together, they are developing new solutions to economic and social challenges in the Niger Delta.