2023 May Be Tougher on Vulnerable People, UN Reveals
• Signs framework with FG to tackle Nigeria’s humanitarian challenges
Michael Olugbode in Abuja
The United Nations (UN) has said 2023 may not bring relief to millions of vulnerable people in Nigeria as they are expected to continue a daily struggle to survive.
The United Nations assessment is based on the just-launched Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO), which predicted that there would be prevalent of violent conflict, the climate crisis, disease, and other risks, which would make lives difficult for many.
The GHO provides an annual assessment of global humanitarian needs and how best to respond to them.
In 2023, it is predicted that 339 million people across the world will need humanitarian assistance – an increase of nearly 24 per cent from last year.
According to the GHO, some $51.5 billion – 25 per cent more than in 2022 – is needed to assist the most vulnerable – 230 million people – in 69 countries, including in Nigeria.
Humanitarian needs have increased dramatically partly because of the war in Ukraine and the impact of the climate crisis in the Horn of Africa, the Sahel, Pakistan, and Nigeria.
Looming famine in the Horn of Africa, and elsewhere, unprecedented flooding in Pakistan and Nigeria, are some of the manifestations of climate change, requiring urgent action.
In the West and Central Africa region alone, up to 69 million people are expected to need humanitarian assistance in 2023 amid concerns that north-east Nigeria and Burkina Faso, which are experiencing extreme hunger, could slip into famine if conditions worsen.
North-east Nigeria remains one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with at least 8.3 million people in need of assistance in 2023. The scale of suffering borne every day by women, men and children across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States remains undiminished; urgent action is needed now more than ever. Addressing the needs of 5.4 million people will require close to $1.2 billion.
According to a statement by UN, the humanitarian community in North-east Nigeria continues to work with government and humanitarian partners to address these needs and advocate for the survival, well-being and dignity of all people affected by the crisis in the region.
The Global Humanitarian Overview helps mobilise resources, target them towards those who need them most, and ensure they are used effectively.
Meanwhile, the UN and Nigeria have signed the Cooperation Framework to address some of the greatest challenges in the country.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr. Matthias Schmale explained that the Cooperation Framework could be seen as the UN’s response to the government’s plea to support it in addressing Nigeria’s greatest challenges which have been laid out in the current National Development Plan.
He said for instance, by 2025 the government aims to create 21 million full-time jobs, lift 35 million people out of poverty, and get 5.5 million out-of-school children back into education.
Speaking at the occasion, the Minister of State for Finance, Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba, said the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework was a strategic framework that would assist Nigeria in addressing development and humanitarian challenges, leveraging UN leadership, comparative advantages and capacity assessment.
According to him, Nigeria is presently in the fifth and final year of the current United Nations Sustainable Development Partnership Framework. With 2023 on the near horizon, it is time to look to the next stage of our development journey.”
Agba noted that the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2023-2027) had been conceived to support the Government and people of Nigeria in their development aspirations for the next five years.
