The Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Abel Enitan, has reiterated the Ministry’s commitment aimed at providing effective coordination and formulation of policies to ease Humanitarian operations while establishing peace and development in Nigeria.
The Permanent Secretary disclosed this during the 7th National Humanitarian Coordination Technical Working Group (NHCTWG) held in Abuja.
He said “The National Humanitarian Development Plan (NHDP) is envisioned to provide adequate guidance on how humanitarian, peace and development actors can work together more effectively to meet the needs of the vulnerable people while mitigating risks, reduce vulnerability and ensure durable solutions to affected population towards peace and stability in Nigeria.
“It is pertinent to State that the collective commitment to Humanitarian cause necessitated the development of these documents which were achieved through the guidance provided by members at the various NHCTWG meetings and subsequent consultative engagement with stakeholders.
“During this meeting, we would be re-evaluating three strategic documents namely: National Humanitarian Development Peace (NHDP) Plan; National Action Plan (NAP) for the Implementation of the IDP and National Policy on Cash Voucher Assistance (NPCVA) in Humanitarian context”.
According to Enitan, after a successful re-validation exercise of the 7th NHCTWG meeting, the Ministry will continue to work closely with all relevant parties for the finalisation of these documents that would be forwarded to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for approval.
He commended the Ministry’s partners, consultants and volunteers for the existing and continuous collaboration and support over the years as well as the staff of the Ministry for their commitment towards the development of the documents.
In an opening remarks, the Director Humanitarian Affairs Department of the Ministry, Valentine Ezulu, represented by the Assistant Director Humanitarian Affairs Barbara Dele-Oye, said “through years of commitment to Humanitarian cause, we have developed the NAP, NHDP and NPCVA in human context and the meeting is to re-validate the aforementioned strategic documents developed during the 6th NHCTWG meeting and approved by the then FEC in May, 2023; to ensure it aligns with the current mandate of the Ministry and accommodate emerging issues”.
He said the validation of the documents is aimed at addressing emerging Humanitarian challenges in the country with a view to providing a roadmap for response.
While delivering good will messages, the representative of IOM, Daniel Salmon, commended the Ministry, Swiss Embassy and other partners in the development of the National Humanitarian Development Plan. He reaffirmed the continued support for the Federal government in implementing the Action Plan.
The Representative of the Swiss Embassy, Nicolas Martin Achard stated that the Swiss Embassy has a long lasting partnership with the Ministry and Nigeria at large. He pledged the support of the embassy in providing durable solutions to Displaced Persons and the implementation of the documents. He congratulated the Ministry for its leadership role and strong support by all stakeholders in the development of the high quality documents.
Humanitarian and Resilience Manager, ActionAid, David Habba, in its remarks called for the need to popularise the documents and build actors in communities.
The Emergency Officer, World Food Programme, Christian Keilbach also expressed optimism that the continued collaboration by partners will pave way for a robust Humanitarian response.
In attendance were representatives of UN systems: IOM, UNOCHA, WFP, UNHCR, ActionAid Nigeria, Swiss Embassy, Office of the SGF, relevant MDAs, INGOs, members of the NHCTWG and staff of the Ministry.
Rhoda Ishaku Iliya
Deputy Director Information and Public Relations
