The European Union has earmarked a €143m intervention fund in Borno, as part of the effort to address the humanitarian crisis in the Northeast.
The Head of Cooperation, European Delegation to Nigeria, Mr. Kurt Cornelis, disclosed this on January 24 at the inauguration of the three-year intervention programme in Maiduguri. He said that the project was aimed at building the resilience of persons displaced by the conflicts in Borno communities.
According to Cornelis, more than one million people are expected to benefit from nine projects initiated under the intervention programme. “This programme is specifically for Borno State and the purpose is to restore basic services that were damaged in the conflict with Boko Haram.
“That means rehabilitating classrooms, clinics, facilities for water and sanitation, renewable energy and also nutrition. The second part is that we will try to start up agricultural production again and create job opportunities for affected communities so that they can start to rebuild their lives, and they’ll not remain dependent on the handout of food and other basic commodities.”
Cornelis explained that the projects were designed to be implemented within the context of a sustainable and environmentally-friendly strategy focused on the needs of youths, women and the vulnerable, and will also facilitate the return of displaced families to their communities.
The programme will be overseen by a steering committee comprising representatives of the Borno State Government, EU, European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid, Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning, and the Presidential Committee for Northeast Initiative (PCNI).
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