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Humanitarian Action for Children 2019 - 2021 - Nigeria

Countries
Nigeria
Sources
UNICEF
Publication date
Origin
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Snapshot
Total people in need: 7.1 million
Total children (<18) in need: 4.2 million
Total people to be reached: 2.67 million
Total children to be reached: 1.77 million

Protracted violence and conflict-related displacement have had a devastating impact on northeast Nigeria, particularly Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states. Displacement increased in 2018, with 1.8 million people now displaced due to conflict. Between January and November 2018, an average of 4,000 individuals— mainly women and children—were displaced every single week, up from an average of 1,400 in 2017. The cumulative impact of violence and stress has weakened the coping capacities of communities, and left more than 2 million girls, boys and caregivers in need of psychosocial support. Access to adequate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) remains a challenge. In 2018, cholera outbreaks affected more than 12,000 people and claimed nearly 200 lives in all three states. An estimated 368,000 children will be at risk of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in 2019, and an additional 727,000 children will be at risk of moderate acute malnutrition (MAM). Across the northeast, particularly in Borno State, at least 867 primary, junior and senior secondary schools remain closed. Maintaining humanitarian support will be critical to ensuring that affected people do not slip further into crisis and building resilience against future shocks, particularly as the conflict and related population movements continue.

Humanitarian strategy

In close collaboration with the Government, UNICEF co-leads the nutrition, WASH and education sectors and the child protection sub-sector. In line with the country level multiyear inter-agency Humanitarian Response Plan (2019-2021), UNICEF will continue to deliver an integrated package of interventions to affected populations in northeast Nigeria, in coordination with the Government, United Nations agencies, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Partnerships will be strengthened to improve service delivery, building off of the new partnerships established in 2018 with 22 international NGOs and 17 national NGOs. The quality of programming will continue to be improved, and the linkages between humanitarian action and development programming will be strengthened. UNICEF will tailor its assistance to specific needs and contexts through the development of distinct multi-sector response packages for three different types of situations: emergency/ rapid response, protracted crisis and early recovery. UNICEF will employ tailored modalities of engagement for each framework, adapting its own approach based on a clear mapping of the capacities of other humanitarian and development partners, and drawing on UNICEF’s added value. Across all programmatic sectors, UNICEF will strengthen gender-based violence risk mitigation.

Results from 2018

As of 31 October 2018, UNICEF had US$95.1 million available against the US$142.5 million appeal (67 per cent funded). With nutrition activities fully funded, UNICEF was able to treat more than 212,700 children with SAM, achieving 99 per cent of the target. More than 1.1 million people gained access to safe water with UNICEF support over the course of the year—more than twice the achievement for 2017. However, due to significant funding gaps in the WASH sector, UNICEF only achieved 37 per cent of the planned target for access to sanitation facilities. In the health sector, funding gaps prevented UNICEF from rehabilitating damaged health infrastructure and purchasing equipment to improve the quality of care. With available funds, UNICEF prioritized ensuring the continuity basic primary health care, through adequate staffing and supplies in conflict-affected areas, which allowed UNICEF to reach nearly 2.9 million people with outpatient consultations (exceeding the target). UNICEF’s child protection response reached more than 294,000 children and caregivers with psychosocial support services, and over 193,000 children and caregivers with mine risk education. Nearly 203,000 boys and girls received learning materials, though funding gaps prevented UNICEF from reaching a higher number of children as originally planned.