By Elizabeth Ameh
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme (WFP) and the Borno State Government have launched an intervention project on resilience and social cohesion in Northeast.
The launch which took place in Maiduguri at Pinnacle Hotel is to brief Stakeholders and Implementing Partners on the joint UNICEF/WFP Project in order to reach consensus and understanding on approaches to use in implemention strategies to have desired outcomes and to agree on roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders to have effective coordination and implementation.
The 40million Dollar Project is a 3 year Project funded by the German Government,expected to commence in July 2022 to December 2024, and would be implemented in Shani and Bade Local Government Areas of Borno and Yobe States.
From right: WFP Head of Area Office, Maiduguri Mr Bernard Owadi, UNICEF Chief of Field Office, Dr Clement Adams, UNICEF Chief of Maiduguri Field Office and Commissioner for Finance Budget and Planning Alhaji Adamu Lawan at the launch of resilience project Maiduguri.
n her overview of the project, UNICEF Emergency Specialist, Josephine Okhide said the Project will cover 7 thematic areas with WFP handling the Livelihood and Nutrition aspects while UNICEF will also focus on Nutrition, Health, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene(WASH), Education, Livelihood and Child protection.
According to her “the Project will benefit 156,888 direct beneficiaries and 362,307 indirect beneficiaries, targeting households comprising pregnant women and children 0-23 months and school age children between 6-17 years, households with vulnerable adolescent girls, female-headed households, the elderly, people with disability” .
Okhide said their choice of Shani and Bade Local Government Areas “ is Donor interest as GMZ has existing GIZ project in Shani, for Resilience and Continuity as UNICEF and WFP have implemented projects in Shani and Bade LGAs, stable LGAs where implementation can take place consistently for 3 years and results can be replicated in other locations”.
She said that the implementation of the project would strengthen resilience and social cohesion among the vulnerable and local government system.
In his speech the Commissioner of Finance, Budget and Planning, represented by the Acting Permanent Secretary, Stephen Pakshar said that the State Government appreciated the implementing partners for their efforts in helping to restore and build community resilience.
Pakkshar thanked the German Government for providing the fund for the project and assured of the Borno State Government’s commitment and support towards achieving the objectives of the project.
