The United Nations and the European Union have urged a strategic move from managing humanitarian crises to implementing long-term, community-driven development projects to tackle the plight of over 3.5 million displaced persons in Nigeria.
Mohamed Fall, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, made this call during a high-level dialogue of the project steering committee on durable solutions for internally displaced persons (IDPs) at the UN House in Abuja.
According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the displacement crisis affects approximately 3.5 million people in Nigeria. Fall emphasized that internal displacement has evolved beyond a mere humanitarian emergency into a complex development, peace, and human rights challenge.
“When you engage directly with an affected population, the message often is very simple. People want safety, stability, and the opportunity to support themselves again,” Fall stated. He added that through their Common Programme, they will reach nearly 200,000 children and adolescents with education and skills training, and support close to 150,000 people to access sustainable livelihoods.
Massimo De Luca, the EU Head of Cooperation in Nigeria, announced that the bloc plans to phase out short-term livelihood assistance in conflict-affected regions, shifting financial focus toward private sector-led development. This strategy will guide the EU Support for Internally Displaced Persons in Nigeria (SIDPIN) project, covering Yobe, Adamawa, Benue, and Kano States, as well as the Support for Protection, Assistance and Durable Solutions (SPADS) project in Sokoto State.
“I personally don’t think that livelihood assistance is part of our mission. Let’s review all our livelihood interventions and development projects to see how they can contribute to the purposes of durable solutions. We need to move out from humanitarian-style interventions,” De Luca stated.
Meanwhile, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) reported that 50 percent of supported internally displaced households in Sokoto State have successfully moved from camps into urban communities. Victory Daniel, the Program Manager for the North West, presented findings from the ‘Direct and Effective Social Inclusion of Displaced Families’ project, which uses the “Green Graduation Approach” to lift displaced families out of extreme poverty.
“One of the immediate results we’ve seen is that 50 percent of the supported households initially living in the camps have moved out,” Daniel said, adding that a survey indicated 63 percent of displaced families prefer permanent integration into urban towns.
