Japanese Government Releases $1.5m Towards Rebuilding North-Eastern Nigeria

Japanese Government Releases $1.5m Towards Rebuilding North-Eastern Nigeria

The Government of Japan has released $1.5million to fund community
stabilisation activities in the North-East region of Nigeria. According
to a statement issued on Tuesday, the funds would be utilised through an
ongoing programme launched in 2016 and implemented by the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Nigeria.  

The interventions being implemented in the region are aimed at
supporting victims of Boko Haram insurgency in the three most affected
states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.  According to the statement, the
recent release of funds “builds on ongoing activities that the
Government of Japan has been supporting which have facilitated the
rehabilitation of 20 public infrastructures and provided emergency
employment to more than 2,000 Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and
returnees”.  

Also, more than 4,000 farmers and over 1,000 small businesses have
received support with inputs and capital that helped improve and expand
their sources of livelihood. The Government of Japan has already
invested $6.5million in stabilisation activities in Nigeria’s
North-East.  

The funding from the Japanese government would be utilised within the
framework of Integrated Community Stabilization Programme which UNDP
has been implementing in the region intended to directly benefit 125,000
people in the three states. An additional one million people will
indirectly benefit from interventions under the project. Implemented
through an integrated approach, the project’s goal is to support over
2,200 farmers, 500 small businesses, five community public
infrastructures, and provide emergency employment to over 850 community
members.  

Speaking on the activities in the region, Khardiata Lo Ndiaye, acting
UNDP Resident Representative, said: “Stabilization efforts in the
North-East are helping families and communities begin to rely less on
humanitarian aid and more on themselves. This support from the
Government of Japan will go a long way in laying a foundation for
development to take place again in the region.”  

Ms. Khardiata added that meeting urgent early recovery needs of the
crisis-affected communities remained a huge challenge requiring more
partners and investment.  In his remarks, Shigeru Umetsu, Chargé
d’affaires ad interim of Japan to Nigeria, gave the assurance that the
Government of Japan would continue to support efforts aimed at restoring
stability and livelihoods for the communities in the North-East.