The European Union has released an additional €250,000 (over N450 million) in humanitarian assistance to help people in need in Benue and Plateau States, Nigeria. The funding will enable the Nigerian Red Cross to deliver immediate, life-saving humanitarian assistance to 2,500 vulnerable households (around 15,000 people) who have been displaced over four months.
The support will include emergency cash assistance, essential household items, healthcare, and psychosocial support, as well as water and sanitation. The initiative will also strengthen protection services and conduct awareness campaigns on health, hygiene, and safety.
“The humanitarian situation is dire,” the EU stated, highlighting that over 615,000 people are displaced in Benue State and an additional 65,000 in Plateau State. Many are subsistence farmers cut off from their land during the crucial planting season.
The majority reside in overcrowded internally displaced people camps or informal shelters, facing severe shortages of food, clean water, healthcare, and protection. This funding is part of the EU’s overall contribution to the Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
In July, the EU provided the International Organization for Migration (IOM) with €500,000 (approximately NGN 886,315,000) to meet the most urgent needs of displaced populations in Benue state for a period of 6 months.
The recurring and targeted violence in Benue and Plateau States continues to fuel a protracted protection crisis, leading to widespread destruction and a deepening humanitarian emergency. “The need for sustained humanitarian action remains paramount,” the EU emphasized.
The EU’s humanitarian aid is an expression of European solidarity towards people in need around the world. It aims to save lives, prevent, and alleviate human suffering and safeguard the integrity and human dignity of populations affected by natural disasters and man-made crises.
Through its Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid department, the European Union helps millions of victims of conflicts and disasters every year. With headquarters in Brussels and a global network of field offices, the EU provides assistance to the most vulnerable people on the basis of humanitarian needs.