The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development in collaboration with the World Food Programme has launched a stabilization fund for the vulnerable in Katsina State.
The project, which is being implemented in two local government areas of Jibia and Faskari in the state, is being funded by the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS.
At the launch of the programme in Jibia, the Minister, Hajiya Sadiya Umar-Faruk, represented by the Director Humanitarian Affairs of the ministry, Alhaji Ali Grema, said the project was part of ECOWAS’s intervention to member states towards cushioning the effect of flooding and the covid-19 pandemic.
She said the assistance was provided through the Humanitarian Affairs Ministry under two projects which are the Post-flood Humanitarian Assistance and the humanitarian stabilization fund.
The Minister noted that the two projects are being implemented by Nigeria Red Cross Society and World Food Program on behalf of the Ministry.
In her address, the Programme officer, World Dood Program, Mrs Agnes Mungatia, said the programme focuses on alleviating food and nutrition insecurity in four states of Katsina, Borno, Adamawa and Zamfara, noting that the programme was also building sustainable livelihoods for vulnerable families.
“In Katsina, 1,398 individual beneficiaries in 208 households have received cash transfers of N27, 800 each on monthly basis to purchase their preferred food from local markets.
“Beneficiaries are usually encouraged to buy a wide range of nutritious local foods from the local markets supplied by local producers and that has an additional advantage of stimulating local markets and local agricultural production,” she said.
Mungatia added that to prevent acute malnutrition in the first 1000 days of their lives, the programme also provides nutrition assistance to children between 6 to 23 months as 4,690 children would benefit from it.
She said the programme was also assisting pregnant and lactating mothers from vulnerable households in which 644 families will benefit in Faskari and Jibia LGAs of the state.
Isma’il Adamu
