In a bid to reduce poverty levels in Nigeria, President Tinubu has established a humanitarian alleviation trust fund for the country.
The minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation, Betty Edu, revealed this on Friday at the sidelines of the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, United States.
According to Edu, 30 percent of funding is expected to come from the federal government, while 70 percent is expected from donor agencies.
In achieving this, the minister said the fund would have several governing cadres with a structure that made transparency possible and accountability possible.
“Thirty percent of the funding expected in this trust fund will be coming from the government of Nigeria, and is expected that the rest of this funding comes from other nations, the United Nations, donor agencies, philanthropic individuals, private sector, who we want to bring fully into the space amongst other forms of innovative fundraising,” she said.
“The essence is for us to be able to adequately address the issues which we face on the ground as a matter of urgency.
“I’m sure we already know that the president declared a state of emergency on food security in Nigeria, he equally had a state of emergency on other things like humanitarian crisis and our ability to provide durable solutions.”
Edu said the government was counting on the support of the international community and development partners to provide adequate support for tackling poverty in Nigeria.
“And as we make plans to come in and address this need, what must be key at the back of our minds is providing durable solutions,” she added.
“We must be able to address education for these persons, we must be able to address their livelihood, we must be able to address their reintegration back into communities, we must be to address their resettlement, including the provision of proper shelter for them to stay in.
“We must be able to address their GPV needs amongst other things and we’re counting on your support.”
The minister stressed that the number of person affected by the humanitarian crisis in the country will be on the rise soon and it is expedient for the government to react as soon as possible. Adding that, it is the reason why government is seeking urgent International support to address human and climate-induced displacement and poverty in the country.
Martin Griffiths, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, welcomed the initiative, saying it would take more than the efforts of the government to tackle humanitarian issues.
