Minister unveils plan to unify Nigeria’s humanitarian, poverty reduction efforts

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard Doro, has said the Federal Government is working to institutionalise a coordinated framework for humanitarian response and poverty reduction in Nigeria.

Doro disclosed this when he received the Regional Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) for West and Central Africa, Kinday Samba, and her delegation during a courtesy visit to the ministry in Abuja.

The minister said the proposed One Humanitarian – One Poverty Response System (OHOPRS) was designed to move Nigeria away from fragmented approaches to humanitarian assistance, social protection and poverty reduction.

According to him, the framework would enable government to better identify vulnerable populations, connect interventions and create sustainable pathways for vulnerable households.

Doro said the ministry was finalising a policy memorandum on OHOPRS for consideration by the Federal Executive Council, with the aim of securing institutional backing for its implementation beyond individual administrations.

He said Nigeria was seeking to present the initiative to the international community as part of its efforts to strengthen social protection and improve coordination of humanitarian interventions.

“The ambition is to move away from fragmented and siloed approaches to humanitarian assistance, social protection and poverty reduction towards a more coordinated system that can effectively identify vulnerabilities, connect interventions and create sustainable pathways for vulnerable households,” he said.

The minister also identified logistics as a major challenge affecting humanitarian and nutrition interventions, noting that the availability of food and nutritional commodities did not always guarantee timely delivery to vulnerable communities.