By: Babagana Bukar Wakil, Maiduguri
The Borno State Flood Disaster Relief Distribution Committee convened an urgent session on Monday with several international and national non-governmental organizations to intensify humanitarian interventions for communities ravaged by recent floods in Maiduguri.
Key participants included the Danish Refugees Council (DRC), CARE Nigeria, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), ZOA Nigeria, and the Inter Community Development Social Organisation (IDS). The meeting, presided over by Honourable Abba Kyari Abba Kolo, the representative for Jere State Constituency, centered on crafting robust strategies to ensure timely aid delivery to the affected areas.
A notable development came from CARE Nigeria, which confirmed it had secured substantial funding to assist 6,000 households in five communities within Jere and the Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (MMC) specifically Fariya, Madinatu, Shuwari Garki, Abbaganaram, and Gonidamgari. This intervention includes essential food and non-food supplies aimed at mitigating the immediate hardship faced by flood victims.
Abba Kolo, in concert with Honourable Inna Galadima, Chairperson of Jere Local Government, tabled a proposal to relocate aid distribution sites to the heavily impacted areas of Kasuwan Dare and Ajari for better reach and accessibility.
Further augmenting the relief initiatives, the Danish Refugees Council (DRC) pledged to extend cash assistance worth 100,000 Naira per household to 3,000 displaced families in Gubio and Bakasi camps, pending committee endorsement. In addition, DRC aims to provide psychosocial support, critical WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) services, and shelter rehabilitation in local host communities.
Complementing these efforts, ZOA Nigeria plans to disburse similar cash assistance to 2,600 households and is set to deliver daily cooked meals to 13,000 flood-affected individuals. Meanwhile, CRS announced its intention to broaden its livelihood support program, targeting seven more communities in MMC and Jere. The Committee stressed the need for close coordination with the Agency for the Coordination of Humanitarian Activities to ensure seamless intervention.
IDS outlined its commitment to support 1,444 households, supplying each family with 25 kilograms of rice, 5 liters of cooking oil, 10 kilograms of beans, and 1 kilogram of salt—provisions designed to meet immediate food security needs.
Executive Secretary of the Agency for the Coordination of Humanitarian Activities, Dr. Mamman Gadai, alongside Ballama Mustapha from OCHA, emphasized the urgency of expediting the beneficiary verification process to unlock time-sensitive funding and expedite interventions.
The meeting concluded with a unanimous resolution to expedite the proposal of specific communities for targeted relief efforts, ensuring that no time is wasted in delivering critical assistance.
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