In response to the high levels of malnutrition in northeastern Nigeria, the EU is providing €100,000 in humanitarian assistance to help those most in need. The funding will help 160,000 people in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.
This EU funding will enable the Nigerian Red Cross to provide emergency assistance to reduce malnutrition, with a focus on malnourished children, as well as pregnant and lactating women.
Support will include cash grants to mothers and caregivers of malnourished children to help them cover their dietary needs and information activities such as community workshops on nutrition and feeding practices.
In addition, it is also foreseen to distribute water purification tablets and carry out hygiene campaigns to prevent diarrheal diseases.
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 northeast Nigeria, the severe malnutrition crisis has been exacerbated by ongoing conflict, displacement, and limited access to essential services. Most cases are coming from hard-to-reach locations, and children under five are particularly vulnerable.
The European Union and its member states are the world’s leading donors of humanitarian aid. Relief assistance 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.
The European Union helps millions of victims of conflicts and disasters annually through its Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Department. With headquarters in Brussels and a global network of field offices, the EU assists the most vulnerable people on the basis of humanitarian needs.
The European Commission has signed a €8 million humanitarian delegation agreement with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to support the Federation’s Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF). Funds from the DREF are mainly allocated to ‘small-scale’ disasters that do not give rise to a formal international appeal.
The Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) was established in 1979 and is supported by contributions from donors. Each time a National Red Cross or Red Crescent Society needs immediate financial support to respond to a disaster, it can request funds from the DREF.
For small-scale disasters, the IFRC allocates grants from the Fund, which the donors can replenish.
The delegation agreement between the IFRC and ECHO enables the latter to replenish the DREF for agreed operations (within its humanitarian mandate) up to a total of €8 million.
