EU Releases €225,000 Aid for Conflict-Displaced Persons in Kebbi

The European Union(EU) has released €225,000, about N340 million, in humanitarian assistance for people displaced by conflict in Kebbi State.

The six-month intervention will support about 7,700 displaced persons living in settlements and host communities across the state. The Nigerian Red Cross will implement the response with funding from the EU.

The assistance will focus mainly on multipurpose cash support, allowing affected families to address their most pressing needs. It will also provide protection services for vulnerable people facing heightened risks.

Women-led households, persons with disabilities, older people and others exposed to serious protection concerns will receive priority under the intervention.

The programme will also track population movements and involve local volunteers in the response. According to the EU, these measures will help strengthen the basis for longer-term recovery initiatives by other humanitarian actors.

The intervention comes amid worsening insecurity in Kebbi, where armed attacks and communal violence have affected seven Local Government Areas.

Displacement began in mid-August, but a fresh escalation in violence around August 31 triggered the latest humanitarian response. The crisis has affected more than 16,600 people across the state, including 7,706 displaced persons and 108 people who sustained injuries.

Displaced families in temporary settlements and host communities now face pressing needs for shelter, food, clean water, healthcare and protection. The situation has become more difficult because of organised banditry, armed group activity and communal violence.

The EU funding forms part of its wider contribution to the Disaster Response Emergency Fund(DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies(IFRC).

The European Commission has committed €16 million through a humanitarian delegation agreement with the IFRC to support the DREF. The fund provides immediate financing to National Red Cross and Red Crescent societies responding to disasters.

Established in 1979, the DREF draws contributions from donors and releases emergency grants when national societies require rapid financial support. For smaller disasters, the IFRC provides grants from the fund and replenishes the resources through donor contributions.

The EU and its member states rank among the world’s major humanitarian donors. Through its Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid department, the bloc provides relief to millions of people affected by conflicts and disasters each year.

The EU says its humanitarian assistance seeks to save lives, reduce suffering and protect the dignity of vulnerable populations affected by natural disasters and man-made crises.