The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, has assured Nigerians of the federal government’s commitment to supporting the more than 16 million citizens affected by humanitarian crises nationwide.

Ms Edu gave the assurance in Abuja on Thursday when she hosted members of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

She attributed the humanitarian crises across the country to natural and human-induced disasters, hence the need for intervention.

“We have a huge task on our hands. As we speak now, more than 16 million Nigerians are affected by humanitarian crises – either man-made or natural disasters,” the minister said.

Ms Edu cited the unrest in some communities, flooding and the effect of the opening of the Lagdo dam in Cameroon. 

“We want the issue of humanitarian response and poverty alleviation to be the top priority on our list,” she said. “We would also need lots of financial help in terms of supporting programmes, processes, and helping with implementation.”

The minister also said the federal government would establish a Presidential Humanitarian and Poverty Alleviation Trust Fund.

While praising the Melinda Gates Foundation for supporting humanitarian causes in Africa, the minister urged it to sustain the tempo.

“We believe you can extend that right hand of fellowship to the ministry and Nigerians by extension,” she added.

Ms Edu expressed optimism about the federal government’s determination to support vulnerable Nigerians affected by the humanitarian crises in the country through different interventions.

Jeremie Zoungrana, the country director of the foundation, assured the minister of readiness to work closely with the ministry to support Nigeria`s efforts to tackle the major humanitarian crises in the country.

Mr Zoungrana also expressed the foundation`s desire to engage with the different stakeholders in the sector to achieve the set objectives.

“We do understand that the humanitarian and poverty alleviation issues are very important areas, and we have taken note of the areas in terms of the need for technical assistance to be able to set the agenda for what we can do as a programme to the ministry,” he noted.

He commended the minister for engaging with critical stakeholders to support the needy.

(NAN)