The Country Representative of Mercy Corps, Ndubisi Anyawu had said that the Borno state government has provided an enabling environment to provide emergency responses to build resilient communities affected by insurgency. According to him, the Corps in Nigeria has gone beyond emergency response and survival through sustainable approach of IDPs’ resilience. Anyawu spoke Thursday at the European Union (EU)-Borno MAIDA recovery dissemination meeting held in Maiduguri, the state capital. “As the programme comes to an end; we would like to encourage that MAIDA’s achievements be sustained by stakeholders at the community and state levels,” he said. He noted that this could ensure the sustainability of the gains of MAIDA in providing shelter and livelihoods for 6, 400 beneficiaries. On completed handed over projects, he said that in 2021; 73.3% communities successfully implemented their resilience plan, while responding to shock or stress.
He said that while 86.6 percent of youths also reported safe livelihood opportunities. Besides, he added that during the period under review, 10, 000 households had access to sustainable cooking energy solutions with the restoration of community economic assets. According to him, some of the farmer cooperatives and VSLAs members still feel more comfortable saving in the groups than with formal financial service providers.
Speaking on IDPs’ trust on MAIDA programme, he said: “While the programme effectively increased trust among IDP camps and host communities,” noting that there is still considerable division among groups from different religions with the ex-combatants from non-state armed groups. He therefore urged the empowerment and use of new and pre-existing social structures and inclusive approaches to increase ownership of the programme. He said this will promote the sustainability of the MAIDA results in various communities affected by insurgency.
