The The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) flagged off the distributions of $906,205 (N1,449,928,000) and food items to households in Nigerian communities affected by the devastating floods of year 2022. ECOWAS published this on its website on Friday, August 2, 2024.
ECOWAS Commission, led by it’s Program Officer for Humanitarian Affairs, Mr. Godfrey Ameachi Alozie, participated in the flag-off ceremony at Mayo Inne community of Fufore local government area of Adamawa state. According to the body the aid was aimed at community resilience building and recovery.
It stated that in collaboration with the Nigerian Red Cross, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, identified six of the most affected states: Adamawa, Anambra, Kebbi, Kogi, Oyo, and Rivers, targeting 3,500 households within these selected states. Aside from food distribution and cash transfers to each household beneficiary, the project will also build two boreholes in each state to ease access to clean water.
The regional group further stated that each household received a comprehensive relief package, which included 25kg of rice, 15kg of garri, 12kg of beans, 5 liters of palm oil, and 5 liters of vegetable oil. Additionally, each household was provided with a debit card loaded with 91,500 naira, with a monthly withdrawal limit of 30,500 naira. Following the distribution of aid, a borehole was officially launched to improve the community’s access to clean water, further enhancing their resilience and recovery efforts.
Alozie at the event reiterated ECOWAS’s commitment to raising the living standards of its citizens, strengthening their resilience on the path to recovery with dignity, and ensuring that no one is left behind. He noted that with this initiative, ECOWAS has transitioned from an ECOWAS of states to an ECOWAS of people, as these projects target the people directly.
