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World Food Programme and Humanitarian Affairs Ministry provide cash, food assistance to people hardest hit by COVID-19 (Photos)

Nov 25, 2020 | Kelechi Onyemaobi

Mr. Paul Howe (L), Country Director of WFP, is joined by the Deputy Ambassador of Switzerland, Mr. Lukas Schifferle, and the Emir of Garki, HRH, in Karmajiji Abuja, Nigeria on November 20th, 2020. WFP Nigeria is supporting Nigeria's growing hunger needs b

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development (FMHADMSD) are working together to provide cash and food assistance to vulnerable people living in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

In coordination with the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), WFP has been working in communities across Abuja for the last three months to identify the most vulnerable. The intervention provides cash and food to cushion the harsh effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the most vulnerable members in the selected communities. The support covers households in three local councils of Bwari, Gwagwalada and the Abuja Municipal Area Council. The cash assistance was made possible thanks to the generous contribution of the Government of Switzerland and their timely support to WFP’s COVID-19 urban response.

This is the first time WFP is expanding into urban locations in Nigeria to serve families affected by the social and economic impact of COVID-19. The programme is a part of WFP’s mission to save lives and change lives in Nigeria, with the ultimate goal of achieving Zero Hunger by 2030.

At the distribution in Karmajiji, Abuja, on November 20, WFP Representative, Dr. Paul Howe, said the approach adopted is COVID-sensitive, economically smart and sustainable. He noted that all of this could only be achieved in partnership.