UN allocates $5 million for flood preparedness in Nigeria

The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, has released $5 million from the Central Emergency Fund (CERF) for anticipatory action for floods in Nigeria.

This was made known in a statement issued Wednesday by the UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Malick Fall, who highlighted the need for proactive measures to be put in place ahead of predictable shocks based on strong risk analysis.

“Anticipating and acting ahead of crises such as floods saves lives. It also helps to protect peoples’ livelihoods which in turn reduces their vulnerability,” he said.

He noted that in a global landscape characterised by reducing funds for humanitarian action, this proactive approach is critical as it does not only reduce the worst impacts of emergencies, but it also helps to reduce the overall cost of the humanitarian response.

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According to the statement, the $5 million CERF allocation complements government-led efforts through the anticipatory action task force. It said the task force brings together key agencies including the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET), the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, and the National Emergency Management Agency under the stewardship of the office of the Vice-President.

This, it said, is in collaboration with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The statement said globally, OCHA, which manages the CERF and Country-Based Pooled Funds (CBPFs) such as the Nigerian Humanitarian Fund (NHF), is spearheading anticipatory action assisting millions of people by addressing hazards such as floods, droughts, storms and cholera.

Nigeria’s flood disaster

In recent years, the increased frequency of extreme weather events, such as changing rainfall patterns and delayed rainfall, has significantly affected crop yields, livestock productivity, and farmers’ livelihoods. Flood disasters recorded across major food-producing regions in the past three years hit farmers the hardest.

In 2024, Nigeria’s disaster management agency, NEMA, said floods killed over 303 people and affected over 1.2 million persons. The disaster also injured over 2,712 people, inundated over 1161,539 hectares of farmland, and completely damaged 106,000 hectares.

NEMA said 673,333 people were also displaced. Meanwhile, several communities in at least 201 local government areas in over 30 of Nigeria’s 36 states were also affected by floods.

The lingering scourge of flooding experienced in the country within the past three years is evident in the current state of food availability, affordability and accessibility across the country.

Experts have argued that the impact of the floods experienced recently in the country would have been minimal had the necessary infrastructures needed to control floods across zones in the country been properly maintained by the government.

On Wednesday, the UN said in October 2024, CERF released $5 million to scale up the flood response and address critical needs in Borno and Bauchi states in North-east Nigeria, and Sokoto State in the North-west.

The statement said the CERF funds complemented a $6 million allocation from the NHF which included $2 million for anticipatory action released in tandem with the large-scale floods which displaced an estimated 400,000 people in Borno State.

“The floods decimated livelihoods and destroyed hundreds of thousands of hectares of cropland ahead of harvests,” it added.

NiMET’s 2025 Seasonal Climate Prediction released last week, forecast the onset of the rainy season over northern states such as Bauchi, Borno, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara, and is anticipated between early June and July 2025.

This period, the UN said, coincides with the lean season (the period between harvests) when food insecurity and malnutrition levels rise alongside flooding and outbreaks of diseases such as cholera.

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“Timely preparedness against these potential hazards is critical,” the statement said.

It noted that Nigeria’s 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) has outlined a risk-informed proactive approach dedicating 5 per cent ($45 million) of total requirements ($910 million) for anticipatory action.

This CERF allocation, the UN said, represents only 11 per cent of the requirement for anticipatory action and that more funding is urgently needed to scale up early action.