EU allocates €250,000 to support IDPs in Benue, Plateau

The European Union has allocated €250,000 as humanitarian aid for victims displaced by violent armed groups in Benue and Plateau states.

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In a statement on Thursday, the EU delegation in Nigeria said the funding will be used to provide cash support for the victims as well as water, sanitation, healthcare, psychosocial support and essential household items.

According to the commission, the funding is part of its contribution to the Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

It also noted that the fund, through the IFRC, would ensure the provision of life-saving humanitarian assistance to 2,500 vulnerable households who have been displaced in the last four months in both States.

“Beyond immediate relief, the initiative will strengthen protection services and conduct awareness campaigns on health, hygiene, and safety.

“This comprehensive approach aims to not only alleviate suffering but also to safeguard the dignity of vulnerable people—especially women, children, and those repeatedly displaced—who are now living in precarious, overcrowded, and underserved conditions,” the commission said.

The security crisis in Benue and Plateau escalated within the first half of the year, with more communities getting ransacked and numerous people forced to flee for their safety.

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The victims of this crisis are often subsistence farmers who are then cut off from their land during the crucial planting season.

The majority reside in overcrowded internally displaced people camps or informal shelters, facing severe shortages of food, clean water, healthcare, and protection.

READ ALSO: Insecurity: Benue records additional 18,592 IDPs

There are currently more than 15,000 internally displaced persons in Benue State, according to Amnesty International. Meanwhile, Plateau has more than 21,000 displaced persons.

Last month, the EU also allocated €500,000 to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to ensure the provision of necessities to displaced populations in Benue state for six months.

The commission had also earlier noted that it had no plan to scale down on humanitarian assistance to vulnerable communities in the country.

The union rejected claims that it made a massive funding cut to humanitarian assistance, describing them as “unsubstantiated” and “inaccurate.”