IOM earmarks $668,000 in support to scale up response to flooding
By Tada Jutha, Maiduguri
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has earmarked $668,000 (N106.9 billion) in support to scale up response to the flooding in the country.
According to the organisation, the Rapid Response Fund (RRF) was to support emergency humanitarian relief for the flood-affected communities in Jigawa, Katsina, and Bauchi states.
The IOM Chief of Mission ad interim, Paola Pace, in a statement yesterday (Thursday), in Maiduguri, said that tens of thousands of people in the affected states are grappling with the impact of the catastrophic floods.
Additionally, she said their support is vital in enabling IOM and local partners to provide life-saving assistance and help communities rebuild and recover from the catastrophic impacts of the floods.
She lamented the killing of 320 people in the recent floods, as over 1.3 million people were affected this year in 34 states across the country.
During the September and October flooding, over 740, 000 people were displaced by fleeing their submerged homes, including the destruction of 258,000 hectares of farmland.
Pace noted that IOM finalised an initial earmark of $1.8 million to nine local and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to support emergency response to the floods.
According to her, this brings to over $2.4 million of the total fund allocated by the IOM this year.
“This will bolster the delivery of essential services and aid, including emergency shelter, clean water, sanitation facilities, and protection,” he said, including the multi-purpose cash assistance to over 228,777 people.
