Creating a safe environment for all children
Ria-Initiative safeguards the safety and human rights of Nigerians who are struggling with poverty, natural disasters, and armed warfare.
Nigeria, the most populous nation in Africa, has long been marred by political turmoil and economic inequality. Due to continued unrest, residents of the northeast and other crisis areas are leaving their homes and seeking safety in other regions of the nation.
About two-thirds of Nigeria’s population live in poverty, especially in the underdeveloped and disadvantaged northern and northeastern parts of the country, despite the country’s considerable oil income. Chronic hunger and disease epidemics that have affected more than 13.5 million people are made worse by the nation’s susceptibility to drought, flooding, and other types of harsh weather.
We are in the quest in offering displaced Nigerians and weak host communities in the northeast health care, nutrition, sanitation, and education.
The underlining difficulties
Despite being one of Africa’s major oil producers, Nigeria has a poverty rate of more than 50%. 10.6 million people in northeast Nigeria now require humanitarian assistance as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and an additional 3.8 million are having trouble getting enough food.
Nearly 2 million people have been evacuated in the northeast, where the hunger problem has gotten so bad that it is now considered an emergency. For these displaced families, it is imperative that they have access to food, clean water, shelter, education, and healthcare. Sixty-six percent of the medical facilities in the states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe have been destroyed as a result of the conflict.
Only 8% of those who have been displaced are housed in recognized camps and are supported by the government. Children who have lost one or both parents or who have been split from their families are more at risk. Women and girls have been the victims of sexual abuse and slavery. Families have lost their jobs, falling deeper into poverty, and health facilities are overworked as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The sum of money needed to deal with the humanitarian catastrophe in Nigeria is insufficient. Only a small percentage of those in desperate need have been able to be reached by humanitarian workers.
How we help
Ria-Initiative’s primary goal is to help those whose lives and means of subsistence have been destroyed by conflict and tragedy to survive, recover, and retake control of their future.
We started assisting Nigerians in 2020, helping over 5,000 people who had lost difficulty in accessing quality means of livelihood as a result of the insurgency. We started our education in emergency response in 2021, giving thousands of conflict-affected individuals access to water, food, and temporary education facility, informal education, and protective services. Ria-Initiative currently operates offices in Yola and Maiduguri in the northeast.
While Nigeria attempts to recover from a spate of terrorist attacks, Ria-Initiative is focusing its efforts in the following activities/programs.
- Constructing water supply systems and sanitation facilities for displaced people residing in temporary housing.
- Collaborating with neighborhood health services to improve water, sanitation, and hygiene.
- Distributing mosquito nets and essential home goods.
- Establishing secure spaces where kids can play and feel more normal.
- Giving displaced children reading and math lessons.
- Offering services for mothers and kids who have experienced abuse and violence.
- Helping those who have been displaced by a horrific war and are presently attempting to reconstruct their lives in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe.
More work needs to be done.
People must still be protected from harm and provided with enough nourishment. A sizable fraction of the population is impacted by malnutrition. Children are regularly denied access to school, while women, girls, and other vulnerable groups are frequently abused and exploited.
To satisfy the needs of the millions of people who have been displaced by violence and natural catastrophes, Ria-Initiative’s response to the crisis in Nigeria has not been sufficient. In addition to increased aid, sustained improvement in Nigeria would require a renewed emphasis on helping those affected by crises earn enough money to meet their basic needs. Ria-Initiative’s main objective over the next few years will be to increase the economic security of women and children.
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