Nigeria To Receive €33m As EU Unveils €235m Aid For West, Central Africa

The European Commission has announced a €235 million humanitarian aid package for West and Central Africa, with Nigeria set to receive €33 million to address worsening insecurity, displacement, and food shortages.

In a statement on Wednesday, the EU said that the funding targets vulnerable populations across the region, as conflict and climate-related shocks continue to strain communities, particularly in North-West Nigeria and the broader Lake Chad basin.

The EU noted that out of the €235 million, €75 million will be directed to the Central Sahel, over €16.6 million to Cameroon, €22 million to the Central African Republic, over €72 million to Chad, €4.8 million to Mauritania, €33 million to Nigeria, and over €6 million to coastal countries. An additional €6.4 million will support projects with a regional scope.

”West and Central Africa are facing a storm of humanitarian crises, driven by conflict, poverty, hunger, instability, and climate shocks,” said Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib. “Last year in Chad, I saw the human cost with my own eyes: families who had fled with nothing but the clothes on their backs, their homes lost, their livelihoods destroyed.

“For millions of people, humanitarian aid is not a choice. It is food on the table, clean water, medicine, shelter, and a chance for their children to learn again. The European Union will always stand with people in crisis, as a reliable and principled humanitarian partner, to save lives, ease suffering, and bring hope where it is needed most.”

The EU said that the West and Central Africa region is plagued by various humanitarian crises, with significant needs for humanitarian assistance. The primary driver of these crises is conflict, further intensified by the adverse effects of climate change and a multitude of local factors related to governance, demography and access to land and resources.

The epicentre of these crises is in the Central Sahel and Lake Chad regions, with the Central Sahel conflict spilling over into the coastal countries, fuelling large-scale displacement both internally and across borders.

The ongoing Sudan crisis is also severely impacting the resilience of Eastern Chad. In addition to these intertwined dynamics, standalone crises persist in North-West Nigeria, North-West and South-West (NWSW) Cameroon, and the Central African Republic (CAR).