Participants at the workshop in Maiduguri, Borno state

Maiduguri - The more than a decade humanitarian crisis in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) states in Northeast has left nearly 2.0 million persons displaced. The situation remains critical, as many of the affected households cannot meet their food needs, especially in areas where large-scale displacements have taken place. The Food and Agriculture of the United Nations (FAO) is one of the humanitarian and development actors in the forefront giving support to the people affected by the crisis.

FAO collaborates mainly with Local and National Actors (LNAs) – Non-Governmental Organisation (NGOs) and government agencies, where it is safe for their staff to operate, to implement project activities that address the needs of the people. Over the years, FAO has invested a lot of resources in building the capacities of LNAs for timely emergency response. FAO is also committing to the localization agenda framed within the overall global commitments of the Grand Bargain (GB).

FAO secured funding from the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) for 2022 for an initiative to support the outcome of the Country Level Dialogues (CLD) for Nigeria by strengthening the capacities, knowledge, and skills of local actors for more predictable and timely emergency response, leading to more sustainable and resilient Agri-food systems along the humanitarian-development-peace nexus.

It is against this background that FAO conducted the organisational capacity gap assessment and capacity strengthening of LNAS in Maiduguri Borno state, where 60 participants were drawn from 20 organisations within the BAY states and capacitated in order to take the lead in emergency response.