The United States, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has announced about $176m in additional humanitarian assistance for Nigeria, Mali and some other countries in West Africa.
In a statement on Tuesday, USAID said the fresh aid “will support communities in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Nigeria facing staggering humanitarian needs amid conflict, food insecurity, and displacement”.
The funds would be provided through the United Nations and partners, including the UN World Food Program, UNICEF, and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
“These funds will allow our partners to reach additional people with food assistance, nutrition, safe drinking water, emergency health care, and protection for the most vulnerable, along with other vital aid.”
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has said no amount of foreign aid would fix Nigeria. He stated this on Wednesday at a joint National Assembly sitting which coincided with the first anniversary of his administration in Abuja, the Nigerian political capital.
“We have no other choice; it is our nation. No other institution or personality will help us unless we do it ourselves. No amount of aid from foreign countries or any other nation (will fix us), they take care of themselves first. Let us work together as we are doing to build our nation, not only for us but for generations unborn,” he said.