The World Bank has approved $300 million in financing to help Nigeria strengthen resilience and improve access to essential services for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and their host communities in the country’s north.
In a statement on Monday, World Bank Nigeria confirmed that the approval, granted on 7 August 2025, will fund the Solutions for the Internally Displaced and Host Communities Project (SOLID), focusing on local government areas most affected by conflict-related displacement.
The project aims to benefit up to 7.4 million people, including 1.3 million IDPs, through an integrated development strategy aligned with Nigeria’s long-term vision. It will prioritise climate-resilient infrastructure, social cohesion, livelihood support, and institutional capacity to manage demographic pressures caused by displacement.
World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mathew Verghis, said the initiative would enable IDPs and host communities to move from humanitarian dependence to self-reliance, creating better economic opportunities.
The Bank noted that ongoing conflict and insecurity have displaced more than 3.5 million people in Northern Nigeria, placing severe pressure on infrastructure, services, and resources. It added that competition for limited resources, coupled with vulnerability to natural disasters such as flooding, has heightened the urgency for long-term solutions.
The SOLID Project will build on Nigeria’s existing programmes, earlier international interventions, and the previous World Bank-funded Multi-Sectoral Crisis Recovery Project, which focused on short-term recovery. Implementation will adopt a coordinated, community-driven approach involving all tiers of government and international stakeholders.
Task Team Leaders Fuad Malkawi and Christopher Johnson emphasised that targeted livelihoods support would address service delivery gaps, infrastructure needs, and economic opportunities, helping communities shift from crisis response to stability, resilience, and inclusive growth.
Meanwhile, data from the Debt Management Office revealed that Nigeria’s debt to the World Bank rose to $18.23 billion as of 31 March 2025, a $420 million increase from $17.81 billion in December 2024. This figure represents 39.7 per cent of Nigeria’s total external debt of $45.98 billion and 81.2 per cent of its total multilateral debt.