The European Union, the Swiss government, the French Development Agency, Germany’s GIZ, the United Nations and other international partners have reaffirmed their commitment to helping Yobe State move past emergency humanitarian relief toward long term recovery, resilience and sustainable development for communities affected by conflict, displacement and climate change.
The commitment followed a two day technical mission to the state, part of a broader July 5 to 10 joint visit spanning Yobe and Adamawa states, during which delegates from the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, the Swiss Embassy, the French Development Agency, GIZ, UN agencies and various implementing partners reviewed donor funded interventions, met government officials and community leaders, and assessed projects supporting internally displaced persons, livelihoods and water resource management. The delegation held strategic talks with the Yobe State Emergency Management Agency, the Durable Solutions Secretariat and other state authorities on aligning donor programmes more closely with the state’s own recovery agenda, and inspected the proposed site for the EU funded Support for Internally Displaced Persons in Nigeria programme in Maisandari Community, a project jointly run by the International Organisation for Migration, the UN Refugee Agency and UN Habitat aimed at promoting sustainable local integration for displaced people and host communities through improved housing, health, education and social infrastructure.
The team also visited Swiss funded durable solutions projects run by Save the Children in Maisandari and Sumsumma, interacting with community peace ambassadors, farmers, livestock beneficiaries and early warning committees working to strengthen resilience, and met Mother to Mother Support Groups and nutrition volunteers running community based maternal and child health interventions at primary healthcare facilities. The mission concluded with the official kickoff of the Inclusive Economic and Social Recovery in the Lake Chad Region project, known as RESILAC II, where the EU, the French Development Agency, Action Against Hunger, CARE International, government officials and local partners outlined plans to accelerate economic recovery and resilience in conflict affected communities.
European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS Head of Cooperation Massimo De Luca said the joint visit reflects the bloc’s long term commitment to Yobe’s recovery, emphasising the importance of coordinated, locally led approaches that connect livelihoods, basic services, peacebuilding and sustainable resource management. Swiss Embassy Humanitarian Adviser Aline Burki said lasting peace depends on helping displaced people rebuild their lives with dignity, describing the integrated approach spanning livelihoods, water and sanitation, climate preparedness and peacebuilding as proof of what is possible when humanitarian and development actors work closely with government and communities. French Development Agency Programme Manager Sally Ibrahim said the agency remains committed to strengthening resilience and economic recovery in communities hit by insecurity and climate shocks, calling the RESILAC II launch in Yobe an important step in aligning government and development partners around shared recovery goals, while GIZ Regional Project Manager Boubakar Abdou Boko stressed the importance of sustainable water management to livelihoods, public health and peaceful coexistence. Speaking for Governor Mai Mala Buni, Secretary to the Yobe State Government Goje Muhammed welcomed the continued partnership, saying durable solutions work best when government leads, communities participate and partners align behind nationally and sub nationally owned priorities, describing the collective effort as moving beyond immediate humanitarian response toward lasting resilience and development gains for displaced persons, host communities and border populations.
