NIGERIAN RED CROSS - TRULY RED

On the 16th and 17th of April 2013, there was an incident at Baga community in Borno state, Nigeria. It was the heavy clash that broke out between the MNJTF and the Boko Haram (BH) - a radical Islamic group. According to satellite images released by the Human Right Watch (HRW), an estimated 2,275 homes were destroyed by fire and about 125 were severely damaged. The aim of this piece is not to discuss this mayhem, but to highlight the role of a vibrant NGO in the occurrence. As we all know that figures capture the mind; various figures were given as the estimated number of death. The Nigerian Red Cross' figure taken shortly after the incidence caught the public attention, hence contributed to the push for investigation.

The Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS) was founded in 1960 and it has its headquarters in Lagos. It has over 350,000 volunteers, 300 permanent employees and offices in all the 36 state of the federation. The Nigerian Red Cross Society was established by an Act of Parliament in 1960 and became the 86th Member – National Society of the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (Now International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies) on 4 February 1961. Although the activities of the Red Cross in the country dates back to 1917 when funds were raised for Nigerian soldiers who fought during World War 1.

Part of their activities remain disaster preparedness and response, community based health programmes (HIV/AIDS, First Aid, WatSan, Motherless and Abandoned Babies homes etc), training, organizational development, communications,  Restoring family links, youth development, alternative to violence and so on. In recent times, they have been a great help to victims of flood, bomb blasts, displaced people, violence and vulnerable people in several states of the nation.

As the world celebrates the World Red Cross Day today, I join other Nigerians in celebrating this society. When we are in the comfort of our homes, they are there helping communities like Baga after a fresh clash, risking their lives for others. The swift response to Baga victims and coming up with reliable figure is also quite commendable. Hence, if other Not-for-Profits organizations and NGOs can contribute in this manner, I am sure the third sector will maximally contribute to achieving sustainable well being of the Nigerian populace.

TODAY ON DEVELOPMENT CALENDER

TODAY ON DEVELOPMENT CALENDER

- World Red Cross Day

Development Scholarship Opportunities:

Click on each link for more information

MSc Development Management or 
the MSc International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies (IDHE) - The Lalji PfAL Scholarships for graduate study – DEADLINE 13th MAY 2013 LSE  (London School of Economics)


MSc ICT for Development, or 
Development Studies, Development Management etc -  DEADLIDE 30TH OF JUNE, 2013 - Institute for Development Policy and Management (IDPM), University of Manchester, UK

2.5 million HIV/AIDS Orphans in Nigeria and 3.6 Nigerians living with HIV

In December 2012, Maimuna Mohammed, the director- partnership and coordination, National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) highlighted in a key note address that at least 2.5million children have been rendered orphans by HIV and AIDS. This she noted, has caused an increase in the population of orphans in the country, hence posing a threat to the socio-economic development of the nation.

It is interesting to know that Nigeria’s HIV prevalence now stands at 4.1 per cent, while more people are infected in the urban than in the rural areas; maybe due to the efforts of rural CBOs, CSOs, NGOs, rural radio campaigns and so on. The director, Maimuna Mohammed also mentioned that “no fewer than 3.6 million Nigerians are currently living with HIV… and that is why we (Nigerians) need to scale up efforts at all levels to reduce the virus to the barest minimum”.

Many organizations have been contributing to this fight at different levels. UNICEF for example has its  4 ‘P’s Strategy which are 1) Primary prevention among young people; 2) Prevention of Mother-to-child Transmission; 3) Paediatric AIDS; and 4) Protection of orphans and vulnerable children.  Many NGOs have also been working locally to build capacity in communities for advocacy, and rendering helping hand in prevention, treatment, care and support for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs) as well as their care giver.

Hence, as the development sector celebrates the world HIV Orphans’ day today, let us all look closer into the growing number of Nigeria’s HIV Orphans and the impact this is having and will have on the socio-economic development and well being of many households (where we have children as head of household dues to parents death) and communities.

TODAY ON DEVELOPMENT CALENDER

TODAY ON DEVELOPMENT CALENDER

World AIDS Orphans Day

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Click on each job title:

Data Demand and Use Specialist – USAID funded MEASURE Evaluation Project – Nigeria  

Adolescent Girl Advisor, Strategy and Practice - Abuja - Nigeria (218557-927)

Project Manager, Nigeria - Action on Armed Violence 

Institutional Development Specialist (Ref: IDS, Ebonyi State) - SUWASA

Communications and Outreach Specialist -SUWASA

Monitoring and Evaluation Manager, Abuja, Nigeria - Creative Associates International

Chief of Party (Program Director), Abuja, Nigeria - FHI360

Programme Coordinator, Kaduna Sub-Office, Nigeria, ICS-11(P-4) - UN Population Fund

Manager, Human Resources Planning and Management, Abuja, Nigeria - Intrahealth

Nigeria Conflicts and Flood: Internal Displacement and Nigeria Food Security Outlook

There are two reports that were published in the first quarter of this year, 2013, that come to mind when writing a short piece about this topic; Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) report on Internally Displaced People (IDP) and the Famine Early Warning Systems. Both reports highlight the present position of the country and give insights into what to expect in months to come in the light of Internal displacement and food security.

On the one hand, following the IDMC report, sub-Saharan Africa has the highest regional number of Internally Displaced People (IDP) with about 10.4 million people out of 28.8 million globally in 2012. This is evidently due to conflicts, violence, Bakasi disputes and environmental issues (Floods and Dessert Encroachments). The Continuing displacements caused by the Boko Haram insurgent destroy homes, businesses and people’s livelihoods, hence reducing the income levels of many people in the North, particularly in Borno and Yobe states. As a result, food stocks in these areas also depleted earlier than normal due to below-average 2012/13 crop production.

On the other hand, in areas affected by last season's floods, poor households are still in the process of recovering their livelihoods. Most of these households have also become market dependent earlier than normal and are having difficulties access food due to above normal staple food prices; according to the FEWS food Security Outlook.

Subsequently, with the latest trends of event in the activities of Boko Haram, this displacement figure will increase and poor households in this region will face serious food insecurity crisis this year. In flood-affected areas, poor households will be Stressed (IPC Phase 2) through September. For the rest of the country, prices for major staple foods (sorghum, maize, millet, garri, and yams) are currently above both last year's levels and the five-year average. However relatively normal income levels from livestock, cropping, and off-farm labor activities, as well as early green harvests, will enable households to access food normally.

For full reports, Click on these topics.

Internally Displaced People (IDP) Report

FEWS Report on Nigeria

OPPORTUNITY: AABS launches Agribusiness Management Programmes in Nigeria

The  Agribusiness Consortium (AAC) was recently established (sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) by the Association of African Business Schools (AABS) to design, develop and deliver Agribusiness Management training programmes for Africa’s agricultural sector.  

The AAC has been hard at work on programme design and curriculum development for the pilot programmes to be rolled out in Ghana, Tanzania and Nigeria starting September 2013. The project has made good progress and presents an amazing opportunity for academic institutions and agribusiness practitioners and industry experts from all over Africa to collaborate on skills development solutions  relevant to the needs of the Agricultural sector so critical to Africa’s future; the cross pollination of ideas and perspectives is yielding invaluable output for our vision and goals.

The AABS is hosting launch event in Nigeria as one of 3 pilot countries (Nigeria, Tanzania and Ghana) to introduce the programme to the market and launch the application process for the 2013 programmes.  

Nigeria Launch – May 7^th, Lagos Business School KM 22 Lekki-Epe Expressway, Ajah-Lagos.   Time: 10:00 am – 12:30 pm

For more Information and Invitation visit: http://www.aagri.net/events/detail/7.html

Over 50,000 NGOs in Nigeria?

An article on allAfrica.com in September, 2009 stated that there are over 46,000 (Non-State Actors) NGOs in Nigeria according to the records of Nigeria Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). This number could have risen well above that now; hence we should be looking at over 50,000.

It is noteworthy that although the CAC handles the registration of all incorporated trustees and companies, there is no valid register that can give us the exact figure. This is due in part to the fact that defunct organizations are, however, not purged from the register. Also, that the Commission does not maintain a listing of organizations that were denied registration or sanctioned. In addition, this register reportedly does not list many NGOs, some of which are big and vibrant; thus it cannot be considered a general register.

To this end, be the number over 50,000 or less than 2,000 registered on the Nigerian Network of Non-Governmental Organizations (NNNGO) website, how are they fairing? How measurable are their contributions to national development? And what are the ways forward in standardizing the Sector? These are questions which remain unanswered.