The European Union (EU), on Wednesday announced that Nigeria and other African countries would be receiving the sum of 557 million euros from the bloc’s 2026 humanitarian aid budget.
The EU made this known in a statement by its delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS Embassy’s Press Officer, Mr Modestus Chukwulaka, in Abuja.
It said that Nigeria’s North-West region is in focus as the it announced a grant of 557 million euros in humanitarian aid to African countries for 2026 budget.
The EU’s announcement came at a time when 239 million people need assistance, and major donors are cutting funding.
It said that the amount excluded a separate 14.6 million euros allocated to North Africa.
The EU said that it was part of the initial 1.9 billion euros humanitarian aid budget announced by Hadja Lahbib, the European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management for this year.
According to the statement, Lahbib brings this commitment to Davos, seeking to mobilise private sector finance and innovative solutions that can complement public funding and reach people in need.
It said that the EU’s humanitarian aid delivered life-saving assistance where it matters most, emergency food and shelter, critical healthcare, protection for the most vulnerable, and support for children’s education in crisis zones.
Furthermore, it said that as other donors retreat and humanitarian law faces unprecedented strain, the EU maintains its commitment, principled aid that reaches people in need, wherever they are.
“The initial 1.9 billion euros allocation includes 557 million euros to West and Central Africa, the Sahel, the Lake Chad basin, North-West Nigeria, Central Africa, Southern Africa, the Great Lakes region and the Greater Horn of Africa.
“It also includes 448 million euros to the Middle East, particularly Gaza, further to last year’s fragile ceasefire, as well as Iraq, Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon.
“145 million euros is allocated to humanitarian needs in Ukraine, as Russia’s invasion enters its fourth year, and an additional eight million euros for humanitarian projects in Moldova,” it said.
It said that 126 million euros is allocated to address humanitarian needs in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran.
“95 million euros was allocated to Central and South America and the Caribbean, a region facing complex humanitarian crises driven by armed conflicts, widespread violence, political instability, acute inequalities and environmental challenges.
“Also, 73 million euros will be allocated to support Southeast Asia and the Pacific, in particular for the Myanmar crisis and its impact in Bangladesh.
“Then , 14.6 million euros will be allocated to North Africa, a region that remains exposed to complex political, economic and social challenges.
“Additionally, more than 415 million euros is reserved for responding to sudden-onset emergencies worldwide, and maintaining a strategic supply chain,” it said.
The statement said that the EU commissioner mobilised private sector support in Davos to close the gap between record humanitarian needs and available resources requires new approaches.
It said that Lahbib’s other engagements in Davos were to discuss with business leaders and investors on how the private sector can bring innovation, scale, and new financing models to humanitarian responses.
It said that together with the World Economic Forum, she will co-host an event on ‘New Alliances in Aid and Development’ on 22 January.
“Lahbib’s full Davos agenda, included bilateral meetings amongst others engagements in Davos,” it said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the EU and its member-states are the leading global humanitarian aid donor.
The commission has been providing humanitarian aid since 1992 in over 110 countries, delivered through humanitarian NGOs, international organisations (including UN agencies), and specialised agencies in the member-states.
NAN
