The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) says it has reached more than 200,000 people in Katsina and Zamfara through peacebuilding, livelihood and resilience interventions.
Mr Jean Nahusi, Head of IOM Sub-Office for Katsina and the Northwest, disclosed this at the organisation’s 25th anniversary celebration in Nigeria, held on Saturday in Katsina.
The event brought together government officials, traditional and religious leaders, development partners, civil society organisations, community representatives and other stakeholders.
Nahusi said the anniversary provided an opportunity to celebrate the organisation’s achievements, recognise the resilience of communities and renew its commitment to promoting peace, security and sustainable development.
He explained that IOM’s interventions in the Northwest initially focused on collecting displacement data through its Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), which provided information to support humanitarian planning and response.
According to him, the organisation subsequently expanded its activities to address the underlying causes of insecurity, displacement and resource-related conflicts through peacebuilding, livelihood support and community reconciliation.
He said the establishment of the Katsina Sub-Office in 2022 strengthened IOM’s presence in the region and facilitated the implementation of the Conflict Prevention, Crisis Response and Resilience (CPCRR) programme.
According to him, the programme is being implemented in Katsina and Zamfara in partnership with Mercy Corps and the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), with funding from the European Union’s Foreign Policy Instrument.
Nahusi said the interventions had strengthened more than 100 community peace structures and early warning and response mechanisms, while facilitating dialogue among groups affected by conflicts, particularly farmers and herders.
He added that more than 10,000 vulnerable households, including farmers and herders, had benefited from livelihood opportunities, skills development and climate-smart agricultural practices.
The IOM official said the organisation had also provided protection, mental health and psychosocial support services to more than 80,000 conflict-affected persons, displaced populations and other vulnerable groups.
He listed other interventions to include tree planting, the provision of clean-energy cooking stoves, briquette production and support for sustainable environmental management.
In his remarks, Gov. Dikko Radda said the partnership had contributed significantly to addressing conflicts and improving the living conditions of vulnerable communities.
Radda, represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the governor, Aliyu Mukhtar-Saulawa, commended IOM and the European Union for supporting peacebuilding and community development initiatives in the state.
The governor disclosed that the EU-funded Conflict Prevention, Crisis Response and Resilience programme had received 5.1 million euros in support.
According to him, the earlier Conflict Mitigation and Community Reconciliation programme implemented 26 community impact projects, including the renovation of schools.
He said the current programme had established 80 community peace and reconciliation committees in Katsina and Zamfara, while more than 1,700 youths, women, traditional and religious leaders had received training in peacebuilding, negotiation and early warning mechanisms.
The governor added that 160 key informants had been engaged along transhumance corridors to help prevent farmer-herder conflicts, while more than 49,000 vulnerable persons had received protection services.
Radda assured the development partners that the Katsina State Government would sustain its collaboration and support for initiatives promoting peace, reconciliation and community resilience..
