The American University of Nigeria Atiku Institute for Development Studies (AUN-AID) has partnered with ActionAid Nigeria to empower professionals working in the Humanitarian, Development and Peace (HDP) field.
The week-long training aimed at equipping participants with knowledge and strategies for sustainable post-insurgency recovery in northeastern Nigeria was held recently at the university’s Yola campus.
As insurgency and insecurity decline in northeastern Nigeria, local communities are rebuilding their lives with renewed determination. Various local community organizations are said to be working to rebuild the foundations of peace and common community values to foster development.
In light of this, AUN-AID and ActionAid Nigeria have collaborated to create a platform where HDP experts and practitioners can share knowledge, update skillsets, and collaborate on sustainable interventions.
AUN President Dwayne Frazier said the human development theme aligns with the American University of Nigeria’s mission to foster relevant knowledge and empower communities.
He praised the five-day workshop’s aim to address long-standing disconnects between actors in the HDP sector, who have historically operated independently with different mandates, priorities and approaches.
Responding to needs
Abubakar Hussaini, Grants and Contracts Manager at AUN-AID and Dean of the AUN Faculty of Engineering, while referring to the training theme, highlighted six key areas of resilience: physical, economic, social and institutional. , community, environmental). A deeper understanding is required.
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He said the partnership between ActionAid and AUN-AID will foster knowledge and understanding in an interactive manner and strengthen the community’s ability to withstand disruption.
He further added that this partnership will continue to develop and bring even more positive changes to the lives of local communities and humanity as a whole.
Also speaking, AUN Interim Registrar Daniel Okereke emphasized the role of resilience in recovery efforts.
“For communities, resilience is equal to survival, but more than that. It is the adaptive capacity that enables individuals and communities to cope with and recover from adversity. But also adapting and preparing for future challenges. Recovery is a critical step in building resilience, which includes allocating resources and balancing global and regional investments. “Includes,” he said.
Using HDP Nexus
Mubarak Yusuf, ActionAid consultant on humanitarian development and peacebuilding, highlighted the inefficiency of piecemeal aid interventions and stressed the need for an integrated approach.
He noted that despite billions of dollars invested in humanitarian interventions, many communities remain worse off than they were before the interventions began.
“When you go to communities where money has been invested for 10 years, the situation is worse than it was five years ago,” he said, underscoring the need for an integrated approach.
David Hubba, ActionAid’s Humanitarian and Resilience Northeast Liaison Director, noted that in 2016 the United Nations introduced HDP Nexus as a global approach to aid coordination, linking emergency response and long-term development goals. He emphasized the importance of
“It teaches practitioners how to respond to crises while planning for long-term development and peacebuilding. By aligning emergency response and development efforts, we can ensure that displaced people have stable livelihoods. I will allow you to migrate.”
Site visit
During the training, the participants, along with facilitators from Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, visited Markohi community in Yola South LGA of Adamawa State, where a large number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) reside.
This visit provided the participants with an opportunity to apply some of the theoretical knowledge gained during the training.
Participants were divided into two groups and engaged with both male community members and women and adolescent girls to understand their challenges.
During a discussion with the women’s group, Aishatu Saidu, Executive Director of the Gogozi Zumunci Development Initiative, who led the group, said that the problems faced by internally displaced persons and their host communities are the lack of livelihood opportunities and orphan families. He pointed out that it is not limited to the struggles of , water scarcity, medical issues, educational barriers, and gender-based violence.
Women also shared concerns about the rise in domestic violence, often exacerbated by economic pressures.
address community challenges
The field visit reinforced the need for an integrated aid approach that addresses both immediate and long-term challenges.
Participants learned that effective aid interventions must integrate humanitarian, development and peacebuilding elements to promote sustainability. The report emphasized the importance of meeting the needs of both internally displaced persons and host communities to prevent conflict and promote peaceful coexistence.
The training also emphasized the use of area-based strategies, encouraging organizations to collaborate within specific regions to avoid duplication of efforts.
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