The Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed has said over 4.4 million victims of Boko Haram insurgency in the North East need food, clothing, and shelter and the federal government has provided available resources to meet these needs.
She said this while delivering the keynote address at the launch of the 2016 Global Human Development Report, sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Abuja on Tuesday.
While thanking UNDP, donors and international Non-Governmental Organisations for their support and show of concern on the humanitarian crisis facing Nigeria, the minister said ’’But a lot needs to be done. Just as this 2016 Human Development report rightly recognise, global action is needed for Human Development for Everyone in North East Nigeria and the entire Lake Chad region generally”.
“The current Administration in 2016 developed the Social Intervention Programme (SIP) as part of the 2016 Federal Budget with an allocation of N500 billion. The SIP policy has not only been extended to the 2017 Federal Government Budget but entrenched in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan: 2017-2020 as Social Inclusion.”
Mrs. Zainab added, “Social Inclusion is conceived in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, which was launched by Mr. President a fortnight ago, as fundamental to creating a harmonious, progressive and stable nation.”
