Government official pushes for enhanced cooperation between Nigeria and European Union to combat poverty

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The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Bernard Doro, has called for stronger collaboration between Nigeria and the European Union to enhance humanitarian response and support vulnerable populations amid declining global aid resources.

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Doro made the call during a series of high-level engagements in Brussels, Belgium, where he met with Members of the European Parliament, Leire Pajín and Hana Jalloul Muro, as well as senior European Union officials to discuss humanitarian financing, social protection and poverty reduction.

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The minister’s position was contained in a statement issued on his behalf by his Senior Technical Adviser on Information Systems and Data Analysis, Abimbola Fasanu, on Sunday.

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According to the statement, Doro urged governments and development partners to maximise limited development resources by moving away from fragmented interventions towards coordinated, efficient and results-driven systems capable of delivering sustainable outcomes for vulnerable communities.

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He presented Nigeria’s flagship reform initiative, the One Humanitarian–One Poverty Response System, describing it as a national framework designed to integrate humanitarian assistance, social protection and poverty reduction into a single coordinated response.

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The minister said the initiative would improve coordination, eliminate duplication, strengthen accountability and create sustainable pathways from vulnerability to resilience and prosperity.

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“Our objective is to build smarter systems that maximise available resources and deliver lasting impact for vulnerable communities. Through stronger coordination and strategic partnerships, we can achieve greater efficiency and better development outcomes,” he said.

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Doro also highlighted Nigeria’s humanitarian challenges, noting that insecurity, internal displacement, food insecurity and climate-related shocks continue to affect millions of Nigerians.

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While acknowledging the Federal Government’s efforts under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to strengthen humanitarian response, social protection and economic empowerment programmes, the Minister stressed that the scale of current humanitarian needs requires sustained collaboration among governments, humanitarian agencies, development partners and the international community.

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He further advocated increased investment in durable solutions for internally displaced persons (IDPs), including skills development, livelihood support, social inclusion and community resilience programmes to enable displaced persons rebuild their lives with dignity.

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The minister also sought greater technical assistance, institutional capacity building, knowledge exchange and strategic partnerships to support the implementation of the OHOPRS framework and strengthen Nigeria’s humanitarian response architecture.

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He welcomed the European Union’s continued commitment to humanitarian action and expressed confidence that ongoing discussions on future humanitarian financing would strengthen global efforts to protect vulnerable populations, support host communities and promote long-term resilience.

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Doro reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to working closely with the European Union and other development partners to build more coordinated, evidence-driven and sustainable humanitarian systems capable of responding effectively to emerging challenges while accelerating poverty reduction across the country.

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