Following requests from the NGO community, INSO has successfully expanded its programming in Nigeria, and since April 2024 is now covering six states in North-West and North-Central Nigeria. This expansion marks a new chapter both for INSO and the wider response, providing a platform that enables NGOs to make informed, strategic decisions regarding their operations, significantly improving the safety and ultimately the effectiveness of humanitarian efforts in the region.
INSO has been operating in Nigeria since 2016 and like many NGOs had to date focused primarily on supporting the response to the crisis in Nigeria’s North-East region. In this time the security situation in North-West and North-Central Nigeria has deteriorated significantly. The presence of significant number of Organised Armed Groups (OAGs) has posed several risks for both the NGO and civilian community, including armed conflict between OAGs and Government Forces, kidnappings for ransom, extortion, forced taxations, forced labour, cattle rustling and attacks on civilians. As a result NGOs operating in these regions faced significant challenges in safely delivering humanitarian aid.
*Pie chart showing the number of serious incidents and person affected captured by INSO in the six states INSO covers within NW Nigeria April-September 2024.
As Aminu Garba, Humanitarian Affairs Officer at Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) stated “The start of INSO operations in the northwest will assist us and many other humanitarian organisations in understanding the context and the evolution of the crisis. Currently, many organisations operate without a thorough understanding of the situation and access management not due to a lack of desire to understand, but because the situation is exceedingly complex. A lot want to operate in other areas, but we cannot due to lack of safety information.”
In the first six months, with the support of The European Commission (ECHO), USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) we have trained over 180 staff from 23 organisations, convened 16 roundtables to enhance coordination among NGOs and provided 71 tailored services to support NGO humanitarian operations in the six states – Kaduna, Kastina, Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto, and Zamfara States. In addition INSO established a mobile team to monitor other states where INSO has not yet established a presence. This teams allows us to provide ad-hoc services to our partners working in these areas, ensuring they receive the support needed to continue their programming more safely.
ISS Training in Katsina, June 2024.
For Ademujimi Ademola, Security Coordinator at PLAN International “INSO coming to the Northwest is a game-changer. The roundtable provides me with all the information in the context […] and also provides me with an opportunity to network and connect with other organisation’s Security Focal persons”. This expansion to the North-West has enabled NGOs to make informed, strategic decisions regarding their operations, significantly improving the safety and effectiveness of humanitarian efforts in the region.
INSO Nigeria is gratefully supported by USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, the Swiss Agency for Development & Cooperation, the European Commission and the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.