ActionAid Nigeria yesterday signed a partnership agreement with three Nigerian universities to provide diploma courses in Humanitarian Development Programmes (HDP) Nexus in the country The institutions include the University of Maiduguri, Nasarawa State University and the American University of Nigeria

ActionAid County Director Andrew Mamedu, during the official unveiling and signing of the partnership with the three universities, said the aim of the agreement was to enable aid workers to acquire certification in Humanitarian Development and peace-building nexus

He explained that the HDP Nexus is about stepping up humanitarian development beyond providing response but also building the resilience of the people, ensuring accountability as well as improving the livelihood of the people.

Mamedu further explained that the aim of the partnership agreement with the university is to develop a course of study that can train practitioners given that many aid workers working in the field does not have a formal certification on humanitarian study.

“We are looking that in the next couple of years, we would have a diploma, Post Graduate Degree in the HDP area and the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation is also a witness to the partnership agreement ”

Mamedu stated that most times when people enter the humanitarian space, they tend to get training on the job; however, by working with the university, Action Aid intends to formalise this by working with the academia to do a formal training so that the aid workers can get certificates that can be used to improve their jobs and get other opportunities.

It will also add value to the community since we are bringing on board accountability and peace building ethics , he mentioned.

The Vice Chancellor of AUN, Prof Dwayne Frasier, noted the university is focused on making sure their students are knowledgeable across fields and not just an entrepreneur, or starting jobs but also investing in communities.

He stressed that with several organisations coming into the humanitarian space,it’s important that they continue to improve on transparency, adding that capacity building is important to train humanitarian workers on not just how to receive and spend money but also how to make a living .

The Director Institute of governance and humanitarian studies Nasarawa State University, Prof Andrew Zamumi, stated that it will take government the move will further make government be more developments focus and more impactful in the community

When professionals return to the university and are given knowledge on how to impact their communities, and by so doing living standards will improve.

The representative of University of Maiduguri stated that the partnership will go a long way to extending helping hands to the larger community.