The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard Doro, said the ministry is finalising an expansive coordination framework to overhaul Nigeria’s humanitarian response architecture.

Doro said the ministry’s new framework would help eliminate fragmented interventions and silo-driven programming that, over time, have weakened efficiency, reduced coverage, and limited measurable impact.
 
He said the plan is coming on the heels of more than 25 million citizens who require assistance each year, and with over 60 per cent of Nigerians living in multidimensional poverty.
 
According to him, a unified and accountable system is no longer optional but urgent, noting that Nigeria has continued to grapple with protracted insecurity in parts of the North-East, recurring climate-induced flooding across several states, urban displacement and economic pressures that have pushed millions deeper into vulnerability.

Against this backdrop, Doro said the ministry’s new framework seeks to reposition coordination as the backbone of humanitarian and poverty reduction efforts. For instance, in the case of a flooding disaster, early warning signals would henceforth be given to people, followed by enlightenment and, if necessary, action.

He also said that, central to the reform and the achievement of targeted goals, was the establishment of the National Council on Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, recently inaugurated as a permanent institutional platform to align federal, state, and local council interventions.

Doro said the council is expected to harmonise humanitarian response with poverty reduction strategies, disaster risk management, climate adaptation planning and long-term development priorities.
 
According to the minister, one of the most significant challenges confronting Nigeria’s humanitarian ecosystem has been duplication of efforts, weak data-sharing mechanisms and inconsistent financing structures across tiers of government.

The new coordination blueprint aims to address these gaps by strengthening inter-agency collaboration and establishing clearer accountability benchmarks.