The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard Doro, has appealed for sustained international humanitarian financing and stronger strategic partnerships to support millions of vulnerable Nigerians facing insecurity, displacement, food insecurity and climate-related challenges.

Doro made the appeal during a series of high-level meetings in Brussels, Belgium, with Members of the European Parliament, Leire Pajín and Hana Jalloul Muro, as well as senior European Union officials, where discussions centred on the future of humanitarian response, social protection and poverty reduction.

A statement by Doro’s Senior Technical Adviser on Information Systems and Data Analysis, Dr Abimbola Fasanu, said the engagements focused on strengthening collaboration between Nigeria and the European Union (EU) amid declining global humanitarian aid.

Speaking during the meetings, Doro stressed the need for governments and development partners to maximise shrinking development resources by replacing fragmented interventions with coordinated, efficient and results-oriented systems capable of delivering lasting benefits to vulnerable populations.

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

According to him, the initiative would improve coordination among stakeholders, eliminate duplication of efforts, strengthen accountability and create sustainable pathways that move vulnerable citizens from dependence to resilience and prosperity.

“Our objective is to build smarter systems that maximize 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.

The minister noted that Nigeria continued to grapple with complex humanitarian challenges arising from insecurity, internal displacement, food shortages and climate-related shocks, which had left millions of citizens in dire need of assistance.

While mentioning the Federal government’s efforts under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to strengthen social protection, humanitarian response and economic empowerment programmes, Doro said the magnitude of current humanitarian needs required sustained support from development partners and the international community.

He also advocated greater investment in durable solutions for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), including skills acquisition, livelihood support, social inclusion and community resilience programmes aimed at helping displaced persons rebuild their lives.

The statement hinted that Doro further called for enhanced technical assistance, institutional capacity building, knowledge sharing and strategic partnerships to support the implementation of OHOPRS and strengthen Nigeria’s humanitarian response architecture.

He commended the EU for its continued commitment to humanitarian action and expressed optimism that ongoing discussions on future humanitarian financing would strengthen global efforts to protect vulnerable populations, support host communities and promote long-term resilience.

The minister reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to deepening collaboration with the EU and other development partners to build more coordinated, evidence-based and sustainable humanitarian systems capable of addressing emerging challenges while accelerating poverty reduction nationwide.