The Federal Government is in talks with the World Bank to secure over $1 billion in loans to address the challenges faced by Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and bolster rural access to agricultural markets in the country.
This was contained in a World Bank document titled, ‘Solutions for the Internally Displaced and Host Communities Project’ and ‘Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project – Scale Up.’
Analysis of the document showed that $30 million was proposed to be spent on the project management and support for the implementation of the national policy, while $120 million will be spent on community development, income-generating opportunities, and social cohesion.
According to the World Bank, “The proposed project will utilise a three-pronged approach to develop sustainable solutions for IDPs and host communities in Northern Nigeria, tailored towards solving the challenges of the targeted states”.
A review by a World Bank team, shows that Northern Nigeria, especially states like; Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe, has the highest numbers of internally displaced persons primarily due to the ongoing conflict in the area leading to the displacement of over 3.5 million people.
’While the IDP loan is put at $500m, the rural access and agricultural marketing project loan is estimated at $550m.