IOM seeks revalidation of National Action Plan to tackle issues of displacement

By: Michael Mike

The United Nations International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has promoted the need for the revalidation of the National Action Plan (NAP) to tackle issues that affect Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the country.

IOM Chief of IOM Mission in Nigeria, Mr. Laurent De Boeck, disclosed this in Abuja at the 7th National Humanitarian Coordination Technical Working Group (NHCTWG) meeting, to revalidate the NAP on IDPs in Nigeria.

De Boeck, who was represented by Head of Policy Governance Liaison and Support of IOM, Daniel Salmon at the event organised with support of the Swiss, Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation and in close coordination with IOM and WFP, described the national policy on IDPs as dynamic framework designed to ensure transparency, accountability, and effective coordination of humanitarian responses to IDPs.

According to him, the NAP undergoes regular joint reviews to adapt to evolving contexts and ensure continuous improvement, through inclusive and democratic processes.

De Boeck said, “What has been fantastic is the process of people from different parts of Nigeria, from the civil society, governments or international partners all coming together, to discuss the critical matters of internal displacement in Nigeria.

”There are more than three million IDPs in Nigeria. This document provides us roadmap to go beyond purely humanitarian assistance and look at how to constructively develop sustainable pathways for internal displacement.

“It sets out the obligations and responsibilities of each government entity under the national policy and relevant benchmarks, timelines and indicators to facilitate monitoring accountability.

“This document identifies the budgetary requirements for implementation of the national policy to enable necessary allocation and resources of the fund as a result of the collaborative and inclusive process.

“This involved input and feedback of various stakeholders, including line ministries, institutions, state authorities, UN agency, NGOs and displaced communities through technical working group meetings, bilateral consultations, focus group discussions and validation workshops.”

In separate interview, the Head of Nigeria Office/Field Director, International Public Opinion Research and Analysis,
Mubarak Yusuf, said three documents were reviewed for the revalidation.

He said the first document was the NAP on IDP policies, noting that no fewer than 200 participants who were engaged, participated in consulting throughout the process.

He said: “The NAP is trying to ensure that critical activities of the policy are outlined and this is a process seamlessly that have started right from August 2022 with a number of actors.

“What we are looking at particularly now is revalidating this document, Also, looking at it from framework of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and poverty alleviation, to measure what extent these activities will aid in alleviating poverty, particularly the vulnerable population.”

IOM seeks revalidation of National Action Plan to tackle issues of displacement