Mercy Corps Nigeria partners with Gombe State to build resilience
On the 13th of July, the Governor of Gombe State, Alhaji Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, expressed his commitment to enhancing human capital development for self-sustainability through close collaboration with relevant organizations like Mercy Corps Nigeria in a meeting with the Country Director, Ndubisi Anyanwu.
Mercy Corps Nigeria will be supporting 90,000 households to overcome chronic poverty by promoting systemic change in market systems to facilitate economic recovery and growth in vulnerable, conflict-affected areas through the Feed the Future Nigeria Rural Resilience Activity (RRA). This five-year program is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) implemented by Mercy Corps Nigeria to work across four states in the Northeast region. Its headquarters is based in Gombe State.
Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya expressed his delight with the RRA program saying “Mercy Corps could not have come at a better time as the world is plagued with the coronavirus pandemic and Gombe state will especially require the technical support of Mercy Corps to curb the spread of the COVID‑19 and strengthen its safety net.”
The Governor also shared the environmental limitations that Gombe state faces due to unfavorable weather conditions and soil degradation and emphasized the need for partnerships that can improve soil fertility that will enable plants and animals to produce optimally.
Despite the security challenges in the Northeast, the government of Gombe State has been able to maintain peace to an extent due to the people's understanding and security consciousness. Governor Yahaya further assured Mercy Corps of the safety and security of its staff and facilities.
The Gombe state government is happy to collaborate with Mercy Corps and is looking forward to the state benefitng from the program. He envisions the program’s focus on economic activities that will bolster human capacity building in areas of adequate nutrition, quality education and working infrastructures that will equip the people of Gombe state towards realizing their potentials.
“From my short experience with the government and people of Gombe, I know the state is a prime candidate for collaboration that is people-oriented,” says Ndubisi Anyanwu, Country Director, Mercy Corps Nigeria.
