Humanitarian Interventions: BICD Engages Partners, Seeks Enhanced Support

Dooshima Terkura, Makurdi

The Benue State Bureau for International Cooperation and Development (BICD) has emphasized that the contributions of development partners toward addressing the state’s humanitarian challenges remain insufficient.

The Head of Programmes at the Bureau, Barr. Ori Onum, made this known during a review meeting with development partners in Makurdi.

She acknowledged the various interventions already undertaken and their impact across different sectors of the state but maintained that far more support is required to confront the overwhelming humanitarian crises.

According to her, the meeting served as a multi-sectoral check-in with development partners to assess the current state of humanitarian interventions. She explained that it was convened to review ongoing efforts, identify challenges, and highlight existing gaps. “We are trying to gather comprehensive reports on interventions carried out in the state for 2025 so that we can remain accountable on behalf of partners to the State Government,” she said.

She further disclosed that representatives from IOM, WHO, MSI, civil society organisations, the Ministries of Health, Women Affairs, Environment, Agriculture, and various other MDAs were in attendance. The State Budget and Planning Commission was also present, as the final report will be forwarded to them to show the extent of investment by development partners in the state.

“A unified working template was agreed upon by all partners. We needed to collect their inputs, refine the document, and return it. We also discussed the challenges, and the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) expressed concern about duplication of responsibilities.

“They observed that there seems to be an over-concentration of interventions in a single camp, as many partners converge on the same location. It would be more effective to spread the interventions. However, others argued that if the impact of one partner in a location is insufficient, spreading out interventions may be less effective. They suggested focusing on impact rather than location, as one partner alone may not be able to deliver adequate support.”

Several partners at the meeting also raised concerns over the recent USAID budget cuts, noting that the reduced funding has significantly affected their operations in the state.

“They explained that the shrinking budget is limiting their activities, even though they would have preferred to do much more,” she added.