THE United Nations International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has emphasized the need to revalidate the National Action Plan (NAP) to address issues affecting Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Nigeria.

Laurent De Boeck, Chief of IOM Mission in Nigeria, announced this at the 7th National Humanitarian Coordination Technical Working Group (NHCTWG) meeting in Abuja.

The event, organized with support from the Swiss government, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, IOM, and the World Food Programme (WFP), aimed to revalidate the NAP on IDPs in Nigeria.

De Boeck, represented by Daniel Salmon, Head of Policy Governance Liaison and Support at IOM, described the national policy on IDPs as a dynamic framework designed to ensure transparency, accountability, and effective coordination of humanitarian responses to IDPs. He highlighted that the NAP undergoes regular reviews to adapt to evolving contexts through inclusive and democratic processes.

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

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

He emphasized that the NAP outlines the obligations and responsibilities of each government entity, relevant benchmarks, timelines, and indicators to facilitate monitoring and accountability.

The document also identifies the budgetary requirements for implementing the national policy, enabling necessary allocation of resources through a collaborative and inclusive process.

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

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

He noted that the first document was the NAP on IDP policies, with no fewer than 200 participants engaged in the consultation process since August 2022.

Yusuf added: “The NAP is trying to ensure that critical activities of the policy are outlined. What we are looking at now is revalidating this document, also examining it from the framework of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation to measure how these activities will aid in alleviating poverty, particularly among the vulnerable population.”