Relief has come for the people in Kajuru and Kachia districts in Kaduna state as £274,780 Start Network has been released in funding for people displaced by the ongoing conflict in the area.
The Start Fund alert raised by Start Network members is an innovative humanitarian actor that typically disburses funds within 72 hours of a crisis alert.
Start Network, which is made up of international, local, and national NGOs working in over 80 countries, have channeled the funds to ActionAid and Global Peace Development – local partners who are responding to the crisis. The armed conflict, which has claimed more than 45 lives, has been intensified by a prolonged drought and rising land disputes between nomadic herders and residents of Kaduna state.
About 35,000 people have been impacted by this conflict, the majority fleeing their villages and relocating to shelters for people who are displaced – which are deemed safer due to the presence of security forces. Funding from Start Network will support the people affected to recover quickly and build resilience. According to David Habba, Humanitarian and Resilience Manager at ActionAid, the £274,780 is essential to giving community members access to cash, water and sanitation, dignity kits for women, and non-food items, such as mats, blankets, water storage containers and mosquito nets.
“The attacks and conflict around Kachia and Kajuru are sadly reoccurring. People should not live their lives in perpetual fear. We are working with community leadership and groups to provide training that strengthen community systems and structures to identify, share information and respond swiftly when there are threats. We will also link these communities’ structures to key security formations within the areas.”
