Africa - Western
Nigeria ranks 186 out of 189 on the Human Development Index (HDI). CARE International’s work in Nigeria focuses on food and nutrition, security and livelihoods, and gender-based violence prevention.
CARE International began work in Nigeria in 2017, in response to the emergency crises between Boko Haram and the military counterinsurgency that led to tens of thousands of people being killed and the abduction of women and girls.
CARE Nigeria works in Borno and Yobe, two states in Northeast Nigeria who face extreme levels of food insecurity and hunger, worsened by more than a decade of conflict.
Our work in Nigeria focuses on:
In recent years, violence in the Lake Chad Basin has led to mass displacement and an increase in humanitarian needs across northeastern Nigeria, Cameroon’s Far North region, western Chad, and southeastern Niger.
Nigeria is the hardest hit by the crisis, with 7.1 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, including hundreds of thousands of children suffering from acute malnutrition. In response, CARE Nigeria distributes food and provides sexual and reproductive health services, including in response to gender-based violence in Yobe and Borno States.
Devastating floods have swept across the Northeastern region of Nigeria, affecting hundreds of thousands of people. "It's the worst flood Maiduguri has experienced in over 30 years," says Dr. Hussaini Abdu, Country Director, CARE Nigeria.
The floods have killed over 600 people and displaced more than 2 million. CARE is providing much-needed assistance to those impacted.
Seven women from countries including Ukraine, Afghanistan and Bangladesh have written to G7 leaders to offer a first-hand perspective on how the world’s most pressing crises are affecting women and girls globally.
“During these trying times, being a part of this savings group has really helped us cushion the adverse economic effects of the pandemic. From our social fund we buy food to share. We also use it to help support our children’s education and our hospital needs.” Fati Musa, Nigeria
Even in the face of COVID-19, women in savings groups continue to astound and find ways to succeed.
Over 25 million people in Nigeria are currently likely to face food insecurity. The policy brief analyzes the causes of this dire crisis and provides recommendations on how to revert it to save lives.
The COVID-19 pandemic in West Africa is currently exacerbating socio-economic issues, with women bearing the largest burden of caring for their families while also seeking to lead communities in prevention and adaptation.
With CARE’s fourth global Suffering In Silence report, we are starting to see a trend of certain countries annually remaining on the list of the most under-reported crises. While we expanded the analysis in 2019 by including Spanish and Arabic online media coverage (in addition to English, French and German), the results are surprisingly similar to previous years.
In FY2024, CARE worked around the world, contributing to saving lives, fighting poverty, and increasing social justice.
