ABUJA – The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard Doro, has urged humanitarian workers in Nigeria to remain committed to providing assistance to vulnerable Nigerians, assuring them that their services are valued by the country.
Doro made the call on Wednesday in Abuja at an event organised by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction in collaboration with Nigeria Humanitarian Action to commemorate the 2026 World Humanitarian Day, themed, “Strengthening Global Solidarity and Empowering Local Communities.”
In a statement signed by the Director of Information and Public Relations of the ministry, Janet McDickson Noah, the minister said every vulnerable Nigerian should be assured that the administration of President Bola Tinubu stood with them through its Renewed Hope Agenda.
He said the ministry was committed to building a humanitarian coordination system that would be nationally driven, professionally managed, locally responsive and financially sustainable.
Doro said the system would promote seamless collaboration among the Federal, State and Local Governments, development partners, civil society organisations, academia, faith-based organisations and the private sector.
He identified the ministry’s One Humanitarian, One Poverty Response System as a key national coordination framework designed to reduce duplication, strengthen institutional collaboration, promote data-driven decision-making and integrate humanitarian assistance with recovery, resilience, social protection and poverty reduction.
The minister also called for increased investment in the welfare, professional development, remuneration and incentives of humanitarian personnel, stressing that a motivated workforce was critical to an effective humanitarian system.
He said the government was determined to build a Nigeria where disasters would not translate into hopelessness, humanitarian response would be effectively coordinated and no child would go to bed hungry because assistance failed to reach those in need.
According to him, the theme of this year’s celebration was not merely a slogan but an instruction to combine global solidarity with strong local capacity.
Doro said, “Solidarity without local strength is charity that cannot outlast the crisis that provokes it, while local strength without solidarity is a burden no community should have to carry alone.”
He urged Nigerians to receive international partnerships with gratitude while building communities capable of becoming more resilient and self-reliant.
The minister appreciated the United Nations system, development partners, donors, governments and humanitarian organisations for their support, saying Nigeria’s transition from a predominantly UN-coordinated humanitarian architecture to a government-led system was a strategic investment in the country’s resilience, sovereignty and long-term sustainability.
He added that the ministry was ready to lead the transition.
Doro also called for the accelerated implementation of the National Humanitarian Poverty Reduction Trust Fund to secure domestic financing for humanitarian interventions.
He urged the government to strengthen domestic investment in humanitarian action through predictable budgetary allocations, innovative financing mechanisms, increased private sector participation, philanthropic contributions and stronger partnerships with state governments.
In his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Olubunmi Olusanya, said the origin of World Humanitarian Day remained solemn and significant.
He recalled that a bomb attack on the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, on August 19, 2003, killed 22 people, including the UN Special Representative for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello.
Olusanya said the United Nations General Assembly subsequently designated August 19 as World Humanitarian Day, with the first global observance held in 2009.
He said the ministry remained committed to strengthening the link between humanitarian action, poverty reduction, social protection and sustainable development while keeping affected people at the centre of interventions.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Board of Nigeria Humanitarian Action, Engr. Morgan Okwoche, appreciated the ministry for its partnership and called for stronger collaboration in advancing humanitarian services.
Goodwill messages were delivered by the Federal Commissioner of the Nigeria Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Aliyu Tijani; representatives of the National Population Commission, Nigeria Police Force and Zamfara State Government, among others.
The Country Director, International NGOs, Ndubuisi Anyanwu, and representatives of the ECOWAS Commission also delivered goodwill messages.
The event featured musical performances by OG Abbah Mohammed Abubakar, an internally displaced persons’ artiste, as well as other cultural performances by IDPs.