The federal government’s directive to lock down major cities across Nigeria, in an effort to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, has given rise to social challenges of which hunger tops the list, especially for the poor and other vulnerable groups across the country. In recognition of this, donations by well-meaning individuals and organisations, to ameliorate the negative impact of the Covid-19 lockdown, have increased.

The Victim Support Fund (VSF), an organisation that mobilises sustainable funding for the support and transformation of victims of terrorism and insurgency in Nigeria, has set up a task force on Covid-19, with the mandate to provide palliatives worth N1 billion, which will include medical supplies, food, water and other non-food items for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other vulnerable groups.

The Chairman of the organisation, Gen. T.Y. Danjuma (Rtd), who inaugurated the task force said, ‘The intervention has become necessary in view of the global devastation of the [Covid-19] pandemic and as a country, we must do all we can to ensure that the spread is curtailed’. The Chairperson of the task force, Mrs. Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji, in a social media post wrote, ‘We will commence our preliminary intervention with bags of rice, beans, vegetable oil, salt, garri, medical supplies, personal protective equipment, and essential hygiene products to six states namely Lagos, Borno, Ogun, Taraba, Yobe, Adamawa and the Federal Capital Territory’. She continued, ‘We have set up a robust monitoring and evaluation plan to ensure these materials reach our actual target: the poor and deprived people of Nigeria’.

Source: Victim Support Fund

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