LAGOS, April 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UN humanitarian agency will not close its operation in Nigeria, a senior official assured, despite funding cuts that will see the organisation shed 20 percent of jobs worldwide.
“We will be gradually scaling back our presence, which does not necessarily mean a full withdrawal of OCHA architecture or presence,” the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Nigeria, Trond Jensen said.
“We are transitioning to a humanitarian advisory team,” he said in a message sent by his office.
Nigerian media earlier quoted Nigeria’s humanitarian affairs minister Nentawe Goshwe as saying that the agency was pulling out of the country.
OCHA operates in more than 60 countries and Nigeria is one of those where it will reduce its operations, according to a letter sent to all staff last week.
It said about 2,600 jobs would be cut because of “a wave of brutal cuts” including by the United States.
The global aid situation has worsened since US President Donald Trump this year ordered the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development. — NNN-AGENCIES
