North-East: International NGOs operating in-line with global guidelines – Official
NAN-H-41
Performance
By Lizzy Okoji
Abuja, Feb. 10, 2018 (NAN) Ms Jennifer Jalovec, Country Director, International Non-Governmental Organisation (INGO) Forum, said on Saturday that INGO members are working as expected in the North-East in-line with international best practices, guidelines and frameworks.
Jalovec made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
She made this known amidst the perception and allegations that INGOs are not demonstrating accountability nor operating by the rules of the country.
According to her, the INGO forum is a consortium of thirty six INGOs and its members remain committed to operating in line with global humanitarian principles and in adherence to its host country’s laws.
Jalovec said that its members have been working in the fields since the beginning of the humanitarian crises in the Boko Haram insurgency worst hit states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.
She said that members of the INGO in Nigeria are working closely with government at all levels and are providing timely, quality and life saving assistance to the victims of the insurgency.
“The INGO forum would like to reiterate that its members follow existing regulatory frameworks, operate based on principled humanitarian assistance and are committed to supporting the people of Nigeria.
“All of our members receive donor funding from governments all over the world and have to follow very stringent guidelines from the donor governments.
“The donor governments have strict guidelines in place and that money has to be spent according to those guidelines so they cannot just sit there doing nothing.
“ They are out there doing their works following logical frameworks, putting activities in place and then donors would come to look at those projects.
“A lot of our member have a third party come out to look at their projects and also their organisations themselves from their headquarters have very stringent guidelines about how they do projects.
“We are operating under very strict guidelines for international practice. I would like to know the organisations that are said not to be performing because I do not believe it is true,” Jalovec said.
Jalovec said that its members are duly registered with the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning and submits reports of their various projects and programmes to the Ministry twice in a year.
She explained that members of the INGO forum also communicates details of their activities and projects and programmes to stakeholders and are accountable to communities where they operate through constant communication and community feedbacks.
Jalovec said that the forum currently developed a website that would offer a platform to enhance better communication sharing among members to know who is doing what and where to ensure stronger response and collaboration.
She, however, urged member INGOs to scale up their interventions in the North-East as the challenges are enormous with over 7.7 million people in dire need of humanitarian assistance.
She said that the humanitarian crisis in the North-East, which has lingered for nine years was one of the most severe in the world.
The INGO forum Country Director also called on the Nigerian government and the military to improve security to enable its members gain access to communities that are currently inaccessible.
“ We really need to keep reaching out to be able to implement our services, and get to the people in dire need because the needs are enormous. (NAN)
LIZ/SA/AFA
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Edited by Salif Atojoko/Felix Ajide