AMBASSADOR'S FUND FOR REFUGEES: NIGERIA PROPOSAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000563 SIPDIS SIPDIS ABIDJAN FOR NICHOLAS HILGERT; ACCRA FOR NATHAN BLUHM; STATE FOR PRM/AFR CAROL ANNE CHANG; STATE FOR PRM/AFR MAURA NICHOLSON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREF PREL PGOV CVIS SMIG NI SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S FUND FOR REFUGEES: NIGERIA PROPOSAL REF: A. STATE 41367 ¶B. MURAD-NICHOLSON EMAILS ¶C. LAGOS 485 -------------- Project Description -------------- ¶1. Refugees at the Oru Camp in Ogun State, Nigeria, especially women, face serious difficulties acquiring the skills necessary for successful reintegration in their home countries or for successful participation in the Nigerian local economy while they are here. The UNHCR currently partners with an NGO, Arable Crop Development and Marketing Company of Nigeria (ACDMC),to provide Oru refugees, specifically women (including single mothers),with productive agricultural opportunities. Mission proposes $20,000 grant from the 2006 Ambassadors' Fund for Refugees to the ACDMC to create farming cooperatives at Oru and purchase cassava farming equipment for their use. ACDMC has assessed cassava farming to be one of the most profitable areas for refugees to build skills that will help them integrate into their home economy or the local community if they do not wish to repatriate. Training sessions funded under this proposal would terminate by December 31, 2006. UNHCR has provided a detailed proposal, forwarded to PRM ref B, including performance and impact indicators. -------------- Project Justification -------------- ¶2. Refugees at Oru, especially women, lack marketable skills and consequently remain inactive at the camp, unable to integrate into their surrounding community and unwilling to repatriate. At a recent meeting of refugees, over 50 per cent told USG officials they had resided at the camp more than 10 years. Food allotments at the camp meant for the infirm, elderly, and young children are routinely stretched to feed unemployed and indigent refugees. Because of lack of opportunity, many refugees stay at the camp awaiting possible resettlement to a third country, although most resettlement programs, especially for Liberians, are sunsetting. Single mothers are most seriously underrepresented in skilled occupations and are therefore in danger of being exploited for prostitution to provide for themselves and their children. Trafficking is a threat. ACDMC's project requires a minimum of 50% participation by women and is sure to help rectify gender imbalance in skilled occupations at the camp. ¶3. ACDMC identified 350 refugee households already engaged or interested in agricultural activity. Currently, only 8.34 hectares of land are available to them and only 180 households can currently be served. The present project would arrange for the use of an additional 5 hectares of land, purchased by the GON, and allow 170 more households to be included. If the GON fails to purchase the needed land, ACDMC has arranged to use land in surrounding communities on a cooperative basis. Of the 170 households currently expressing interest, only 30 are headed by females. ACDMC will continue to elicit interest in the program from female heads of households and will prefer them for participation in the program until 85 of the 170 households are those headed by women. ¶4. Nigerian law will soon require all flour produced in the country to contain at least ten per cent cassava flour, and prospects for cassava farmers are on the rise. Expanding UNHCR and ACDMC programs in this area by purchasing equipment and sponsoring training sessions will therefore empower refugees and enable them to leave the camp and integrate into their surrounding community if they do not want to repatriate and before UNHCR funding and aid programs dissipate. -------------- Code of Conduct -------------- ¶5. Mission has received a copy of the UNHCR Nigeria code of conduct, which was signed by ACDMC. The code meets the core principles listed ref A. -------------- Mission Capacity to Award Grant -------------- ¶6. Mission oversaw the successful completion of the FY05 PRM grant (ref C) for construction of latrines. As suggested by Department, the grant was announced by press release, and the LAGOS 00000563 002 OF 002 latrines were commissioned by formal ribbon-cutting ceremony. An official highlight has been sent to Department through Lagos PAS (ref B). Mission has the contract authority and capacity to award a grant to ACDMC prior to end of FY2006. ¶7. This cable has been cleared by Embassy Abuja and USAID. BROWNE