NEWS
Nigeria Has One of the World’s Highest Poverty Burdens, EU Ambassador, Gautier Mignot Warns, Reveals €45m Humanitarian Support
The European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Gautier Mignot, has raised concerns over the scale of poverty in Nigeria, warning that the country may have the highest number of people living below the poverty threshold globally, as he called for stronger collaboration and sustained interventions to address the growing hardship confronting vulnerable populations.
Mignot made the remarks in Abuja over the weekend during the 2026 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, where he stressed the urgent need for the Federal Government, international development partners, humanitarian organisations and other stakeholders to intensify efforts towards poverty reduction, social protection and economic resilience.
Highlighting the magnitude of the challenge, the EU envoy said, “Today, Nigeria is probably the country in the world with the highest number of people living under the poverty threshold,” underscoring the seriousness of a crisis that continues to affect millions of households across the country.
He cited figures showing that approximately 133 million Nigerians were living in multidimensional poverty in 2022, noting that estimates from various sources suggested that the situation had deteriorated since then.
Multidimensional poverty goes beyond a lack of income, encompassing overlapping deprivations in essential areas such as education, healthcare, nutrition, housing and access to basic living standards. The ambassador explained that understanding these interconnected challenges was critical to designing effective policies and ensuring that assistance reached those who needed it most.
As part of the EU’s response to Nigeria’s humanitarian challenges, Mignot disclosed that the European Union had committed nearly €45 million in humanitarian assistance in 2026, with particular attention to communities affected by conflict, displacement and other emergencies.
“Through the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, ECO, the European Union has committed again this year almost 45 million euros for humanitarian assistance in Nigeria, particularly in conflict-affected and crisis-prone areas.”
He explained that the assistance was intended to support populations facing acute humanitarian needs, particularly in areas where insecurity and other crises have weakened livelihoods, disrupted access to essential services and exposed households to greater vulnerability.
According to the envoy, the EU is working with the Nigerian government, humanitarian organisations, development partners and local communities to ensure that emergency relief is connected to longer-term development initiatives capable of addressing the underlying causes of poverty.
He emphasised that humanitarian assistance and poverty reduction programmes serve complementary purposes: while emergency interventions provide immediate relief to people in distress, sustainable development initiatives create opportunities for households to recover, build resilience and escape the cycle of deprivation.
Speaking on the theme of the event, United for Peace and Human Rights, Safe Homes for All, Mignot maintained that meaningful poverty reduction could not be achieved without peace, security, dignity and respect for fundamental human rights.
He noted that people who struggle to provide food, shelter, healthcare and other basic necessities for their families are often unable to enjoy a meaningful sense of security or fully exercise their fundamental rights.
The ambassador therefore called for a comprehensive approach that recognises the relationship between poverty, insecurity and humanitarian emergencies, stressing that lasting solutions must address both the immediate needs of vulnerable communities and the structural challenges that keep households trapped in poverty.
Mignot acknowledged the Federal Government’s ongoing efforts to tackle poverty through social investment programmes, targeted cash transfers, livelihood support and measures designed to strengthen Nigeria’s social protection systems.
Among the initiatives he highlighted were the National Social Safety Net Programme, the Nigeria Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus, and the Renewed Hope Social Protection Programme, which are aimed at providing assistance to vulnerable Nigerians and improving their capacity to withstand economic shocks.
He also drew attention to the Household Prosperity and Empowerment Social Protection Project, supported through Nigeria’s partnership with the World Bank, expressing the expectation that the initiative would improve support for vulnerable households and strengthen their resilience against poverty and other socioeconomic difficulties.
The EU envoy explained that international partnerships remained important in expanding the reach and effectiveness of such interventions, particularly in a country with a large population and significant variations in the needs of vulnerable communities.
He disclosed that the European Union was complementing the Federal Government’s efforts through its Supporting Sustainable Social Protection Systems in Nigeria programme, which works with government institutions and implementing partners, including UNICEF, GIZ, the International Labour Organisation, ActionAid and Oxfam.
The programme covers Abia, Benue, Oyo, Sokoto, Kebbi, Adamawa and Borno states, with a focus on strengthening the policies, institutions and systems required to deliver effective social protection to poor and vulnerable populations.
According to Mignot, the intervention supports the development and implementation of stronger social protection policies, the expansion of social registers to identify more vulnerable households, and improvements in data collection and management to support evidence-based planning and resource allocation.
He stressed that reliable data was essential to ensuring that government programmes reached the right beneficiaries, reduced gaps in assistance and made more efficient use of available resources.
The ambassador further explained that multidimensional poverty assessments offered policymakers a clearer picture of the different forms of deprivation affecting households, enabling authorities to identify communities and population groups requiring targeted interventions in education, healthcare, nutrition and living conditions.
He added that the EU had supported the review of Nigeria’s National Social Protection Policy, alongside efforts to develop state-level social protection policies and a Social Protection Bill, as part of broader efforts to strengthen the country’s institutional framework for poverty reduction.
Beyond policy development, Mignot called for improved coordination between humanitarian assistance and long-term development programmes, warning that poor households were particularly exposed to emergencies that could quickly reverse progress towards economic stability.
He identified severe acute malnutrition and other humanitarian emergencies as examples of situations requiring timely interventions, coordinated service delivery and sustained support for affected families.
The envoy maintained that emergency assistance must not operate in isolation from broader development strategies, arguing that effective coordination would help communities move from dependence on relief support towards greater self-reliance and sustainable livelihoods.
He also welcomed the ongoing humanitarian transition, under which Nigerian authorities at the federal, state and local levels are expected to progressively assume greater responsibility for funding, coordinating and delivering humanitarian assistance.
The transition, he noted, underscores the importance of strengthening local institutions and national capacity to respond to humanitarian emergencies while ensuring that vulnerable populations continue to receive the support they need.
Mignot commended the Minister responsible for humanitarian affairs and poverty reduction, Bernard Doro, for his efforts and reaffirmed the European Union’s commitment to working with Nigeria to reduce poverty, improve social protection and strengthen humanitarian response mechanisms.
He stressed that the scale and complexity of Nigeria’s poverty challenge demanded a coordinated, sustained and long-term commitment involving government institutions, civil society organisations, local communities, humanitarian agencies and international development partners.
He urged stakeholders to move beyond occasional campaigns and commemorative events by making poverty eradication a continuous priority supported by practical policies, adequate resources, effective implementation and measurable outcomes.
Reinforcing the urgency of the challenge, the EU ambassador concluded, “Humanitarian needs cannot wait, and poverty either,” urging all stakeholders to sustain their commitment to improving living conditions, protecting vulnerable populations and creating pathways towards a more secure and dignified future for Nigerians.