Nigeria is home to nearly half of West Africa's population and has one of the largest youth populations in the world. As many as 4 in 10 Nigerians live in poverty and many lack access to quality education, basic infrastructure and sufficient sources of income, according to the World Bank. Climate shocks, increasing conflict and poor health outcomes are additional burdens to vulnerable Nigerians. Globally, Nigeria has the highest number of malaria cases and the second largest number of people living with HIV. Tuberculosis and poor maternal and child health are also significant concerns in the country.
Lutheran World Relief brings the integrated expertise of its fellow Corus International organizations, including IMA World Health, to holistically address the interconnected challenges of poverty, health care access and climate change in Nigeria. Lutheran World Relief collaborates with the Nigerian government, private sector and local partners to analyze market systems, strengthen agriculture value chains and the capacities of enterprises, and promote livelihood diversification, rural financing, climate smart and improved agriculture practices, and sustainable water and land management with smallholder farmers.
As part of our efforts to strengthen farmers' resilience and support their well-being, Lutheran World Relief also looks for opportunities in Nigeria to apply IMA World Health's experience in treating and preventing diseases, responding to and mitigating gender-based violence (GBV) and improving maternal and child health.
Project Highlights
Traceability and Resilience in Agriculture and Cocoa Ecosystems of Nigeria (TRACE)
Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food for Progress Program, TRACE is a five-year project that improves Nigeria's cocoa productivity through climate-smart agriculture and expands its traceability for stronger marketability. In partnership with the federal and state governments of Nigeria, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), Ecometrica, and C-Lever.org, Lutheran World Relief implements TRACE in Nigeria's cocoa-producing states of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ekiti, Ondo, and Osun States. By the end of the project, over 51,000 smallholder farmers will be trained, resulting in a doubling of cocoa productivity and establishing a comprehensive (farm-to-export) traceability system that meets global standards. More than 68,400 farmers will gain access to markets, and over 366,000 hectares of farmland will be under improved climate risk reduction and/or natural resource management practices.
Child Labor Education and Resilience (CLEAR)
With funding from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), Lutheran World Relief works to reduce child labor among cocoa farmers in Ondo State in complement to its USDA Food for Progress TRACE project. The project addresses the underlying causes of child labor in the cocoa sector, including limited knowledge about child labor, insufficient income-generating opportunities for adults and a lack of opportunities to build life skills for children. Mirroring UNICEF's international child protection system strengthening standards, the project is implementing a community-based Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation System (CLMRS). Other interventions include sensitization activities for teachers, parents and key community stakeholders, capacity strengthening for parents, and entrepreneurial activities/clubs for adolescents. The project is also improving cocoa families' access to Village Savings and Loans (VSLAs) to strengthen their livelihoods' resilience to shocks that might have forced them to turn to child labor in the past.
The Corus Effect
Lutheran World Relief leads rural economic development, climate and emergency programming at Corus International, a humanitarian organization that unites an array of world-class nonprofits and businesses, each with specialized expertise. Our reach and capabilities are amplified by the other global leaders in our Corus family, including global public health agency IMA World Health, education, social protection and technology company CGA Technologies, and impact investing group Ground Up Investing. Together, we bring the multi-dimensional, holistic solutions needed to truly achieve lasting change.
