US Chargé d’Affaires Maria Brewer today announced the award of an $801,000 grant by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in humanitarian assistance for internally displaced populations in Jimeta and Yola in Adamawa State.

A statement issued today by the publice affairs division of the US embassy in Abuja said the grant will support the activities of the American University of Nigeria, Yola to improve access to education services for internally displaced populations (IDPs).

With this new funding, total US humanitarian assistance grants to AUN since the start of the insurgency crisis in the region is nearly $901,000.

Speaking during the grant signing ceremony, Ms. Brewer said, “Education positively affects people’s economic development and general health, while also advancing civil rights.” She added, “Where education is lacking, people are less likely to attain economic opportunity, which leads to greater poverty and, in too many places, opens the doors to extremism and violence.”

USAID Mission Director Michael T. Harvey signed the grant agreement with the American University of Nigeria in the presence of the US chargé d’affaires and key Nigerians from academe, the statement said.

The funding will provide education services for children and youth living in IDP camps and in host communities.

The United States Government through its Agency for International Development (USAID) is supporting several humanitarian, transitional, and longer-term development activities in northeastern Nigeria, totaling $87.1 million, in collaboration with the Nigerian government at the federal, state, and local levels.

Current and forthcoming activities will improve governmental capacity and performance, strengthen food security and water policy, expand the reach and effectiveness of health and education initiatives, and provide services for internally displaced persons.