Nigeria — COVID-19 Situational Analysis 3: North Central and North West (April 2021)

This Round 3 of the COVID-19 Situation Analysis is based on the assessment of knowledge, practice and impact of the pandemic on internally displaced persons (IDPs) in conflict-affected communities in the Geopolitical Zones North Central and North West Nigeria. Conducted by the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) unit of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the report covers the period between 8 February and 25 February 2021 and reflects trends from the states Benue, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Nasarawa, Plateau, Sokoto and Zamfara.

 

The first assessment was conducted in July 2020, four months after the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Nigeria. In this report, the results are presented from the third round of assessments. During this round, 1,539 locations were assessed comprising 75 camps/camp-like settings and 1,464 locations where IDPs were residing among host communities. The state with the highest number of locations assessed was Katsina State with a total of 264 locations, followed by Kaduna with 240 locations and Plateau with 222 locations.

 

Respondents were interviewed on a range of COVID-19 related indicators. Key informant interviews and focus group discussions were the primary methods used for the assessment and the findings were corroborated with physical on-ground observations.

 

The information collated and analyzed in this report includes COVID-19 awareness among IDPs, communication mediums used to receive information, exposure to communication on risks associated with COVID-19, mitigation measures, health centre’s preparedness in managing confirmed cases of COVID-19, effects of the pandemic on day-to-day activities and access to infection and prevention control facilities. All the information presented in this report was assessed for both IDPs living in camps/camp-like settings and IDPs living among host communities.

 

COVID-19 threatens to deepen the humanitarian crisis in North Central and North West Nigeria, zones that already are afflicted with multidimensional crises, rooted in historic ethno-social cleavages, and exasperated by recent large scale displacements.

To better understand the scope of displacement and assess the needs of the affected populations, IOM has been implementing the DTM programme since September 2014, in collaboration with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and relevant State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs).

 

The main objective of this report is the provide accurate and detailed information, and support the Government and humanitarian partners in providing an adequate and timely response to the needs of forcibly displaced populations.