The World Bank has approved $300 million in financing for a development initiative aimed at addressing the long-standing displacement crisis in Northern Nigeria, where ongoing conflict and insecurity have forced more than 3.5 million people from their homes.
Announced on August 7, the new funding will support the Solutions for the Internally Displaced and Host Communities Project (SOLID), which seeks to improve access to essential services and create economic opportunities for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and the communities hosting them.
In a statement, the World Bank noted that the program will be implemented in selected Local Government Areas (LGAs) across Northern Nigeria, a region heavily impacted by Boko Haram insurgency and related security challenges.
“This operation is central to tackling the enduring displacement crisis in Northern Nigeria,” Fuad Malkawi and Christopher Johnson, Task Team Leaders for SOLID, said.
“It reflects the urgency of addressing infrastructure gaps and service delivery challenges in host communities that were already strained before the influx of displaced populations. It will provide targeted livelihoods support to help both displaced and host populations achieve sustainable economic outcomes,” they added.
The SOLID project marks a shift from short-term humanitarian assistance to longer-term development planning. It builds on the foundation of the earlier Multi-Sectoral Crisis Recovery Project (MCRP), also supported by the World Bank, which focused primarily on emergency response.
With SOLID, the focus now moves to climate-resilient infrastructure, community integration, economic resilience, and institutional capacity building.
The initiative is expected to directly benefit up to 7.4 million people, including 1.3 million internally displaced persons, according to the World Bank. A core component of the project is its community-driven development model, designed to foster social cohesion and local ownership through participatory planning and implementation across all levels of government.
“We are glad to support this initiative which has a tremendous potential to help Nigeria in addressing development challenges associated with protracted displacement in a sustainable way,” Mathew Verghis, the new World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, said.
“The Project’s integrated approach, which is aligned with the National IDP Policy and the FGN’s long-term development vision, will ensure that IDPs and host communities can transition from dependency on humanitarian assistance to self-reliance and resilience, which will open up better economic opportunities.”
Decades of instability in Northern Nigeria—driven by insurgency, farmer-herder conflict, and weak governance—have left millions displaced and local infrastructure under immense strain. The influx of displaced populations into already underserved host communities has triggered competition for scarce resources, degraded public services, and increased exposure to natural disasters, particularly flooding.
By targeting infrastructure development and livelihoods support, SOLID aims to reduce tensions, promote integration, and restore stability. Priority investments will include the construction and maintenance of climate-resilient infrastructure such as roads, water supply systems, schools, and health centres.
In parallel, the project will support local economic cooperatives and job-creation initiatives to reduce dependency and build resilience.
The World Bank emphasised that the success of SOLID hinges on strong coordination between federal, state, and local governments, as well as collaboration with development partners and community organisations.
By bridging the gap between emergency relief and sustainable development, the project is designed to help Northern Nigeria transition from fragility to inclusive growth, and further reflects the World Bank’s broader strategy of addressing the root causes of poverty and conflict in fragile states.
