Nigeria

Summary of needs

The growing humanitarian needs in the north-east, coupled with attacks by non-state armed groups along main supply routes, restricted road access, and weakening infrastructure as of result of climatic impacts, has increased the demand for humanitarian air and logistics services. In 2025, access to communities in north-east Nigeria is expected to remain a significant challenge due to ongoing insecurity, deteriorating infrastructure and devastating climate shocks. The Logistics Sector plays a pivotal role in navigating the uncertainties of Nigeria's skies and roads to deliver efficient and reliable transport and storage for humanitarian personnel and cargo. Without these services, humanitarian agencies would have to deal with heightened security risks, significant delays, and high-priced, often unavailable, transport options. With the vast majority of people in need in hard-to-reach areas, over 120 agencies rely on the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) and the Logistics Sector for the safe, reliable and timely delivery of their programmes. These are critical to ensuring life-saving humanitarian assistance reaches the most vulnerable.

Response strategy

The Sector aims to support humanitarian actors in addressing common logistics needs and gaps in their responses. This includes the provision of air transportation for personnel and cargo, and the use of common storage facilities in critical response locations such as Bama, Banki, Damasak, Dikwa, Monguno and Ngala. The Sector will maintain a limited stock of contingency logistics assets that can be loaned to humanitarian organizations requiring additional storage space and for responses to sudden onset emergencies. Logistics coordination and information management will also be provided to humanitarian organizations to augment their capacity to deliver their response. The Sector will conduct dedicated logistics training on humanitarian procurement, storage, transportation and core humanitarian supply chain management for organizations, with an emphasis on building the capacity of national actors.

UNHAS will continue to deliver safe and reliable transport for passengers and air cargo for diverse humanitarian agencies, including fixed-wing services between Abuja, Maiduguri and Yola, and rotary-wing services from Maiduguri to 11 hard-to-reach locations: Bama, Banki, Damasak, Damboa, Damaturu, Monguno, Rann, Pulka, Gwoza, Ngala and Dikwa. Flights will be scheduled in close coordination with humanitarian partners to ensure alignment with evolving needs, and UNHAS will consider extending services to additional locations based on needs and available funding. During the rainy season, when roads are often cut-off and bridges collapse, UNHAS will ensure humanitarian agencies can safely deliver emergency light cargo to communities in need. Beyond its regular services, UNHAS will also support emerging inter-agency field missions and security and medical flight requirements.

Targeting & prioritization

The Sector prioritizes emerging needs and serves the humanitarian community as a whole, ensuring equal access for all actors – UN agencies, national and international NGOs, government agencies, donors and private sector organizations. The Logistics Sector will use information from the annual gaps and needs analysis to identify and prioritize responses to the humanitarian community’s needs. It will collaborate with the UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) and other key stakeholders to facilitate safe access to communities in need. UNHAS will maintain air access to the existing 11 hard-to-reach locations based on humanitarian needs and organization demands, and adjust flight frequencies upon request to ensure that high-risk, high-need areas with restricted road access receive timely and urgent support. In emergencies, the Sector will adapt its response to meet the critical demand for air transport and logistics services.

Promoting accountable, quality & inclusive programming

The Sector will provide air and logistics services under WFP stewardship, guided by its AAP, PSEA, gender and protection strategies and procedures, to advance WFP's role as IASC Champion on PSEA. The Sector’s operations will, directly and indirectly, support activities aimed at mainstreaming gender and protection, and addressing GBV. It will provide temporary shelters for safe spaces, and transport protection response items and personnel engaged in protection and GBV operations in field locations. The Sector will ensure staff participation in PSEA training and communicate AAP and PSEA capacity-building opportunities to logistics and air service partners as they deliver safe and effective air and logistics services to the humanitarian community. To promote inclusive and quality programming, the Logistics Sector, through its localization effort, will continue to engage more national stakeholders to provide logistics services to the humanitarian community. National organizations currently deliver 35 per cent of the storage services for the sector. UNHAS is committed to continuing initiatives that promote a positive workplace culture and increase inclusivity – as evident in recent revisions to its cost recovery model to ensure equal access.

Cost of response

The combined funding requirement for 2025 air and logistics services is estimated at $25.5 million. UNHAS requires $24 million to sustain its service provision and operations, including aircraft maintenance, fuel, personnel and administrative overheads. UNHAS will continue its partial cost recovery model, which, for national NGOs, was reduced by 50 per cent, and for international NGOs by 33 per cent in September 2024, to ensure equitable access and inclusion. UNHAS will further engage with local air operators for its fixed- wing services to reduce operational costs and promote local capacity-building within the humanitarian air service operation – particularly in view of anticipated increases in fuel prices and maintenance costs, which could impact UNHAS's ability to maintain service levels in high-demand areas. For logistics services, an additional $1.5 million will be required to deliver and sustain coordination and information management operations provided to humanitarian actors. The Sector will continuously reassess the cost of operations and work towards improving efficiency while increasing the impact and effectiveness of its operations. By transitioning some logistics services to a cost-recovery model, the Sector will enhance local ownership and sustainability of the services provided.