Mr Kletsaint Akor, Convener and Chief Humanitarian, NIHA, made the pledge at a news conference on Wednesday in Abuja.

Akor noted that COVID-19 had become as devastating to human lives as it had to the socio-economic wellbeing of all Nigerians and other nations worldwide.

He said that NIHA would mobilise and collaborate with humanitarian, professional organisations, individuals and other service-oriented bodies to address the COVID-19 impact on the people and the economy.

He disclosed that NIHA would unveil its Reachout Initiative on Sept. 8, to build institutional synergy to raise 2.4 billion dollars to mitigate the consequences of Covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria.

Akor explained that the initiative was a strategic, non-governmental instrument designed to consolidate the Federal Government’s efforts to rebuild the nation’s economy.

He added that the initiative was created by NIHA as an emergency response programme to bring together all stakeholders in the humanitarian and social services sectors.

” Including state and non-state actors, to comprehensively address the socio-economic and humanitarian challenges occasioned by the pandemic in a timely, efficient and equitable manner.

” The initiative is to serve as a seamless vehicle to positively intervene in the lives of vulnerable Nigerians exposed to the negative impact of COVID-19 and to help empower them to regenerate the economy.

“The goal of REACHOUT COVID-19 FUND Instrument is to successfully implement the funding of the REACHOUT programme through a multiple, open-source approaches.

” That is targeted to raise a projected sum of N950,000 billion or 2.5 billion dollars the first one year pilot face.

”It is projected that the same funding threshold shall be sustained throughout the initiative term of five years.

”The entire expressions of the initiative are estimated to last for five years.

”Reachout through this timeline shall be implemented along the two part window period: the fund raising window and programme interventions window.”

Akor said individuals remain the greatest weapon to fight the pandemic as stated by President Muhammadu Buhari in the state of the Nation address on March 29.

He, therefore, called on all state and non-state actors, men and women of goodwill to join NIHA and its promoters to address the humongous challenges occasioned by the COVID-19 through REACHOUT. (NAN)