The Dangote Foundation delivered food items worth millions of Nigerian naira to thousands of vulnerable internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria.

During a visit to the IDP camps of Abuja, Dangote Foundation chairman Alhaji Aliko Dangote was saddened by what he saw and pledged to alleviate the suffering of thousands of IDPs. The Dangote Foundation is a branch of the Dangote Group. The foundation provides charitable funds to a variety of causes in Nigeria and other African states.

Abuja currently has 13,481 internally displaced persons according to the latest assessment by the International Organization for Migration’s Displacement Tracking Matrix. The Dangote Foundation donated food items to the IDPs during Ramadan as a philanthropic action geared toward alleviating poverty in Nigeria.

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Malam Muhammad Musa Bello directly received the donation and ensured that the IDPs would expressly benefit from the donations. These items included Dangote sugar, Dangote salt, Dangote Spaghetti, rice, Danvita and wheat meal.

The FCT Minister stated that the donation Abuja received was extremely generous and the country is grateful to the foundation. Moreover, the FCT Administration is committed to alleviating poverty and respects non-governmental organizations with a similar mission.

This donation has been one of many recent philanthropic actions by the Dangote Foundation in Nigeria. Within a span of five years, the foundation has donated N6.3 billion to various IDP camps in Nigeria. Currently, one US dollar equals 315.25 Nigerian Naira.

Previously, the Foundation made donations to Nigerian universities and women’s causes. They have also provided donations during ethnoreligious crises. In addition, the Dangote Foundation donated to the World Food Program to help Pakistan during massive flooding in 2010 and raised over N11billion for flood relief in Nigeria.

In coordination with the Gates Foundation; the Dangote Foundation, USAID and Nigerian governors joined together to secure political and financial resources to enhance immunization programs within Nigeria in order to keep the country polio-free.

The Dangote Foundation focuses on health, education, economic development and disaster relief through their commitment to decreasing the amount of people suffering or dying from poverty-related issues.  The Dangote Foundation’s donations work to rectify the lack of education for children, to create quality healthcare and support underprivileged adults by improving access to education and healthcare.

– Kimber Kraus

Photo: Flickr