EU Says Nigeria's Poor May Be World's Largest, Commits E45m in Aid

Nigeria probably has the highest number of people living below the poverty threshold of any country in the world, the European Union's ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, said at the weekend, as the bloc committed nearly E45 million in humanitarian assistance to the country for 2026.

"Today, Nigeria is probably the country in the world with the highest number of people living under the poverty threshold," Mignot said in Abuja at the 2026 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, calling poverty one of the country's biggest challenges and a concern for its international partners.

The numbers behind the statement

The ambassador cited Nigeria's 2022 National Multidimensional Poverty Index, which put about 133 million Nigerians, some 63 per cent of the population, in multidimensional poverty, and noted that estimates from different sources suggest the situation has worsened since then. The measure captures overlapping deprivations in health, education, living standards and housing rather than income alone.

Meaningful poverty reduction, Mignot added, is impossible without peace, security, dignity and respect for human rights, arguing that households unable to meet basic needs can hardly feel secure or enjoy their fundamental rights.

Where the EU money goes

Through the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), the EU has committed almost E45 million for humanitarian assistance in Nigeria this year, with particular attention to conflict-affected and crisis-prone communities. Mignot stressed that emergency relief must be linked to long-term recovery and durable solutions, saying "humanitarian needs cannot wait, and poverty either."

On the development side, the bloc's Supporting Sustainable Social Protection Systems programme works with government institutions and partners including UNICEF, GIZ, the International Labour Organisation, ActionAid Nigeria and Oxfam across Abia, Benue, Oyo, Sokoto, Kebbi, Adamawa and Borno states. The programme focuses on strengthening social protection policy, expanding social registers to identify poor households and improving data systems for planning and resource allocation. The EU has also supported the review of Nigeria's National Social Protection Policy and the development of a Social Protection Bill.

Security support alongside aid

Separately, Mignot announced E20 million in support for the Nigerian armed forces under the European Peace Facility, part of coordinated efforts to combat terrorism, during a visit to Defence Minister General Christopher Musa (retd) in Abuja. He said an EU technical delegation would visit in November to agree delivery details and invited the minister to a meeting of defence ministers in Brussels later in the year.

Musa, for his part, said relative peace was gradually returning but kidnapping on major highways and attacks on isolated communities persist, and noted that the shrinking Lake Chad Basin, on which more than 50 million people depend for their livelihoods, remains a potential source of instability.

The government programmes in the mix

The ambassador acknowledged Nigerian initiatives including the National Social Safety Net Programme, the Nigeria Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus, the Renewed Hope Social Protection Programme and the World Bank-backed Household Prosperity and Empowerment project. Whether these, combined with international support, can bend the poverty curve will depend on coverage, data quality and sustained financing in the years ahead.