Save the slum initiative

07/08/2026

When a family flees conflict in northern Nigeria, losing their income is just the first disaster. Women are forced into survival s*x simply to buy food. Children drop out of school to work in unsafe conditions.

Yet, the global aid system treats making a living as a luxury. We hand out food today, but leave income support for the recovery phase years later. This artificial divide puts millions of lives at immediate risk.

Nigeria’s own policies already treat economic shocks as a crisis. But the national safety net has deep holes we must fill right now. Here is the reality on the ground:

* The threat: More than half of Nigerian children face deep poverty. This drives them directly into child labor and exploitation.

* The policy: Nigeria’s National Social Protection Policy legally demands livelihood support to absorb sudden economic shocks.

* The money: The World Bank backs this plan with $600 million for emergency shock-responsive cash transfers.

* The reality: Historical national social spending sits near a mere 1.4 percent. The state cannot protect everyone in active conflict zones alone.

Humanitarian groups cannot wait for slow, long-term development plans. We must fund emergency income support from day one. Cash transfers and business grants save lives just like medicine or clean water.

A steady income is a powerful shield against physical abuse. When families can buy their own food, they keep their dignity. They no longer have to make impossible, dangerous choices to survive.

We need a different approach from the international community. Donors and emergency coordinators must stop treating livelihoods as an afterthought. It is time to fund economic survival as frontline emergency aid.

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06/08/2026

Dropping off emergency supplies isn't the finish line it’s the starting line.

Right now, Maiduguri is navigating a complex crisis, battling massive displacement from conflicts and a severe cholera outbreak. Distributing water treatment supplies is critical, but at STSI, we know that true accountability means staying behind to prove the water is actually safe to drink.

We don't just deliver and leave. We stay to monitor the impact. Here is how we verify our work in the field:

1. We Test the Water
Accountability requires physical proof. Our team sits directly with community members to test Free Residual Chlorine and pH levels. Showing them the results on the testing kit builds trust and ensures the water treatments distributed last week are doing their job effectively.

2. We Listen to the Community
Impact is about more than just water chemistry; it is about human experience. Our team members sit down with the people we serve to actively listen. Documenting this qualitative feedback helps us assess ongoing needs and ensures the community always has a voice in their own recovery.

3. We Track the Data
Every single intervention must be measured. Armed with clipboards and structured logging processes, we rigorously track our data and manage crowds with dignity. This administrative side of monitoring provides the hard evidence needed to inform our next steps.

We test. We listen. We track.

Because the communities we serve and the partners who support us deserve evidence, not just good intentions.

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United Nations OCHA IOM - UN Migration Malteser International

05/08/2026

We promised we would keep showing up, and yesterday, we did exactly that.

The STSI team returned to the Fariya IDP camp in Maiduguri for a second round of Aquatabs distribution to support the ongoing emergency cholera response.
Amidst the serious reality of displacement and underfunded WASH systems, there are still powerful moments of genuine joy. Sharing smiles and connecting with these families is a constant reminder of their incredible resilience and exactly why we are so committed to protecting them.

Consistency is critical when fighting preventable waterborne diseases, but we can’t say it enough: clean water should not be a temporary relief item. We will keep bridging the gap today, but we urge stakeholders to invest in durable, community-led WASH infrastructure. We will not stop advocating for the permanent solutions these communities deserve. Let's turn emergency response into permanent resilience.

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United Nations United Nations OCHA Malteser International

04/08/2026

Universal Health Coverage means nothing if the nearest facility is empty and 5km away.
For Nigeria's 2 million+ internally displaced persons, that's not a metaphor. It's a daily reality. But the policy ground is shifting and it's worth paying attention.

In March 2026, the Federal Government approved ₦32 billion in disbursements to Primary Healthcare Centres under BHCPF 2.0; a redesigned framework that ties healthcare financing directly to service delivery outcomes, not just insurance enrollment.

Then in April, the Nigerian Senate passed the National Health Act Amendment Bill, doubling the BHCPF statutory allocation from 1% to 2% of the Consolidated Revenue Fund. For the first time, the money committed to frontline clinics has a legal foundation that matches the scale of the need. The redesign is targeted. BHCPF 2.0 bundles three ground-level interventions:
* HOPE PHC to fix staffing and equipment gaps at the clinic level;
* MAMII for data-driven maternal and newborn mortality reduction; and
* CEMO, a reimbursement pathway that removes out-of-pocket costs for obstetric emergencies.

At STSI, we run programs inside IDP and host communities across Northeast Nigeria. We know exactly what an "unstocked clinic" means when a mother is in labor at 2am. So while we welcome this shift from demand-side financing to supply-side readiness, field reality is still unforgiving. Disbursement delays and unmet state counterpart funding requirements remain the gap between legislation and lives saved. The money is moving. The policies are right. But for families in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe the race is still on.

What do you think will close that last mile faster political accountability, civil society pressure, or direct community financing?

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Sources
●Federal Ministry of Health — BHCPF ₦32B Q1 2026 disbursement:
https://lnkd.in/eijDy9Pj
●The Guardian Nigeria — Senate passes BHCPF Amendment Bill (April 2026):
https://lnkd.in/epEq8sQT
●BusinessDay — ₦32B funds underutilised as PHCs struggle (May 2026):
https://lnkd.in/eX-XiDTS
●Vanguard — Progress and persistent gaps in BHCPF rollout (March 2026):
https://lnkd.in/e73vt9VF

United Nations OCHA United Nations Development Programme - UNDPWorld Health Organization NigeriaGerman Missions in NigeriaUNICEF Nigeria

03/08/2026

At Save The Slum Initiative, we proudly join the global observance of World Breastfeeding Week 2026, themed “Breastfeeding for a Sustainable Start in Life.”

Breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to give every child a healthy start in life. It provides essential nutrition, strengthens immunity, supports brain development, and helps build a strong foundation for growth and survival. For mothers too, breastfeeding offers important health benefits and reinforces the vital bond between mother and child.

As an organization committed to nutrition, we recognize the importance of protecting, promoting, and supporting breastfeeding, especially in underserved communities where children are at greater risk of malnutrition and poor health outcomes.

This week, we reaffirm our commitment to nutrition-focused interventions that support mothers, infants, and children because investing in breastfeeding is investing in healthier families and stronger futures.
Every drop of breast milk counts. Every mother matters. Let us strengthen what works.

29/07/2026

For as long as anyone in Ibeno, Ini, Nsit Atai and Uyo could remember, water had a heartbeat that beat only when diesel did. Every borehole hummed to the rhythm of a generator, and every generator lived or died by fuel that had to be bought, hauled, and rationed. When the tank ran dry or a part gave out, the pumps fell silent and so did the taps. Sometimes for a day. Sometimes for a week. Families measured their lives in the gaps between fuel deliveries.

Nobody talked about it as a crisis anymore. It was just the weather of infrastructure you lived with it, the way you lived with rain. Then, months ago, our STSI team showed up with something quieter than a generator and far more stubborn: sunlight.

Under the EDP project, we began retrofitting these diesel-dependent boreholes one by one, swapping combustion for photovoltaics, replacing "did the fuel truck come" with "did the sun rise" which, in this part of the world, it reliably does. No more logbooks tracking litres of diesel. No more waiting on a mechanic three towns over. No more water shutting off because a budget line ran short.

Halfway through a 50-borehole target, 25 communities have already crossed over. Twenty-five boreholes that no longer answer to fuel prices or generator moods just to the sky. The other 25 are waiting. We know exactly which villages, which boreholes, which taps still go quiet some mornings. And we're going back not to a new frontier, but to finish something already in motion, in the coming weeks.

Twenty-five down. Twenty-five to go. The sun isn't going anywhere, and neither are we.



UNICEF Nigeria United Nations OCHA United Nations Development Programme - UNDP

17/07/2026

Over 500 households, including women and children, now have access to safe water supply, through Save The Slum's self-funded emergency cholera response at Fariya IDP Camp, Borno.

The team repaired and installed 6 taps across two boreholes; replacing worn taps, fittings, and connectors, the small parts that determine whether a borehole delivers clean water or sits broken for weeks. This work is restoring water access for displacement-affected communities within the camp.

Save The Slum's WASH team also chlorinated water tanks and chlorine feeders at 8 boreholes across the camp, strengthening cholera prevention at the source.
This is what's possible when a team steps in to keep water safe and flowing for vulnerable communities.



United Nations UNDP Nigeria United Nations United Nations OCHA Malteser International

09/07/2026

09/07/2026

Over 5,773 households, including displaced families and vulnerable returnees, are now accessing reliable, long term water services, through Save The Slum Integrated Life Saving WASH & Protection Support, for Vulnerable Communities, Jere and Gwoza LGA's, Lean Season 2025, Borno State, supported by the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund (NHF).

Field assessments confirm this strategic transition, from temporary emergency water trucking, to the construction of permanent, high capacity solar powered boreholes and multi tap stands, is securing safe water access and effectively mitigating recurrent waterborne disease risks, across the host community.

This is the result of investing in sustainable, climate resilient infrastructure rather than just short term relief.

08/07/2026

Did you know that severe acute malnutrition is rising sharply among displaced populations and children right now? This isn't just a food shortage; it's a compounding humanitarian emergency.

During the 2025 – 2026 lean season, an estimated 4.6 million people across Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states are projected to experience crisis or emergency levels of acute food insecurity. The burden of severe acute malnutrition continues to escalate, heavily impacting displaced populations and children.

The vast majority of those enduring this severe hunger live in protracted, multi-year crisis contexts driven by armed conflict and climate shocks. This acute food insecurity is heavily concentrated, with critical emergency conditions localized in a fraction of severely affected LGAs.

Source: UN OCHA, Nigeria: Borno, Adamawa and Yobe - Lean Season Multisectoral Plan (April 2025).



United Nations OCHA UNICEF Nigeria World Health Organization Nigeria United Nations Development Programme - UNDP