The people our work is for
Who we serve
The Foundation exists first and foremost for internally displaced persons, Nigerians forced from their homes who, unlike refugees, remain inside their own country and often fall through the gaps in formal protection.
Around this core, we serve the wider community of indigent and vulnerable Nigerians whose circumstances share the same roots in poverty and exclusion.
| Group | Definition | Primary programmes |
|---|---|---|
| Internally displaced persons | Displaced children of school age, and displaced adults needing livelihoods, shelter and protection. Our primary focus. | All three pillars |
| Vulnerable children & youth | Out-of-school children, orphans and young people in under-served communities who lack access to education and opportunity. | Education & Skills |
| Women & widows | Women and female-headed households facing economic exclusion, supported through skills, capital, savings and rights awareness. | Livelihoods; Protection |
| Families in poverty | Indigent and rural families unable to meet basic needs for food, shelter, water and healthcare. | Shelter, WASH & Protection |
| Persons with disability | People facing barriers to education, healthcare, employment and mobility, supported to participate fully and with dignity. | All three pillars |
| Host & affected communities | Communities absorbing displaced populations, and those recovering from conflict and disaster. | WASH; Wellbeing; Durable Solutions |
Context, with sources
The need we address
Nigeria hosts one of the largest internally displaced populations in the world. The figures below are drawn from the International Organization for Migration's Displacement Tracking Matrix, the standard reference for displacement data in Nigeria.
2.33m
IDPs in the north-east
IOM DTM Round 51, assessed September–October 2025
1.38m
IDPs across ten north-central & north-west states
IOM DTM Site Assessment Round 18, October 2025
56%
of north-east IDPs live in host communities, not camps
1,300,127 of 2,333,190 people
2.25m
returnees recorded in the north-east
IOM DTM Round 51
Sources: IOM DTM Nigeria, North-East Displacement Report Round 51 (assessment September–October 2025), 2,333,190 IDPs in 478,229 households, of whom 1,300,127 (56%) were in host communities and 912,881 (39%) in camps or camp-like settings; and DTM North-Central & North-West Site Assessment Round 18 (October 2025), 1,378,124 IDPs across Benue, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kogi, Niger, Nasarawa, Plateau, Sokoto and Zamfara.
From data to design
What these numbers mean for programming
| The finding | The implication for how we work |
|---|---|
| The majority of displaced people are not in camps. In the north-east, 56 per cent live in host communities. | Camp-based delivery alone reaches a minority. Programmes must work in host communities and urban settings, where needs are less visible and services are shared with residents already under strain. |
| Displacement affects the middle belt, not only the north-east. Nasarawa is among the ten north-central and north-west states assessed. | Our footprint in the FCT and Keffi sits inside a genuine displacement geography, not adjacent to one. |
| Return and resettlement are now major movements. Over two million returnees were recorded in the north-east alone. | Moving is not the end of displacement. Households need shelter, schooling, documentation and a livelihood in the place they arrive, the basis of our durable-solutions work. |
| Displacement is protracted, not temporary. Populations have remained broadly stable across successive assessment rounds. | Children are losing years of schooling, not weeks. Recovery programming must be designed for duration, not for emergency alone. |
What displacement means
Behind the figures
Displaced families in Nigeria commonly face overcrowded shelter, food shortages, poor sanitation, limited healthcare and broken access to schooling. Protection risks are significant: displaced people face heightened exposure to extortion, gender-based violence, exploitation and trafficking, alongside psychosocial needs intensified by loss and prolonged uncertainty. Schools in affected areas have been used as displacement sites, and insecurity has caused repeated closures.
The consequences compound. A child out of school for three years does not simply resume where they stopped. A trader who lost her stock loses her customers, then her credit, then her standing. A family whose right to occupy their shelter is undocumented cannot safely invest in it. It is into these compounding gaps that the Foundation directs its work, and it is why our three pillars are designed to be used together rather than in isolation.
Selection
How we select
We act according to need, not status, ethnicity, gender, religion, politics or any other interest. Selection follows a consistent process across every programme.
Community consultation first
No programme begins without listening to the community it will serve, and to the people who will be affected by it.
Written scoring
Candidates are assessed against a documented vulnerability scoring sheet, not by impression. A referral alone is never a route into a programme.
Verification
Circumstances are verified in the community, and where relevant at the household, with the consent of the family.
Priority within need
Where demand exceeds capacity we give priority to displaced households, female-headed households, persons with disability, older people living alone and families with young children.
Recorded decisions
Selection outcomes and their reasons are documented, so that decisions can be reviewed and challenged.
Our footprint
Where we work
- Primary corridor
Federal Capital Territory and Nasarawa (Keffi): head office, principal community base and the FCT resettlement corridor. - Outreach locations
Anambra (Nnewi, where the Foundation began) and Ogun. - Supporter and volunteer network
Lagos, Rivers (Port Harcourt) and Oyo (Ibadan).
The largest displaced populations in Nigeria are in the north-east and north-west. We do not currently operate there, and we say so plainly rather than implying national coverage we do not have.
What we do have is a position along the FCT–Nasarawa–Keffi resettlement corridor. Displaced families based in the Federal Capital Territory are being relocated to resettlement centres in states including Nasarawa, and the federal commission responsible has publicly identified funding as its principal constraint and appealed for partnerships with private sector and civil society actors. This is precisely where we already work and are already known.
Synia Aid Foundation supports internally displaced people wherever assessed need exists, including those living in formal IDP camps and those living outside them, in host communities, cities and informal settings. Because the response to non-camp displacement is often weaker and less visible, we make a deliberate effort to reach it, without that meaning camp-based communities are outside our scope. Our growth strategy concentrates on depth within the FCT–Nasarawa–Keffi corridor, in both camp and non-camp settings, rather than breadth across many states.
Most displaced Nigerians do not live in camps. The response is weakest where displacement is least visible: in host communities, in cities, and among families who have been moved once already.Corporate Profile 2026, Section 13
That gap is a reason for us to make extra effort outside camps, not a reason to step back from those inside them. We continue our work in formal camps such as Durumi and New Kuchingoro.
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