Humanitarian Coordination in Protracted Conflict and the Evolution of Response Architecture in North East Nigeria from 2014 to 2018

Abstract

Between 2014 and 2018 the coordination architecture for the North East Nigeria crisis grew from an Abuja-centred, government co-led sector system with a thin international presence into a layered response of sectors, field forums, humanitarian hubs and a pooled fund. The decisive changes followed a critical juncture in mid 2016, when mortality alerts and famine analysis prompted agency emergency declarations, a new federal emergency coordination centre and an appeal above one billion US dollars. Resource mobilisation, planning and displacement data became clear strengths. Growth in structures did not, however, produce common priorities or equal influence. Government institutions supplied mandate, access and continuity; international actors supplied surge capacity, finance and standards; national organisations were included in plans without commensurate influence over funding. Gaps persisted where mandates overlapped, actor mapping was incomplete, recovery remained the least funded sector and field realities were filtered through capital-level forums. These findings rest on a structured documentary analysis of 26 plans, monitoring reports, data products, evaluations and practitioner analyses published no later than 2019, with claims about performance or causation requiring two independent sources. From the case the article derives a diagnostic checklist, the Negotiated Coordination Settlement Framework, which probes six dimensions through observable indicators: explicit co-leadership, subnational capacity, inclusive participation, shared data standards, field-informed decision-making and transition preparedness. The checklist requires testing in further cases.