Hungary Helps: Plateau State and an Opportunity for Other ODA Agencies

Government-backed Official Development Assistance (ODA) agencies face several challenges - not least scarcity of resources. This raises an obvious question: how can ODA agencies from smaller countries in Central Europe and elsewhere have the greatest impact in 2026 and beyond? This paper provides an answer by examining the work of the ODA agency Hungary Helps in Plateau State, which is located in Nigeria’s Middle Belt. This paper builds on the research in a Danube Institute paper of 2025. Crucial aspects that are considered in this paper include: the importance of Plateau State; the nature of the problems; factors that make it easier for ODA agencies to achieve successful outcomes and the actual and potential activities of Hungary Helps. The paper concludes that ODA agencies from other Visegrád Four (V4) countries in Central Europe - or, indeed, from further afield - can increase the likelihood of success by focusing their work on key locations such as the example presented in this paper.