Developing a French Language Programme for Nigerian Red Cross and Humanitarian Workers

Humanitarian workers deployed by Nigerian organisations to francophone African crisis contexts, including the Lake Chad basin, Sahel, and Central African Republic, require functional French language competence for effective communication with beneficiaries, local authorities, and international agency partners. No specialised French language programme exists within the Nigerian Red Cross or its partner humanitarian training infrastructure. This study develops and validates a needs-based French language programme for Nigerian humanitarian workers, using needs analysis methodology and expert panel validation. The needs analysis phase combined structured interviews with 32 Nigerian humanitarian workers who had served in francophone contexts, questionnaire surveys of twelve humanitarian organisations, and review of published competency frameworks for humanitarian professionals. A draft programme was developed based on needs analysis findings and validated through a Delphi process involving fourteen experts in humanitarian training, French language education, and emergency response. Needs analysis results identified communication in medical triage, community mobilisation, protection referral, and coordination meeting contexts as the priority French language functions. Programme validation achieved consensus on a five-module intensive format covering survival communication, technical humanitarian vocabulary, inter-agency coordination language, report writing, and intercultural competence. The study delivers a validated, evidence-based curriculum framework ready for institutional adoption and recommends its integration into the Nigerian Red Cross Society's operational training schedule. Keywords: humanitarian French, language programme development, Nigerian Red Cross, needs analysis, francophone deployment