Saturday, 29 June 2024 04:56

Mass hunger to worsen in Nigeria’s Northeast as UN funding dwindles, official warns

Rate this item
(0 votes)

The United Nations humanitarian agency is struggling to secure funding to combat severe food insecurity in Nigeria's insurgency-hit northeast, raising fears of mass hunger and deaths, its resident coordinator warned.

In April, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) launched a $306 million appeal alongside Nigeria on behalf of 2.8 million people in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe, states ravaged by a 15-year Islamist insurgency, during the lean season, a period of peak food scarcity.

OCHA chief Mohamed Malick Fall told Reuters that, despite an initial $11 million commitment from Nigeria and another $11 million from the UN's central pool, the target remained far off due to reluctance among international donors.

"We are far from where we want to be. That is something we are confronted by even beyond the lean season which is that we have noticed that humanitarian assistance to Nigeria is shrinking," Fall said in an interview on Thursday.

Fall anticipates receiving only $300 million in the best-case scenario, a significant drop from the $500 million secured last year. He attributed the decline to the economic impact of Covid-19 on major donors.

Competition from new global crises has also diverted attention and resources.

"Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan have all emerged in the past two years which makes it difficult to maintain the same pace of funding," Fall said.

The situation is further exacerbated by Nigeria's worst cost-of-living crisisin a generation, with inflation exceeding 33% and food prices soaring above 40%.

OCHA warns of "catastrophic" consequences of food insecurity in Nigeria's northeast without immediate intervention.

UNICEF data from April already shows more than 120,000 children admitted for treatment of severe acute malnutrition in the region, exceeding the entire year's target of around 90,000.

"The cost of inaction has many folds with the most pressing being an excess mortality among children," Fall said.

 

Reuters

January 18, 2025

Petrol sells higher across Nigeria as Dangote Refinery raises prices

The price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly called petrol, has risen sharply across Nigeria…
January 11, 2025

Ohanaeze Ndigbo gets new President-General

John Azuta-Mbata, a former senator, has been elected as the new president-general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo,…
January 18, 2025

5 habits to help you live a longer, happier life

For the last two years, my colleague Renée Onque has been covering what makes for…
January 18, 2025

Vandals plunge Nigeria’s seat of power into darkness

In a spectacle befitting a nation where irony is never in short supply, the Presidential…
January 18, 2025

Oba Otudeko flees Nigeria as EFCC tightens noose

In a dramatic twist, Oba Otudeko, former chairman of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN), has…
January 18, 2025

Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 470

Israeli cabinet approves Gaza ceasefire accord, due to take effect Sunday Israel's cabinet approved a…
December 25, 2024

Stem cell therapy to correct heart failure in children could 'transform lives'

Renowned visionary English physician William Harvey wrote in 1651 about how our blood contains all…
January 08, 2025

NFF appoints new Super Eagles head coach

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has appointed Éric Sékou Chelle as the new Head Coach…

NEWSSCROLL TEAM: 'Sina Kawonise: Publisher/Editor-in-Chief; Prof Wale Are Olaitan: Editorial Consultant; Femi Kawonise: Head, Production & Administration; Afolabi Ajibola: IT Manager;
Contact Us: [email protected] Tel/WhatsApp: +234 811 395 4049

Copyright © 2015 - 2025 NewsScroll. All rights reserved.