Article Summary
- Up to 4.3 million people face severe hunger risks in Northeast Nigeria.
- Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states risk severe hunger from June to August, and child malnutrition is expected to rise with some 700,000 children.
- UN had earlier warned that up to 25 million, Nigerians face severe hunger risks.
The United Nations said it is seeking the sum of 396 million dollars to fight hunger globally including North Eastern Nigeria.
This was disclosed by the UN Deputy Spokesperson, Farhan Haq, at a news conference at UN headquarters in New York.
According to Haq, up to 4.3 million people face severe hunger risks in Northeast Nigeria.
Severe hunger
Farhan Haq added that 700,000 Children could also be affected by the June to August severe hunger season citing appealing for 396 million dollars to stave off hunger and acute malnutrition. He added:
- “We alerted last week, 4.3 million people in the Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States risk severe hunger from June to August, and child malnutrition is expected to rise with some 700,000 children at risk of severe wasting.
- “Without additional funding, humanitarian organisations will only be able to reach about 300,000 of the people at risk.
- “As we have seen in previous years, early funding can help pull food insecure households back from the brink.”
The Sudan situation
The UN Chief added that more than 700,000 people are now internally displaced by the violence in Sudan, adding:
- “The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) says more than 700,000 people are now internally displaced by the violence – that’s compared to 340,000 people as of last Tuesday. Before the fighting began, some 3.7 million people were already internally displaced in Sudan, mainly in Darfur.”
The World Food Programme (WFP) says it will need nearly 13,000 tonnes of food to reach some 384,000 people across the states of Gedaref, Gezira, Kassala and White Nile, adding that the agency is expecting the arrival of two ships carrying food and supplies to treat moderate acute malnutrition.
UN added the WFP says more than 35,000 people have been reached across Gedaref and Kassala, with distributions also underway in White Nile.
The backstory
Recall Nairametrics reported earlier this year that The United Nations warned that 25 million Nigerians are at risk of hunger between June and August this year, calling for urgent action to be taken to revert this.
The UN urged public and private stakeholders to commit resources to address food insecurity in the country.
- “Nearly 25 million Nigerians are at risk of hunger between June and August this year if urgent action is not taken. This is according to the October 2022 – Cadre Harmonisé, a food and nutrition analysis led by the government of Nigeria, in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organisation, UNICEF and the World Food Programme.”
