Humanitarian group raises concerns to insecurity, hunger in Northwestern Nigeria

The International aid group, Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) says the rising insecurity in Nigeria’s northwestern state of Zamfara has spawned a humanitarian crisis calling for a great level of concern for the safety of life and health in the region.

They say many at times, unknown gunmen have attacked towns in the northwest in recent years, forcing thousands to flee across the northern border to Niger.  MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, said the security situation had worsened in the last few months referring to an increase in reports of kidnappings, killings, armed robbery and sexual violence in the region.

The medical group said its teams in Zamfara, one of the states worst hit by the violence, treated over 10,000 children in the first four months of 2021 for ailments including severe malnutrition, measles, and respiratory infections. It said the number of children treated was 54% higher than in the same period last year.

“Our teams in Zamfara state have witnessed an alarming rise in preventable illnesses associated with a lack of food, drinking water, shelter and vaccinations,” said MSF doctor Godwin Emudanohwo.

Rising violent crime in the northwest has compounded the challenges faced by Nigerians in northern states which are typically poorer than those in the south of Africa’s most populous country of about 210 million.

A decade-old Islamist insurgency in the northeast has killed thousands of people and forced at least 2 million to flee their homes, creating one of the worst humanitarian crises ever witnessed.

Suzan O/AJZ