The United Nations and Partners have appealed for three hundred and ninety-six million US Dollars to scale up humanitarian action and response to the alarming hunger and malnutrition crisis in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.
The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Mr. Matthias Schmale, who disclosed this at the launch of the Lean Season Food Security and Nutrition Crisis Multisector Plan 2023, in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, also explained that years of protracted conflict and insecurity continue to prevent many people from growing the food they need or earning an income to procure food.
“With the lean season coinciding with the rainy season, humanitarian partners are also concerned about outbreaks of diseases, such as acute watery diarrhea, cholera and malaria, which will only aggravate the situation of malnourished children. Children suffering from malnutrition are at higher risk of dying from common infections. The US$396 million in funding will enable humanitarian organizations to swiftly expand food and nutrition assistance, along with supplementary interventions such as clean water and sanitation, healthcare, protection and logistics in the BAY states.
He also noted that “To kick start the response to the food security and nutrition crisis in north-east Nigeria, the UN has released a combined $18 million. UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr. Martin Griffiths, has allocated $9 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and Humanitarian Coordinator will be disbursing a further $9 million from the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund (NHF)
Mr. Schmale, also lamented. “I have seen firsthand the anguish of mothers fighting for the lives of their malnourished infants in our partner-run stabilization centres. This is a situation no one should have to face. I have spoken with children who described going for days without eating enough. Mothers who said their children go to bed crying from hunger. Families struggling to feed their families as they have gone for months without receiving food assistance.” This may become an unfortunate reality for millions of food-insecure people in the BAY states unless resources and funding are urgently mobilized. If additional funding is not received, humanitarian partners will only reach about 300,000 of the 4.3 million at-risk people in need of food assistance during the peak of the lean season.
Mr. Schmale, stressed the need to equip front-line government and humanitarian workers to meet the needs of the vulnerable.
In support of government efforts we together steer up our international effort to respond to this unfolding crisis, to prevent it from becoming a full bloom catastrophe front line government and Humanitarian workers in the three States must be adequately resourced to treat sick children and protect those who are healthy from becoming sick. People’s resilience must be strengthened by providing seeds and fertilizers and other support to farmers so they can grow their own food to feed their families and sell food in the market. We must explore together what more can be done to provide vulnerable people with more livelihood options so that they earn an income and do not depend on our aid. There is capacity among humanitarian partners including the UN, to address both food security and nutrition crisis, at this the critical factor is finding”, he stressed
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Country Representative of UNICEF in Nigeria, Ms. Cristian Munduate, also said the agency and nutrition partners aim to provide life-saving nutrition services to over one million malnourished children, as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women. She however called for concerted efforts to protect children. “We have the power to make a difference in the lives of these children. With your support, we can prevent more children from suffering from malnutrition and give them a chance at a healthy and happy future”.
The FAO Representative to Nigeria, Mr. Fred Kafeero, warned that the upcoming lean season may worsen food insecurity among vulnerable households without access to agricultural livelihood options. “FAO requires funding to reach 2 million people with urgent food and livelihood assistance in the form of critical production inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, and livelihood assets including small ruminants and poultry, and the corresponding skills to save lives, and protect and rebuild livelihood”, he said.
On her part, the representative for Nigeria’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Mrs. Sugra Mahmood, said the Nigerian government was working with relevant agencies to address food security. “The Federal Ministry of Agricultural is intervening by way of assisting farmers to go back to the farm because you know we have suffered several shocks from vivid we went into flooding, we went into the Russia Ukraine conflict and went into another worst flood ever in the recent history that we recorded in Nigeria. So there are efforts, and the government has supported the ministry to intervene by supporting farmers to go back to the farmer. We have gotten approval from the president to release grains from the strategic grain reserve. To assist those in deer needs of Sustenance, and we have working with NEMA, to help distribute. We give seeds for free, equipment and light tool to farmers to work”. She said
The UN and Partners launched the Lean Season Food Security and Nutrition Crisis Multisector Plan 2023, to respond to millions of people expected to face emergency food insecurity during the lean season in North Eastern Nigeria.
Dominica Nwabufo
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