UN Declares Nigeria Worst-Hit Country By Humanitarian Crisis In The World

Nigeria is the worst affected country by humanitarian crisis in the world, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has said.

In its latest monthly North-East humanitarian report released in Abuja , the UNOCHA said Nigeria, alongside the Lake Chad region, has seen the most severe humanitarian crisis in the world.

The report revealed that the scourge of Boko Haram left over 8.5 million people in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States in dire need of humanitarian support.

“The prolonged humanitarian crisis has had a devastating impact on food security and nutrition in Nigeria’s North-East.

“About 450,000 children under five are in need of nutrition support and this has been compounded by the lean season between July and September.

“Today, more than 1.7 million people are internally displaced in the three worst affected states with 80 per cent of the IDPs in Borno the epic centre of the crisis.

“More than half of them are living outside the IDPs camps in local communities who are themselves among the world’s poorest people,” read the report.

“Humanitarians have also noticed encouraging signs that the food and nutrition situation in some areas was stabilising, especially with the support from donors, food and nutrition emergency aid that significantly scaled up since late 2016.’

“Nutrition partners have reached nearly 500,000 children, pregnant and lactating women this year through supplementary feeding programmes.

“For 2017/2018, the strategic focus of humanitarian partners is on integrated and coordinated life-saving assistance, strengthened protection of civilians, enhanced humanitarian access and durable solutions,’’ said the UNOCHA.