In December alone, UN food relief agency assists one million people in northeast Nigeria
| Publisher | UN News Service |
| Publication Date | 30 December 2016 |
| Cite as | UN News Service, In December alone, UN food relief agency assists one million people in northeast Nigeria, 30 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/586cc4de40e.html [accessed 30 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
30 December 2016 - In December, the United Nations food aid agency has delivered food or cash to more than a million people in conflict-affected zones in northeast Nigeria, meaning that over half of those in need of urgent humanitarian assistance have now been reached.
“The needs are of course tremendous, and more has to be done. Even so, this is a dramatic expansion from the 160,000 people we were able to assist as recently as October,” said Sory Ouane, Nigeria Country Director and Emergency Coordinator of the World Food Programme (WFP), in a news release issued today.
The milestone came as WFP ramped up its response in Borno and Yobe States, where as many as four million people are food insecure. The region has been devastated by years of violence linked to the Boko Haram insurgency: in some areas, more than half of all children under five suffer from acute malnutrition.
In areas with functioning markets, more than 170,000 people were assisted with cash. Nearly 800,000 people – most of them internally displaced, in camps or in host communities – benefited from food distributions; and almost 180,000 children under five were given specialized nutritious food.
Under its new Rapid Response Mechanism, which includes extensive use of helicopters and the pooling of logistics and telecommunications resources across the humanitarian community, WFP has managed to reach areas that were previously inaccessible.
