UN allocates $10.5m to assist in northeast Nigeria

The UN has allocated over $10.5 million to help thousands of vulnerable in need of life-saving humanitarian assistance in the devastated Nigeria’s northeast.

The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr Edward Kallon, said that the fund would prioritise life-saving assistance to victims of Boko Haram insurgency.

A statement by Mr. Abiodun Banire, National Public Information Officer, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) quoted Kallon as saying in Abuja.

Kallon described the humanitarian crisis in Nigeria’s north-east and the Lake Chad region as one of the most severe in the world today, with 8.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.

He said that the people were in three worst-affected states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe out of which 6.9 million people were targeted for humanitarian assistance.

Kallon said that the 10.5 million dollars allocation by the new fund the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund (NHF) would prioritise life-saving assistance to the most vulnerable.

He said that it would also expand the humanitarian assistance provided by the UN and partners to the hard-to-reach and newly accessible areas.

“This crisis has caused an untold loss of life and liberty across the north-east of Nigeria and civilians continue to bear the brunt of the conflict.

“These funds will go towards addressing some of the key priority areas in the humanitarian response that have not yet been financially supported,”Kallon said.

He added: “These include the provision of safe drinking water, emergency shelter and health services to those in need”.

According to him, the 10.5 million dollars will fund about 15 different projects which were selected by the various sectors of the humanitarian response and approved by the NHF Advisory Board.

Kallon said that the projects target and address the needs of the most vulnerable people in locations where access is sporadic and where flooding, disease outbreaks and new displacements continue to take place

He said that such places include Monguno, Mafa, Pulka and Rann in Borno and Michika in Adamawa.

“The funds will also support efforts to enhance the protection of civilians in vulnerable communities and those trapped in conflict areas.

“The NHF contributes to the overall international humanitarian appeal for Nigeria this year for 1.05 billion dollars as detailed in the 2017 Humanitarian Response Plan.

“It is the fourth largest single-country appeal globally. To date, the appeal is 43 per cent funded,” he said.

He explained that the NHF was one of 18 country-based pooled funds and was launched during the Oslo Humanitarian Conference on Nigeria and the Lake Chad Region in February 2017.