The top UN humanitarian official in the country Matthias Schmale announced that Severe famine is affecting 4.3 million people in the Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states of Nigeria. The number of children under the age of 5 at risk of severe, life-threatening acute malnutrition has doubled in a year to 700,000.
Describing the situation in the region, Mr Schmale said: “I’ve been to Borno and two other states many times, I’ve seen mothers fight for their lives. malnourished children in nutrition stabilization centers.” The kids he talked to complained about hungry for days.
“Which of us, as parents, imagine what it’s like when you can’t make sure your children have enough to eat,” he stressed.
Drivers of Crisis
The “catastrophic” situation is mainly the result of more than a decade insecurity related to armed non-state groupsthis prevents people from farming and earning income from the land, Mr. Schmale said.
Another harmful factor is Climate change and extreme weather impacts. Last year, the worst flooding in the last 10 years occurred in Nigeria, affecting more than 4.4 million people across the country, not just in the northeast.
Food, fuel and fertilizer prices skyrocketed exacerbated the crisis, and the response is still severely lacking. The United Nations official said that among $1.3 billion in humanitarian funding needed for the area, only 25 percent has been secured so far.
