The United States is providing $37 million additional humanitarian assistance to people affected by insurgency and severe food insecurity in Nigeria and its neighbours, the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria has said.
The embassy announced the package in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday, saying the assistance will be provided through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
It said three senior U.S. officials announced the offer after a trip to Nigeria’s Northeast where the humanitarian needs were most acute.
It said the U.S. officials were Nigeria Mission Director Michael Harvey, U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance Director Jeremy Konyndyk and Office of Food for Peace Deputy Director Matt Nims.
With this announcement, the U.S. has been providing more than $318 million (about N95 billion) in humanitarian assistance since 2015 to the Lake Chad Basin region. Also, the U.S. continues to be the single largest humanitarian donor to the region,” the embassy said.
It said the savagery of Boko Haram triggered a humanitarian crisis in Nigeria and surrounding countries in the Lake Chad Basin region.
Families have been driven from homes, millions left without enough to eat, and human rights abuses are widespread. Despite gradually improving security conditions, the humanitarian situation remains dire. Throughout the region, approximately five million people need emergency food assistance and 2.5 million people are displaced,” it said.
It said funding to United Nations and non-governmental organisation partners would help many to receive humanitarian assistance, including food, water, shelter, and services to address acute hygiene, protection and nutritional needs.