The United Nations (UN) has said the humanitarian crisis in North-East Nigeria is the fourth biggest in the world.
Edward Kallon, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator disclosed this during a Media Breakfast Meeting in Abuja.
While lamenting the pathetic condition of victims of the Boko Haram insurgents in the country’s North- East region, Kallon said only Syria, Yemen and Iraq ranked above Nigeria in term of humanitarian crisis.
He said nothing was working in the hinterlands of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states as all schools, hospitals, banks and other social infrastructures have been destroyed by the insurgents.
“During my visit to the three most affected States in North East, I have seen widespread suffering among the survivors of the insurgency – children with no food, widows with no source of livelihood, idling youths and hopeless communities.
“Over 50% per cent of the displaced in the region are children. In an already economically deprived region, around 76 per cent of IDPs are staying with host communities placing a huge strain on infrastructure and resources.
“Even with the current response by the humanitarian family on the ground, as more areas become liberated, the humanitarian needs are also rising,” Kallon who is also the UNDP Resident Representative in the country said.
While lamenting that the UN will not be able to provide the support needed by the victims, he noted that an estimated 450,000 children will suffer from severe acute malnutrition in Borno State alone over the next 12 months.
He said despite the progress made so far by the government and Non-governmental agencies, assistance were still being hampered by lack of sufficient funding.
“Immediate funding is urgently required to support the scale-up of humanitarian operations. To this end, an International Conference on Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin is being organized in Oslo Norway next week. This is a great opportunity for the International Community to make meaningful commitments towards funding our humanitarian response activities. It is also an opportunity for the Government of Nigeria to tell the world the true extent of this crisis.”