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The country’s top UN humanitarian official, Matthias Schmale, said severe hunger affects 4.3 million people in the Nigerian states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe. The number of children under five at risk of life-threatening severe acute malnutrition has doubled in a year to 700,000.
Describing the situation in the region, Mr Schmale said: “Having been to Borno and the other two states several times, I have seen mothers fighting for the lives of their malnourished children in nutritional stabilization centers.” The children he spoke to complained of hunger for days.
“Those of us who are parents need to imagine what it’s like when you can’t make sure your kids have enough to eat,” stressed the UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria.
Drivers of crisis
The “catastrophic” situation is primarily the result of more than a decade of insecurity associated with non-state armed groups, which prevent people from farming and generating income from the land, Mr Schmale said.
Another damaging factor is climate change. Last year saw Nigeria’s worst flooding in a decade, affecting more than 4.4 million people across the country, not just the northeast.
Rising prices of food, fuel and fertilizers have exacerbated the crisis and the response remains severely underfunded. The UN official said that of the $1.3 billion in humanitarian funding needed for the region, only 25 percent has been secured so far.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN News.
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