(GIN) – The United Nations has announced the allocation of $11 million to address the food crisis surging in Nigeria’s northeast.
The United Nations Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffith, who disclosed this on X (formerly known as Twitter), said the allocation was drawn from the UN Central Emergency Response Funds (UNCERF).
Conflict in the Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states has displaced some 2.2 million people and left another 4.4 million food insecure, along with armed banditry and kidnapping in states such as Katsina, Sokoto, Kaduna, Benue, and Niger.
Continued conflict, climate change, inflation, and rising food prices are key drivers of this alarming trend. Some 26.5 million people across the country are now projected to face acute hunger in the lean season from June to August of this year.
This is a staggering increase from the 18.6 million people experiencing food insecurity at the end of 2023. Civilians continue to bear the brunt of the crisis, with women and girls paying the harshest price and facing increased risk of violence.
UNCERF allows the UN to offer immediate funding to those affected by disasters caused by nature, wars, and other emergencies.
The food crisis in the country’s northeast, according to Griffiths, is considered a challenge that requires urgent attention.
In 2023, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) projected that over 31.5 million people in Nigeria would face insufficient food between June and August 2024. According to the report, other factors will contribute to the alarming food insecurity, including fuel scarcity, naira devaluation, currency crisis, rising inflation, and consumer price index.