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The United Nations has allocated $15 million to support humanitarian assistance in the North-East region of the country.

A statement by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on Thursday said the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr Martins Griffiths, has allocated $15 million emergency funding from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund to support the urgently needed humanitarian assistance in the North-East region.

The statement quoted the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Mr Matthias Schmale, to have stated that, “Food security and nutrition situation is deteriorating, with more and more families pushed towards vulnerability, and forced to resort to negative coping mechanisms, including child labour and early marriage.

“As desperation pushes extremely vulnerable people to the edge, food and nutrition assistance is critical for their survival. The $15 million CERF allocation comes right on time to respond to the most urgent needs of people at extreme risk as we appeal to member states to provide the resources we urgently need.”

According to the statement, the CERF allocation will enable humanitarian agencies to improve and strengthen timely and coordinated access to appropriate food and cash aid to the most vulnerable in crisis-affected areas.

Schmale added, “Thanks to the support of humanitarian agencies and donors, catastrophic food insecurity was averted in 2021. However, danger looms again for the people in the North-East region if efforts are not sustained and the urgently needed resources are not made available to enable us to take immediate action.”

The statement revealed that the $15m allocation to the humanitarian response in Nigeria was part of $100m that the UN allocated to fight hunger in Africa and the Middle East, as the spill-over effects of the war in Ukraine threatened to push millions even closer to famine and exacerbate humanitarian needs.

Violence and conflict over the last 12 years have turned the North-East region into a prolonged and alarming humanitarian crisis, displacing 2.2 million people.