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WFP Calls For Improved Humanitarian Efforts In North-East

United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) on Wednesday commended the joint push by the Nigerian Government and humanitarian workers to save lives in the North-East. … Continue reading WFP Calls For Improved Humanitarian Efforts In North-East


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A file photo of displaced people at an IDP camp in Borno State.
WFP Calls For Improved Humanitarian Efforts In North-East
File photo

United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) on Wednesday commended the joint push by the Nigerian Government and humanitarian workers to save lives in the North-East.

This follows a meeting of the WFP Executive Director David Beasley with top officials and people left destitute by the Boko Haram insurgency in the troubled region.

Beasley, however, warned that the momentum must continue in the face of a complex and challenging emergency.

“We are seeing the power of humanitarian assistance,” said Beasley after a trip to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, adding “It has changed the lives of malnourished children whose mothers once worried about whether they would survive.”

“It is giving hope to many displaced and hungry people, and to others who are now returning home. Together, we are making a difference, but we must build on these fragile successes.”

Beasley’s two-day visit to Nigeria — his first since being appointed to head WFP in March — included meetings with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Borno State Deputy Governor Usman Durkwa.

He also spoke with community leaders and young mothers at the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) camp in Maiduguri, a city that shelters hundreds of thousands fleeing hunger and conflict.

According to a statement from the agency, WFP, through its partners, has been delivering monthly food and nutritional assistance to more than a million extremely vulnerable people across the North-East in 2017.

The agency attributed the success to generous donor contributions, saying “our steady support helps to stabilise lives.”

It, however, said the overall situation remained extremely worrying and that the June-September lean season had worsened malnutrition in many places.

“Insecurity, poor roads and a backup at Lagos port are thwarting WFP’s current ability to reach more remote areas and deliver imported specialised nutritional supplements to some of the children who need it,” the WFP chief said.

Beasley also warned of the broader impact of the crisis that goes beyond Nigeria which he said spread across Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

“This is a major crisis that needs a security, humanitarian and development component — these are key to resolving it in the short and long term,” he said.

“The international community cannot afford to ignore this problem, or it risks getting much worse.”

Beasley noted the Federal Government’s significant hunger-fighting commitments, which include a recent donation of 5,000 mt of rice to WFP’s operations.

He said authorities have launched a separate relief initiative aimed to distribute 30,000 mt of rice to hungry people in six states.

“WFP has purchased nearly $95 million worth of locally grown food for its operations, and injected an overall $212 million into the Nigerian economy if cash transfers, transport, local salaries and other expenditures are taken into account,” the statement said.

WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience.