By Asma’u Ahmad
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said it need $1 billion support from government, donor agencies and private sector to deliver life-saving assistance in Nigeria’s northeast.
UNOCHA Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr. Peter Lundberg made the appeal at a news conference and inauguration of the agency’s 2017 humanitarian plan response for northeast region in Abuja.
Mr. Lundberg explained that the fund would aid in the delivery of life-saving assistance and further prevent hardship for children, women and men in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states.
The coordinator commended the international community for their support so far and urged their commitment throughout 2017 to prevent the disaster in the region from escalating to widespread catastrophe.
He said that the humanitarian response plan for next year would focus on 8.5million people who needed urgent assistance in the most affected states.
He added that the target was to reach 6.9 million of the people with life-saving humanitarian support.
The coordinator said that UN aspiration was to assist those who were desperately in need of returning home do so in a safe and dignified manner with sustainable restoration of livelihoods and access to basic services.
He reaffirmed that the eight-year-o[d conflict in the northeast had resulted in a deepening crisis, the enormity of which grew within the year as the Nigerian Airforce took back areas previously held by Boko Haram.
The Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed said the Federal Government had committed substantial resources to combat insecurity as well as the rehabilitation and construction of infrastructure in the region.
