More Northern states face hunger, $89m needed, says United Nations World Food

 

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has said hunger will hit more people in the Northern states of Nigeria just as the organization pleaded for an emergency $89 million to prevent more  vulnerability.

This was disclosed in a press release made available to us yesterday where the WFP regional director, West and Central Africa, Mr. Minday Samba stated that food insecurity was no longer confined alone to the Northeast, but had already spread wider across to the regions.

The statement reported that  Borno State remains the hardest-hit area in insecurity and food hunger due to insurgency attacks, and reductions in humanitarian food assistance adding this has pushed more than three million people into acute food insecurity.

The press release stated that "What concerns us most is how this crisis is expanding. For years, insurgent attacks and violence were largely concentrated in parts of northeast Nigeria. Today, they are spreading across a much wider area and forcing people from farmland, driving displacement and restricting humanitarian access, meaning hunger is quick to follow"

The WFP also highlighted that deteriorating security conditions and severe funding shortages are making it increasingly difficult to deliver life-saving assistance. The number of partially inaccessible locations for humanitarian workers have doubled, with an additional 15 areas now difficult for frontline staff to reach. Attacks on major transport routes and the presence of illegal checkpoints are further disrupting the movement of humanitarian supplies, leaving air transport as the only viable option in some communities.

The statement warned that the suspension of food assistance is forcing vulnerable households into desperate survival strategies. Communities had reported that some individuals are joining armed groups in search of food or income, while the suspension of aid in some displacement camps has contributed to a rise in exploitation and gender-based violence, particularly affecting women and children.

To sustain food and nutrition assistance, WFP said it urgently required 89 million US dollars over the next six months adding without immediate financial support, hunger would deepen as more people will be displaced across the region.