The United Nations has launched a Humanitarian Response Plan to fund relief work in the north-east region of Nigeria, which has been devastated by the Boko Haram insurgency
The United Nations has launched a Humanitarian Response Plan to fund relief work in the north-east region of Nigeria, which has been devastated by the Boko Haram insurgency.
UN agencies and their humanitarian partners launched a US$1 billion appeal on February 8, 2018 to fund emergency assistance programmes in response to the crisis, which is entering its ninth year.
The Response Plan aims to reach 6.1 million vulnerable people, providing food, water, shelter and sanitation, as well as healthcare, education and protection.
It also includes a multi-year strategy on national development and recovery efforts aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Partnership Framework.
Around 60 humanitarian organisations, UN and NGO, will implement sections of the plan, including healthcare, nutrition and personal support.
The UN estimates that nearly 8 million people in the region are in need of humanitarian assistance, with Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states the worst affected.
Humanitarian efforts in 2017 helped millions through coordinated aid and generous funding, including the containment of a cholera outbreak and support in getting children to school.
Conflict in the area continues, however, and many people have been displaced and their livelihoods threatened by the political and social instability.
Edward Kallon, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, said: “The humanitarian crisis in Nigeria's north-east, that has spilled over into the Lake Chad region, is one of the most severe in the world today.
“This crisis is a protection crisis first and foremost that has also evolved into a food security and nutrition crisis.
“[The Response Plan] is a step towards strengthening the humanitarian, development and peace nexus, in line with the New Way of Working and commitments made at the World Humanitarian Summit in May 2016.”
